Location: Nepal

For more information, contact CIMMYT’s Nepal office.

USAID and CIMMYT visit the 1st community-managed maize seed company in the hills of Nepal

Written by on November 1, 2012. Posted in News.

PHOTO-NEPAL21 The community based seed production (CBSP) program is one of the most successful interventions of the Hill Maize Research Project (HMRP) Phase IV in Nepal. Through this program, the project has significantly contributed to the increase in maize seed replacement rate, maize productivity, and income of smallholder and resource-poor farmers in the hills of the country. To observe the successes achieved so far, teams from USAID-Nepal, CIMMYT-Mexico, and HMRP visited a community-managed seed company in the Thumpahkar Village of Sindupalchowk district, located about 100 km north-east of Kathmandu, on 12 October 2012. The USAID team comprised of John Stamm (General Development Office director, USAID-Nepal), Luis Guzman (Feed the Future team leader, USAID-Nepal), Shanker Khagi (South Asia Regional Initiative for Energy country coordinator), and Lindsey Moore (USAID-Bangladesh). CIMMYT’s Thomas Short (deputy director general for Corporate Services), Nellooli P. Rajasekharan (International Human Resources director), G. Ortiz Ferrara (HMRP team leader), Nirmal Gadal (HMRP agronomist), and Dilli KC (HMRP seed value chain and marketing expert) were also present, along with about 35 seed growers, including the management team of the company.

The meeting was chaired by Gunda Bahadur Dhami, chairperson of Sindhu-Tuki Seed Production Cooperative Ltd. During a brief presentation, the company’s coordinator D.B. Bhandari summarized the institutional graduation of the farmers’ groups to a cooperative and later to a private seed company. Starting in 2005, the cooperative developed into a private seed company in 2010 with the technical support from HMRP. It currently works with 300 members organized in 14 CBSP groups. Bhandari also discussed the company’s current activities, future plan, operational model, membership policy, marketing activities, and approaches to gender and sustainability.

Stamm acknowledged the project team and congratulated farmers on the impact achieved so far. “USAID-Nepal considers HMRP a very successful project, and your seed company is a model for economic development of rural areas,” he said. Rajasekharan then thanked the HMRP team for organizing the field visit and expressed CIMMYT’s commitment to support the project staff in their work aiming to improve food security among Nepalese maize farmers. Short added: “I echo Raj’s words in congratulating the members of this seed company, but I also take the opportunity to thank the two donors of HMRP, USAID and SDC, for their financial and technical support given to the project.” Ortiz Ferrara stressed that “sustainability is the prime concern of HMRP, and the entire project activities are built on the clearly defined roles and responsibilities of the multiple stakeholders.

This small seed company is now operating on its own resources, and this is only one of the 195 CBSP groups coordinated by HMRP in 20 hill districts.” Responding to a question raised by Khagi regarding the competitiveness of improved maize seed, a female maize seed grower said: “The new maize varieties are high yielding, disease and lodging tolerant, have good taste, and the grain can be stored for a longer time.” Dhami followed: “We are just learning to walk and there is still a lot to do to help small farmers in our hill area to achieve food security and increase their income.” He thanked the guests for their valuable time and their continuing collaboration with the recently established seed company. At the end of the discussion, the team observed the seed processing plant, seed store house, and the community seed bank.

USAID supports CIMMYT-led partnership for heat resilient maize in South Asia

Written by on October 31, 2012. Posted in News.

PHOTO-NEPAL The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will support a partnership to develop heat resilient maize for South Asia, as part of the US government’s Feed the Future initiative. The partnership is led by CIMMYT and involves Purdue University, Pioneer Hi-Bred, and several private and national research partners in South Asia. The aim is to develop and deploy heat stress tolerant, high-yielding maize hybrids for vulnerable, maize-dependent areas of South Asia.

“Out of a total of approximately six million hectares of hybrid maize grown in South Asia, nearly a million hectares are highly vulnerable to high temperature stress,” said BM Prasanna, director of CIMMYT’s global maize program. “Nearly 80 percent of the maize in this region is rainfed and highly vulnerable to extreme weather events, including drought and high temperatures. At the same time, spring maize has become an important option for intensifying and diversifying cropping systems in South Asia, especially in the upper and middle Indo-Gangetic plains, but the crop is prone to severe heat stress as well.”

The project will be funded for five years (2012-17) and USAID contributions will be matched with in-kind support from the public-private alliance. Work will build on the elite, abiotic stress tolerant maize germplasm from CIMMYT; the technical expertise of key resource partners (CIMMYT, Purdue University, and Pioneer Hi-Bred); the maize breeding and phenotyping locations and strengths of the national research programs of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan; and the seed production capacity, farmer linkages, and market reach of private partners (Pioneer Hi-Bred, Vibha AgriTech, Ajeet Seeds, and Kaveri Seeds).

Maize traveling seminar for high-level officials in Nepal

Written by on October 3, 2012. Posted in News.

The Hill Maize Research Project (HMRP) led by CIMMYT, in close partnership with the the Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC) and the Department of Agriculture (DoA) jointly organized a five-day Maize Traveling Seminar for high-level officials in the hills of Nepal during 2-6 September 2012. The purpose of the seminar was to offer policy makers firsthand information on the status of maize varietal development, seed multiplication, marketing, technology dissemination, and the HMRP’s efforts to improve food security and livelihoods of the resource-poor and disadvantaged farmers in the hills of the country. The seminar was attended by 25 officials from the National Planning Commission (NPC), Ministry of Agriculture and Development (MoAD), Ministry of Finance (MoF), NARC, National Seed Board (NSB), DoA, donors (SDC and USAID), NGOs, private sector, and the media.

