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Improving postharvest grain storage and loss assessment methods

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In November, twelve researchers and development practitioners implementing phase two of the Effective Grain Storage for Sustainable Livelihoods of African Farmers Project (EGSP II) travelled from Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Kenya, for training on improved postharvest grain storage and loss assessment methods in Nairobi, Kenya.

The course was facilitated by Prof. Rick Hodges, University of Greenwich, UK, and CIMMYT Socioeconomist Hugo De Groote, Policy Economist Jones Govereh, and Project Leader Tadele Tefera. Practical and theory sessions covered topics such as hermetic storage, postharvest technologies, estimating storage losses, assessing ear and grain damage, economic data requirements and collection, and economic analysis of on-station and on-farm storage trials.

Participants were also introduced to the Africa Postharvest Loss Information Service (APHLIS); a system with an innovative framework for analyzing and computing quantitative postharvest losses under different farming and environmental conditions in eastern and southern Africa. It was discussed how using the APHLIS downloadable calculator can support loss reduction projects. According to Hodges, the advantages of this system are that its measure of percentage weight loss of grain is based on an actual reduction in the dry weight of grain; it does not account for changes in quality unless the grain is no longer fit for human consumption; and losses are cumulatively calculated from production and including each step in the postharvest chain.

Despite the importance of economically analyzing crop and storage pest losses, Govereh lamented that such analyses are not well established in the research community. “Economic analysis is rarely available, especially for on-farm losses. In most cases, crop losses are commonly overestimated with benefits often overstated and costs underestimated.”

Govereh outlined the economic analysis of crop and storage pests: estimating the extent of the problem (the area infested); estimating the intensity of the problem (infestation levels, damage, and crop loss); testing efficacy of control methods on-station and on-farm; basic economic analysis of new methods; farmer evaluation of new control methods; modeling and econometric analysis; and impact assessment. According to Hodges, estimating postharvest losses helps in influencing policy makers, improving the efficiency of value chains, and identifying opportunities for increasing food security.

Reiterating the economic benefits of storage, Govereh stated: “Most maize is produced by small-scale farmers in one major season and is meant for home consumption. However, consumption is continuous therefore storage is needed to buffer stocks and protect against price fluctuations.”

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CIMMYT graduate research fellow wins recognition for protein maize PhD project

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Abdu Rahman Beshir (in the middle) with winners in BSc Hons and MSc categories
Abdu Rahman Beshir (in the middle) with winners in BSc Hons and
MSc categories

Abdu Rahman Beshir, a CIMMYT graduate research fellow from Ethiopia, received an award for the best project in the PhD category at a recent Postgraduate Students’ Symposium on Botany and Plant Biotechnology at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) for his paper titled ‘Quality Protein Maize: towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals through better nutrition and stable yields.’ His presentation highlighted the severity of malnutrition in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and the ways quality protein maize (QPM) seeks to address the issue.

Beshir conducted his field research between July 2009 and December 2011 at CIMMYT Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia in collaboration with national programs and with support from the Drought Tolerant Maize in Africa (DTMA) Initiative and the Quality Protein Maize Development project. Beshir focuses on the evaluation of yield and secondary traits of early maturing QPM cultivars (both hybrids and open pollinated varieties) under different mega environments of sub-Saharan Africa (his research was featured in Informa 1689). Beshir –is studying at the University of the Free State (UFS) under the supervision of Maryke Labuschagne and Angie Van Biljon (UFS), and Dan Makumbi (CIMMYT) and Peter Setimela (CIMMYT). “I would like to acknowledge the invaluable support from CIMMYT. This award is an indication of the relevance of research conducted at CIMMYT globally,” said Beshir. “There are many people who are looking for such opportunities, who can make a difference and contribute more to science; hence CIMMYT’s efforts are highly commendable,” added Beshir, thanking all who contributed to his studies and career growth.

The UJ symposium is an annual platform for postgraduate students from different universities to present their research findings. These findings are judged by a panel of professors based on the significance of the project, the quality of the content, and delivery.

CIMMYT strengthens partnership with Zimbabwe

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Thomas Lumpkin, CIMMYT director general, and Honorable Joseph Made, Minister of Agriculture and Mechanization of Zimbabwe, signed a new memorandum of understanding on 29 October 2012 to strengthen the relationship between CIMMYT and the government of Zimbabwe.

During the ceremony, Made expressed gratitude to CIMMYT for its continued support of Zimbabwe during the past 10 years of economic hardships. “For so long CIMMYT has been a visitor, but from today it will remain a permanent resident in Zimbabwe and our region — Southern Africa. The Government of Zimbabwe appreciates CIMMYT’s confidence in Zimbabwe to retain its Southern Africa Regional Office and its scientists during the difficult periods we underwent,” said Made. Lumpkin then thanked the Government of Zimbabwe for providing a favorable working environment and support for CIMMYT’s activities. Lumpkin confirmed that CIMMYT would continue to bring cutting-edge science to Zimbabwe and the region as a whole to ensure sustainable maize production. Special focus will be on cooperation in breeding drought and heat tolerant maize varieties, crucial in the face of climate change particularly in sub- Saharan Africa.

