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Location: Africa

CIMMYT’s work in Africa helps farmers access new maize and wheat systems-based technologies, information and markets, raising incomes and enhancing crop resilience to drought and climate change. CIMMYT sets priorities in consultation with ministries of agriculture, seed companies, farming communities and other stakeholders in the maize and wheat value chains. Our activities in Africa are wide ranging and include: breeding maize for drought tolerance and low-fertility soils, and for resistance to insect pests, foliar diseases and parasitic weeds; sustainably intensifying production in maize- and wheat-based systems; and investigating opportunities to reduce micronutrient and protein malnutrition among women and young children.

Digitalizing African agriculture: paving the way to Africa’s progress through transforming the agriculture sector

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Features.

This year’s African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF), which took place from September 3-6, 2019 in Accra, Ghana, focused on the potential of digital agriculture to transform African agriculture through innovations such as precision agriculture solutions for smallholder farmers, access to mobile financial services, data-driven agriculture, and ICT-enabled extension.

Committed to a digital transformation of African agricultural that benefits many, not a few.

The CGIAR has become a new partner of the AGRF and was presenting during the forum its five global challenges: planetary boundaries, sustaining food availability, promoting equality of opportunity, securing public health, and creating jobs and growth.

Despite its importance of the continental economy and untapped resources, African farming sector is still dominated by ageing smallholders cultivating few acres of cropland, using not much inputs and lagging far behind productivity world standards.

Many experts believe digital agriculture could help African agriculture leapfrog to overcome its geographical, social and economic bottlenecks, bringing successful technologies to scale faster, and market opportunities even for remote smallholders. Some countries like Ghana or Kenya are becoming digital hubs for agritech-savvy young entrepreneurs along the food value chains, from drone for Ag, linking farmers to the marketplace, or offering mobile mechanization or financial services.

Large initiatives were announced to foster this growth potential, in particular towards the youth in agriculture, like the Mastercard Foundation’s commitment to invest $500 million to support for young agripreneurs within its Young Africa Works initiative, and the World Bank’s One Million Farmer platform in Kenya.

In force at the AGRF 2019, agricultural research organizations such as the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) have a strong role to play in this digital transformation, both as innovator creating for instance new digital maize phenotyping tool for faster yield assessment, and user of tech innovations to improve research targeting and impact.

Improving smallholders’ resilience through digital innovations

The millions of African rainfed farmers are in a risky business, from rising climate shocks to emerging pests and diseases like the invasive fall armyworm or the maize lethal necrosis. CIMMYT Director General Martin Kropff highlighted the importance of digital tools to predict these risks through smart, scalable early warning systems like the award-winning diagnostic tool Marple that helps map wheat rust outbreaks. Researchers can also better predict the farms’ responses to these risks through accurate modelling. They can for instance better assess the potential yield benefits of drought and heat tolerance under different climate change scenarios.

CIMMYT crop breeders use tablet-based disease scoring applications and test new imagery and high-tech sensors for more accurate and cost-effective data collection. Kropff underlined the key role digital tools play to speed up science breakthroughs and impact delivery at the farm level.

Tailored advice for farmers and policy-makers to enable sustainable intensification

“The future is no longer where it used to be. Farmers’ reality has become even more unpredictable,” said Enock Chikava, deputy director, agricultural development at the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation during a vivid debate on how to reshape the future agronomic research so it delivers more site-specific and responsive advice.

Much of the agronomy work within the region remains fragmented across research institutes, commodities and projects, and struggles to go beyond blanket recommendations that are most of the time not adapted to local farming conditions.

However, there is a fast-growing wealth of georeferenced data that can describe the diverse farming landscapes and socio-economic context of each African smallholder farmer. The starting point to exploit these data and get the right solutions for each farmer is to ask the right questions.

Moderated by Samuel Gameda, CIMMYT soil scientist, who shared the lessons from the Taking Maize Agronomy to Scale (TAMASA) project, this session on Agronomy at Scale discussed what public information goods like crop yield prediction maps or extension apps, such as the maize variety selector, would be the most useful for farmers and large-scale agronomic initiatives to trigger this much needed sustainable intensification of millions of African smallholdings. What investments would make a difference to scale the use of these new decision-support tools?

“Agronomic research must be carried out from a broader perspective of large-scale relevance and application. It is also more and more a joint effort and responsibility between smallholder farmers, the research community and public and private sectors, with each component playing specific and interacting roles. The current era of powerful and accessible ICT tools and big data analytics make this much more feasible and should be incorporated to enable precision agronomy for all, this is my take home message,” said Gameda.

“This data revolution will only work if we invest in research data quality and data management,” stressed Bram Govaerts, CIMMYT’s Integrated Development Program director. “That will generate better evidence for decision-makers to guide impact investment plans, deciding on which technology e.g. a new drought-tolerant crop variety and put the money in the right leveraging point,” Govaerts concluded.

The largest forum on African agriculture, AGRF 2019 gathered more than 2,200 delegates and high-level dignitaries, from heads of State and government officials to leaders of global and regional development institutions; top agri-food businesses and local entrepreneurs; financial institutions; mobile network operators and tech leaders, as well as lead representatives of farmer organizations.

Cover photo: Delegation from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) at the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) 2019.

Scientists set to release stem rust resistant wheat varieties in Kenya

Written by Mary Donovan on . Posted in In the media.

Two hybrid wheat varieties that are resistant to stem rust disease are set to be released to Kenyan farmers later this year. Mandeep Randham, wheat breeder and geneticist at International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center said that the two varieties, ‘Kenya Jacana’ and ‘Kenya Kasuku’ have high yields and resistant to stem rust disease known as U99. Read more here.

A new publication highlights the diverse ways in which CIMMYT's research is propelling the digital transformation of agriculture in Africa.