At the beginning of the seminar, the newly-established Ganesh Himal community-managed seed company from the mid-hill District of Dhading was inaugurated. Yamuna Ghale, senior program officer and SDC representative stressed its importance for the region: “The more than four tons of improved seed this company is expected to produce and sell to neighboring districts will help to increase the seed replacement rate in the area with resulting increases in productivity this year. This approach needs to be replicated in other hill areas of the country.” The participants then visited the National Maize Research Program (NMRP) in Rampur, Chitwan, where they observed varietal improvement and maintenance and source seed production activities. NMRP coordinator K.B. Koirala presented on the current status, priorities, and challenges of maize research and seed production in Nepal. He highlighted that the area under maize source seed production and the quality of the seed have been significantly improved, and that NMRP and other HMRP partners had reached thousands of resource-poor farmers in their respective command areas.

During the rest of the traveling seminar, participants visited HMRP partners’ activities in the hill districts of Palpa, Syangja, and Kaski, including participatory variety selection (PVS), community-based seed production (CBSP), maize-vegetables inter-cropping, and on-farm trials and demonstrations activities conducted by CBSP groups and cooperatives. In the Manakamana Women Farmers Group of Syangja district, about 45 women members gathered to welcome the participants of the seminar. During interactions with the farmers, they learnt about farmers’ constraints and needs for marketing the seed, improving yields, storage facilities, credits, inputs, training etc. Amy Prevatt, USAID-Nepal representative, expressed her satisfaction with the accomplishments of HMRP and its partners regarding reducing poverty and food insecurity in the hills of Nepal. “I am sure the project will continue supporting you to overcome the marketing constraints and to make your CBSP group stronger and sustainable,” she said. The team and the farmers carried a walk around the village to observe crop conditions in CBSP, PVS, and intercropping trials. The team then headed for the Palpa district to visit the Radha Krishna Women farmers groups and Shiva Sakti maize seed producers group in Chatiwan, which has recently graduated into a cooperative with technical assistance from HMRP and its partners.

The seminar was concluded with a business meeting co-chaired by Tek Bahadur Gurung (NARC director of livestock and fisheries) and Dharma Dutta Baral (deputy director general at DoA under MoAD). During the meeting, participants assessed the effectiveness of the seminar; most of them expressed their satisfaction over its achievements, shared recommendations for further improvement, and suggested that the seminar be conducted annually during the main maize season. “The seminar provided good information that can only be appreciated by observing it at the field level,” said Baral. Gurung summed up the meeting by thanking the seminar organizers and stating that “the NARC and the MoAD are proud of the close partnership we have maintained with CIMMYT over the past 27 years. Events like the traveling seminar give us the opportunity to witness some of the fruitful results of this partnership.”

Workshop on precision phenotyping in Asia

Written by on September 21, 2012. Posted in News.

To keep pace with the unprecedented increase in maize demand in Asia, maize programs in the region are increasingly using new tools and techniques for maize improvement to achieve long-term food security. One of such tools is precision phenotyping, the theme of a training workshop organized by CIMMYT-Asia at Hyderabad, India, during 29 August-1 September 2012. The workshop was attended by 31 scientists, including maize breeders, agronomists, and physiologists from Bangladesh, India, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Nepal, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka, collaborating with CIMMYT in various Asian regional projects: MAIZE, Affordable, Accessible, Asian (AAA) Drought Tolerant Maize, Abiotic Stress Tolerant Maize for Asia (ATMA); Asian Maize Drought Tolerance (AMDROUT), International Maize Improvement Center-Asia (IMIC-Asia); and collaborators from seed companies.

The participants were lucky to attend lectures by Vincent Vadez (crop physiologist and acting program director of Dryland Cereals, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics), P.H. Zaidi (senior maize physiologist/ breeder), L. Krishnamurthy (CIMMYT-Hyderabad consultant), B.S. Vivek (senior maize breeder), Zerka Rashid (CIMMYT project scientist), Raman Babu (CIMMYT maize molecular breeder), and MT Vinayan (post-doctoral fellow at CIMMYT-Hyderabad). Topics covered ranged from the importance of precision phenotyping for crop improvement, maize phenology and physiology, drought stress management, to root phenotyping techniques using mini-rhizotrons and molecular breeding.

The participants also received hands-on training in identifying maize growth stages and useful soil types for abiotic stress experiments and trials, and data analysis and management. During one of his lectures, Zaidi discussed the importance of heat and combined heat and drought stress in tropical maize and CIMMYT’s initiative in this newly emerging issue brought by climate change.

The course was well-received and highly appreciated by the participants, especially for its handson practical part and well-planned lectures.

phenotyping-wkshpZaidi

Nepal team receives the 1st BGRI Gene Stewardship Award

Written by on September 19, 2012. Posted in News.

Nepal-Team The first-ever Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI) Gene Stewardship Award was awarded to the Nepal wheat team for their performance in promoting durable wheat varieties and enhancing food security. The award was handed to the Nepal team at the BGRI Technical Workshop in Beijing, China, held during 1-4 September 2012. It was announced at a special ceremony by Ronnie Coffman (BGRI vice chair) and presented by Jeanie Borlaug Laube (BGRI chair).

