The Fast Tracking Climate Solutions from CGIAR Germplasm Banks project, led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), is expanding the use of common bean and maize biodiversity, held in trust for humanity in the genebanks of CGIAR, to develop the raw ingredients of new climate-smart crop varieties for small-scale farmers in the Northern Triangle: Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
Aligned with, and building upon the Mining Useful Alleles for Climate Change Adaptation from CGIAR Genebanks project, this project aims to identify common bean accessions in genebanks that contain alleles, or gene variations, responsible for characteristics such as heat, drought or salt tolerance, and to facilitate their use in breeding climate-resilient crop varieties. Additionally, within the maize work, the project focuses on transferring valuable novel genetic variation identified from landraces under the aligned project into breeding materials suitable for variety development in the Northern Triangle.
Through this project, breeders will learn how to use genebank materials more effectively and efficiently to develop climate-smart versions of important food crops.
Building on ten years of support to CIMMYT from the Mexican government, CGIAR Trust Fund contributors, the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, and the ongoing Mining Useful Alleles for Climate Change Adaptation from CGIAR Genebanks project, this project combines the use of cutting-edge technologies and approaches, high-performance computing, GIS mapping, and new plant breeding methods to identify and use accessions with high value for climate-adaptive breeding of varieties needed by farmers and consumers.
Objectives:
Support faster and more cost-effective discovery and deployment of climate-adaptive alleles from the worldâs germplasm collections.
Test integrated approaches for the rapid and cost-effective discovery and deployment of climate-adaptive alleles.
Representatives from CGIAR leadership, CGIAR Centers, government and other stakeholders stand for a group photo during the launch of the AgriLAC Resiliente Initiative in Guatemala City. (Photo: CGIAR)
Latin America and the Caribbean possess the largest reserve of arable land on the planet, 30% of renewable water, 46% of tropical forests and 30% of biodiversity. These resources represent an important contribution to the world’s food supply and other ecosystem services. However, climate change and natural disasters, exacerbated by COVID-19, have deteriorated economic and food security, destabilizing communities and causing unprecedented migration, impacting not only the region but the entire world.
Against this regional backdrop, AgriLAC Resiliente was created. This CGIAR Initiative seeks to increase the resilience, sustainability and competitiveness of the region’s agrifood systems and actors. It aims to equip them to meet urgent food security needs, mitigate climate hazards, stabilize communities vulnerable to conflict and reduce forced migration.
Guatemala was selected to present this Initiative, which will also impact farmers in Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru, and will be supported by national governments, the private sector, civil society, and regional and global donors and partners.
At a workshop on June 27â28, 2022, in Guatemala City, partners consolidated their collaboration by presenting the Initiative and developing a regional roadmap. Workshop participants included representatives from the government of Guatemala, NGOs, international cooperation programs, the private sector, producer associations, and other key stakeholders from the host country. Also at the workshop were the leaders from CGIAR research Centers involved in the Initiative, such as the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the International Potato Center (CIP) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
JoaquĂn Lozano, CGIAR Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, presents during the launch of the AgriLAC Resiliente Initiative. (Photo: CGIAR)
Impact through partnerships
“Partnerships are the basis for a future of food security for all through the transformation of food systems in the context of a climate crisis. AgriLACâs goal of a coordinated strategy and regional presence will facilitate strong joint action with partners, donors, and producers, and ensure that CGIAR science continues to be leveraged so that it has the greatest possible impact,” said JoaquĂn Lozano, CGIAR Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.
This Initiative is one of many CGIAR Initiatives in Latin America and consists of five research components: Climate and nutrition that seeks to use collaborative innovations for climate resilient and nutritious agrifood systems; Digital agriculture through the use of digital and inclusive tools for the creation of actionable knowledge; Low-emission competitiveness focused on agroecosystems, landscapes and value chains that are low in sustainable emissions; Innovation and scaling with the Innova-Hubs network for agrifood innovations and scaling; and finally, Science for timely decision making and establishment of policies, institutions, and investments for resilient, competitive and low-emission agrifood systems.
“We know the important role that smallholder farmers, both women and men, will play in the appropriation of the support tools that the Initiative will offer, which will allow them to make better decisions for the benefit of their communities. That is why one of the greatest impacts we expect from the project will be the contribution to gender equality, the creation of opportunities for youth, and the promotion of social inclusion,” said Carolina GonzĂĄlez, leader of the Initiative, from the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT.