CIMMYT research at the forefront of the digital revolution in African agriculture

Written by Sam Storr on . Posted in News.

At the African Green Revolution Forum 2019, global and African leaders come together to develop actionable plans that will move African agriculture forward. This year, the forum is taking place in Ghana on the week of September 3, 2019, under the theme “Grow digital: Leveraging digital transformation to drive sustainable food systems in Africa.” Participants will explore the practical application of the emerging elements of the digital era such as big data, blockchain, digital IDs, drones, machine learning, robotics, and sensors.

CIMMYT’s work in this area is showcased in a new leaflet entitled “Data-driven solutions for Africa: Using smart tools to combat climate change.” The leaflet highlights innovations such as crowdsourced crop disease tracking and response systems in Ethiopia, low-cost imaging tools to speed up the development of hardier varieties, and combining geospatial data with crop models to predict climate change and deliver personalized recommendations to farmers.

A new publication highlights the diverse ways in which CIMMYT's research is propelling the digital transformation of agriculture in Africa.
A new publication highlights the diverse ways in which CIMMYT’s research is propelling the digital transformation of agriculture in Africa.

Speaking at the conference attended by 2,000 delegates and high-level dignitaries, CIMMYT Director General Martin Kropff will give the keynote remarks during the session “Digital innovations to strengthen resilience for smallholders in African food systems” on September 3. This panel discussion will focus on how the data revolution can support African smallholder farmers to adapt quickly challenges like recurrent droughts or emerging pests, including the invasive fall armyworm. The Global Resilience Partnership (GRP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CABI, and the Minister of Agriculture of Burkina Faso will be among the other panelists in the session.

The same day, CIMMYT will also participate to an important “Agronomy at scale through data for good” panel discussion with speakers from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, research organizations and private companies. The session will highlight how digital agriculture could help deliver better targeted, site-specific agronomic advice to small farmers.

During the forum, the CIMMYT delegation will seek collaborations in other important drivers of change like gender transformation of food systems and smallholder mechanization.

They will join public sector leaders, researchers, agri-preneurs, business leaders and farmers in outlining how to leverage the growth in digital technologies to transform food systems and agricultural livelihoods in Africa.

The Prime Minister of Rwanda, Édouard Ngirente, and other leaders discussed regional and national priorities at the Africa Food Security Leadership Dialogue. (Photo: Martin Kropff/CIMMYT)

African leaders rely on science and technology to improve food security

Written by Jennifer Johnson on . Posted in Features.

Rural areas in Africa are facing unprecedented challenges. From high levels of rural-urban migration to the need to maintain crop production and food security under the added stress of climate change, rural areas need investment and support. The recent Africa Food Security Leadership Dialogue brought together key regional actors to discuss the current situation as well as ways to catalyze actions and financing to help address Africa’s worsening food security crisis under climate change.

Heads of state, ministers of agriculture and finance, heads of international institutions and regional economic commissions, Nobel laureates, and eminent scientists took part in the dialogue in Kigali, Rwanda, on August 5 and 6, 2019.

This high-level meeting was convened by core partners including the African Union Commission (AUC), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the World Bank.

The Director General of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Martin Kropff, participated in a session entitled “Leveraging science to end hunger by 2025”, where he discussed the challenges to adapt Africa’s wheat sector to climate change, and what CIMMYT is doing to help. Demand for wheat is growing faster than any other commodity, and sub-Saharan Africa has tremendous potential to increase wheat production. People in Africa consume nearly 47 million tons of wheat a year. However, more than 80% of that — 39 million tons— is imported and used for human consumption, costing the countries billions of dollars. Kropff discussed the great strides CIMMYT has made in supporting wheat production on the continent despite biological challenges such as Ug99, a dangerous strain of wheat rust native to east Africa.

“The potential for wheat production in Africa is tremendous; existing varieties already realize very high yields but poor agronomic practices often result in low yields,” Kropff said. “The challenges we have to tackle together are as much in reshaping policies in favor of wheat and develop the wheat market and surrounding infrastructure. Africa’s environment is friendly for wheat production, but it needs the right supporting policies to develop a sustainable wheat market.”

Kropff highlighted Ethiopia’s case. “Ethiopia has decided to become self-sufficient in wheat by 2025. CIMMYT is already talking to the government and working with the national system to assure the best varieties and technologies will be used. We are ready to do this with every single African nation that is interested in producing quality wheat.”

Farmer Galana Mulatu harvests a wheat research plot in Ethiopia. (Photo: P.Lowe/CIMMYT)
Farmer Galana Mulatu harvests a wheat research plot in Ethiopia. (Photo: P.Lowe/CIMMYT)

Climate change is also posing dire threats to maize, a key staple crop in sub-Saharan Africa.

We talked to Cosmos Magorokosho, CIMMYT researcher and project leader of the Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) project, who attended the dialogue, on what CIMMYT can do to better support farmers in Africa’s rural communities.

How can projects such as Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa contribute to protecting food security in Africa in the face of climate change?

Stress-tolerant maize varieties can contribute by cushioning farmers against total crop failures in case of drought and heat stress, among other stresses during the growing season. In addition, stress-tolerant varieties can also yield well under good growing conditions, therefore benefiting farmers both during difficult growing seasons as well as those seasons when conditions are favorable for maize growth.

What can be done to support rural areas and smallholder farmers in Africa to improve food security?

Rural areas and smallholder farmers need support with climate resilient crop varieties, supporting agronomic practices, environment conserving farming practices, labor and drudgery- reducing farm operations, access to affordable finance, and rewarding markets for their produce.

What role can international research organizations such as CIMMYT play in this?