The ceremony was attended by a team of senior government officials from the ministry of Agriculture and Mechanization, CIMMYT staff, and Lindiwe Sibanda, CIMMYT Board of Trustees member. During the event, Lumpkin presented the 2012 Award for the Best Maize Breeding Team to Made and the Zimbabwean breeding team for the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project. The Zimbabwe team has won this award for the third consecutive year. The DTMA team also received a new pickup truck from Made to facilitate the field breeding work around Zimbabwe.

Sharing experiences with effective grain storage in Africa

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IMG_7756A delegation from Kenya, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Zambia — the target countries of the Effective Grain Storage for Sustainable Livelihoods of African Farmers (EGSP) Phase-II Project— visited Malawi during 22-23 October and Kenya during 25-26 October 2012 to share experiences with project implementation and to learn about the project’s impact on the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. The delegation comprised of officials from ministries of agriculture and national agricultural research systems from the four EGSP countries, and implementing partners (Kenya Agricultural Research Institute and the Catholic Dioceses of Embu and Homa Bay in Kenya, World Vision in Malawi, Zambia Agricultural Research Institute, and University of Zimbabwe and the Department of Agricultural Mechanization in Zimbabwe).

The tour kicked off in Malawi with visits to Mchinji and Dowa districts. The delegates held discussions with the implementing partners and local artisans trained on metal silo fabrication, school representatives, farmer groups, and farmers who had benefitted from the first phase of the project. Everyone present praised the metal silo for its great results in protecting the grains against the larger grain borers and weevils. “This allows farmers to store maize more effectively and sell it when prices are as high as 47 kwacha [US$ 0.16] per kilogram and not when prices are at 18 kwacha [US$ 0.06] per kilogram,” says Andrew Kasalika, chairman of the Tayamba Group in Mlonyeni Extension Planning Area. “With metal silos, women do not have to climb into granaries, which is quite cumbersome,” added Christine Victory, Tayamba Group’s secretary, noting that the technology is also environmentally friendly, “Men do not have to cut trees to construct the granaries.”

In Kenya, the delegation visited Kamuthatha Boarding Primary School in Embu County, which has acquired six 2,700-kilogram metal silos. Nethy Kathungu, the deputy principal, shared the enormous benefits of metal silos: increased quality of grain and thus increased quality of food for the pupils; reduced postharvest losses (previously amounting to 60% of stored grain); price hikes no longer affecting the school during times of scarcity, as they can now store enough to feed all 450 pupils; no need for pesticides; and less storage space required to store the same amount of grain. As a result, the school saves about Ksh 300,000 (US$ 3,600) per year.

The delegates also visited Gikinyukia Agro-Enterprise Self-Help Group in Mbeere South District, Embu County. The Group participates in collective maize, sorghum, and green grams marketing, and owns three 1,800-kilogram metal silos. According to Gibson Wachira Muchiri, the Group chairman, the plan is to assist every member in acquiring a metal silo through the Group’s fund.

The delegates found the visit very educative and informative, especially officials from Zimbabwe and Zambia who will be implementing the project for the first time. The visit allowed them to witness the implementation of EGSP in Kenya and Malawi as well as the role of different partners in the process. The visits also helped the delegates to identify issues that need to be addressed for the second phase to be successful. These include cost-sharing for sustainability of the project, creating a sense of ownership, and producing a sufficient amount of maize for the metal silos to be fully utilized.

Speaking to the delegates, B.M. Prasanna, CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program director, reiterated the importance of the project in enhancing nutrition and food security of smallholder farmers and consumers. He called on the delegates to be the champions of the project and asked them to take it to the next level: “We can only be a catalyst, but we would like you to be the drivers of this movement. You should stimulate demand for the technology. CIMMYT derives its strength from people like you.” Noting that awareness was critical to the success of the project, Prasanna also encouraged the officials to raise awareness among the target beneficiaries, women, women self-help groups, schools, and women-dominated organizations in particular.

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Training to build maize breeding capacity in Africa

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CursoAfrica2Thirty-six senior maize breeders from fifteen African countries participated in a course in Nairobi, Kenya, from 1 to 4 October 2012. The course attracted participants from national agricultural research systems, private seed companies, and universities collaborating within the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) Initiative, Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS) Project, Sustainable Intensification of Maize- Legume Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) initiative, Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Systems for the Eastern Province of Zambia (SIMLEZA), Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA), and a USAID-funded project on heat stress in maize.

Throughout the course, breeders were introduced to new germplasm, recent advances in maize breeding for biotic and abiotic stresses, breeding informatics tools (e.g. IMIS-Fieldbook and IB-Fieldbook developed by the Generation Challenge Program), approaches to improving quality of phenotyping, molecular breeding tools, and the use of doubled haploid technologies in maize breeding. They also visited fields in Kiboko to assess breeding nurseries and yield trials and to interact with CIMMYT breeders.

The course participants had the opportunity to attend presentations by a private-sector representative. Walter Trevisan from WEMA/ Monsanto covered the origin of maize and importance of the heterotic pools in maize breeding around the world. “We learn from the partnership that we can work as a team and, most of the time, reach goals ahead of time,” said Trevisan, stating that he is looking forward to the future projects such as WEMA II. “We really enjoy working with CIMMYT and the national agricultural research systems,” he added.