Bram Govaerts, Director General of CIMMYT, said: “In Guatemala, we have had the opportunity to work side by side with farmers who today, more than ever, face the vicious circle of conflict, poverty and climate change. Through this Initiative, we hope to continue making progress in the transformation of agrifood systems in Central America, helping to make agriculture a dignified and satisfying job and a source of prosperity for the region’s producers.â
“I realize the importance of implementing strategic actions designed to improve the livelihoods of farmers. The environmental impact of development without sustainable planning puts at risk the wellbeing of humanity. The Initiatives of this workshop contribute to reducing the vulnerability of both productive systems and farmers and their families. This is an ideal scenario to strengthen alliances that allow for greater impact and respond to the needs of the country and the region,” said Jose Angel Lopez, Guatemalaâs Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food.
Bram Govaerts, Director General of CIMMYT (right), presents during the launch of the AgriLAC Resiliente Initiative. (Photo: CGIAR)
National and regional strategies
AgriLAC Resiliente will also be presented in Honduras, where national partners will learn more about the Initiative and its role in achieving a resilient, sustainable, and competitive Latin America and the Caribbean, that will enable it to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Under the general coordination of CGIAR, other Initiatives are also underway in Guatemala that will synergize with the global research themes toward the transformation of more resilient agrifood systems.
“We are committed to providing a structure that responds to national and regional priorities, needs, and demands. The support of partners, donors and producers will be key to building sustainable and more efficient agrifood systems,” Lozano said.
About CGIAR
CGIAR is a global research partnership for a food-secure future, dedicated to transforming food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis. Its research is carried out by 13 CGIAR Centers/Alliances in close collaboration with hundreds of partners, including national and regional research institutes, civil society organizations, academia, development organizations and the private sector. www.cgiar.org
We would like to thank all Funders who support this research through their contributions to the CGIAR Trust Fund.
About the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT
The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) delivers research-based solutions that address the global crises of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. The Alliance focuses on the nexus of agriculture, nutrition and environment. We work with local, national, and multinational partners across Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean, and with the public and private sectors and civil society. With novel partnerships, the Alliance generates evidence and mainstreams innovations to transform food systems and landscapes so that they sustain the planet, drive prosperity, and nourish people in a climate crisis.
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is an international nonprofit agricultural research and training organization that empowers farmers through science and innovation to nourish the world in the midst of a climate crisis. Applying high-quality science and strong partnerships, CIMMYT works toward a world with healthier, more prosperous people, freedom from global food crises, and more resilient agrifood systems. CIMMYT’s research brings higher productivity and better profits to farmers, mitigates the effects of the climate crisis, and reduces the environmental impact of agriculture.
The International Potato Center (CIP) was founded in 1971 as a research-for-development organization with a focus on potato, sweetpotato and andean roots and tubers. It delivers innovative science-based solutions to enhance access to affordable nutritious food, foster inclusive sustainable business and employment growth, and drive the climate resilience of root and tuber agrifood systems. Headquartered in Lima, Peru, CIP has a research presence in more than 20 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries. IFPRI currently has more than 600 employees working in over 50 countries. Global, regional, and national food systems face major challenges and require fundamental transformations. IFPRI is focused on responding to these challenges through a multidisciplinary approach to reshape food systems so they work for all people sustainably.
With the participation of more than 30 researchers from four CGIAR Centers located in the Americas, a planning workshop for a new CGIAR Research Initiative, AgriLAC Resiliente, was held on April 4â6, 2022. Its purpose was to define the implementation of activities to improve the livelihoods of producers in Latin America, with the support of national governments, the private sector, civil society, and CGIARâs regional and global funders, and partners.
âThis workshop is the first face-to-face planning meeting aimed at defining, in a joined-up manner and map in hand, how the teams across Centers in the region will complement each other, taking advantage of the path that each Center has taken in Latin America, but this time based on the advantage of reaching the territories not as four independent Centers, but as one CGIAR team,â says Deissy MartĂnez BarĂłn, leader of the Initiative from the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT.
AgriLAC Resiliente is an Initiative co-designed to transform food systems in Latin America and the Caribbean. It aims to increase resilience, ecosystem services and the competitiveness of agrifood innovation systems in the region. Through this Initiative, CGIAR is committed to providing a regional structure that enhances its effectiveness and responds better to national and regional priorities, needs and demands.