International agricultural research can unlock the potential of small holder farmers through the generation of new appropriate technologies, testing and helping farmers adopt those technologies, refining and fine tuning of new technologies, as well as scaling up and out of farmer-demanded technologies. International agriculture research can influence policy across and within borders, political divide, religion, ecologies, and diversity of farmers.

What would it take for CIMMYT to effectively move science from the lab and package it into solutions that can be disseminated and adopted by majority of small family farms in Africa?

CIMMYT should keep and broaden its engagement with farmers, policy makers, and continue with capacity enhancement of partners to reach scale and bring new cutting-edge smallholder-farmer appropriate technologies to farmers’ fields in the shortest possible timeframe.

Breaking Ground: Anani Bruce guards Africa’s maize harvest from insect pests

Written by Mike Listman on . Posted in Features.

Anani Bruce, maize entomologist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) since 2013, is intensively engaged in an expert partnership supporting African maize farmers’ stand against deadly insect pests, especially fall armyworm and stem borers.

A moth species native to the Americas, fall armyworm was detected in Nigeria in 2016 and in less than three years has overrun sub-Saharan Africa’s maize growing regions. At its larval stage, it feeds on leaves and ears, causing annual harvest losses whose value can exceed $6 billion.

Bruce and his colleagues are rushing to develop maize varieties that feature native genetic resistance to fall armyworm and to arm farmers with locally suited control measures. Finding and strengthening native resistance in maize against the pest is a key pillar of integrated pest management.

“The fall armyworm is so challenging that there’s no single, easy fix,” said Bruce, who earned a PhD in Entomology at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) and Kenyatta University, Kenya, in 2008. “We are testing and promoting an integrated management approach which, along with host plant resistance, includes biological control, habitat management, good agronomic practices, safe chemicals, bio-pesticides, and botanical controls.”

“The costs and complexities of such practices are daunting, but farmers can learn if you help them and there is little alternative right now, given that maize is sub-Saharan Africa’s number-one staple food,” Bruce explained.

According to the scientist, breeding is also laborious, because potentially resistant maize plants must be tested under controlled, heavy infestations of insects and this is allowed only in net houses.

“Net houses don’t provide enough room to grow the large number of maize lines needed for rapid and effective breeding progress,” Bruce said. “Even so, we have promising leads on sources of moderate resistance from maize populations developed by CIMMYT in Mexico in the 1980s-90s.”

A case of switching environments and specialties

A native of Togo, a small West African country between Benin and Ghana, Bruce said he was first interested in studying mechanical engineering but did not get the opportunity at the University of Lomé, Togo, where he did his master’s studies in agronomy. A mentor instead suggested he pursue entomology, and he followed this up at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Cotonou, Benin, where he undertook research on stem borers as a part of his master’s thesis.

“Surprisingly, I found many parallels with mechanical engineering,” said Bruce, who is based at CIMMYT’s office in Kenya. “There is a vast number and diversity of insect species and their roles and interactions in natural systems are incredibly complex, just as occurs between components in mechanical systems.”

When Bruce moved to ICIPE under the African Regional Postgraduate Program in Insect Science (ARPPIS), he needed to add English to his native French and local languages, but said his first major cultural shock was actually dietary.

“In West Africa we usually eat our maize paste with a sauce,” he explained,” but when I sat down to eat in Kenya, I found that the maize paste called ugali was eaten only with milk or meat, a combination known as nyama choma.”

Despite that and other cultural differences, Bruce said he quickly acclimatized to his new work and study setting in eastern Africa.

Nursing maize’s enemies

At CIMMYT, Bruce provides technical backstopping for national research partners to rear maize stem borers and the fall armyworm, as part of breeding improved maize varieties with insect-pest resistance and other relevant traits.

“Special expertise and conditions are required to raise, transport, and apply the eggs or young larvae properly on experimental maize plants, so that infestation levels are as uniform as possible and breeders can identify genetically resistant plants,” Bruce said.

He has also worked with gene constructs from the bacteria known as Bacillus thurigiensis (Bt). When inserted into maize, the constructs bestow the crop with resistance against stem borer species.

“We have plans to deploy Bt maize in selected countries in eastern and southern Africa, but we are awaiting the resolution of regulatory hurdles,” he explained.

Bruce credits Fritz Schulthess, former IITA and ICIPE entomologist, with providing special inspiration and support for his studies and professional development.

“Fritz believes in sharing his scientific experience with upcoming scientists and in speaking his thoughts in black and white,” Bruce said. “He is a workaholic scientist who will review your paper even past midnight and expects your response before 6 am.”

New platform rapidly diagnoses wheat rust

Written by Mary Donovan on . Posted in In the media.

“Knowing which strain you have is critical information that can be incorporated into early warning systems and results in more effective control of disease outbreaks in farmer’s fields” said Dr. Dave Hodson, a rust pathologist at CIMMYT in Ethiopia and co-author of the paper “MARPLE, a point-of-care, strain-level disease diagnostics and surveillance tool for complex fungal pathogens.” Read more here.

A researcher holds an element of the MARPLE Diagnostics kit. (Video: John Innes Centre)

Using the MARPLE kit to diagnose wheat rust in Ethiopia

Written by Marcia MacNeil on . Posted in Videos. 6 Comments on Using the MARPLE kit to diagnose wheat rust in Ethiopia

MARPLE (Mobile and Real-time PLant disEase) Diagnostics is a revolutionary mobile lab developed by a team from the John Innes Centre (JIC), the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR). It uses nanopore sequence technology to rapidly diagnose and monitor wheat rust in farmers’ fields.

Designed to be used without constant electricity and in varying temperatures, the suitcase-sized lab allows researchers to identify wheat rust to strain level in just 48 hours — something that used to take months using other tools.

The MARPLE team was recognized as Innovator of the Year for international impact in 2019 by the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

A new video from the John Innes Centre shows how the MARPLE Diagnostics kit will allow Ethiopia to quickly identify wheat rust strains, instead of sending samples to labs abroad.