The Stewardship Award recognizes a researcher or team of researchers serving a national breeding program or other nationally based institution. Award recipients demonstrate excellence in the development, multiplication, and/or release of rust resistant wheat varieties through appropriate means that encourage diversity and complexity of resistance, promote the durability of the materials, and help implement BGRI’s goal of responsible gene deployment and stewardship.

The Nepal team, led by Madan Raj Bhatta and consisting of Sarala Sharma, Dhruba Bahadur Thapa, Nutan Raj Gautam, and Deepak Bhandari, was nominated by Arun Joshi (CIMMYT senior wheat breeder). “The wheat research team of Nepal has contributed remarkably to bringing about the excellence in the development and release of rustresistant wheat varieties, seed multiplication of resistant varieties with diverse genetic backgrounds, disease surveillance, participatory research with farmers, and improvement of livelihoods of smallscale farmers to combat the problems of food security,” Joshi explained. “This shows what a small program can do to serve farmers and enhance productivity and sustainability.”

Currently, the wheat research team works to release Ug99 resistant varieties of wheat and disseminate the new varieties to resource poor farmers. The Ug99 resistant seed is expected to cover around 5.4% of the area under cultivation for wheat in Nepal by the end of the current cycle (2011-2012). The team has also increased awareness about resistant varieties and pre-release seed multiplication among farmers, seed industry, planners, and national agriculture system. The resistant high-yielding varieties have been developed through collaboration between NARC and international research centers: CIMMYT, the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), and BGRI. According to Madan Raj Bhatta (Nepal Agriculture Research Center, NARC), “the new technologies and wheat varieties introduced by the team have brought a significant increment in area and productivity of wheat during the last five years.” The wheat area increased from 0.7 mha to 0.8 mha, production from 1.4 metric tons to 1.7 metric tons, and productivity from 2.1 tons per hectare to 2.3 tons per hectare.

In addition to its work in Nepal, the wheat team has maintained strong international collaborations by actively working with internationally recognized institutions, such as CIMMYT, BGRI, Cornell University, University of Sydney, University of Minnesota, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, and Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute. During the ceremony, NARC representatives praised the impressive performance of wheat varieties developed by the head of CIMMYT Global Wheat Breeding program Ravi Singh. Dil Bahadur Gurung (NARC executive director) expressed happiness with the wheat team’s achievements and highlighted its importance for Nepal.

Nepal farmers like rust resistant wheat

Written by on May 28, 2012. Posted in News.

On 14 May 2012, at Tikathali, Changathali Village Development Committee Centre (VDC) in Lalitpur, around 30 participants from MoA, NARC, seed companies, and CIMMYT were joined by 61 farmers (43 female, 18 male) and several graduate students and technicians. The event also saw active participation from senior district agriculture development officers from Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, and Kathmandu as well as the Crop Development Directorate of Nepal and the Seed Quality Control Center.

After a brief introduction, the farmers were led on a field tour by Maiya Maharjan Saligram, the head of the Loktantrik Integrated Pest Management Group in Changathali. Here they were shown the wheat plots and given detailed information about the characteristics of each variety, such as maturity class, yield potential, and disease resistance.They were split into four groups and asked to evaluate six varieties and two checks, which they then ranked one to eight according to individual performance.

Back at the VDC, NARC’s senior plant pathologist Sarala Sharma said that with active awareness among farmers, wheat breeders, and pathologists, Nepal is fully prepared to face the possible arrival of the stem rust race Ug99 because resistant varieties are already in farmers’ fields. She also described how positive the PVS approach has been over recent years; not only has there been a rapid increase in adoption rates of new varieties, but there has also been a remarkable reduction in yellow rust. Madan Bhatta, chief of NARC’s germplasm division, also endorsed the PVS approach, while Dilaram Bhandari from Seed Quality Control suggested that small-scale farmers should work together to develop an effective seed producers organization. The farmers were further encouraged by Suroj Pokhrel, director of the Crop Development Directorate, and Yubak Dhoj G.C. from the Plant Protection Directorate, who assured them that their suggestions are extremely important.

The farmers themselves were very happy with the event, saying that by sharing experiences with each other, they were building confidence in their own ability to manage wheat diseases, seed production, and profitability. They were particularly enthusiastic about strengthening their groups to share new technology and seed varieties, with the female farmers especially motivated. Through PVS, farmers have widened the coverage of rust resistant varieties, tested new options, and gradually replaced older, lower-yielding varieties, thus increasing production and productivity. With the new varieties, the farmers expected a 10% yield increase.

Other participants included Hira Kaji Manandhar from the plant pathology division at the National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI) of NARC, NARC scientist D.B. Thapa; NARC crops and horticulture director Yagya Prasad Giri; CIMMYT’s regional wheat breeder Arun Joshi; and lead farmer Dhana Maharjan.

21st anniversary of NARC celebrated in Nepal

Written by on May 24, 2012. Posted in News.

On 07 May 2012, the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) celebrated its 21st Anniversary in Kathmandu. Chief Guest, Barsha Man Pun, Ministerdesignate and representative of the Honorable Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, inaugurated the opening ceremony. Other Government authorities such as Dipendra Bahadur Kshetry, Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission, Nathu Prasad Chaudhary, Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC), and Dil Bahadur Gurung, NARC Executive Director, were also among the high level officials attending the celebration. CIMMYT-Nepal was represented by G. Ortiz-Ferrara, Country Liaison Officer, Arun K. Joshi, Head of Administration, and Nirmal Gadal, Agronomist.

