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Location: Asia

As a fast growing region with increasing challenges for smallholder farmers, Asia is a key target region for CIMMYT. CIMMYT’s work stretches from Central Asia to southern China and incorporates system-wide approaches to improve wheat and maize productivity and deliver quality seed to areas with high rates of child malnutrition. Activities involve national and regional local organizations to facilitate greater adoption of new technologies by farmers and benefit from close partnerships with farmer associations and agricultural extension agents.

Kabul workshop addresses maize constraints

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By Rajiv Sharma/CIMMYT

Constraints to raising the productivity of maize in Afghanistan – the country’s fourth most important cereal – were the focus of a workshop in Kabul on 10 March. Afghanistan grows maize on about 142,000 hectares, making it the most important cereal in the country after wheat, barley and rice.

The country produced about 310,000 tons of maize during 2013 with average productivity of 2.2 tons per hectare. Joint efforts by CIMMYT and the Agricultural Research Institute of Afghanistan (ARIA) have led to the release of four open-pollinated varieties (OPVs) during the last few years. Current efforts aim to identify suitable hybrids and more OPVs to enhance and sustain maize productivity.

More than 30 participants from the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), CIMMYT, Kabul University, the World Bank and ARIA research stations in Baghlan, Helmand, Kabul, Kunduz, Jalalabad and Takhar attended the third annual ARIA-CIMMYT maize workshop. The workshop was opened by Mohammad Qasem Obaidi, director of ARIA.

Participants attend a maize workshop in Kabul. Photo: Masood Sultan

Rajiv Sharma, CIMMYT country liaison officer for Afghanistan, welcomed participants and emphasized conducting experiments precisely to draw valid conclusions across environments. The workshop began with the status of maize production and constraints by Abdul Rahman Manan from ICARDA. Manan indicated huge potential for increasing maize production in eastern and southern Afghanistan.

Discipline-specific presentations from different research stations followed. B.B. Singh, seeds advisor to the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation & Livestock’s Agriculture Input Project, supported by the World Bank, advised fine tuning fertilizer recommendations. Finally, ARIA discipline leaders for agronomy, breeding and pathology presented overall results and conclusions for the 2013 crop season.

Mohammad Hashim Azmatyar, head of breeding, identified three new hybrids suitable for release in the country. He said he hoped CIMMYT’s maize program could provide the basic seed from the parental lines of these hybrids and that hybrid seed production training could be organized to assist ARIA researchers and private seed companies. T.S. Pakbin, ARIA technical advisor, congratulated ARIA and for meaningful, collaborative work benefitting maize farmers.

Dr. Borlaug recognized by CIMMYT-India

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By Meenakshi Chandiramani, Vibha Dhawan, Raj Gupta, Pankaj Singh and Parvinder Singh/CIMMYT

CIMMYT staff members leave flowers at the statue of Dr. Norman Borlaug in New Delhi. Photo: Meenakshi Chandiramani/CIMMYT

Dr. Norman Borlaug’s birthday was celebrated by CIMMYT staff throughout India in March.
CIMMYT staff from the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) joined 200 farmers, farm workers and government officials at the BISA Research Farm in Ladhowal for prayer and a shared meal called langar (food for all) to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Borlaug. The event recognized Dr. Borlaug’s role in reducing hunger and poverty across the globe and how his legacy is continued through BISA’s objectives.

P.S. Pangli, office bearer of the Punjab Agricultural University farmers’ club, and Hardev Singh Ghanour also remembered Dr. Borlaug for his contributions to the farming community and his special attention to Punjabi farmers. Participants proposed that a progressive farmers’ association be formed in Dr. Borlaug’s name, the details of which will be decided in consultation with BISA management. They also suggested organizing a farmer fair to celebrate this anniversary in the future.

A shared meal commemorates the legacy of Dr. Norman Borlaug. Photo: CIMMYT

The event was run with help from the entire BISA team and left the audience committed to follow in Dr. Borlaug’s footsteps. The anniversary was also recognized in the National Agricultural Science Complex, Pusa, New Delhi. CIMMYT-India and BISA staff participated in the event and paid tribute to the Nobel Laureate for his tireless efforts against hunger around the world and particularly in South Asia. Vibha Dhawan and Ashwani Yadav garlanded Dr. Borlaug’s statue, which was unveiled by Shri Sharad Pawar, India’s Minister of Agriculture, in August 2013. The statue is located in front of the office block in the CGIAR-NAAS complex.