CIMMYT and CGIAR staff members put their tree seedlings in the ground. (Photo: CIMMYT)

CIMMYT and CGIAR staff join Ethiopia’s record-breaking tree-planting campaign

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on . Posted in News.

Staff members of CIMMYT and other CGIAR centers in Ethiopia participated in the country's nationwide campaign that resulted in the planting of more than 350 million trees in one single day. (Photo: CIMMYT)
Staff members of CIMMYT and other CGIAR centers in Ethiopia participated in the country’s nationwide campaign that resulted in the planting of more than 350 million trees in one single day. (Photo: CIMMYT)

July 29, 2019, was a remarkable day for Ethiopia. People across the country planted 353,633,660 tree seedlings in just 12 hours, according to the official count, in what is believed to be a world record. This figure also exceeded the target of a nationwide campaign calling citizens to plant 200 million trees in one day. This initiative was part of the Ethiopian government’s “Green Legacy” initiative, which aims to plant 4 billion trees by October.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and other CGIAR centers working in Ethiopia joined the tree-planting campaign. In the morning of July 29, staff members turned out at Adwa park, near Addis Ababa’s Bole International Airport, to plant tree seedlings. This activity was coordinated by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) after receiving an invitation from the Bole subcity administration.

Ethiopia’s tree-planting day received worldwide attention. Al Jazeera reported that, “in addition to ordinary Ethiopians, various international organizations and the business community have joined the tree planting spree which aims to overtake India’s 66 million planting record set in 2017.”

CIMMYT and CGIAR staff members put their tree seedlings in the ground. (Photo: CIMMYT)
CIMMYT and CGIAR staff members put their tree seedlings in the ground. (Photo: CIMMYT)

A greener future for CGIAR

Ethiopia’s reforestation efforts align with CGIAR’s sustainability strategy.

In its current business plan, CGIAR has five global challenges including planetary boundaries. Food systems are driving the unsustainable use of the planet’s increasingly fragile ecosystem. A stable climate, water, land, forests and the biodiversity they contain are a precious, yet finite, natural resource.  Food systems account for about one-third of greenhouse gas emissions and will be profoundly affected by its impacts. Agriculture is driving the loss of the world’s forests and productive land, with 5 million hectares of forests lost every year and a third of the world’s land already classified as degraded.  Agriculture accounts for about 70% of water withdrawals globally, is a major cause of water stress in countries where more than 2 billion people live, and water pollution from agricultural systems poses a serious threat to the world’s water systems.

With Ethiopia’s increasing population, there is a high pressure on farmland, unsustainable use of natural resources and deforestation.

At the Agriculture Research for Development Knowledge Share Fair organized in Addis Ababa on May 15, 2019, CGIAR centers demonstrated how they are working together to improve agriculture production and environmental sustainability, tackling local challenges and generating global impact in partnership with other organizations, communities and governments.

At the fair’s opening ceremony, Seleshi Bekele, Ethiopia’s Minister of Water, Irrigation and Electricity, noted that the country has policies, institutional arrangements as well as human and financial resources to work towards sustainability. As a result, Ethiopia has made remarkable achievements towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals with the continued support and contributions from partners like CGIAR. He also called CGIAR centers to support the efforts to plant 4 billion tree seedlings in 2019, as part of Ethiopia’s climate change adaptation and mitigation goals.

CIMMYT staff show their hands full of dirt after planting tree seedlings in Bole subcity, near Addis Ababa's international airport. (Photo: CIMMYT)
CIMMYT staff show their hands full of dirt after planting tree seedlings in Bole subcity, near Addis Ababa’s international airport. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Strengthening wheat production in Africa

Written by Mary Donovan on . Posted in In the media.

CIMMYT researcher Bekele Abeyo remarked at the International Wheat Congress that there are hardly any African countries self-sufficient in wheat, and that food security in Africa is dependent on wheat production.

Matthew Reynolds, CIMMYT researcher and head of the Heat and Drought Wheat Improvement Consortium (HeDWIC), noted that the consortium has already benefited nine African countries and stresses the importance of future work in this area.

Read more here.

Scientist Bekele Abeyo details research in Africa with BBC

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on . Posted in News.

CIMMYT’s representative in Ethiopia, Bekele Abeyo, gives an interview for Ethiopian media. (Photo: Jérôme Bossuet/CIMMYT)
CIMMYT’s representative in Ethiopia, Bekele Abeyo, gives an interview for Ethiopian media. (Photo: Jérôme Bossuet/CIMMYT)

Most African countries have good potential for boosting wheat production if they are supported with technology, innovation and research, said Bekele Abeyo, a senior scientist with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).

Abeyo, who is based in Ethiopia, which is one of the top wheat-producing countries in Africa, was speaking to BBC Newsday from the International Wheat Congress in the city of Saskatoon in Canada’s western wheat growing province of Saskatchewan.

Interview starts at 31:00:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w172wpkb45wc459

In Ethiopia, a third of local demand is satisfied by imports, Abeyo said, adding that to reduce import bills, the government is trying to expand wheat production and irrigation in the lowlands where there is high potential for wheat production.

Climate change in Ethiopia and across sub-Saharan Africa is affecting yields, so scientists are working on producing drought-tolerant varieties of wheat. They are also producing biofortified varieties of wheat to help meet nutritional demand for zinc and iron.

More than 800 delegates, including researchers from the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat, CIMMYT, the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), the International Wheat Yield Partnership (IWYP), Cornell University’s Delivering Genetic Gain in Wheat project (DGGW), the University of Saskatchewan and many other organizations are discussing the latest research on wheat germplasm.

The CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (WHEAT), led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), is a founding member of the G20 Wheat Initiative, a co-host of the conference.

Wheat provides 20% of all human calories consumed worldwide. In the Global South, it is the main source of protein and a critical source of life for 2.5 billion people who live on less than $2 a day. Wheat is central to conversations about the rural environment, agricultural biodiversity and global food security.

Farmers in Katitu, Machakos County, evaluate maize varieties at a trial plot. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

What farmers want

Written by Jérôme Bossuet on . Posted in Features.

Tabitha Kamau, 29, is scrutinizing a maize demonstration plot on which 12 different varieties were planted in November 2018. “What I am looking for is a maize variety that produces a lot, even when there is scarce rainfall,” says the single mother of three, who lives in Katheini, in Kenya’s Machakos County, on a quarter of an acre of land.

Together with 350 other smallholder farmers from Katheini and neighboring villages, Kamau is assessing the maize crops and ranking them based on her preferred traits.

Like her peers when asked what makes a good maize variety, she gives high scores to drought-tolerant varieties and those that can yield large and nicely filled cobs despite the dry spell that has affected the area over the last two months.

For five years, Kamau has been planting KDV4, a drought-tolerant open pollinated variety on the family land and another piece of leased plot. This early variety matures in 100 to 110 days and is adapted to dry mid-altitude conditions.

Tabitha Kamau examines drought-tolerant KDV4 maize in her plot in the village of Kavilinguni, Machakos County, Kenya. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

KDV4 was released by the Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) using the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)’s germplasm. It is currently marketed by Dryland Seed Limited and Freshco Seeds, targeting farmers in the water-stressed counties of Kitui, Machakos and Makueni, in the lower eastern regions of Kenya.

The early maturing of varieties like KDV4 presents a good opportunity for its adopters, says Kamau. “If I am able to harvest in three and a half months or less, compared to four months or more for other varieties, I can sell some grain to neighbors still awaiting their harvest who want to feed their families.”

“I heard of new varieties that can germinate well and produce lots of leaves,” explains Catherine Musembi. This farmer from Kivaani looks for maize that performs well even under heat and drought. She likes maize plants with high biomass, as the foliage is used to feed the family’s three cows and two goats.

An enumerator (left) collects a farmer’s details and socioeconomic data before she participates in the evaluation of maize varieties. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)
An enumerator (left) collects a farmer’s details and socioeconomic data before she participates in the evaluation of maize varieties. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Farmers’ picks

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) has been undertaking participatory maize variety evaluations since 2016 in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Every year, during the main maize growing season, researchers plant on-farm trials that can be evaluated by farmers.

Kamau and Musembi attended a selection trial in Machakos County, facilitated by a team from KALRO on February 18-19, 2019. This exercise was part of the 2018 mid-season evaluations, which were followed up by end-season assessments a month later.

Participatory farmer evaluations are used to give crucial feedback to CIMMYT’s maize breeding work. First, farmers get an opportunity to state what traits are important for them and rank them according to their importance. Then, participants evaluate varieties planted in the trial and give a score on individual trait and the overall performance for each variety planted. And they conclude the exercise by rating the best three plots.

In the drier eastern part of Kenya, farmers might be more interested in traits such as drought tolerance, early maturity and disease resistance. In central Kenya, where dairy farming is commonly practiced, a variety with more biomass could be preferred.

“Our work is to tease out the information regarding which traits contribute to a good score in the overall score,” explains Bernard Munyua, a socioeconomics research assistant at CIMMYT. Statistical analysis of the farmers’ score cards will reveal if the initial rating of criteria plays a strong role in the final overall appreciation of a variety. For instance, farmers may give high importance to height or biomass, yet it may not play a role in their ranking of best varieties.

“Such data is important for maize breeders to support future variety improvement work,” Munyua notes. “Moreover, by disaggregating the farmers opinions by region and socioeconomic attributes such as gender, education and income, we can define the priority traits by region or farmers’ socioeconomic profiles. It helps better target maize breeding work according to the needs on the ground and gives useful knowledge to seed companies for their seed marketing strategy,” he adds.

For instance, in the drier eastern part of Kenya, farmers might be more interested in traits such as drought tolerance, early maturity and disease resistance. In central Kenya, where dairy farming is commonly practiced, a variety with more biomass could be preferred. In western Kenya, they could be more interested in grain yields and cob characteristics to improve their sales after harvest.

Agnes Nthambi (left) and other farmers evaluate maize varieties developed through CIMMYT’s Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) project. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)
Agnes Nthambi (left) and other farmers evaluate maize varieties developed through CIMMYT’s Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) project. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Agnes Nthambi, the farmer who hosted the demonstration plot, is very positive about her participation, as she learned about some of the ideal agronomic practices as well as the performance of new varieties. “On this trial, I learned that spacing was about two times shorter than we are generally used to. Even with the more constricted spacing, the maize has performed much better than what we are used to seeing,” she says. She also learned that fertilizer is applied at the time of planting. In her case, she normally applies fertilizer much later after germination has already occurred.

Nthambi says her family cannot afford losing both the fertilizer and the seed in case the rains fail. This time, she expects a good harvest from the one-acre farm, to supplement her family’s income.

Breaking Ground: Munyaradzi Mutenje tailors innovations to farmers needs

Written by Carolyn Cowan on . Posted in Features.

Sometimes innovations fail to make an impact. Take 3D televisions, for example; launched at a large scale more than a decade ago, they did not achieve the expected commercial success. On paper, the technology was an affordable and thrilling breakthrough in home entertainment, but in practice many viewers failed to embrace it due to poor implementation. Today, it has largely fallen by the wayside.

Farming innovations can suffer similar fates if product designers do not consider the overall socioeconomic picture during development, warns Munyaradzi Mutenje, an agricultural economist with the Socioeconomics program of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).