This Initiative is one of a number that the CGIAR has in Latin America and the Caribbean and consists of five research components:
Climate and nutrition that seeks to use collaborative innovations for climate-resilient and nutritious agrifood systems;
Digital agriculture through the use of digital and inclusive tools for the creation of actionable knowledge;
Competitiveness with low emissions, focused on agroecosystems, landscapes and value chains, low in sustainable emissions;
Innovation and scaling with the Innova-Hubs network for agrifood innovations and their scaling up;
Science for timely decision making and the establishment of policies, institutions and investments in resilient, competitive and low-emission agrifood systems.
The regional character of these CGIAR Initiatives and of the teams of researchers who make them a reality in the territories with the producers, was prominent in the minds of the leadership that also participated in this workshop. Martin Kropff, Global Director, Resilient Agrifood Systems, CGIAR; JoaquĂn Lozano, Regional Director, Latin America and the Caribbean, CGIAR; Ăscar Ortiz, Acting Director General of the International Potato Center; JesĂșs Quintana, Manager for the Americas of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT; and Bram Govaerts, Director General of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), all stated the importance of CGIAR being central to every discussion in which the teams are co-constructing a greater consensus on what AgriLAC Resliente is, what it wants to achieve, the approach it will use, and the goals it aims to achieve through synergies among its five components.
Acting as an integrated organization is also an opportunity for CGIAR to leverage co-developed solutions and solve local challenges in the global South related to climate change and agrifood systems transformation. âBuilding the new CGIAR involves tons of collaboration and coordination. In this AgriLAC Resiliente workshop, we have had a dialogue full of energy focused on achieving real impactâ highlighted Bram Govaerts. He continued, âthis is an occasion to strengthen teamwork around this CGIAR Initiative in which the Integrated Agrifood System Initiative approach will be applied in the Latin American region, which is a very interconnected regionâ he pointed out.
One of the main results of this workshop is an opportunity to carry out the integration of the CGIAR teams in the implementation of the AgriLAC Resiliente Initiative, with applied science and the decisive role of the partners at each point of the region, as mechanisms for change.
In 2022, the research teams will begin to lay the groundwork for implementing the Initiativeâs integrative approach to strengthen the innovations to be co-developed with partners and collaborators in the Latin American region, that encompass the interconnected nature of the global South.
The Biofortified Maize for Improved Human Nutrition project conducts field research both at CIMMYT and with partners on breeding for increased pro-vitamin A and Zinc content in both Africa and Latin America. The project grant is renewed annually and has been in operation since 2004.
Key activities include supporting early and mid-late product development, evaluation and release in Mexico and target countries in southern Africa, food science and retention studies. Molecular breeding and biochemical analysis are key components for successful breeding, and the project also involves technical backstopping for partners in both regions.
Objectives
Conduct field research on breeding for increased pro-vitamin A for target countries in Africa
Conduct field research on breeding for increased Zinc for product evaluation and release
Conduct essential research to deploy analytical tools and marker assisted selection or genomic selection methods in micronutrient breeding work
Facilitate the dissemination, promotion and consumption of biofortified crops
General view of the experimental field in Lempira, Honduras. (Photo: Nele Verhulst/CIMMYT)
Populations in Central America are rising rapidly, but staple crop production seems unable to keep up with increasing food demands.
Maize yields are particularly low compared to other regions. Cumulatively, farmers in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua produce maize on nearly 2.5 million hectares, with a large proportion of these maize systems also including beans, either through relay cropping or intercropping. Though potential yields are estimated to be as high as 10 metric tons per hectare, average production remains low at around 2.28.
There is clearly immense opportunity for improvement, but it is not always obvious which issues need tackling.
Yield gap analysis â which measures the difference between potential and actual yield â is a useful starting point for addressing the issue and identifying intensification prospects. It is not a new concept in applied agronomy, but it has not been adequately applied in many regions. For example, Analyses of Central America tend to be grouped with the rest of Latin America, making it difficult to provide recommendations tailored to local contexts.
I see a more comprehensive understanding of the regionâs specific crop production limitations as the first step towards improving food security.
Along with fellow researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and other institutions, we set out to identify the main factors limiting production in these areas. We established field trials in six maize and bean producing regions in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, which represent about three-quarters of the maize producing area. We assessed factors such as water stress, nutrient deficiency, pressure from pests and diseases, and inter-plant competition, hypothesizing that optimized fertilization and supplementary irrigation would have the greatest effects on yields.
A maize cob in La Libertad, El Salvador, shows kernels affected by tar spot complex which have not filled completely (Photo: Nele Verhulst/CIMMYT)
We found that while improved fertilization improved maize yields by 11% on average, it did not have a significant effect on bean production. Irrigation had no effect, though this was mainly due to good rainfall distribution throughout the growing season in the study year. On average, optimized planting arrangements increased maize yields by 18%, making it the most promising factor we evaluated.