According to Ntji Coulibaly from Mali, training for breeders helps to build capacity within African countries. “Mali has only five seed companies serving the country, thus it is imperative to build the skill base in breeding,” he explained. Coulibaly then praised CIMMYT for its leadership role in breeding in Africa: “It has raised the bar for private institutions to improve and develop better products in the region.” Bhola Verma from ZAMSEED, a private seed company operating in Zambia, also appreciated the training initiative. “We need to train more people,” he said, reiterating the importance of training the next generation of breeders to ensure the continent does not lag behind. Zubeda Mduruma, Tanzanian maize breeder from Aminata Quality Seed, was excited about -her newly gained knowledge on doubled haploid breeding technology. “It is very handy and will shorten our time for breeding,” said Mduruma. Doubled haploid technology enables breeders to save time and labor costs associated with conventional breeding, while allowing them to get varieties benefiting farmers within a shorter period of time.

Simon Gichuki, Kenya Agriculture Research Institute (KARI) Biotechnology Program coordinator, urged participants to explore and use the technological tools, and to train breeders working with them. Gichuki said that the key challenges facing African agriculture include diseases, pests, and climate change. “We feel that we can contribute to mitigating these [challenges] by engaging in science,” said Gichuki, adding that this could be achieved by ensuring that breeders regularly update their knowledge. “In crop science things move very fast,” he explained. Sylvester Oikeh, WEMA project manager at the African Agricultural Technology Foundation, urged participants to embrace mentorship and share their knowledge and skills with young breeders. Oikeh also appreciated the opportunity to see what DTMA is doing in relation to WEMA’s breeding work.

Shehu Ado from the Institute for Agricultural Research, Samaru, Nigeria, said the training would benefit his students. “I will encourage my students to apply it in their own work,” said Ado about Fieldbook, “my students are going to gain a lot as analysis will be simplified.” Thokozile Ndlela, Zimbabwean Ministry of Agriculture, expressed her excitement about the developments made in Fieldbook, as well as the new advancements in maize breeding.

The course facilitators were drawn from CIMMYT, Generation Challenge Program, and Monsanto. The course was coordinated by Cosmos Magorokosho and Stephen Mugo, CIMMYT maize breeders from Zimbabwe and Kenya, respectively.

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DTMA III holds annual meeting

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The Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) Initiative held its first annual meeting of phase 3 during 24- 28 September 2012 at the Nairobi Safari Club Hotel in Kenya. The meeting was attended by 83 participants representing national programs, training institutions from DTMA partner countries (Angola, Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe), project’s advisory board members, and seed companies. The participants reviewed and discussed the progress made during the first year of the project, and visited the Western Seed company production fields in Rongai, Nakuru County.

DTMA has produced 105 maize varieties, 48 hybrids, and 57 open-pollinated varieties between 2007 and 2012. In addition, the project has trained technicians, breeders, and seed companies in seed business management in Eastern, Western, and Southern Africa. The meeting highlighted the varieties developed by DTMA for drought-prone areas, whose performance also matches or exceeds that of commercial varieties under optimum conditions. In Southern Africa, on-farm trials of drought-tolerant (DT) hybrids produced 20-30 % more yield than the common check variety. In Western Africa, DT open-pollinated varieties produced up to 40 % more yield than farmer varieties during on-farm trials.

There is a surge in new DT varieties, particularly hybrids, being registered and coming into production in all DTMA countries. In addition, uptake of DT lines by companies holding important market shares (e.g. Seed Co and Kenya Seed Company) is increasing. The total production of DT varieties in the 13 DTMA countries reached more than 25,000 MT in 2012, with the largest amount being produced in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi. Seed policy workshops have created conditions for national governments to address maize seed sector development.

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W4A Day Five: Ending on a high and a declaration of commitment

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As so often happens at the end of conferences, I have to dash for a plane, so I’ll make it brief. You may have seen on our live twitter feed (#W4A) that today was a day for proposals and promises at the Wheat for Food Security in Africa conference. Participants from each country gathered together to discuss and present how they intended to move forward from these meetings.

Almost all the countries agreed that there is a need to initiate some form of ‘wheat task force’. This would act to liaise with governments, conduct research, and establish capacity building in the key areas of extension and technology adoption. Organizations such as these could also address the issues which have been raised so many times this week: smallholder farmers’ access to credit, inputs such as fertilizer, the correct agronomic practices for their region and efficiency within the value chain between researchers, extension workers, farmers, markets, millers, and consumers.

Participants also raised the issue of germplasm exchange. This needs to be made easier between countries, while making sure that IP rights are protected and the spread of diseases such as Ug99 prevented, which cannot be done without international collaboration. All participants indicated that they would be very willing to work together in the future and to convince others in their countries to work with their international partners. Linked to this, some argued that the involvement of the private sector is key if we are to promote the development of a profitable African wheat industry. For this too we need to develop sound and consistent IP practices.

Another major issue discussed was the current situation with wheat imports. Many African countries subsidize wheat imports so much that it is cheaper to buy wheat abroad than to grow it nationally. This, argued participants, is not a healthy or sustainable practice. Governments need to reduce subsidies to make wheat farming more attractive for producers and/or introduce a levy of e.g. $2/ton on wheat imports, and invest this money in wheat research to develop varieties and agronomic practices suitable for the region.

