Participants of the AGG Maize Mid-Term Review and Planning Meeting at CIMMYT’s Maize Lethal Necrosis Screening Facility in Naivasha, Kenya. (Photo: Dokta Jonte Photography)
The Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat (AGG) Project, which is halfway through its implementation, continues to register impressive achievements. At a meeting focusing on the projectâs Maize component, held in Nairobi during July 25-28, B.M. Prasanna, Director of the Global Maize Program at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), highlighted the projectâs major achievements in the opening session.
âOne of the most important achievements of this project is increasing use of powerful tools and technologies to increase genetic gains in maize breeding pipelines in Africa,” said Prasanna. He noted that the AGG partners are showing keen interest in doubled haploid-based maize breeding. Prasanna pointed out that currently work is ongoing to produce third-generation tropicalized haploid inducers which, in combination with molecular markers, will support accelerated development of improved maize germplasm, a key objective of the AGG Project.
Prasanna also pointed out a significant increase in adoption of stress-tolerant maize in Africa â from less than half a million hectares cultivated under stress tolerant maize varieties in 2010, to 7.2 million hectares currently in 13 African countries, benefitting 44.5 million people. He explained that drought-tolerant maize is not only a productivity enhancing tool but also an innovation for improving the welfare of farmers. âIt reduces the probability of crop failure by 30 percent and provides an extra income to farmers at a rate of approximately $240 USD per hectare, equivalent to about nine months of food for a family at no additional cost,” he said, adding that the essence of research is taking improved genetics to farmers and impacting their lives.
He noted there is remarkable progress in maize varietal turnover in sub-Saharan Africa, pointing out particularly efforts in Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, where old maize varieties, some dating as far back as 1988, have been replaced with newer climate-resilient varieties. Prasanna highlighted the need to engage with policy makers to put in place appropriate legislation that can accelerate replacement of old or obsolete varieties with improved genetics.
Prasanna stressed on the importance of rapid response to transboundary diseases and insect-pests. CIMMYT has established fall armyworm (FAW) screening facility at Kiboko, Kenya, and that more than 10,000 maize germplasm entries have been screened over the last three years. He applauded South Sudan for being the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to recently release three CIMMYT-developed FAW-tolerant hybrids. He said CIMMYTâs FAW-tolerant inbred lines have been shared with 92 institutions, both public and private, in 34 countries globally since 2018.
Kevin Pixley, CIMMYT Global Genetic Resources Director and Deputy Director General, Breeding and Genetics, encouraged the participants to continuously reflect on making innovative contributions through the AGG project, to serve smallholder farmers and other stakeholders, and to offer sustainable solutions to the food crisis that plagues the world.
B.M. Prasanna addresses partners at the KALRO Kiboko Research station in Kenya during an AGG field visit. (Photo: Dokta Jonte Photography)
Synergies across crops and teams
Pixley pointed out that though the meetingâs focus was on maize, the AGG Project has both maize and wheat components, and the potential for learning between the maize and wheat teams would benefit many, especially with the innovative strides in research from both teams.
Pixley referenced a recent meeting in Ethiopia with colleagues from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and CIMMYT, where discussions explored collaboration among CGIAR centers and other stakeholders in strengthening work on cowpea, chickpea, beans, sorghum, millet and groundnut crops. He noted that maize, wheat and the aforementioned crops are all critical in achieving the mission of CGIAR.
âCIMMYT has been requested, since August of last year, by CGIAR to initiate research projects on sorghum, millet and groundnut because these crops are critical to the success of achieving the mission of CGIAR,” said Pixley. “So, we have recently initiated work on the Accelerated Varietal Improvement and Seed Systems in Africa (AVISA) project together with partners. This is the first step towards OneCGIAR. Itâs about synergies across crops and teams.”
Collaborative research commended
The meetingâs Chief Guest, Felister Makini, Deputy Director General â Crops of the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO), commended the collaborative research undertaken by CIMMYT and other CGIAR partners. She noted that the partnerships continue to build on synergies that strengthen institutional financial, physical and human resources. She attested that collaboration between KALRO and CGIAR dates back to the 1980s, beginning with training in maize breeding, and then subsequent collaboration on developing climate-adaptive improved maize varieties and training of KALRO technicians in maize lethal necrosis (MLN) screening and management among other areas.
Maize and wheat are staple food sources in Kenya and sub-Saharan Africa and as the population increases, new methods and approaches must be found to accelerate development and deployment of improved maize and wheat varieties. She challenged the partners to intensify research and come out with high-yielding varieties that are resistant or tolerant to a wide range of biotic and abiotic stresses.
The Inaugural Session also featured remarks from the representatives of the AGG funders â Gary Atlin from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Jonna Davis from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), and John Derera from IITA, an AGG project partner.
A total of 116 participants, including representatives from National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in 13 AGG-Maize partner countries in Africa and seed companies, participated in the meeting. Participants also visited the KALRO-CIMMYT MLN Screening Facility at Naivasha, and KALRO-CIMMYT maize experiments at Kiboko, Kenya, including the work being done at the maize doubled haploid and FAW facilities.
Cooperative farmers receive training on operation of a mobile seed cleaner in Oromia, Ethiopia. (Credit: Dessalegn Molla/GIZ)
Itâs a familiar problem in international agricultural development â a project with external funding and support has achieved impressive early results, but the money is running out, the time is growing short, and thereâs not a clear plan in place to continue and extend the programâs success.
Over the past seven years, the German development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft fĂŒr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) established Green Innovation Centers in 13 countries in Africa and two in Asia, partnering with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) to support projects that introduce mechanization in a way that improves long-term food security and prompts economic growth. Now, as the project enters its final two years of funding, GIZ and CIMMYT are focused on ensuring the gains produced by the Green Innovation Centers are not lost.
Like any complex challenge, thereâs not just one solution to the sustainability problem â but CIMMYT is working to address a massive question around why pilots fail in agricultural development by implementing a systematic approach to scalability that recognizes the critical importance of context and puts projects on a sustainable path before the money is gone.