NEPAL55 The gathering brought together more than 275 scientists and development workers. “The Nepal Government is planning to raise the budget for agriculture significantly in the upcoming national budget plan” said Pun. “There is also a need to adopt enhanced technology to double agricultural production and to attract youth to the sector,” he added. Pun also mentioned that “the Prime Minister and his Government are committed to giving top priority to farming as it is the only way to alleviate poverty and ensure employment for a larger section of society”.

Kshetry stated that “in the next Governmental fiscal year, NARC and MoAC have plans to deploy large numbers of agricultural scientists and technicians in all 75 districts of the country to address farming and farmers’ problems.” Whilst Gurung highlighted that “the low seed replacement rate is one of the major factors affecting farm productivity and output. Similarly, around 70% of the farmland in the country is not irrigated and they depend on the mercy of the sky”.

On behalf of CIMMYT’s Director General, the Management, and of the CIMMYT colleagues who have worked in Nepal over the past 27 years, Ortiz-Ferrara congratulated NARC on its anniversary and thanked the Government of Nepal for their strong partnership and for hosting the South Asia regional office. He took the opportunity to brief the audience about the Nepal Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) concept discussed with the management of NARC by Director General Thomas Lumpkin, during his recent visit to Nepal. “The strategic objective of BISA in Nepal is to enable NARC, CIMMYT, and its partners to deliver greater impact toward food security and livelihoods in the country,” said Ortiz-Ferrara. He also highlighted the strong endorsement given to the BISA India by the Honorable Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh and the Government of India.

In their closing remarks, Pun and Kshetry expressed the Government of Nepal’s strong interest and unconditional support for a BISA-Nepal. “Nepal is a poor country, but we have a good heart, we fully support this initiative” said Gurung. NARC and CIMMYT-Nepal scientists are currently having strategic meetings to develop a proposal and plan of action to make BISA-Nepal a reality.

Director General visits Nepal

Written by on May 16, 2012. Posted in News.

LumpkinNepal-NARI-KHUMALTAR1 CIMMYT director general Thomas Lumpkin visited Nepal during 01-03 May 2012. One of the main objectives of his visit was to discuss the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) launched last year in India, and the potential for Nepal to follow a similar model, with Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) and CIMMYT scientists.

Lumpkin also had fruitful technical and administrative discussions with international and national CIMMYT staff based in Kathmandu. Together with several NARC directors—including Tek Bahadur Gurung (director of administration and interim executive director), B.N. Mahto (director of planning and coordination), and Neeranjan Adhikari (director of crops and horticulture)—he visited three potential sites at NARC’s Khumaltar research station, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, where the main Nepal BISA administrative building and research and training facilities could be located. From CIMMYT, the group also included Guillermo Ortiz Ferrara, country liaison officer (CLO) for Nepal, Nirmal Gadal and Dilli Bahadur K.C. of the Hill Maize Research Project (HMRP), and CIMMYT-Nepal office manager Surath Pradhan.

“CIMMYT is interested in expanding the crop improvement and crop management systems research and development activities being conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, NARC, and all the other partners who have been associated with CIMMYT in Nepal for more than 40 years,” said Lumpkin. “We look forward to a Nepal BISA that can enable CIMMYT and its partners to deliver greater impact toward the food security in the country.” On behalf of NARC, Tek Bahadur Gurung expressed NARC’s interest and unconditional support to make the Nepal BISA a reality. NARC management, the CIMMYT CLO, and other senior CIMMYT staff based in Nepal will soon meet to develop a strategy and start the process of designing and implementing BISA Nepal.

On the second day of his visit, Lumpkin was invited to deliver a lecture at the Nepal Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) on “Food security in South Asia: Opportunities and challenges for agro-eco-scientists”. More than 50 scientists from NARC and NARI attended the lecture, which generated a lot of interest and a lively discussion. Lumpkin was also asked to inaugurate a sports event at Khumaltar organized by NARC, making the first serve in a volleyball tournament. Colleagues observed: “Not a bad serve for a person who travels more than 200 days a year!”

Improved maize varieties and partnerships welcomed in Bhutan

Written by on May 14, 2012. Posted in Features.

CIMMYT E-News, vol 5 no. 11, November 2008

nov02 Sandwiched between China and India, the Kingdom of Bhutan is a small country that relies on maize in a big way. But maize yields are typically low due to crop diseases, drought, and poor access to seed of improved varieties, among other reasons. CIMMYT is committed to improving Bhutan’s food security by providing high-yielding, pest-resistant maize varieties to farmers and capacity-building for local scientists.

“If there is no maize there is nothing to eat,” says Mr. S. Naitein, who farms maize on half a hectare of land in Bhutan. But it’s not easy to grow, he says, citing challenges such as animals (monkeys and wild boars), insects, poor soil fertility, drought, poor access to improved seed varieties, and crop diseases like gray leaf spot (GLS) and turcicum leaf blight (TLB).

But since planting Yangtsipa—an improved maize variety derived from Suwan-1, a variety introduced from CIMMYT’s former regional maize program in Thailand—Naitein has seen a real improvement in his maize yields. The local maize variety yielded 1,700 kilograms per hectare, whereas Yangtsipa gave him 2,400 kilograms per hectare, a 40% yield increase.

“It’s no wonder that Yangtsipa is by far the most popular improved variety among Bhutanese farmers,” says Guillermo Ortiz-Ferrara, CIMMYT regional cereal breeder posted in Nepal. “Nonetheless, many local varieties of maize still occupy large areas of the country and don’t yield well.”