The conference concluded with the signing of a declaration which will be presented by the Minister of Ethiopia at the African Union Joint Conference of African Ministers of Agriculture and Ministers of Trade, 29 October – 2 November 2012, with the full support of conference participants and the Ministers of Sudan, Zimbabwe, and Burundi. The declaration “urgently recommends to include wheat as one of Africa’s strategic products” and stresses that policy options are proposed to “promote and develop domestic wheat production
 and to scale-up investment to the national and international wheat value chain.”

In closing the conference, Thomas Lumpkin, CIMMYT Director General, concluded: “I am committed, CIMMYT is committed, ICARDA is committed, to improving wheat in Africa
 African farmers want to change. They don’t want to be museums of ancient practices. They want to evolve, become more productive.” And this is the message that will be taken forward and presented to Africa as a continent.

Metal silos and super grain bags improve grain storage in Zimbabwe and Zambia

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Farmers in Zimbabwe and Zambia, who have been losing their maize harvests due to poor storage facilities, can now effectively store their grain in metal silos and super bags, courtesy of Effective Grain Storage for Sustainable Livelihoods of African Farmers (EGSP) Phase- II Project. The five-year project funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) was launched in Zimbabwe and Zambia on 17 and 20 September 2012, respectively. It aims to improve food security and reduce vulnerability of resource-poor farmers, particularly women farmers, in eastern and southern Africa through the dissemination of metal silos and super grain bags. According to project leader Tadele Tefera, annual post-harvest grain losses in the sub-Saharan region are currently estimated at US$ 4 billion. “This is equivalent to a decade of food aid for the region, or enough annual calories for about 48 million people,” he noted.

The project allows CIMMYT scientists, partners, and collaborators in Zimbabwe and Zambia to exchange ideas, information, and research outputs; raise awareness on promotion and dissemination of effective grain storage technologies; and consult stakeholders on policy environment and market issues for effective implementation of EGSPII. Presiding over the launch in Harare, Danisile Hikwa (principal director of the Department of Research and Specialist Services, Ministry of Agriculture, Zimbabwe) warned of the negative impact of post-harvest losses on food security: “The potential impact of increased maize productivity on poverty reduction and greater livelihood security will not be realized unless technological and institutional innovations are identified and deployed to overcome the chronic syndrome of ‘sell low’ and ‘buy high’. The existing best-bet post-harvest technologies need to be rapidly scaled-up and disseminated in the region.”

Wilfred Mwangi, CIMMYT regional liaison officer, noted that the traditional granaries have failed to protect farmers’ maize harvests against the two most destructive post-harvest insect pests in the region, maize weevils and larger grain borers. “As a result of lack of adequate awareness and access to appropriate technologies, farmers end up selling their maize soon after harvest, when prices are at their lowest, partly to curb the losses and partly to meet other financial needs. The same farmers are forced to buy the grains back at more than twice the price later in the season to meet their subsistence needs, resulting in a continual poverty trap,” said Mwangi.

In her opening address in Harare, Nadia Otigger, SDC quality assurance adviser for South Africa, reiterated her government’s commitment to reduce poverty in southern Africa, as Switzerland just approved a new strategy with focus on agriculture and food security, aiming to contribute to poverty reduction through the promotion of economically, ecologically, and socially sustainable agricultural production, especially for smallholder farmers. Launching the project in Lusaka, Honorable Rodgers Mwewa, Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Livestock, Zambia, noted that self-sufficiency in food grains in the country does not depend only on increased production but also on minimizing post-harvest losses. “It is economical and environmentally appropriate to protect the harvested maize rather than to continue opening up new land and increase application of chemical fertilizers in the name of increasing production,” he added.

Juliane Ineichen, SDC deputy director for Southern Africa, spoke during the launch in Lilongwe and noted that Switzerland expects to see changes in the lives of smallholder farmers with specific needs and requirements who are facing all kinds of challenges while producing crops and providing food; as well as in institutions and policies providing enabling conditions for smallholder farmers to improve their situations.

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DTMA strengthens research and extension links in Southern Africa

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Largely because commercial farmers have shifted to cash crops such as tobacco and horticulture, smallholder farmers now account for 70-80% of food production in Zimbabwe, and they have little access to credit, according to Danisile Hikwa, Principal Director of the Department of Research and Specialist Services in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanization and Irrigation Development. “There is simply no money,” said Hikwa, explaining that the lack of credit schemes for small homesteads hinders food growers’ access to inputs such as seed and fertilizer.

Discussions on this and other important topics emerged as part of recent interactions with researchers, government officials, and representatives from seed companies and non-governmental organizations in Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Zambia by Drought Tolerant Maize in Africa (DTMA) project leader Tsedeke Abate. “Government officials in the three countries appreciated the role that CIMMYT is playing to improve maize production in the region,” said Abate.

In the company of CIMMYT maize breeder Cosmos Magorokosho, maize physiologist Jill Cairns, and seed systems specialist Peter Setimela, in Zimbabwe Abate visited the extension department, Ministry of Agriculture Mechanization and Irrigation Development, and met with acting Technical Director Kennedy Mabehla and the acting Deputy Director and Training Specialist Godfrey Tore. Touring field experiments in Save Valley and Chiredzi, the CIMMYT group complimented technical assistant Stanley Gokoma and his team on how well managed the sites were. They also identified droughtprone Chisumbanje and Zaka as potential areas to pilot DTMA varieties. The team visited CIMMYT partner and leading seed producer Seed Co Limited, hosted at the Rattray Arnold Research Centre. “Zimbabwe has an important history in maize seed production,” said Abate. “They introduced maize hybrids on a commercial scale in 1932—the second country to do so after the USA.”