Training the trainers
As the Green Innovation Centers enter a crucial, final stage, a CIMMYT-led team recently completed training for seven GIZ staff from Ivory Coast, Togo, Ethiopia, and Zambia, who are now certified to facilitate CIMMYTâs Scaling Scan tool and train others to put agricultural innovations in their home countries on a solid path for growth. The training team included CIMMYT scaling advisor Lennart Woltering, CIMMYT mechanization support specialist Leon Jamann, and students from Germanyâs University of Hohenheim and Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University.
The Scaling Scan is a practical tool that helps users set a defined growth ambition, analyze their readiness to scale using ten core ingredients, and identify specific areas that need attention in order to reach the scaling ambition.
The GIZ staff learned to use the Scaling Scan by applying it to early stage innovations in their home countries, ranging from commercial fodder production in the Southern Province of Zambia to seed value chains in the Oromia and Amhara regions of Ethiopia.
Mohammed, a farmer in Amhara, Ethiopia, with a fistful of wheat on his farm. (Credit: Mulugeta Gebrekidan/GIZ)
What will scale up in Ethiopia?
In Ethiopia, smallholding farmers producing legumes, wheat and maize struggle to increase their yield to a level that can improve food security, generate higher incomes for producers and their families, and promote economic growth and jobs in agricultural communities. To help smallholders develop sustainable solutions, GIZ senior advisor Molla Dessalegn worked with his Green Innovation Center team to brainstorm and launch a range of 20 proposed innovations â from risk mitigation and new contract structures to introduction of new technology â all with the aim of improving agricultural yields.
To date, these innovations have introduced over 200,000 Ethiopian smallholders to new knowledge and practices to improve their output. But with the project exit bearing down, Molla and his team were eager to identify which innovations held the most promise for survival and growth beyond the endpoint. So they put their pilot projects to the test using the Scaling Scan.
The scan involves an intensive, day-long seminar originally designed for in-person delivery, but remote versions have also proved successful as COVID limited global travel. The scan focuses on thorough analysis and scoring of the current state of a pilot project and its potential for growth given the realities of conditions on the ground.
Facilitators lead project managers through evaluation of the ten ingredients required for successful scaling, from finance and collaboration to technology, know-how, and public sector governance. The outcome is a clear data set assessing the scalability of the pilot and directing attention to specific areas where improvement is needed before a project can expect serious growth.
An unexpected outcome
What emerged from the scan surprised Molla. Some of the strategies he saw as most successful in the early stages, such as a contract farming program, scored poorly, whereas the scan identified deployment of mobile seed cleaners as a solution that held particular promise for scalability. These outcomes prompted the team to refocus efforts on this strategy.
About 95 percent of Ethiopian smallholders rely on informal seed systems, either saving and reusing seed or exchanging low quality seed with other farmers. Seed cleaning plays a critical role in helping farmers build a high quality, high yield seed development system. Molla and his team had already worked with smallholder cooperatives in Oromia to distribute three mobile seed cleaners, and they knew these machines were being heavily relied upon by farmers in this region.
The Scaling Scan showed them, among other things, that the successful adoption of the seed cleaners had even more potential â it was an innovation that could be sustained and even expanded by local stakeholders, including the Ministry of Agriculture.
This result prompted Molla to recommend investment in additional mobile seed cleaners â four to serve cooperatives in the Amhara region and a fifth for the West Arsi district in Oromia. These machines are now in operation and helping additional smallholders improve the quality of their seed stock. This initial expansion confirms the Scaling Scan results â and CIMMYT plans to continue supporting this growth with the purchase of another round of seed cleaners.
The Scaling Scan also identified problems with the business model for sustaining the mobile seed cleaners through cooperatives in Ethiopia, and this outcome directed the Green Innovation Centers to partner with a consultant to develop improvements in this area. In this way, one of the most important values of the scan is its ability to guide decision-making.
Scaling up the future
Seed cleaners alone wonât solve every yield problem for Ethiopian farmers, but the scan has now guided the initial implementation â and contextual adaptation â of a new form of agricultural mechanization across two regions of the country, with the promise of more to come.
And thereâs more to come from the Scaling Scan as well.
Now that heâs received certification as a trainer, Molla plans to help farmers, officials, and other development workers adopt this rigorous approach to evaluating innovations that show potential. When funding for his project ends in 2024, he will be leaving 300,000 smallholders in Ethiopia with more than machines â he will be leaving them with the knowledge, experience, and practices to make the most of the technological solutions that are improving their yields today and building a more secure future for their communities.
Written by Bea Ciordia on . Posted in Uncategorized.
MARPLE (Mobile And Real-time PLant disEase) diagnostics is a new innovative approach for fungal crop pathogen diagnostics developed by Diane Saundersâs team at the John Innes Centre.
MARPLE is the first operational system in the world using nanopore sequencing for rapid diagnostics and surveillance of complex fungal pathogens in situ. Generating results in 48 hours of field sampling, this new digital diagnostic strategy is leading revolutionary changes in plant disease diagnostics. Rapid strain level diagnostics are essential to quickly find new emergent strains and guide appropriate control measures.
Through this project, CIMMYT will:
Deploy and scale MARPLE to priority geographies and diseases as part of the Current and Emerging Threats to Crops Innovation Lab led by Penn State University / PlantVillage and funded by USAID’s Feed the Future.
Build national partner capacity for advanced disease diagnostics. We will focus geographically on Ethiopia, Kenya and Nepal for deployment of wheat stripe and stem rust diagnostics, with possible expansion to Bangladesh and Zambia (wheat blast).
Integrate this new in-country diagnostic capacity with recently developed disease forecasting models and early warning systems. Already functional for wheat stripe rust, the project plans to expand MARPLE to incorporate wheat stem rust and wheat blast.
Participants of the kick-off meeting for the Ukama Ustawi Initiative stand for a group photo in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Mwihaki Mundia/ILRI)
Partners of CGIARâs new regional integrated Initiative in eastern and southern Africa held a kick-off meeting in Nairobi on March 2â3, 2022. Eighty-five people participated, including national agricultural research extension programs, government representatives, private sector actors, funders and national and regional agricultural research and development organizations.