It was interesting though perhaps unsurprising to note that the contribution of each limiting factor to yield gaps carried across all sites and no single treatment effectively increased yields consistently across all sites. The trial results confirmed that production constraints are highly dependent on local management practices and agroecological location.
With this in mind, we recommend that development actors aiming to increase crop production begin by conducting multi-year, participatory experiments to understand the primary causes of yield gaps and identify the limitations specific to the areas in question, as this will allow for more effective research and policy efforts.
Julio CalderoÌn and Tom Lumpkin stop for a photo as they tour the CIMMYT campus. Photos: Xochiquetzal FonsecaThe CIMMYT delegation provides a presentation for CalderoÌn. From left to right: Felix San Vicente, ViÌctor LoÌpez, Lumpkin, CalderoÌn, Arturo Hinojosa and Isabel PenÌa.
In Texcoco, Mexico, on 03 December, Thomas A. Lumpkin, CIMMYT director general, signed a memorandum of understanding with Julio CalderoÌn, Executive Secretary of the Central American Agriculture and Livestock Council (CAC), for shared work to strengthen the seed sector and to promote seed of improved crop varieties and relevant mechanization for small- and intermediate-scale farmers in the region.
Created in 1991, CAC is part of the Central American Integration System (SICA) established by Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama and helps to link agricultural with other key sectors and agencies, in benefit of farmers and rural inhabitants.
From left to right: Bram Govaerts, CalderoÌn, Lumpkin and San Vicente pause for a photo.CalderoÌn and Lumpkin sign the memorandum of understanding.
Skyrocketing food prices recently brought Latin American agriculture ministers from 14 countries and development experts to CIMMYT to seek a way forward for a region characterized by serious rural poverty.
On 26 May 2008, ministers of agriculture and government officials from Belize, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela, as well as representatives of international organizations working in agricultural development and the Mexican mediaâmore than 70 persons in allâvisited CIMMYTâs headquarters in Mexico to learn about the centerâs work and discuss collaborative strategies for addressing the food price crisis. The visit was part of a two-day summit organized by Mexicoâs agriculture (SAGARPA) and foreign relations (SRE) ministries, following up on recommendations from a regional summit on the same topic in Nicaragua earlier this month.
Speaking on behalf of the Alliance of Centers of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) in his welcoming talk, CIMMYT Director General Tom Lumpkin emphasized the need to move from the present emergency to a permanent vision for addressing the crisis. âIt appears that two decades of complacency about basic food production has finally given way to a sense of urgency,â Lumpkin said. âWe must now transform that urgency into a long-term vision, making sensible investments in agricultural research and extension to provide food for our children and our grandchildren.â
Have policy makers forgotten small-scale farmers?
The rising cost of food is being felt around the world, especially by poor people in rural zones. Though often not on the radar screens of policymakers, the rural poor are numerous. A recent paper from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) says there are more than 400 million small farms in developing countries, and that these are home to most of the worldâs hungry and disadvantaged. In Latin America and the Caribbean, nearly 64% of the rural population lives below the poverty line, according to a report by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Over the last two decades, the number of poor people in rural areas in the region has increased in both absolute and relative terms, the report says.
The CIMMYT community and friends across the globe mourn the loss of maize breeder and distinguished scientist, Hugo Salvador CĂłrdova Orellana, who died on 25 December 2009. CĂłrdova worked for more than three decades with CIMMYT to improve the food security of disadvantaged maize farmers and consumers.
It was unusually hot for the rainy season, but the torrid sun did not dampen farmersâ enthusiasm on the afternoon of 02 September 2009. âThis is a variety that yields well, even if we donât put lots of fertilizer on it, and it has a sweet taste and mills well,â said Francisca Lilian Melgar. Along with 24 other farmers at Lomas de Santiago, El Salvador, she has joined her plot with others to form a communal âmega-plotâ of about 25 hectares to test-grow the quality protein maize (QPM) hybrid âOro Blancoâ (White Gold).
Each farmer has received seed and other inputs through AgroSalud, a five-year project that started in 2005 with funding from the Canadian International Development Agency to extend the benefits of nutritionally improved staple crops to Latin America and the Caribbean. CIMMYTâs work in the project has been led by maize breeder Gary Atlin, and includes many activities to develop, improve, and disseminate stress resistant, agronomically superior varieties of QPM, a type of maize that contains enhanced amounts of the essential amino acids lysine and tryptophan than normal maize.