During a National Coordination Unit meeting in Zambia, Abate joined stakeholders who discussed holistic approaches for addressing livelihood and development challenges in the maize value chain. One topic was the low levels of fertilizer use in Africa—on average only 9 kilograms per hectare, due to the high price of this input and national and farm-level resource constraints. An MSc student from the University of Zambia demonstrated a coating material (Agrotain) for fertilizer applications which increases the efficiency of fertilizer use by 50%.

The DTMA team visited government officials and representatives of seed companies and of World Vision in Malawi, where the drought tolerant open pollinated maize varieties ZM309 and ZM523 are available to farmers and drought tolerant hybrids are in the pipeline. Alfred Mtukuso, Director of the Department of Agricultural Research Services (DARS), expressed his appreciation for CIMMYT’s partnership, which benefits smallholder farmers in Malawi. “Research capacity building efforts by CIMMYT have also contributed to the professional growth of young scientists,” he added.

Also praising DTMA contributions in Malawi, Principal Secretary of Agriculture Jeffrey Luhanga said the government is pursuing a subsidy scheme whereby farmers will receive seed and fertilizer coupons and the opportunity to select varieties, including ZM309 (farmers’ favorite as green mealie) and ZM523. The scheme is expected to benefit an estimated 1.5 million households initially and will be scaled up to reach 100,000 more through President Joyce Banda’s Initiative on Poverty and Hunger Reduction. As part of its support for agriculture, the government provides free airtime for radio and television broadcasts of agricultural technology promotions.

Achievements for drought tolerant maize breeding in southern Africa

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Breeding-Award-Zimbabwe-2012Maize plays a pivotal role in the livelihoods of people in southern Africa: its annual per capita consumption is around 85 kg. In the past season, however, farmers in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, and much of Zimbabwe experienced a severe drought that significantly reduced their harvests.

Despite the negative effects for many farmers in the region, the drought has allowed CIMMYT breeders to assess the real value of new maize varieties and to improve crop productivity and resilience in the face of variable climate. To present the results of their research, partners in the southern Africa maize seed value chain gathered for an annual collaborators meeting in August. The meeting was attended by stakeholders from national maize working groups of 10 countries, including scientists from the national agricultural research organizations, seed companies, and NGOs. During his opening speech, Ngoni Masoka, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanization and Irrigation Development of the Government of Zimbabwe, acknowledged and commended CIMMYT for its long and sustained support of maize research in southern Africa, and Zimbabwe in particular.

Prasanna-Masoka-2Participants discussed some of their notable achievements from 2011-12. Angola began its first commercial-scale production of the drought tolerant hybrid seed with Agropequária Kambondo and produced significant quantities of the drought tolerant openpollinated variety (OPV) ZM523. Farmers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo produced 80 tons of the drought tolerant OPV ZM623 through community-based seed schemes. Lesotho released a quality protein maize variety, and Zambia’s national program made significant progress in breeding for drought tolerance. Local emerging seed companies in Mozambique have begun production of one drought tolerant OPV and three drought tolerant hybrids.

The annual meeting also provided an opportunity to recognize the national programs that have excelled in breeding and seed dissemination in 2011/12. Zimbawbe was awarded Best Drought Tolerance Breeding Team for maintaining an excellent track record in developing and releasing improved drought tolerant varieties. The Runner-up Breeding Team Award went to Angola for the significant invigoration and improvement of breeding efforts at Huambo. The Best Drought Tolerance Dissemination Team Award went to Malawi for the great increase in drought tolerant OPV seed production and uptake amongst small-holder farmers, and the Runner-up Award in this category was presented to Mozambique for notable efforts and new initiatives in promotion and production of drought tolerant varieties.

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Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences explores collaboration and partnership in Southern Africa

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CIMMYT-Southern Africa in Harare, Zimbabwe, hosted a delegation from the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (YAAS), China, on 20 July 2012. The delegation was led by He Xingze, Chief and Chairman of Board of Trustees, who was accompanied by long-time CIMMYT collaborator Fan Xingming, director general of the Institute of Food Crops of YAAS. The delegation explored opportunities to strengthen and support maize breeding capacity in Southern Africa.

Fan acknowledged the long-standing collaboration between CIMMYT and the Chinese agricultural research institutions, as well as CIMMYT’s range of collaborative research activities and presence in China. Mulugetta Mekuria, Isaiah Nyagumbo, Jill Cairns, and Cosmos Magorokosho presented highlights of CIMMYT-Southern Africa research activities and partnership modalities. Progress and achievements of the Drought Tolerant Maize in Africa (DTMA), NSIMA (New Seed Initiative for Maize in Southern Africa), Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS), Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Cropping Systems in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA), and Conservation Agriculture (CA) projects were discussed, and the delegation visited the station facilities and met the support staff. They had the opportunity to meet Danisile Hikwa, principal director of Department of Research and Specialist Services of Zimbabwe. They are traveling to South Africa to visit the University of Natal and ARCGrain Crops Institute of South Africa.

The delegation expressed their intention to visit the region again for a substantive technical discussion with CIMMYT and its partners.

They wished to thank the senior CIMMYT management for arranging and facilitating their visit and for the hospitality accorded to them in Harare.