Entitled Ukama Ustawi, the Initiative aims to support climate-smart agriculture and livelihoods in 12 countries in eastern and southern Africa: Kenya, Zambia, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe (in Phase 1); Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda (in Phase 2); and Eswatini, Madagascar, Mozambique and South Africa (in Phase 3).
The Initiative aims to help millions of smallholders intensify, diversify and de-risk maize-mixed farming through improved extension services, institutional capacity strengthening, targeted farm management bundles, policy support, enterprise development and private investment.
Ukama Ustawi is a bilingual word derived from the Shona and Swahili languages. In Shona, Ukama refers to partnerships, and in Swahili, Ustawi means well-being and development. Together, they resemble the vision for the Initiative to achieve system-level development through innovative partnerships.
The meeting brought together partners to get to know each other, understand roles and responsibilities, identify priorities for 2022, and review the cross-cutting programmatic underpinnings of Ukama Ustawi â including gender and social inclusion, capacity strengthening and learning.
Baitsi Podisi, representing the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA), said he is excited to be part of the Initiative: “CCARDESA, in its cooperation and coordination mandate, can learn a lot from CGIAR in restructuring to respond to the changing times.â Podisi supported the partnership with CGIAR in the Initiativeâs embedded approach to policy dialogue, working with partners such as CCARDESA, the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) and the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN).
Similarly, FANRPANâs Francis Hale emphasized the need not to re-invent the wheel but to work with partners who already have a convening power, to advance the policy agenda for diversification and sustainable intensification.
What were key issues discussed?
One of the features of Ukama Ustawi is the use of four interconnected platforms: a scaling hub, a policy hub, an accelerator program and a learning platform. These will provide spaces for exchange and learning with partners across all CGIAR Initiatives in the region. Partners conducted a series of âfishbowlâ interactions across work packages to review the planned activities and provide a clearer understanding of deliverables, identify synergies, potential overlaps, common partners and countries, and set timelines.
The Initiative will work with innovative multimedia platforms to change knowledge, attitudes and practices of millions of farmers in eastern and southern Africa. One key partner in this area is the Shamba Shape Up TV show and the iShamba digital platform. Sophie Rottman, Producer of Shamba Shape Up, said she is looking forward to the work with Initiative partners, that will help expand the show to Uganda and Zambia.
Jean Claude Rubyogo, representing the Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) said: âIt is time we move away from CGIAR-initiated to country-initiated development activities. This is what Ukama Ustawi is all aboutâ.
Martin Kropff, Global Director of Resilient Agrifood Systems at CGIAR, explained CGIARâs regional integrated initiatives are designed to respond to national/regional demands. âThe initiatives will start by working with partners to assess the food and nutritional challenges in the region, and tackle them by bringing in innovative solutions.â
The event was concluded by agreeing on the implementation of the inception phase of the Ukama Ustawi Initiative, and follow-on discussions to finalize key activities in 2022.
Hambulo Ngoma is a Development Economist with research interests spanning the development-environment nexus. He leads or co-leads socio-economic components of several projects in Southern Africa, mainly in Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. His current research is focused on adoption, scaling, and impact assessment, with special interest in nudging agricultural technology adoption.
He is formerly a Postdoctoral Associate of the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resources Economics of Michigan State University and a Research Fellow and Lead of the Climate Change and Natural Resource Management thematic area at the Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute (IAPRI) in Lusaka, Zambia.
He holds a PhD in Applied Economics from the School of Economics and Business, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, an MSc in Applied and Agricultural Economics from the University of Malawi and a BSc in Agricultural Economics from the University of Zambia.
Genetic analyses show that a destructive wheat blast fungus that travelled from South America to South East Asia is now established in Zambia under rain-fed conditions, according to a new report from The Sainsbury Laboratory.
East African Seed Company has a rich history of nearly 50 years, serving farmers with improved climate-resilient seed varieties. Established in 1972, the company produces and sells improved seed, through a wide distribution network in at least 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It also markets agrochemicals and other farm inputs, and has ambitions of expanding to the rest of Africa, trading as Agriscope Africa Limited.
Smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa continue to face multiple biotic and abiotic stresses as they try to improve their farmsâ productivity and their livelihoods. Maize seed that guarantees high yield is a key trait, coupled with other key attributes such as drought tolerance, disease and pest resistance, early seedling vigor as well as suitability for food and animal feed.
With the varieties serving both small- and large-scale commercial farmers, challenges such as the fall armyworm, diminishing soil fertility and erratic rains have persisted in recent years and remain as key farming obstacles. âSuch challenges diminish crop production and the grain quality thereby, lessening farmersâ profitability,â says Rogers Mugambi, Chief Operating Officer of East African Seed Company.
Scientists at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), in collaboration with partners in the national agriculture research systems and the commercial seed sector, continue to develop seed varieties that can guarantee decent yield even in times of climatic, disease and pest stress.
General view of the East African Seed warehouse. (Photo: Jerome Bossuet/CIMMYT)
Top-notch research trickles down to farmers
Over the years, East African Seed has inked partnerships with CIMMYT, national research institutes and other agencies in the countries where it operates. Such partnerships have been the driving force to its success and the impacts within the farming communities in sub-Saharan Africa.
âOur collaboration with CIMMYT began in 2008 with germplasm acquisition. The cooperation has expanded to include testing networks for new hybrids, early-generation seed production and marketing. The overall beneficiary is the smallholder farmer who can access quality seeds and produce more with climate-smart products,â Mugambi says.
Apart from the multi-stress-tolerant varieties developed and released over time by the national agricultural research programs, CIMMYT recently announced a breakthrough: fall armyworm-tolerant elite maize hybrids for eastern and southern Africa. This success followed three years of rigorous research and experiments conducted in Kenya and signified a key milestone in the fight against fall armyworm.
As part of the partnership in the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) and Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) projects, East African Seed Company (Agriscope Africa Limited) established demonstration farms and conducted field days in Kenya, reaching thousands of farmers as a result. It was also able to produce early generation seed, which supported production of 2,000 metric tons of certified seed. This partnership now continues in the Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat (AGG) project.
The company has contracted large- and small-scale growers across the country to meet its seed production targets.