“When the direct seed drill was first launched in Zimbabwe, farmers did not take to it,” Mutenje explains. “Here was a technology that could reduce the drudgery of hand sowing — vastly reducing labor costs and saving time — but no one wanted it. The scientists asked ‘why is no-one adopting this seed drill we designed? It solves so many production challenges… Why don’t people want it?’”

It transpired that women, who constitute a significant portion of the farming community in Zimbabwe, simply found the direct seed drill too heavy and awkward for practical use. They chose to stick with traditional farming methods and were skeptical of the new technology. In short, the product was not designed with the end user in mind.

Design that meets farmers’ needs

Mutenje stands next to a demonstration plot of maize during a field day organized by CIMMYT and Agriseeds. (Photo: CIMMYT)
Mutenje stands next to a demonstration plot of maize during a field day organized by CIMMYT and Agriseeds. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Mutenje works in close association with CIMMYT’s sustainable intensification team in Zimbabwe, adding value by opening a dialogue with many different types of farmers. “From the basket of sustainable intensification technologies available, which one is appropriate for each type of farmer?” she asks herself when designing new interventions.

Technologies can seem good to scientists, but they might not be suitable for farmers, who operate within a system of which agriculture is only one component.

“You have to look at the situation from the farmers’ perspective,” Mutenje explains. “In order to assess the economic viability of innovations and to understand how and where to target them, we have to look at factors like social acceptance and cultural barriers that might constrain adoption within farming communities.”

Once technologies are rolled out to farmers, it is vital to seek feedback about the demand for new, and reviews of existing, technologies. This allows scientists to tailor their innovations to the needs and objectives of farmers.

“When we design technologies that meet farmers’ needs because we have interacted with them and understood the whole system; that is our greatest impact.”

All roads lead to CIMMYT

Growing up on a farm in rural Zimbabwe instilled in Mutenje a deep respect for women’s role in agriculture in southern Africa. With her father engaged in off-farm work, her mother tended the farm. She grew curious about household decision-making and was inspired to pursue a career in agricultural science, first studying at the University of Zimbabwe before obtaining her doctoral degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa with a thesis on the effects of AIDS on rural livelihoods.

“I was inspired by the multidisciplinary nature of science and how its application to farming allows scientists to directly help feed people and really transform people’s lives.”

During her undergraduate studies, Mutenje learned from CIMMYT scientists who offered her class practical agronomic examples and taught the students how to apply data analysis to solve complex problems. Fascinated by the power of data to elucidate patterns that can help scientists, she resolved, “One day I will work for CIMMYT to address food and nutritional security issues in southern Africa!”

In 2012, her aspirations became reality as she joined CIMMYT in Zimbabwe as a postdoctoral fellow. Today, she is a CIMMYT scientist.

Work that sparks joy

Working with the CIMMYT sustainable intensification program on projects spanning five countries in southern Africa, Mutenje finds joy in working alongside partners as part of a large team. “You become one big family,” she reflects.

She feels pride in working with smallholder farmers and transforming their livelihoods through science. By boosting the knowledge and potential of women in particular, she believes that sustainable, positive change is possible.

“Women are the custodians of food and nutritional security, so we need to understand their challenges and opportunities. If you help women and offer them training, their impact will go far since they will pass their knowledge on to their children.”

Mutenje carries out a qualitative vulnerability assessment in Bvukuru community, Masvingo province, Zimbabwe, to feed into a study for a project funded by the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA) and Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ). (Photo: CIMMYT)
Mutenje carries out a qualitative vulnerability assessment in Bvukuru community, Masvingo province, Zimbabwe, to feed into a study for a project funded by the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA) and Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ). (Photo: CIMMYT)

Policy change to help farmers

Although working directly with farmers is what Mutenje enjoys the most, she concedes that prompting widespread change often calls for deeper scrutiny of the value chain, to identify bottlenecks that constrain adoption. Gathering empirical data and presenting evidence of the complete story to policymakers has enabled Mutenje to influence policy change on a national scale.

“In Mozambique, we discovered fertilizer costs were too high for farmers, so they were missing out on a technology that would enable increased yields.”

Mutenje’s work analyzed the whole system and found the import tax on fertilizer component materials was too high and that manufacturers were simply handing that cost down to the farmers. By highlighting this issue to government representatives, she triggered a change in import tax policy. This initiative resulted in fertilizer prices that are affordable to farmers, facilitating improved yields and livelihoods.

“An evidence-based approach, based on quantitative and qualitative data from multiple sources allows scientists to present the complete story,” she explains. “Armed with this, we can convince policymakers to make changes to help farmers and improve food security.”

People eat local injera flatbread made of maize. (Photo: Simret Yasabu/CIMMYT)

Ethiopian farmers weatherproof their livelihoods

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on . Posted in Features.

Many maize farmers in sub-Saharan Africa grow old varieties that do not cope well under drought conditions. In the Oromia region of Ethiopia, farmer Sequare Regassa is improving her family’s life by growing the newer drought-tolerant maize variety BH661. This hybrid was developed by the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), using CIMMYT’s drought-tolerant inbred lines and one of EIAR’s lines. It was then officially released in 2011 by the EIAR as part of the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and continued under the Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) initiative.

“Getting a good maize harvest every year, even when it does not rain much, is important for my family’s welfare,” said Regassa, a widow and mother of four, while feeding her granddaughter with white injera, a flat spongy bread made of white grain maize.

Since her husband died, Regassa has been the only breadwinner. Her children have grown up and established their own families, but the whole extended family makes a living from their eight-hectare farm in Guba Sayo district.