Grain storage technologies to reduce post-harvest losses

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A Launch and Inception Planning Workshop for the Effective Grain Storage for Sustainable Livelihoods of African Farmers (EGSP) Phase-II Project was held in Lusaka, Zambia, during 28-29 June 2012. Building on the successes of the previous phase (2008-2011), EGSP-II (2012-2016) aims to improve food security and reduce vulnerability of resource-poor farmers, particularly women farmers, in eastern and southern Africa, through the dissemination of effective grain storage technologies, especially metal silos and super grain bags.

Current regional post-harvest grain losses are estimated at USD 4 billion annually, according to project coordinator, Tadele Tefera. This is equivalent to a decade of food aid for the region, or enough annual calories for about 48 million people. With the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), phase I implemented the project in Kenya and Malawi, and its activities will now be extended to Zambia and Zimbabwe in phase II. Use of similar technologies in Latin America has significantly reduced post-harvest losses in the region. For this reason, EGSP-II “should go a long way in reducing post-harvest losses,” said Elizabeth Diethelm-Schneller, SDC deputy director for Southern Africa. B.M. Prasanna, director of the CIMMYT Global Maize Program, noted that the metal silo is one of the most effective technologies against some of the most destructive post-harvest pests, such as the large grain borer and the maize weevil.

The meeting allowed CIMMYT scientists, partners, and collaborators in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to exchange ideas, information, and research outputs on the effective grain storage project; raise awareness on promotion and dissemination of effective grain storage technologies in SADC; and consult stakeholders on effective post-harvest technology, policy environment, and market issues, for the purpose of refining, updating, and implementing EGSP-II. Bekele Shiferaw, director of the CIMMYT Socioeconomics Program, called for a holistic approach in the project implementation. “Enabling policy environment and market linkages have a strong bearing on investments in post-harvest handling,” said Shiferaw. “Reliable markets that allow capturing of benefits from quality and seasonal price gains enable storage investments,” he added.

Presiding over the launch on behalf of Emmanuel Chenda, Honorable Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Republic of Zambia, Deputy Minister Rodgers Mwewa noted that the project could not have come at a better time for the region. The benefit of bumper harvests has been negated by insufficient storage capacity and resulting post-harvest losses. “Due to a lack of awareness and access to appropriate technologies, farmers end up selling their maize soon after harvest, when prices are at their lowest, partly to curb the loss to post-harvest pests and partly to meet other financial needs. The same farmers are forced to buy the grains back at more than twice the price later in the season, resulting in a continual poverty trap,” added Chenda, in a speech read on his behalf by his deputy.

Maize provides food and income to over 300 million resource-poor smallholders in eastern and southern Africa. Therefore, postharvest losses fuel food insecurity and impoverishment. “We have to find lasting solutions to postharvest losses,” said Chenda. “The potential impact of increased maize productivity on poverty reduction and greater livelihood security will not be realized unless technological and institutional innovations are identified and deployed to overcome the chronic syndrome of ‘sell low and buy high,’” he concluded.

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Maize without borders: Reforming maize seed sector policies to meet farmers’ needs in Africa

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CIMMYT E-News, vol 5 no. 10, October 2008

Senior policy makers from sub-Saharan Africa have recently made recommendations for policy actions to reform operations in the maize seed sector. At stake is better access for millions of small-scale farmers to affordable, quality seed of maize, the region’s food staple. CIMMYT is closely involved.

oct01In the 2006-07 cropping season, 82 registered maize seed companies produced the bulk of just over 100,000 tons of improved maize seed that were marketed in the major maize producing countries of eastern and southern Africa (excluding South Africa) — enough to sow 35% of the maize land in those countries.

A recent CIMMYT study found that restrictive national policies, lack of credit opportunities, inadequate seed production capacities, insufficient numbers of recently released public sector varieties, and challenging marketing situations were the main reasons why maize seed sector growth is slow in many African countries. Worse, this situation contributes significantly to Africa’s poor food security and farm incomes.

“The good news is that we have today four times more seed companies than ten years ago and they have increased seed provision from 26% to 35% of the total planted maize area,” says CIMMYT socioeconomist Augustine Langyintuo. “Yet there is still a significant, unmet demand for seed, and this underscores the need for new policies that support efficient seed production, processing, and marketing.”

In 2007 Langyintuo led the above-mentioned study to characterize seed providers and bottlenecks to seed supplies in eastern and southern Africa. A total of 117 representatives from seed companies, national research programs, and CBOs/NGOs participated, and information was gathered on the seed sectors in Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

In July 2008, more than 60 senior policy makers from agriculture ministries, private seed companies, seed trade associations, and regional trade blocs from 13 sub-Saharan African countries met in Nairobi, Kenya and recommended ways to improve farmers’ access to seed of improved drought tolerant maize varieties through specific policy actions to enhance the production, release, and marketing of these varieties. They agreed with the findings of the 2007 seed sector study.

Understanding the hurdles

The main findings were that investment capital requirements and a shortage of qualified staff hinder the growth of small, local seed companies that have emerged over the past decade, according to Langyintuo. “The costs of setting up and running an office, recruiting and retaining qualified personnel, and procuring and operating production, processing, and storage facilities are beyond what many local businesses can afford, and access to operational credit is limited or nil,” he says.