Hours earlier that day, many of the same specialists, along with staff of the Health and Education ministries and representatives of farmer associations, had gathered in the headquarters of El Salvadorâs Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock in San Salvador to attend presentations and take part in discussions on the importance of QPM. The event was covered by leading national TV and radio stations, and included presentations by Scott Ferguson, CIMMYT deputy director general for Support Services; Kevin Pixley, associate director of CIMMYTâs Global Maize Program; and Hugo CĂłrdova, retired CIMMYT maize breeder and distinguished scientist. Among other things, presenters reported on achievements of AgroSalud. âIn the last five years, weâve achieved annual increases of 250 kilograms per hectare in the yields of QPM hybrids,â said CĂłrdova, a Salvadoran native. âBecause the parent lines were selected under stress conditions, these hybrids perform well in all settings.â
More than 500 farmers attended the ceremony along with extension agents and officials including the Minister of Agriculture, Mario Salaverria; the Vice Minister of Agriculture, Emilio Suadi; the Presidential High Commissioner for Agriculture, MarĂa Elena Sol; Ever HernĂĄndez, CENTA Board Chair; and Abraham GonzĂĄles, CENTA Director.
The Minister and the Vice Ministers spoke to farmers about the potential of the cultivars to alleviate hunger and malnutrition especially now, during the world food crisis. The new cultivars will be grown on 3,000 hectares this year, and the ministers promised that farmers will have enough seed to sow at least 20,000 hectares in 2009. Farmers who ran demonstration plots last year were happy that the cultivars were finally released.
Salaverria said he was impressed during a visit to CIMMYT last May and commended the center for its work to increase maize yields in El Salvador by 250 kg per hectare per year for the past 4 years. The national maize yield has increased to an average 3 tons per hectare, which is the highest in the region. The goal is to reach 4.3 tons per hectare in the next 10 years and to locally produce all white and yellow maize needed in the country. El Salvador is self-sufficient in white maize for food but imports all yellow maize used for the animal feed industry. The day of the release the price of yellow maize had reached USD 400 a ton.
On Friday 20 June Hugo CĂłrdova participated in a forum organized by the El Salvador Agronomists Society (SIADES) to discuss actions to reduce the impact of the food crisis and present alternatives from the Organization for Health Improvement of Agricultural Workers and Families in Guatemala (AGROSALUD) to alleviate hunger, malnutrition, and reduce poverty. Salaverria, who is Minister of Agriculture and Chair of the Central American Council of Agriculture (CAC), reiterated his interest in supporting AGROSALUD.
The Fast Tracking Climate Solutions from CGIAR Germplasm Banks project, led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), is expanding the use of common bean and maize biodiversity, held in trust for humanity in the genebanks of CGIAR, to develop the raw ingredients of new climate-smart crop varieties for small-scale farmers in the Northern Triangle: Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
Skyrocketing food prices recently brought Latin American agriculture ministers from 14 countries and development experts to CIMMYT to seek a way forward for a region characterized by serious rural poverty.
It was unusually hot for the rainy season, but the torrid sun did not dampen farmersâ enthusiasm on the afternoon of 02 September 2009. âThis is a variety that yields well, even if we donât put lots of fertilizer on it, and it has a sweet taste and mills well,â said Francisca Lilian Melgar. Along with 24 other farmers at Lomas de Santiago, El Salvador, she has joined her plot with others to form a communal âmega-plotâ of about 25 hectares to test-grow the quality protein maize (QPM) hybrid âOro Blancoâ (White Gold).
Hours earlier that day, many of the same specialists, along with staff of the Health and Education ministries and representatives of farmer associations, had gathered in the headquarters of El Salvadorâs Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock in San Salvador to attend presentations and take part in discussions on the importance of QPM. The event was covered by leading national TV and radio stations, and included presentations by Scott Ferguson, CIMMYT deputy director general for Support Services; Kevin Pixley, associate director of CIMMYTâs Global Maize Program; and Hugo CĂłrdova, retired CIMMYT maize breeder and distinguished scientist. Among other things, presenters reported on achievements of AgroSalud. âIn the last five years, weâve achieved annual increases of 250 kilograms per hectare in the yields of QPM hybrids,â said CĂłrdova, a Salvadoran native. âBecause the parent lines were selected under stress conditions, these hybrids perform well in all settings.â