Maize is a staple food in Bhutan. Many people eat Tengma (pounded maize) as a snack with a cup of tea and Kharang (maize grits) are also popular. “Among the food crops, maize plays a critical role in household food security, especially for the poor,” says Ortiz-Ferrara. About 38% of the rural Bhutanese population lives below the poverty line and some 37,000 households cultivate maize. It’s estimated that 80% of this maize is consumed at the household level, according to Bhutan’s Renewable Natural Resources Research Center (RNRRC).

Leaf us alone: CIMMYT maize varieties help combat foliar diseases

Many farmers in Bhutan have been struggling with crop diseases that cut maize yields. “The recent outbreak of gray leaf spot and turcicum leaf blight affected 4,193 households and destroyed over 1,940 hectares of maize crop,” says Thakur Prasad Tiwari, agronomist with CIMMYT-Nepal. He estimates that maize is grown on 31,160 hectares in the country.

Gray leaf spot is a devastating leaf disease that is spreading fast in the hills of Bhutan and Nepal. To deal with this threat, CIMMYT sent more than 75 maize varieties with possible resistance to GLS and TLB to Bhutan in 2007. Tapping into the resources of its global network of research stations, CIMMYT sent seed from Colombia, Zimbabwe, and Mexico that was planted in GLS and TLB ‘hot spot’ locations in the country.

Ortiz-Ferrara and Tiwari then worked with Tirtha Katwal, national maize coordinator-Bhutan, and his team to evaluate these materials for their resistance.

“Together we identified the top performing lines for gray leaf spot and turcicum leaf blight which will be excellent candidates for Bhutan’s maize breeding program,” says Ortiz-Ferrara. “We are now combining their disease resistance with Yangtsipa, because we know it is high-yielding and well-adapted to Bhutan.”

Kevin Pixley, associate director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program, helped to develop a detailed breeding scheme or work plan for Bhutan’s national GLS breeding program. “We want to provide capacity-building for local maize scientists so they themselves can identify and breed varieties that show resistance to crop diseases,” he says.

“We feel more confident in moving forward with the next steps in our breeding program,” said Katwal. He and his team also attended a training course on seed production, de-tasselling, and pollination given by Dr. K.K. Lal, former CIMMYT maize trainee and former chief of the Seed Quality Control Center at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC) in Nepal.

nov03

That’s what friends are for: CIMMYT, Nepal, and Bhutan collaboration

In 2001, Bhutan began collaborating on maize research with CIMMYT-Nepal, the National Maize Research Program (NMRP) of Nepal, and the Hill Maize Research project (HMRP) funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in Nepal. The terrain and agro-climatic conditions of Bhutan and the Nepalese highland are similar, meaning that technologies adapted for Nepal will likely work well in neighboring Bhutan.

CIMMYT aims to facilitate regional and national partnerships that benefit farmers. For instance, during the past 7 years CIMMYT-Nepal has worked with NMRP and RNRRP to introduce 12 open-pollinated varieties (OPVs) to Bhutan. These modern varieties yield more than the local varieties whose seed farmers save to sow from year to year. Included in these 12 OPVs were several quality protein maize (QPM) varieties; these have nearly twice as much usable protein as other traditional varieties of maize.

nov04 “Our CIMMYT office in Nepal has assisted Bhutan with maize and wheat genetic material, technical backstopping, training, visiting scientist exchange, and in identifying key consultants on research topics such as grey leaf spot and seed production,” says Tiwari.

Simply put, CIMMYT has useful contacts. For example, at the request of Bhutan’s Renewable Natural Resources Research Center (RNRRC), CIMMYT-Nepal put forward Dr. Carlos De Leon, former CIMMYT regional maize pathologist, to conduct a course on identifying and controlling maize diseases in February 2007. In September 2008, CIMMYT and HMRP also recommended two researchers (Dr. K.B. Koirala and Mr. Govinda K.C.) from Nepal’s NMRP to give a course on farmer participatory research that has been successful in the dissemination of new technologies.

“Ultimately, our goal is to improve the food security and livelihood of rural households through increased productivity and sustainability of the maize-based cropping system,” says Thakur Prasad Tiwari.

For information: Guillermo Ortiz-Ferrara, cereal breeder, CIMMYT-Nepal (g.ortiz-ferrara@cgiar.org) or Thakur Prasad Tiwari, agronomist, CIMMYT-Nepal (tptiwari@mos.com.np)

New greenhouse supports research on yellow rust in Nepal

Written by on May 14, 2012. Posted in Features.

December, 2004

On December 1, CIMMYT handed over a greenhouse to the Plant Pathology Division of the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC). Built with the support of CIMMYT’s project on foliar pathogens and funded by Belgian Development Cooperation (DGCD), this greenhouse will help sustain research on wheat diseases, despite Nepal’s current social conflict.

At a ceremony in Khumaltar, CIMMYT regional pathologist Etienne Duveiller delivered the greenhouse keys to T.K. Lama, Chief of the Plant Pathology Division. The new facility will help NARC scientists screen for resistance in wheat against yellow rust, a potentially devastating disease in the hill areas of Nepal. Grain losses can soar to 30% when early outbreaks occur, as demonstrated by last year’s severe epidemic in parts of the Kathmandu Valley.