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Up to 60% of a seed company’s operational budget goes into seed production. Seed companies, therefore, need affordable credit over the mid-to-long term to produce enough seed to meet farmers’ needs. Marketing seed is also costly. “Most companies rely on third-party agents such as agro-dealers, large retail stores, NGOs, or the government to retail most of their seed,” says Langyintuo. “The majority of the agro-dealers lack funds to purchase seed, and so must take it on consignment, forcing companies to retrieve unsold seed at cost. The dealers are normally not knowledgeable enough about the seed they sell to promote it effectively, and some of them have also been known to adulterate seed with mere grain.”

Other hurdles identified include cumbersome varietal release, registration, and seed certification regulations, as well as a weak producer base, slow access to the best germplasm, uncompetitive prices in local grain markets, low adoption rates of improved varieties, restrictions on cross-border trade in seed, and poor infrastructure (such as bad roads and inadequate storage facilities).

Policy actions needed

To get farmers the seed they want will involve a range of players in the maize seed sector and calls for specific policy actions. Participants in the July 2008 meeting identified ways in which governments and international centers like CIMMYT and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) can assist and support current seed companies to improve their seed outputs and profits.

“The government is supporting the maize seed sector through initiatives such as increasing investments in agricultural research and extension, training of agro-dealers, and developing the National Seed Industry Policy,” confirms Kenya’s Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Japheth Mbiuki.

“Seed companies would benefit from access to a wider range of improved maize varieties, good seed production sites, affordable inputs, and training in effective business practices,” adds Langyintuo. CIMMYT normally distributes its experimental varieties freely to everyone, but granting companies some degree of exclusivity in their use would facilitate branding and promote sales. This would have to be tailored to specific country and company contexts, according to Langyintuo.

Maize seed without borders

No country is an island, and with increasing regional integration of economies around the world, it makes sense that the region should move as one in developing its maize seed sector. Regional trade blocs such as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) are key. “Specific actions and commitments by national governments include dedicating increased funds (at least 10% of their national budgets) for agricultural development and harmonization of regional seed regulations,” says Ambassador Nagla El-Hussainy, COMESA Assistant Secretary General. “This will improve rates of variety release, lower costs in dealing with regulatory authorities, increase trade in seed of improved varieties and, ultimately, adoption by farmers.” In East Africa, for instance, the national seed policies of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are at various stages of development and are set to be harmonized soon.

“Effective trade and risk management strategies that buffer seed supply within countries are needed to stabilize and increase maize production in the region,” says Marianne BĂ€nziger, CIMMYT Global Maize Program Director. “These will mitigate the impact of drought and national production fluctuations, which are some of the harsh realities that farmers and consumers face.”

“Where applicable, carrying out the distinctness, uniformity and stability (DUS) tests alongside national performance trials (NPT) could speed up varietal releases,” adds Langyintuo. “Farmers’ awareness of the usefulness and availability of new varieties can be raised through improved extension message delivery, widespread demonstrations, and better retail networks.”

According to Richard Amoussou, an Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture in Benin: “The links between (community-based) seed producers and seed companies should be strengthened through contracts. This will ensure that quality seed is produced and sold to seed companies, who must finally distribute the seed to the farmers, thus improving their access.”

“Streamlining the seed sector will directly benefit the productivity and incomes of small-scale farmers and result in more and more affordable food for consumers – significant in the current global food crisis,” concludes BĂ€nziger. She says this is crucial, given the twin challenges of the global food price crisis and more frequent droughts due to climate change.

For more information: Augustine Langyintuo, socioeconomist (a.langyintuo@cgiar.org)

Doubled haploids speed development of drought tolerant maize for Africa

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CIMMYT E-News, vol 5 no. 5, May 2008

may01CIMMYT is adapting an advanced technology—the doubled haploid approach—to develop inbred lines of tropical maize for sub-Saharan Africa. It promises to reduce costs and speed the arrival of better-adapted maize for resource-poor farmers in the world’s toughest environments.

CIMMYT scientists have begun developing drought tolerant varieties of tropical maize for places like sub-Saharan Africa using a high-tech approach—known as doubled haploids—previously applied principally by commercial seed companies working mostly on temperate maize.

“Haploid” refers to the number of chromosomes in a reproductive cell, like sperm or ovum. In grasses like maize, the reproductive cells—pollen and ovules—contain half the chromosomes of a full-grown individual. Fertilization joins the genetic information from the two parents, and offspring carry paired sets of chromosomes, reflecting the diversity of each parent.

“Maize breeders working on hybrids—the most productive type of maize variety and the one marketed by most seed companies—must at some point create genetically-stable and pure lines of desirable, individual plants, for use as parents of hybrids,” says CIMMYT maize physiologist Jose Luis Araus. Conventionally, breeders get the lines by repeatedly fertilizing selected, individual maize plants with the plant’s own pollen. The process requires expensive field space, labor, and time—normally, seven or more generations, which represents at least three years, even in settings where it’s possible to grow two crops per season.