âMost of our small-scale growers are clustered in groups of up to 30 farmers with less than five acres of farmland. The large growers have advanced irrigation facilities such as the pivot system and seed processing plants. The seed from the fields is pre-cleaned and dried in the out-grower facilities before delivery to our factory for further cleaning and processing,â Mugambi explains.
A handful of improved maize seed from the drought-tolerant variety TAN 250, developed and registered for sale in Tanzania through CIMMYT’s Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project. (Photo: Anne Wangalachi/CIMMYT)
Out with the drought
Currently, of the 1,300 metric tons of drought-tolerant hybrid seeds it produces yearly, 500 metric tons constitute those derived from the partnership in the STMA project. Two notable hybrids, Â HODARI (MH501) and TOSHEKA (MH401), were derived during the DTMA and STMA projects. Released in 2014 and accepted for regional certification through the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)âs regional catalogue, the MH501 is a mid-altitude adapted and medium maturing three-way cross hybrid. The yield advantage of 15% over the local commercial checks triggered widespread adoption by the farmers, according to Mugambi. In Kenya, it was used as a commercial check during national performance trials, from 2017 to 2019.
The MH401, an early maturing hybrid with moderate drought tolerance, has been adopted in lowland and mid-altitude dry ecologies of Kenya and Tanzania. It has a 20% yield advantage over the local commercial checks.
As part of its varietal replacement, East African Seed Company looks to steadily retire older varieties such as KH600-15A and WE1101 and promote new ones including TAJIRI (EASH1220), TAJI (MH502) and FARAJA (MH503).
To promote new varieties and successfully reach smallholders, the company conducts field days, farm-level varietal demonstrations, road shows and radio programs. It also disseminates information on the benefits of new varieties while also dispensing promotional materials such as branded t-shirts and caps.
âAdditionally, we organize annual field days at our research farm in Thika, where key and influential farmers and other stakeholders are invited from across Kenya and neighboring countries to learn about our new agricultural technologies,â Mugambi says.
The food security and livelihoods of smallholder farming families in sub-Saharan Africa depend on maize production. The region accounts for up to two-thirds of global maize production, but is facing challenges related to extreme weather events, climate-induced stresses, pests and diseases, and deteriorating soil quality. These require swift interventions and innovations to safeguard maize yields and quality.
In this Q&A, we reflect on the results and impact of the long-term collaborative work on drought-tolerant maize innovations spearheaded by two CGIAR Research Centers: the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). This innovative work has changed guises over the years, from the early work of the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) and Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Seed Scaling (DTMASS) projects through later iterations such as Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) and the newest project, Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat (AGG).
In this Q&A, three leaders of this collaborative research reflect on the challenges their work has faced, the innovations and impact it has generated for smallholder farmers, and possible directions for future research. They are: B.M Prasanna, director of CIMMYTâs Global Maize Program and of the CGIAR Research Program on Maize (MAIZE); Abebe Menkir, a maize breeder and maize improvement lead at IITA; and Cosmos Magorokosho, project lead for AGG-Maize at CIMMYT.
Briefly describe the challenges confronting small-scale farmers prior to the introduction of drought-tolerant maize and how CIMMYT and IITA responded to these challenges?
B.M.P.: Maize is grown on over 38 million hectares in sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for 40% of cereal production in the region and providing at least 30% of the populationâs total calorie intake. The crop is predominantly grown under rainfed conditions by resource-constrained smallholder farmers who often face erratic rainfall, poor soil fertility, increasing incidence of climatic extremes â especially drought and heat â and the threat of devastating diseases and insect pests.
Around 40% of maize-growing areas in sub-Saharan Africa face occasional drought stress with a yield loss of 10â25%. An additional 25% of the maize crop suffers frequent drought, with yield losses of up to 50%. Climate change is further exacerbating the situation, with devastating effects on the food security and livelihoods of the millions of smallholder farmers and their families who depend on maize in sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, the improved maize varieties with drought tolerance, disease resistance and other farmer-preferred traits developed and deployed by CIMMYT and IITA over the last ten years in partnership with an array of national partners and seed companies across sub-Saharan Africa are critical in effectively tackling this major challenge.
A.M.: Consumption of maize as food varies considerably across sub-Saharan Africa, exceeding 100 kg per capita per year in many countries in southern Africa. In years when rainfall is adequate, virtually all maize consumed for food is grown in sub-Saharan Africa, with a minimal dependence on imported grain. Maize production, however, is highly variable from year to year due to the occurrence of drought and the dependence of national maize yields on seasonal rainfall. One consequence has been widespread famine occurring every five to ten years in sub-Saharan Africa, accompanied by large volumes of imported maize grain as food aid or direct imports.
This places a significant strain on resources of the World Food Programme and on national foreign exchange. It also disincentivizes local food production and may not prevent or address cyclical famine. It also leaves countries ill-equipped to address famine conditions in the period between the onset of the crisis and the arrival of food aid. Investment in local production, which would strengthen the resilience and self-sufficiency in food production of smallholder farming families, is a far better option to mitigate food shortages than relying on food aid and grain imports.
C.M.: Smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa face innumerable natural and socioeconomic constraints. CIMMYT, in partnership with IITA and national agricultural research system partners, responded by developing and catalyzing the commercialization of new maize varieties that produce reasonable maize yields under unpredictable rainfall-dependent growing season.
Over the life of the partnership, more than 300 new climate-adaptive maize varieties were developed and released in more than 20 countries across sub-Saharan Africa where maize is a major staple food crop. Certified seed of over 100 stress-tolerant improved maize varieties have been produced by seed company partners, reaching more than 110,000 tons in 2019. The seeds of these drought-tolerant maize varieties have benefited more than 8 million households and were estimated to be grown on more than 5 million hectares in eastern, southern and west Africa in 2020.
A farmer in Mozambique stands for a photograph next to her drought-tolerant maize harvest. (Photo: CIMMYT)
In what ways did the drought-tolerant maize innovation transform small-scale farmersâ ability to respond to climate-induced risks? Are there any additional impacts on small scale farmers in addition to climate adaptation?