Sequare Regassa (wearing green) and her family stand for a group photo at their farm. (Photo: Simret Yasabu/CIMMYT)
Sequare Regassa (wearing green) and her family stand for a group photo at their farm. (Photo: Simret Yasabu/CIMMYT)

On the two hectares Regassa cultivates on her own, she rotates maize with pepper, sweet potato and anchote, a local tuber similar to cassava. Like many farming families in the region, she grows maize mainly for household food consumption, prepared as bread, soup, porridge and snacks.

Maize represents a third of cereals grown in Ethiopia. It is cheaper than wheat or teff — a traditional millet grain — and in poor households it can be mixed with teff to make the national staple, injera.

In April, as Regassa was preparing the land for the next cropping season, she wondered if rains would be good this year, as the rainy season was coming later than usual.

In this situation, choice of maize variety is crucial.

She used to plant a late-maturing hybrid released more than 25 years ago, BH660, the most popular variety in the early 2000s. However, this variety was not selected for drought tolerance. Ethiopian farmers face increasing drought risks which severely impact crop production, like the 2015 El Nino dry spell, leading to food insecurity and grain price volatility.

Sequare Regassa sorts maize grain. (Photo: Simret Yasabu/CIMMYT)
Sequare Regassa sorts maize grain. (Photo: Simret Yasabu/CIMMYT)

Laborious development for fast-track adoption

Under the DTMA project, maize breeders from CIMMYT and the Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research (EIAR) developed promising drought-tolerant hybrids which perform well under drought and normal conditions. After a series of evaluations, BH661 emerged as the best candidate with 10% better on-farm grain yield, higher biomass production, shorter maturity and 34% reduction in lodging, compared to BH660.

The resulting BH661 variety was released in 2011 for commercial cultivation in the mid-altitude sub-humid and transition highlands.

The year after, as farmers experienced drought, the Ethiopian extension service organized BH661 on-farm demonstrations, while breeders from CIMMYT and EIAR organized participatory varietal selection trials. Farmers were impressed by the outstanding performances of BH661 during these demos and trials and asked for seeds right away.

Seed companies had to quickly scale up certified seed production of BH661. The STMA project team assisted local seed companies in this process, through trainings and varietal trials. Companies decided to replace the old hybrid, BH660.

Comparison of the amount of certified seed production of BH660 (blue) and BH661 (red) from 2012 to 2018. (Graph: Ertiro B.T. et al. 2019)
Comparison of the amount of certified seed production of BH660 (blue) and BH661 (red) from 2012 to 2018. (Source: Ertiro B.T. et al. 2019)

“In addition to drought tolerance, BH661 is more resistant to important maize diseases like Turcicum leaf blight and grey leaf spot,” explained Dagne Wegary, a maize breeder at CIMMYT. “For seed companies, there is no change in the way the hybrid is produced compared to BH660, but seed production of BH661 is much more cost-effective.”

EIAR’s Bako National Maize Research Center supplied breeder seeds to several certified seed producers: Amhara Seed Enterprise (ASE), Bako Agricultural Research Center (BARC), Ethiopian Seed Enterprise (ESE), Oromia Seed Enterprise (OSE) and South Seed Enterprise (SSE). Certified seeds were then distributed through seed companies, agricultural offices and non-governmental organizations, with the technical and extension support of research centers.

Sequare Regassa stands next to her fields holding a wooden farming tool. (Photo: Simret Yasabu/CIMMYT)
Sequare Regassa stands next to her fields holding a wooden farming tool. (Photo: Simret Yasabu/CIMMYT)

From drought risk to clean water

After witnessing the performance of BH661 in a neighbor’s field, Regassa asked advice from her local extension officer and decided to use it. She is now able to produce between 11-12 tons per hectare. She said her family life has changed forever since she started planting BH661.

With higher maize grain harvest, she is now able to better feed her chickens, sheep and cattle. She also sells some surplus at the local market and uses the income for her family’s needs.

Sequare Regassa feeds her granddaughter with maize injera. (Photo: Simret Yasabu/CIMMYT)
Sequare Regassa feeds her granddaughter with maize injera. (Photo: Simret Yasabu/CIMMYT)

“If farmers follow the recommended fertilizer application and other farming practices, BH661 performs much better than the old BH660 variety,” explained Regassa. “If we experience a drought, it may be not that bad thanks to BH661’s drought tolerance.”

Regassa buys her improved seeds from the Bako Research Station, as well as from farmers’ cooperative unions. These cooperatives access seeds from seed companies and sell to farmers in their respective districts. “Many around me are interested in growing BH661. Sometimes we may get less seeds than requested as the demand exceeds the supply,” Regassa said.

She observed that maize prices have increased in recent years. A 100 kg bag of maize that used to sell for 200–400 Ethiopian birr (about $7–14) now sells for 600–700 Ethiopian birr (about $20–23). With the increased farmers’ wealth in her village, families were able to pay collectively for the installation of a communal water point to get easy access to clean water.

“Like women’s role in society, no one can forget the role maize has in our community. It feeds us, it feeds our animals, and cobs are used as fuel. A successful maize harvest every year is a boon for our village,” Regassa concluded.

The video crew sets up the interview with Ms Nduku. (Photo: Jerome Bossuet/CIMMYT)

Bill Gates highlights impact of CIMMYT’s drought-tolerant maize

Written by Jérôme Bossuet on . Posted in News.

 

In a blog post and video released today, Bill Gates talks about the essential role the CGIAR system plays in feeding the world. He highlights the work the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is doing to develop and spread the use of drought-tolerant maize varieties. “One of the leading CGIAR research centers is CIMMYT, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center. They are working on improvements to maize that are more productive, that are resistant to drought and diseases. It’s a leading example of the amazing work the CGIAR system does to help smallholder farmers,” Gates says.