Purer, faster, cheaper

In the latter part of the 20th century, crop scientists developed a quicker, cheaper path to genetically-uniform parent lines—though a technically intricate method. The first step involves crossing normal maize with special maize types called “inducers,” whose pollen causes the normal maize to produce seed containing haploid embryos. The haploid embryo carries a single set of its own chromosomes, rather than the normal paired sets. The embryos are planted, and subsequent treatment of the seedlings with a particular chemical causes them to make “photocopies” of their haploid chromosomes, resulting in a fertile plant endowed with a doubled set of identical chromosomes and able to produce seed of 100% genetic purity. “The actual treatment, as well as getting from the embryo to a reasonable amount of seed of the pure line, is very complicated,” says Ciro Sánchez Rodríguez, CIMMYT technician in charge of doubled haploid field trials, “but when the process is perfected, it only takes two generations—about one year—and the logistical advantages are tremendous.”

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First extensive use in the tropics

CIMMYT is implementing the doubled haploid technology on a research station in Mexico, using drought tolerant plants adapted to sub-Saharan Africa. “CIMMYT’s use of the practice is another example of how we put advanced technologies at the service of disadvantaged, small-scale farmers,” says Araus. “Among other things, this represents a significant opportunity to increase the availability of improved, drought tolerant maize varieties for sub-Saharan Africa,” he says.

Commercial seed companies in Europe and North America have been the main users of the doubled haploid technology, and the inducer genotypes available are of temperate adaptation. “The inducers perform very poorly in the tropical conditions of our Mexico stations,” says Vanessa Prigge, a PhD student from the University of Hohenheim working at CIMMYT to perfect the technique. To generate inducers that work better in tropical settings, Prigge and colleagues are crossing temperate inducers from Hohenheim with CIMMYT maize from Mexico, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. “We expect to have tropical versions of the inducers in a couple years,” she says.

Reaching farmers’ fields

Maize lines from this work will be used initially in the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) and the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) projects.

“This is a very exciting technology,” says Aida Kebede, an Ethiopian PhD student from Hohenheim helping to establish the doubled haploid technology at CIMMYT. “It holds the key to addressing more quickly the persistent problems of African maize growers: drought, disease pressure, and low productivity. I’m happy to contribute!”

Smallholder maize farmers in Zimbabwe lack knowledge of open-pollinated varieties

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CIMMYT E-News, vol 4 no. 5, May 2007

OPVs perform as well as hybrids or better under the low-input conditions of many smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe, but farmers need information and training about how properly to use them.

A new study to assess the effectiveness of a large-scale maize seed relief effort in Zimbabwe during 2003-07 shows that, even among vulnerable, small-scale farmers living on the edge of survival under the most difficult conditions, a livelihood-saving technology like quality seed of open-pollinated maize varieties (OPVs) is not enough, without knowledge about how best to use it.

Farmers can save grain of OPVs from their harvest and sow it the following year without the yield or other qualities of the variety diminishing substantially. Hybrids normally yield more than OPVs under favorable conditions, but “recycling” the seed in subsequent seasons will result in a significant loss of that yield and of other advantages; farmers must purchase fresh seed each season to retain them. “Zimbabwe farmers have historically favored hybrids, and they have limited knowledge about OPVs,” says Augustine Langyintuo, CIMMYT socioeconomist and lead author of the study. “Changing economic circumstances in the country have meant that many farmers can no longer purchase fertilizer to take best advantage of hybrid yield potential. We interviewed 597 households in 6 districts of Zimbabwe where a major seed-relief effort had, among other aims, promoted the broader diffusion of OPVs over hybrids, thereby giving smallholder farmers the possibility to save and re-use their own seed without sacrificing their meager yields.”

The seed aid effort, which was funded by British Department for International Development (DfID) and coordinated by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) regional office in Harare, enlisted the assistance of 16 non-government organizations (NGOs) to distribute improved maize seed to more than 25,000 needy farmers. “The average household size in our survey group was 6.5 members, supported by a cultivated farm size of just 1.7 hectares, over 60% of which is planted to maize,” says Langyintuo. “Nearly a third of the households were headed by widowed females, a factor highly correlated with poverty.”

Under the relief program, the NGOs were expected to inform farmers of the types of seed being distributed and the need to select, store, and re-use the seed properly in subsequent seasons. Less than half the beneficiaries in the first year of the program were informed of the type of seeds to be provided, although the proportion increased to more than 60% over time. Information on OPVs was limited to the fact that they can be recycled. Less than half were ever taught how to select or store their seed.

According to Langyintuo, many farmers continue to recycle hybrids, or improperly select OPV grain for future use as seed, or—in the worst cases—eat all their grain and hope for another aid shipment to sow next year. “The relatively well-endowed farmers were more willing to recycle OPV seed. In future efforts, NGOs should perhaps target them to ensure larger-scale spillovers,” he says. “In general, whoever distributes seed of improved OPVs should provide information on proper seed selection and follow up with field-level training. Farmers should also be involved in the choice of the varieties.”

Another key issue to grapple with is the unavailability of OPV seed on the market. This stems from the unwillingness of seed companies to develop and promote OPVs, given the perception that farmers will simply recycle them and never buy fresh seed. “Zimbabwe farmers recycle both OPVs and hybrids, but if given a choice, they will purchase fresh seed whenever they can,” says Langyintuo. “OPVs perform as well as hybrids or better under the low-input conditions of many smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe, so they constitute a good option for such farmers.”

You can view or download the study “Assessment of the effectiveness of maize seed assistance to vulnerable farm households in Zimbabwe.”

For more information: Augustine Langyintuo, socioeconomist (a.langyintuo@cgiar.org)