Replacing Outmoded Resistance

Due to the breakdown of resistance in popular varieties like Sonalika, which date back to the Green Revolution, yellow rust epidemics have occurred in Nepal since the mid-1980s. In 1997, a new strain of the rust pathogen became prevalent in the Nepal hills—a strain that is virulent against Yr9, a gene from rye that has conferred resistance to yellow rust in many improved wheats.

To develop disease resistant plants, breeders artificially inoculate fields of experimental varieties and select the individuals or families that survive and produce grain. With help from CIMMYT, advanced lines from Nepal are tested annually in Pakistan to ensure that promising genotypes are exposed to new pathotypes of yellow rust from western Asia. But research of this type in Nepal has suffered in recent years, mainly from a lack of inoculum to apply to experimental plants. First, insecurity in Nepal has caused severe financial constraints and reduced operations for national agricultural research scientists. Second, there is a lack of proper facilities to produce rust inoculum for the timely inoculation of breeders’ fields. An alternate approach used—collecting natural inoculum that survives in off-season wheat crops—became nearly impossible after a series of dry years eliminated this source of the pathogen and security restrictions made travel impossible in remote hilly regions. Finally, less than optimal moisture in the screening fields of Khumaltar, where the Plant Pathology Division is located, has necessitated repeated applications of fresh inoculum.

The timely production of inoculum in the new greenhouse will improve this situation. This greenhouse has a robust and simple cooling system to control temperature, as well as a misting system that guarantees proper humidity. It will allow both screening against yellow rust under optimal conditions and the multiplication of inoculum. Since the wheat season is just starting, researchers working on other diseases and crops will benefit from having inoculum ready for breeders’ plots in January.

Preserving Spores and Global Partnerships

In an important recent accomplishment, according to Duveiller, Senior Wheat Pathologist Sarala Sharma was able to produce fresh inoculum directly from leaf samples collected last season, using local methods and dried leaves. “This is the first time that she was able to preserve inoculum from last March,” says Duveiller. “Yellow rust must be kept alive for multiplication in the greenhouse and cannot be grown on artificial media. The main problem is that it is very sensitive to high temperatures. In Nepal, power failures, poor refrigeration, and no possibilities of vacuum preservation make it hard to keep spores.”

During the greenhouse opening ceremony, Sharma underlined the importance of the long-standing collaboration between NARC and CIMMYT. She acknowledged CIMMYT’s continuous support, initiated by former CIMMYT wheat pathologists Jesse Dubin and the late Eugene Saari, who encouraged scientists to collect inoculum from rust-prone areas as a way to record the disease’s incidence and spread. These surveys had continued with support from Duveiller until recently, when traveling by road became difficult. Also recognized at the ceremony were the benefits of training on yellow rust pathotyping that Nepali scientists had received at IPO-Wageningen, the Netherlands, and Shimla, India.

CIMMYT wheat pathologist, Etienne Duveiller, with colleagues in Nepal.

Similar work may become possible now in Nepal, according to Duveiller. “This greenhouse, built with Indian technology and including inexpensive but sturdy polyethylene sheets for siding, is another example of the importance CIMMYT ascribes to rust diseases on wheat in Nepal and south Asia,” says Duveiller. The center recently funded the installation of a sprinkler system for use in disease resistance experiments at Bhairhawa farm in the Tarai Plains, where the Nepal Wheat Research Program is based.

The greenhouse handover ceremony was combined with the farewell party for two NARC pathologists who retired recently, K. Shrestha and C.B. Karki. A recognized rust pathologist and longtime CIMMYT friend, Karki received his Ph.D. from Montana State University and attended the second Regional Yellow Rust Conference in Islamabad, Pakistan, in March 2004. Dr. K. Shrestha attended CIMMYT’s conference on helminthosporium blight in Mexico.

For more information: e.duveiller@cgiar.org

Community seed promoters trained in sustainable maize seed production and marketing in Nepal

Written by on May 6, 2012. Posted in News.

Ensuring a market for maize seed produced using community based seed production (CBSP) in the value chain system, and enhancing management and marketing competencies of local partners are among the strategic activities in Phase IV of the Hill Maize Research Project (HMRP), supported by SDC and USAID. The HMRP, in collaboration with the National Maize Research Program (NMRP), completed a 20-day training course on maize seed production technologies (15 days) and seed business plan development and marketing (5 days). The course took place at NMRPRampur, Chitwan, from 27 March to 16 April 2012. A total of 31 participants (11 women) attended the course; they were selected from CBSP groups collaborating with HMRP and are expected to work as community seed promoters in their respective groups afterwards.

The first course component on maize seed production technologies covered diverse topics, such as agronomic practices in maize seed production, farmers’ practices in maize varietal development, source seed production technologies, crop management technology (including insect pest management), improved seed production through CBSP, quality control, and truthful labelling. The second component covered HMRP seed marketing strategies, agricultural marketing, seed production costs, maize seed value-chain analysis, seed business plan development, bookkeeping at the CBSP group level, potential sourcing of local state funds by CBSP groups, the importance of gender equity and social inclusion in the CBSP approach, an introduction to cooperatives and private companies, and the basic legal requirements to establish them.

Each trainee developed a comprehensive action plan and presented it on the last day of the course. Participants were evaluated before and after each course component and the first-ranked candidate was recognized. Speaking at the closing session, Dr. K.B. Koirala, NMRP National Coordinator, expressed his appreciation to the HMRP and emphasized the importance of this type of training for empowering local communities. Dr. G. Ortiz-Ferrara, HMRP Team Leader, thanked the course participants, training coordinator, and resource persons for their help and cooperation in making the course a success. Finally, Dr. Koirala and Dr. Ortiz-Ferrara jointly distributed certificates and training kits to all participants.