B.M.P.: The elite drought-tolerant maize varieties can not only provide increased yield in drought-stressed crop seasons, they also offer much needed yield stability. This means better performance than non-drought-tolerant varieties in both good years and bad years to a smallholder farmer.
Drought-tolerant maize varieties developed by CIMMYT and IITA demonstrate at least 25-30% grain yield advantage over non-drought-tolerant maize varieties in sub-Saharan Africa under drought stress at flowering. This translates into at least a 1 ton per hectare enhanced grain yield on average, as well as reduced downside risk in terms of lost income, food insecurity and other risks associated with crop yield variability. In addition to climate adaptation, smallholder farmers benefit from these varieties due to improved resistance to major diseases like maize lethal necrosis and parasitic weeds like Striga. We have also developed drought-tolerant maize varieties with enhanced protein quality â such as Quality Protein Maize or QPM â and provitamin A, which improve nutritional outcomes.
We must also note that drought risk in sub-Saharan Africa has multiple and far-reaching consequences. It reduces incentives for smallholder farmers to intensify maize-based systems and for commercial seed companies to invest and evolve due to a limited seed market.
Drought-tolerant maize is, therefore, a game changer as it reduces the downside risk for both farmers and seed companies and increases demand for improved maize seed, thus strengthening the commercial seed market in sub-Saharan Africa. Extensive public-private partnerships around drought-tolerant maize varieties supported the nascent seed sector in sub-Saharan Africa and has enabled maize-based seed companies to significantly grow over the last decade. Seed companies in turn are investing in marketing drought-tolerant maize varieties and taking the products to scale.
A.M.: The DTMA and STMA projects were jointly implemented by CIMMYT and IITA in partnership with diverse national and private sector partners in major maize producing countries in eastern, southern and western Africa to develop and deploy multiple stress-tolerant and productive maize varieties to help farmers adapt to recurrent droughts and other stresses including climate change.
These projects catalyzed the release and commercialization of numerous stress-resilient new maize varieties in target countries across Africa. Increasing the resilience of farming systems means that smallholder farmers need guaranteed access to good quality stress resilient maize seeds. To this end, the two projects worked with public and private sector partners to produce large quantities of certified seeds with a continual supply of breeder seeds from CIMMYT and IITA. The availability of considerable amount of certified seeds of resilient maize varieties has enabled partners to reach farmers producing maize under stressful conditions, thus contributing to the mitigation of food shortages that affect poor people the most in both rural and urban areas.
C.M.: The drought-tolerant maize innovation stabilized maize production under drought stress conditions in sub-Saharan Africa countries. Recent study results showed that households that grew drought-tolerant maize varieties had at least half a ton more maize harvest than the households that did not grow the drought-tolerant maize varieties, thus curbing food insecurity while simultaneously increasing farmersâ economic benefits. Besides the benefit from drought-tolerant innovation, the new maize varieties developed through the partnership also stabilized farmersâ yields under major diseases, Striga infestation, and poor soil fertility prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa.
How is the project addressing emerging challenges in breeding for drought-tolerant maize and what opportunities are available to address these challenges in the future?Â
Margaret holds an improved ear of drought-tolerant maize. Margaretâs grandmother participated in an on-farm trial in Murewa district, 75 kilometers northeast of Zimbabweâs capital Harare. (Photo: Jill Cairns/CIMMYT)
B.M.P.: A strong pipeline of elite, multiple-stress-tolerant maize varieties â combining other relevant adaptive and farmer-preferred traits â has been built in sub-Saharan Africa through a strong germplasm base, partnerships with national research partners and small- and medium-sized seed companies, an extensive phenotyping and multi-location testing network, and engagement with farming communities through regional on-farm trials for the identification of relevant farmer-preferred products.
CGIAR maize breeding in sub-Saharan Africa continues to evolve in order to more effectively and efficiently create value for the farmers we serve. We are now intensively working on several areas: (a) increasing genetic gains (both on-station and on-farm) through maize breeding in the stress-prone environments of sub-Saharan Africa by optimizing our breeding pipelines and effectively integrating novel tools, technologies and strategies (e.g., doubled haploids, genomics-assisted breeding, high-throughput and precise phenotyping, improved breeding data management system, etc.); (b) targeted replacement of old or obsolete maize varieties in sub-Saharan Africa with climate-adaptive and new varieties; (c) developing next-generation climate-adaptive maize varieties with traits such as native genetic resistance to fall armyworm, and introgressed nutritional quality traits (e.g., provitamin A, high Zinc) to make a positive impact on the nutritional well-being of consumers; and (d) further strengthening the breeding capacity of national partners and small and medium-sized seed companies in sub-Saharan Africa for a sustainable way forward.
A.M.:Â The DTMA and STMA projects established effective product pipelines integrating cutting-edge phenotyping and molecular tools to develop stress-resilient maize varieties that are also resistant or tolerant to MLN disease and fall armyworm. These new varieties are awaiting release and commercialization. Increased investment in strengthening public and private sector partnerships is needed to speed up the uptake and commercialization of new multiple stress-resilient maize varieties that can replace the old ones in farmersâ fields and help achieve higher yield gains.
Farmersâ access to new multiple-stress-tolerant maize varieties will have a significant impact on productivity at the farm level. This will largely be due to new varietiesâ improved response to fertilizer and favorable growing environments as well as their resilience to stressful production conditions. Studies show that the adoption of drought-tolerant maize varieties increased maize productivity, reduced exposure to farming risk among adopters and led to a decline in poverty among adopters. The availability of enough grain from highly productive and stress-resilient maize varieties can be the cheapest source of food and release land to expand the cultivation of other crops to facilitate increased access to diversified and healthy diets.
C.M.: Â The project is tackling emerging challenges posed by new diseases and pests by building upon the successful genetic base of drought-tolerant maize. This is being done by breeding new varieties that add tolerance to the emerging disease and pest challenges onto the existing drought-tolerant maize backgrounds. Successes have already been registered in breeding new varieties that have high levels of resistance to MLN disease and the fall armyworm pest.