In 2018, Bill Gates launched a campaign about climate change, because he worried not enough people understood the dimensions of the problem. In a previous blog post, he reminded readers that not only the energy sector is concerned, but also “the other 75%” — in particular agriculture and food systems. We need innovations to reduce our carbon footprint, Gates explained, but also to help the most vulnerable to cope with the effects of growing climate risks.

Rainfed smallholder farming families in sub-Saharan Africa are particularly at risk, as their livelihoods depend on unpredictable rainfall patterns. By the 2030s drought and rising temperatures could render 40% of the continent’s maize-growing area unsuitable for current varieties.

Drought-tolerant maize varieties could improve the climate resilience and the livelihoods of millions family farmers across Africa. The innovations offered by these varieties are affordable and scalable.

Behind the scenes

The video crew films and interview in a seed storage room. (Photo: Jerome Bossuet/CIMMYT)
The video crew films and interview in a seed storage room. (Photo: Jerome Bossuet/CIMMYT)

A team from Gates Notes came to drought-prone Machakos county in Kenya to visit farmers who are growing drought-tolerant hybrid maize. This variety, developed by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and sold in the county by Dryland Seeds Limited under the SAWA brand, can yield up to 20% more than other drought-tolerant hybrids, explained the company’s managing director, Ngila Kimotho.

Despite limited rainfall in the village of Vyulya, Veronica Nduku harvested well-filled maize cobs. Her neighbour, who grows a local variety, had a less successful harvest.

CIMMYT developed these varieties under the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) initiative, a ten-year project which finished in 2015. This work is continuing under the Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) initiative, which is developing maize varieties that cope well with drought and other climate stresses. So far 3.5 million farmers in 13 African countries are benefitting from stress-tolerant maize varieties.

 

The video crew sets up the interview with Veronica Nduku. (Photo: Jerome Bossuet/CIMMYT)
The video crew sets up the interview with Veronica Nduku. (Photo: Jerome Bossuet/CIMMYT)

Women and youth find profitable business pathways through small-scale mechanization

Written by Shiela Chikulo on . Posted in News.

Mechanization demonstration during a field visit to Makonde, Zimbabwe, as part of the FACASI Phase 2 final review meeting. Photo: Shiela Chikulo/CIMMYT

African farmers have ten times fewer mechanized tools per farm area than farmers in other developing regions, according to the Malabo Panel’s mechanization report. For the past six years, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) funded Farm Mechanization and Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Intensification (FACASI) project has explored ways to address poor access to appropriate mechanization solutions, which is costing smallholders a lot in lost productivity.

“One of the key outcomes of the FACASI initiative has been to present women and youth with pathways into diverse profitable income generating businesses using small mechanization,” says Alice Woodhead, professor in rural economies at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia. Woodhead shared her impressions following a field visit to Makonde, in northwestern Zimbabwe, as part of the FACASI Phase 2 final review meeting held in May. Almost 40 public and private sector project partners from Zimbabwe and Ethiopia attended the event in Harare as well as ACIAR representatives.

Farm machinery: women entrepreneurs thrive on two wheels

Agatha Dzvengwe and Marianne Jaji shared their business experience as two-wheel tractor (2WT) service providers in Makonde. The 2WT, which can be used for multiple purposes from transporting, planting, fertilizer application and shelling, allows them to plant efficiently and provides additional income through hiring out their tractors to neighboring farmers. For instance, during the 2018/19 season, Dzvengwe used the Fitarelli planter to plant ten hectares of maize, two hectares of sugar beans and five hectares of soybeans. Because of the planter’s efficiency, she had enough extra time to hire out planting services to neighboring farmers, earning $100 for one hectare of maize, and double for the planting of soybean or sugar beans.

Marianne Jaji provides 2WT based shelling services, which she says generates steady income for her household, enabling her to contribute to important household decisions. Despite the 2018/19 season being characterized by drought, Jaji was confident that she could still earn a decent income from neighboring farmers engaging the 2WT harvesting services. Other women service providers reported relief from labor drudgery and empowerment. “We have been freed from the burden of toiling in the field. Now that I own a 2WT, the society respects me more.”

“In a business dominated by men, women like Agatha and Marianne can become successful entrepreneurs, providing crucial farming services for the community such as shelling, planting and transport,” explains Bertha Tandayi, a FACASI research assistant at the University of Zimbabwe, where she studies the adoption of 2WT based technologies by women entrepreneurs in Makonde and Nyanga districts.

Small-scale mechanization has higher adoption rates in areas where the most profitable services are provided, such as shelling. The benefits for entrepreneurs and the community are visible and include the creation of employment, home renovations, asset accumulation, livestock rearing, borehole drilling and the purchasing of agricultural inputs.

Mechanization demonstration during a field visit to Makonde, Zimbabwe, as part of the FACASI Phase 2 final review meeting. Photo: Shiela Chikulo/CIMMYT

Sustainable shelling enterprise for Mwanga youth group

Since establishing their enterprise in 2016 following training under the FACASI project, the Mwanga youth group is still going strong in Makonde. During a live demonstration of the medium sized sheller, Masimba Mawire remarked that the shelling business has provided steady and reliable income for the group. Brothers Shepherd and Pinnot Karwizi added that the group has gained from further training in maintenance, facilitated through the FACASI project. “It is evident that the youths have found a way to work as a business team, giving them purpose and to realize aspirations of being a business owner and not just an employee,” said Woodhead.

Of the services provided through the 2WT technologies, shelling services are in greatest demand, as this simple technology significantly reduces the time spent on shelling maize cobs. A medium sized sheller, for example, produces between five and six tons of shelled maize grain per day, over ten times more than manual shelling.

The combined benefits of income, reduced drudgery and high efficiency of the 2WT based technologies have transformed the lives of the youths and women services providers. Confident in their future, they plan to expand their business portfolios, looking at value addition options such as post-harvest processing of other crops.