HMRP-2012-Photo-Community-Seed-Promotors-Training-Rampur1

CIMMYT lauded for outstanding technical support and partnership in Nepal

Written by on April 25, 2012. Posted in News.

On 04 April 2012 CIMMYT received an “Award of Honor” from the Society of Agricultural Scientist of Nepal (SAS-N). The award, in a form of a plaque, was handed over by Mr. Om Prakash Yadav, Chief Guest and Honorable Minister of State for Agriculture and Cooperatives. “This recognition is given to CIMMYT International for the many contributions in maize and wheat research and development in Nepal,” said Yadav.

The-award Receiving the prize on behalf of CIMMYT, Nepal country representative Guillermo Ortiz-Ferrara thanked the Society for the recognition. “On behalf of the director general of CIMMYT, Dr. Thomas Lumpkin, the center’s management, and colleagues who have been based in Nepal and the region for more than 26 years, we thank SAS-N for this great honor,” he said. “I would like to give special thanks to the government of Nepal and the MoAC for hosting CIMMYT’s regional office. Finally, we thank the many government and non-government organizations for their long-standing partnership and collaboration.”

SAS-N is a non-profit professional organization dedicated to agricultural research and development in Nepal. It serves as a shared forum for agricultural scientists and researchers throughout the country and in various agricultural and related institutions. The Society aims to safeguard their professional integrity and improve research standards, thereby fostering economic development through agriculture growth. Some 300 participants in the meeting presented 135 papers on food security, agro-biodiversity, horticulture, livestock, fisheries, nutrition, plant breeding, pathology, crop and soils management, physiology, micro nutrients, irrigation, agro forestry, climate change, and socioeconomics.

In a personal message to Dr. Hira Kaji Manandhar, President of SAS-N, Lumpkin sent his regrets for not being able to attend the event and said: “CIMMYT is very honored by your award. The agriculture research and farmer community of Nepal has been of priority importance to CIMMYT for over 40 years. Many Nepali scientists and staff are and have been part of the CIMMYT team. In recent years we have been expanding our portfolio of development projects in Nepal and are even planning construction of a building, perhaps as Nepal’s part of CIMMYT’s Borlaug Institute for South Asia, near Kathmandu”.

In a message of congratulations to SAS-N, Marianne Bänziger, CIMMYT deputy director general for research and partnerships, said: “We are very honored indeed for CIMMYT to receive this prestigious Award of Honor from the Society of Agricultural Scientists in Nepal. It should be testimony to the extremely fruitful and highly-valued collaboration that we have with scientists and institutions in Nepal for more than two decades. It is a partnership of mutual respect, complementary skills, joint leanings, and successes. We highly appreciate the support, hospitality and friendship that our staff experience, both those that are posted in Nepal as well as when others who visit. Without our collaboration with Nepal, CIMMYT and its programs would be less.”

Helping farmers select varieties in Nepal

Written by on April 24, 2012. Posted in News.

Nepal98 A training program on wheat participatory variety selection (PVS) was held in Nepal during 28-29 February 2012. Organized by the National Wheat Research Program (NWRP), Bhairahawa, Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC) and CIMMYT, the event attracted 17 scientists, technical officers and seed technicians from NARC’s research stations and private seed companies. The two-day training program focused on current challenges of wheat breeding and production in Nepal, wheat diseases, and participatory selection of varieties.

The field training was held at Sukaurali Village, Rupendehi District. Participants visited three mother-baby trials of eight wheat varieties, including CIMMYT’s newly-developed Ug99 resistant varieties, and the local check, Gautam. Janmejai Tripathi, wheat coordinator, NWRP, opened the event with an explanation of the importance of new resistant varieties. Touring the wheat plots, the group observed varieties’ qualities and differences, including maturity type, yield potential, and resistance to diseases.

Nepal27 NARC scientists SR Upadhyay and NR Gautam explained the steps of participatory selection and participants scored varieties in the mother trial.

In addition to the technical knowledge gained, there was an increased interest in collaboration among farmers, scientists, and development agencies. The training is also expected to improve the quality of data from research stations and of PVS trials for seed release and multiplication.

Second Wheat Improvement and Pathology course focuses on South Asia

Written by on December 5, 2011. Posted in News.

The second “Wheat Improvement and Pathology” course took place during 16-29 November 2011 in Nepal. Organized by Arun Joshi, CIMMYT Regional Wheat Breeder, in conjunction with the Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC) and the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), the course welcomed 22 early- and mid-career wheat breeders and pathologists from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, and Afghanistan.

The importance of a multidisciplinary approach to wheat improvement was emphasized through lectures on modern breeding methods and approaches, genetic diversity, wheat pathology, experimental design and statistical analysis, hybrid wheat, biotechnology, bioinformatics, wheat quality, breeding for physiological traits, conservation agriculture, participatory variety selection (PVS), and data sources and knowledge management for wheat scientists.

Dinesh Pariyar, NARC Executive Director, opened the program and spoke of the emerging challenges for wheat breeding in South Asia and the potential to build capacity under the CSISA project by bringing together early-career field scientists from different nations. Ravi Singh, CIMMYT Wheat Breeder, then gave introductory sessions on “Breeding wheat for current and future needs of South Asia” and “Breeding for durable resistance to rust diseases of wheat”, elaborating on the wheat breeding tools and technologies that will enable the development of drought- and heat-tolerant wheat varieties whilst retaining quality and yield potential.