Opportunities are also available to address new challenges including: pre-emptively breeding for threats to maize production challenges that exist in other regions of the world before these threats reach sub-Saharan Africa; enhancing the capacity of national partners to build strong breeding programs that can address new threats once they emerge in sub-Saharan Africa; and sharing knowledge and novel high-value breeding materials across different geographies to immediately address new threats once they emerge.
Cover photo: Alice Nasiyimu stands in front of a drought-tolerant maize plot at her family farm in Bungoma County, in western Kenya. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)
Maize post-harvest losses in smallholder farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa have been shown to result in significant costs at household and national level, making it difficult to move towards achievement of SDG2 â Zero Hunger.
Within smallholder farming systems, new grain storage technologies such as metal silos can help reduce these losses during storage. However, technologies are often introduced into systems with complex sets of relationships, which may differentially affect the ability of women and men to secure the expected benefits. This, in turn, can have a knock-on effect on adoption rates and expected outcomes.
A recent study by an international team of researchers investigated whether modern storage structures such as metal silos provide equal benefits to women and men farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, using a mixed methods approach to explore the relationships governing maize production and storage in Kenya, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, where 1717 metal silos have been introduced through the Effective Grain Storage Project (EGSP).
The authors used random sampling to carry out quantitative surveys on metal silo owners in Kenya (124 respondents) and Malawi (100 respondents). Qualitative surveys using purposive sampling were also conducted in all four countries covering 14 ethnic groups using focus group discussions (360 respondents), key informant interviews (62 respondents), and household case studies (62 respondents). âOur aim was to understand gendered post-harvest management and storage strategies in traditional systems and to map changes when metal silos were introduced,â explain the authors.
âWe hypothesized that existing gender norms might differentially influence womenâs ability to benefit from the introduction of metal silos and our findings seem to indicate that this is correct. In most instances when metal silos are introduced, ownership of the grain storage facility and any benefits attached to that ownership typically switch from women to men, or menâs existing control over stored maize is deepened.â
A farmer from Embu, Kenya, demonstrates how to load maize grain into a metal silo for storage. (Photo: CIMMYT)
Their findings highlight that roles and responsibilities regarding the ownership and management of storage structures are strongly gendered. Though there are differences between ethnic groups and countries, overall men benefit more than women from the introduction of metal silos. Ownership of a grain storage facility and the benefits attached to this ownership can switch from women to men, with women having less scope for bargaining over their rights to use the stores for their own needs and the benefit of all household members.
Many of the women interviewed suggested that this compromised their ability to access sufficient maize because men might insist on taking any grain set aside to meet their personal needs. âWe did not measure how much grain is taken and whether food security is indeed negatively affected, but our research registers that women are concerned about this issue.â
The qualitative research explored whether ownership over the granary â and control over the maize stored within â changed when metal silos were purchased. In all four countries, cultural norms tend to result in men typically owning all large household assets such as land, water pumps, ox-ploughs and carts, etc. They generally make key decisions about how these assets are to be used as well. Furthermore, the income differential between women and men in male-headed households means that it is considerably more difficult for women than men to make a large purchase like a metal silo. âAs a consequence of these factors, we found men were more likely to own metal silos in each country.â
There is some differentiation between ethnic groups. In Zimbabwe, for example, Zezuru women who had previously owned and managed a dura â a traditional granary â lost control over maize grain reserves when metal silos were introduced. But for Korekore women nothing changed: men had always controlled traditional storage technologies and the maize within, and they continued to do so when metal silos were introduced. These examples highlight the fact that despite the cultural differences between ethnic groups, Zimbabwean women lost out across the board when metal silos were introduced, either through losing control over storage structures, or because male ownership was not challenged.
In light of these findings, the authors argue that understanding social context is key to designing and disseminating post-harvest technologies that meet the needs and preferences of both men and women farmers in various cultural contexts.
Their results make a strong case for ensuring that agricultural policy-makers prioritize the provision of equal access to improved technologies, as this is crucial not only for supporting women to meet their individual production goals, but also for ensuring that household-level food security needs are met.
The active involvement of partners in the co-design of project and capacity building activities is key to the success of the Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat for Improved Livelihoods (AGG) project, led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). To that end, the AGG Regional Collaborative Breeding and Testing Networks launched with virtual meetings on September 14 and 15 for southern African partners, and October 28 and November 2 for eastern African partners.
These training events and regional meetings provided opportunities for well over 100 breeders from CIMMYT, national agricultural research systems (NARS) and seed companies to refresh their capacities to improve genetic gains, and to collectively review and discuss upcoming project activities, current issues of interest, and broader project objectives within their current regional context.
Several themes of importance to partners emerged during the network virtual meetings, for attention in future AGG activities and capacity development work.
Gender inclusion and the impact of COVID-19
Ugandan partners, including Godfrey Asea, director of the National Crops Resources Research Institute at Ugandaâs National Agricultural Research Organization, and Josephine Okot, founder and managing director of Victoria Seeds, applauded the projectâs emphasis on inclusion of womenâs knowledge and preferences in breeding programs.
âWe notice that this time there is a lot of focus on gender-inclusiveness,â remarked Asea. âI can tell you there is need for enhanced capacity building for both the private sector and research in proper gender inclusion.â
They also noted the importance of building local capacity, not just for food security but also for other value chain items like raw materials. âCOVID-19 has demonstrated to all policy-makers that we cannot depend on the global supply chains,â said Okot. âHow can we leverage this project if, for instance, some private sector actors want to [know] the appropriate protein-content maize for, say, animal feed?â
Godfrey Asea (R), director of the National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI) at Ugandaâs National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), and Daniel Bomet (L), a maize breeder at NARO, admire maize cobs on a farm in Uganda. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)
Demand for knowledge
NARS members in Tanzania requested increased support on how to measure or assess genetic gains, especially at the national level, to allow them to establish a baseline upon which genetic gains would be pegged for the project lifecycle.
With statistics an essential element to plant breeding â from analyzing yield trials to ranking varieties â the webinar series in Statistical Analysis for Plant Breeders was a first step towards meeting these capacity development needs.
âThe idea of this webinar series was to share insights on how we can improve the breeding plans using statistical methods in an effective way,â said Juan Burgueño, the head of CIMMYTâs Biometrics and Statistics Unit. âThe training offered both theory and hands-on experience using open-access software.â
Reaching farmers
Looking beyond breeding, meeting participants also discussed how to improve access and adoption of improved varieties among farmers.
âFor a large country such as Tanzania, it is at times very hard to reach the farmers,â said Zabron Mbwaga, managing director of the Tanzania-based Beula Seed Company and Consultancy Limited. âWe may have a lot of seed in the store, but how to get the farmers to adopt the newer varieties is quite difficult. This is more so when farmers tend to stick to varieties which they know well and are always reluctant to adopt the new varieties,â he explained.
âWe need to put in a lot of effort to set up demonstration farms and enhance other awareness-raising activities such as radio programs so that farmers can know about the new varieties.â
This interest in working with smallholder farmers along the entire value chain was echoed by partners in southern Africa.
âThrough this project, we would like to explore ways of collaborating along the whole value chain â as the Agriculture Research Council, other partners and small to medium enterprises â to make it an effective chain,â said Kingstone Mashingaidze, senior research manager at the South Africa Agricultural Research Council. âBy planning together, we can identify best-fits for all activities in the value chain and ultimately benefit the smallholder farmers.â
About the AGG Regional Collaborative Breeding and Testing Networks
The AGG Regional Collaborative Breeding and Testing Networks aim to improve breeding efficiencies among partners by enabling the use of modern tools and approaches and enriching the existing network of research organizations, public and private seed companies, farmersâ organizations, non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations. It is expected that these networks will lead to increased efficiency and communications across the partnership network and within countries, improved sharing of best practices and protocols, and increased collective ownership of products for accelerated variety development and turnover.
The virtual meetings for the Regional Collaborative Breeding and Testing Network for southern Africa convened participants from Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, while meetings for eastern Africa had participants from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
AGG communications staff Joshua Masinde and Shiela Chikulo contributed to this story.
The first meetings of the Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat for Improved Livelihoods (AGG) wheat and maize science and technical steering committees â WSC and MSC, respectively â took place virtually on 25th and 28th September.
Researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) sit on both committees. In the WSC they are joined by wheat experts from national agricultural research systems (NARS) in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Kenya, India, and Nepal; and from Angus Wheat Consultants, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), HarvestPlus, Kansas State University and the Roslin Institute.
Similarly, the MSC includes maize experts from NARS in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya and Zambia; and from Corteva, the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), SeedCo, Syngenta, the University of Queensland, and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
During the meetings, attendees discussed scientific challenges and opportunities for AGG, and developed specific recommendations pertaining to key topics including breeding and testing scheme optimization, effective engagement with partners and capacity development in the time of COVID-19, and seed systems and gender intentionality.
Discussion groups noted, for example, the need to address family structure in yield trials, to strengthen collaboration with national partners, and to develop effective regional on-farm testing strategies. Interestingly, most of the recommendations are applicable and valuable for both crop teams, and this is a clear example of the synergies we expect from combining maize and wheat within the AGG project.
All the recommendations will be further analyzed by the AGG teams during coming months, and project activities will be adjusted or implemented as appropriate. A brief report will be submitted to the respective STSCs prior to the second meetings of these committees, likely in late March 2021.
Pawan Kumar Singh, head, wheat pathology, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) says that the fast-acting and devastating fungal disease known as wheat blast was first spotted in Africa in the Zambian rainfed wheat production system in the 2017-2018 crop cycle.
For the first time, wheat blast, a fast-acting and devastating fungal disease, has been reported on the African continent, according to a new article published by scientists from the Zambian Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI), the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the US Department of Agriculture â Foreign Disease Weed Science Research Unit (USDA-ARS).
Wheat blast, a fast-acting and devastating fungal disease, has been reported for the first time on the African continent. In an article published in the scientific journal PLoS One, a team of scientists confirmed that symptoms of wheat blast first appeared in Zambia during the 2018 rainy season, in experimental plots and small-scale farms in the Mpika district, Muchinga province.
Researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the US Department of Agriculture â Foreign Disease Weed Science Research Unit (USDA-ARS) and the Zambian Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI) participated in this study.
Wheat blast poses a serious threat to rain-fed wheat production in Zambia and raises the alarm for surrounding regions and countries on the African continent with similar environmental conditions. Worldwide, 2.5 billion consumers depend on wheat as a staple food and, in recent years, several African countries have been actively working towards reducing dependence on wheat imports.
âThis presents yet another challenging biotic constraint to rain-fed wheat production in Zambia,â said Batiseba Tembo, wheat breeder at ZARI and lead scientist on the study.
A difficult diagnosis
Researchers from ZARI check for wheat blast in experimental plots. (Photo: Batiseba Tembo/ZARI)
âThe first occurrence of the disease was very distressing. This happened at the spike stage, and caused significant losses,â Tembo said. âNothing of this nature has happened before in Zambia.â
Researchers were initially confused when symptoms of the disease were first reported in the fields of Mpika. Zambia has unique agro-climatic conditions, particularly in the rainfed wheat production system, and diseases such as spot blotch and Fusarium head blight are common.
âThe crop had silvery white spikes and a green canopy, resulting in shriveled grains or no grains at all⊠Within the span of seven days, a whole field can be attacked,â Tembo explained. Samples were collected and analyzed in the ZARI laboratory, and suspicions grew among researchers that this may be a new disease entirely.
Tembo participated in the Basic Wheat Improvement Course at CIMMYTâs global headquarters in Mexico, where she discussed the new disease with Pawan Singh, head of Wheat Pathology at CIMMYT. Singh worked with Tembo to provide guidance and the molecular markers needed for the sample analysis in Zambia, and coordinated the analysis of the wheat disease samples at the USDA-ARS facility in Fort Detrick, Maryland, United States.
All experiments confirmed the presence of the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae pathotype Triticum (MoT), which causes the disease.
âThis is a disaster which needs immediate attention,â Tembo said. âOtherwise, wheat blast has the potential to marginalize the growth of rain-fed wheat production in Zambia and may threaten wheat production in neighboring countries as well.â
Wheat blast spreads through infected seeds and crop residues, as well as by spores that can travel long distances in the air. The spread of blast within Zambia is indicated by both mechanisms of expansion.