Participants also visited the NARC research station in Khumaltar, Lalitpur, the regional agricultural research station in Lumle, and PVS villages, to engage in discussions with the various stakeholders and undertake practical sessions in field experimentation and sowing. The participants were also shown the tools and techniques for creating artificial epiphytotic rusts and spot blotch.

The diverse range of participants were able to share their experiences and the highlights of their work. Four women scientists were included in the group, and Sabina, who travelled outside of Pakistan for the first time for this course, hopes that her visit “will show the way forward to other women scientists of Pakistan.” Joshi echoed this sentiment, saying: “Our endeavor is to work together in South Asian countries and to produce an environment capable of supporting the needs of talented future scientists and wheat researchers. Future generations of scientists need to keep pace with new science and this course provides them with the most recent knowledge, tools, and methodologies to meet the challenges of the future.”

Overall, the course improved the participants’ understanding on new tools and techniques for wheat breeding, pathology, and their related subjects. It also sparked interest in further collaborations between farmers, scientists and development agencies. Resource personnel for the course included CIMMYT’s Medha Devare, Andrew McDonald, and Bharat Adhikary; NARC’s B.N. Mahto, M.R. Bhatta, D.B. Thapa, and Sarala Sharma; P.K. Gupta, S.M.S. Tomar, Ratan Tiwari, V. Tiwari, C.P. Srivastava, Ramesh Chand, G.C. Mishra, and R.P. Singh from India; and KD Joshi (CARIAD, UK). Special thanks also to the staff of NARC for providing a great venue and logistical support, and to Surath Pradhan for administering the course.

Traveling seminar exhibits maize research and development in the hills of Nepal

Written by on October 25, 2011. Posted in News.

Travelling-Seminar During 19-21 August 2011, a travelling seminar on “Maize Research and Development in the Hills of Nepal” was organized by the CIMMYT-led Hill Maize Research Project (HMRP), Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), and the Nepal Department of Agriculture (DoA). The seminar offered policy makers first-hand information on maize varietal development, seed multiplication, technology dissemination, and HMRP’s efforts to improve food security and livelihoods of small-scale and disadvantaged farmers in the region. The 25 participants included representatives from the National Planning Commission, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, National Seed Board, NARC, DoA, donors (SDC and USAID), and NGOs.

The first day included visits to participatory variety selection (PVS) and community-based seed production (CBSP) sites, and women’s CBSP cooperatives in Fulbari and Buluwa villages, 60km east of Kathmandu in the Kavre district. HMRP Leader, Guillermo Ortiz-Ferrara, described the work of HMRP, highlighting the increasing role of CBSP groups and the private sector in seed production and marketing, participation of multi-stakeholders, focus on gender equity and social inclusion, and continuation of farmers’ participatory adaptive research, including maize germplasm introduction and testing. Nanu Ghatani, Chairperson of the cooperatives, was one of the 45 members of the women’s cooperative and farmers who gathered to welcome the participants. She described the accomplishments of the CBSP cooperatives and their impact on enhancing food security; since the introduction of the new maize varieties and improved crop management technologies “maize yield has been doubled, and by selling improved seed, farmers could fetch NRs 35/Kg in 2010, when the price of maize grain was NRs 17/Kg. In value terms our land has been tripled,” she said. This has enabled women farmers to substantially increase their savings, she added. USAID representative Kip Sutton commended HMRP and partners for reducing poverty and food insecurity in the area, but participants also learned that there are further needs to improve yields, storage facilities, credits, inputs, and training.

Travelling-Seminar21 The following day featured a visit to the Hill Crop Research Program (HCRP), Kabre, Dolakha. Participants observed the onsite maize research and development activities, such as source seed production of improved maize varieties, and had the opportunity to interact with scientists at the station. N.P. Adhikari, Director of Crops and Horticulture, NARC, and D.B. Gurung, National Maize Coordinator, complimented the scientists for their accomplishments in maize research and development, both at the station and in the field.

Station Chief, K.B. Koirala, gave a presentation on “Present status, priority, and challenges of maize research and seed production in HCRP Kabre”, highlighting that the work of the station has improved maize source seed production and quality, and reached thousands of poor farmers in the target area. The team then visited one of the farm cooperatives, which is conducting maize CBSP on 7ha. In later feedback, Adhikari commented that the seminar provided experiences which could only be appreciated by observations at the field level.

On the final day, participants visited the Hariyali Seed Company, a community-managed private seed company promoted by HMRP in Sindhupalchowk district. Company Coordinator, D.B. Bhandari, and the President of Sindhu-Tuki Seed Producers’ Cooperative, Gunda Bahadur Thami, outlined the progress of the cooperative so far; from the first maize PVS and intercropping trials in 2004, to the formation of a CBSP group in 2005, transformation into a cooperative in 2008, and culminating in the formation of the community-owned seed company in 2010, with maize seed being multiplied in 50ha.

The feedback from participants was very positive, with Bharat Upadhyaya, Executive Director of Nepal’s Center for Environmental and Agricultural Policy Research, Extension, and Development, commenting that “my 30 years of professional career in agriculture development in Nepal would have been incomplete if I would have missed this visit.” It was suggested that the event should be conducted annually during the main maize season.