Wheat blast has expanded rapidly since it was initially discovered in Brazil in 1985. (Map: Kai Sonder/CIMMYT)
A cause for innovation and collaboration
CIMMYT and the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (WHEAT) are taking action on several fronts to combat wheat blast. Trainings and international courses invite participants to gain new technical skills and knowledge in blast diagnostics, treatment and mitigation strategies. WHEAT scientists and partners are also studying the genetic factors that increase resistance to the disease and developing early warning systems.
âA set of research outcomes, including the development of resistant varieties, identification of effective fungicides, agronomic measures, and new findings in the epidemiology of disease development will be helpful in mitigating wheat blast in Zambia,â Singh said.
âIt is imperative that the regional and global scientific communities join hands to determine effective measures to halt further spread of this worrisome disease in Zambia and beyond,â Tembo expressed.
Financial support for this research was provided by the Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI), the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (WHEAT), the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), and the US Department of Agricultureâs Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS).Â
The Basic Wheat Training Program and Wheat Blast Training is made possible by support from investors including the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), WHEAT, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Krishi Gobeshona Foundation (KGF), the Swedish Research Council (SRC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat (AGG) project is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the United States Agency for International Development and the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research (FFAR).
About CIMMYT
The International Maize and What Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is the global leader in publicly-funded maize and wheat research and related farming systems. Headquartered near Mexico City, CIMMYT works with hundreds of partners throughout the developing world to sustainably increase the productivity of maize and wheat cropping systems, thus improving global food security and reducing poverty. CIMMYT is a member of the CGIAR System and leads the CGIAR programs on Maize and Wheat and the Excellence in Breeding Platform. The Center receives support from national governments, foundations, development banks and other public and private agencies. For more information visit staging.cimmyt.org.
Farmers going home for breakfast in Motoko district, Zimbabwe. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) recently launched a project that aims to research the drivers and barriers to adoption of conservation agriculture in southern Africa, and to develop strategies for achieving adoption and impact at scale.
The project, Understanding and Enhancing Adoption of Conservation Agriculture in Smallholder Farming Systems of Southern Africa (ACASA), will apply social and scaling science to understand the biophysical, socioeconomic, institutional, and policy drivers and barriers to the adoption of conservation agriculture technologies and practices.
The ACASA project is supported by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) and will be implemented in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe in collaboration with partners and farmers in the region.
The project was officially launched online on September 16, 2020. Zambiaâs Minister of Agriculture, Michael Katambo, noted that it is a timely intervention, as the livelihoods and food security of smallholder farmers in southern Africa are increasingly being threatened by climate change and variability, which have led to a steady decline in the production of food staples and an increase in the number of food and nutrition-insecure people.
âIt is now clear that current productivity and production levels cannot be expected to meet our requirements for food and nutrition security,â Katambo said in a speech read on his behalf by Moses Mwale, Director of the Department of Agriculture. âConservation agriculture has a proven potential to increase and stabilize crop yields, and to support sustainable and resilient production systems and rural livelihoods.â
Proven benefits
Conservation agriculture â a farming system that promotes minimum soil disturbance, permanent soil cover and diversification of plant species â can efficiently increase agricultural productivity while reducing land degradation and improving soil health for more productive, profitable, and sustainable farming.
Substantial on-farm evidence has been generated on the agronomic and economic benefits of conservation agriculture, first introduced in the 1970s in South Africa. Consequently, donors and governments have made a lot of investments to promote and scale conservation agriculture technologies and practices among smallholder farmers in the region. Despite all these efforts, however, the adoption rate among smallholder farmers remains low.
“We should not let the low adoption of conservation agriculture discourage us. Let us use this opportunity to reflect and identify the missing link and come up with more sustainable solutions to the problem,” said the IITA Director for Southern Africa, David Chikoye.
âAlthough adoption of improved practices by most resource-poor farmers is primarily determined by the potential immediate benefits on crop yields, profits, risk, and livelihoods, there are a number of biophysical, socioeconomic, institutional, and policy factors that promote or hinder adoption of conservation agriculture. The project, therefore, aims to identify the adoption drivers and barriers, and to develop pathways and strategies for inclusive scaling of conservation agriculture practices,â said  Arega Alene, Agricultural Economist at IITA and leader of the ACASA project.
Christian Thierfelder, Principal  Cropping Systems Agronomist at CIMMYT, highlighted some of the bottlenecks for conservation agriculture adoption, noting they were linked more to socioeconomic and cultural factors rather than biophysical. “Conservation agriculture is a viable and proven climate-smart farming system. Future research efforts should go towards understanding farmers’ decision-making and behavioral change, as well as profitability,” Thierfelder said.
Other key partners include the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the African Conservation Tillage Network (ACT) and Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA).
The project launch was attended by policymakers, donors, members of national and regional conservation agriculture taskforces, national and international research institutions, universities, international development institutions, private seed companies, non-governmental organizations, and farmer organizations.
Interview opportunities:
Arega Alene, Agricultural Economist, IITA.
Christian Thierfelder, Principal  Cropping Systems Agronomist, CIMMYT
For more information, or to arrange interviews, contact the media team:
Genevieve Renard, Director of Communications, CIMMYT. g.renard@cgiar.org
The International Maize and What Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is the global leader in publicly-funded maize and wheat research and related farming systems. Headquartered near Mexico City, CIMMYT works with hundreds of partners throughout the developing world to sustainably increase the productivity of maize and wheat cropping systems, thus improving global food security and reducing poverty. CIMMYT is a member of the CGIAR System and leads the CGIAR programs on Maize and Wheat and the Excellence in Breeding Platform. The Center receives support from national governments, foundations, development banks and other public and private agencies. For more information visit staging.cimmyt.org.
About IITA:
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is a not-for-profit institution that generates agricultural innovations to meet Africaâs most pressing challenges of hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and natural resource degradation. Working with various partners across sub-Saharan Africa, we improve livelihoods, enhance food and nutrition security, increase employment, and preserve natural resource integrity. IITA is a member of CGIAR, a global agriculture research partnership for a food-secure future.