Dr. Borlaug was remembered for his services to humanity. CIMMYT and BISA staff members are continuing his efforts by using agricultural research for development to benefit South Asian farmers.

Training teaches spot blotch detection

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By Arun Joshi/CIMMYT
CIMMYT-Nepal and Banaras Hindu University (BHU) organized a training program on spot blotch in wheat from 21-23 February for scientists, students and field workers.

The program was part of the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) project Objective 4 and the CGIAR Research Program Strategic Initiative 5. It was an extension of activities conducted in the last crop cycle by Ramesh Chand and V.K. Mishra, BHU and CIMMYT’s Arun Joshi. Of the 45 participants, 11 were female, 42 were from India, two came from Nepal and one was from Nigeria. Participants represented institutions including the Sam Higginbotom Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Naini, Allahabad; Rajendra Agricultural University (RAU), Pusa Bihar; Bihar Agricultural University (BAU), Bhagalpur Bihar; Uttar Banga Krishi Vishwavidayalaya (UBKV), West Bengal; Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Kolkata, West Bengal; and BHU.

Spot blotch of wheat training program participants at the BHU, Varanasi, farm. Photo: Himanshu Tewari

Trainees visited the laboratory established by Arun Joshi and Vinod Mishra under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research “Niche Area of Excellence” for molecular research on spot blotch in wheat. The trainees practiced DNA extraction from wheat leaves, learned steps for the purification of DNA, examined spot blotch symptoms, practiced isolation techniques from the infected leaves and recorded variation in the pathogen colony.

They prepared slides from infected leaves and observed the typical conidia spores and conidiophores of the pathogen Bipolaris sorokiniana. Participants characterized symptoms on 484 wheat lines and noted the progress of spot blotch disease during a visit to the polyhouse. They also recorded data on a range of hosts for this pathogen, prepared inoculum and counted spores in the suspension to maintain uniform inoculum.

Trainees were taught to use photography and C3 software to count lesions. They were also taught histopathological skills to understand the behavior of resistant wheat genotypes. Finally, trainees visited CSISA wheat nurseries, identified initial spot blotch symptoms and learned to distinguish them from similar symptoms.

Each participant screened 50 lines for the lesion mimic and appearance of spot blotch, which was then verified by experts. An interactive session allowed participants to ask questions prior to a graduation ceremony conducted by V.K. Mishra and Pawan Singh

Seed health facilities upgraded in Turkey

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By Alexey Morgounov/CIMMYT

A grant provided by the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (CRP WHEAT) has helped improve seed health facilities in Turkey.

The grant benefited the International Winter Wheat Improvement Program (IWWIP), a cooperative program between the Turkish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, CIMMYT and ICARDA. IWWIP develops germplasm for Central and West Asia and facilitates the development and spread of global winter wheat germplasm and related knowledge. IWWIP focuses on wheat mega-environments that are home to about 20 million wheat-dependent poor who make less than US$ 2 a day.

Seed health facilities in Turkey were recently improved thanks to a grant from CRP WHEAT. Photo: CIMMYT

IWWIP operates within the framework of Turkish public research institutes, including the Bahri Dagdas International Agriculture Research Institute. Annually, tens of thousands of envelopes containing improved germplasm are prepared for distribution to IWWIP partners globally. Seed sent from Turkey must meet the highest seed health requirements.

With this in mind, the Bahri Dagdas institute applied for a collaboration grant from CRP WHEAT in 2012 to upgrade its seed health facilities; an effort that could not be funded from the regular IWWIP budget. The grant targeted improvement of infrastructure and facilities as well as staff training. For example, staff member Gul Imriz attended an advanced pathology course at CIMMYT-Mexico and a training event on seed health.

By the start of the 2014 season, the new facility will be fully equipped and ready to use for seed cleaning, washing and treatment. IWWIP acknowledges the contributions of Fatih Ozdemir, director of the Bahri Dagdas International Agriculture Research Institute; Mesut Keser, ICARDA representative in Turkey; Monica Mezzalama, head of CIMMYT’s Seed Health Unit; and Victor Kommerell, CRP WHEAT program manager.

The Borlaug Summit on Wheat for Food Security: 27 March

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By Brenna Goth/CIMMYT

Check out the Storify recap here.

Wheat’s importance in the world was the focus of day three of the Borlaug Summit on Wheat for Food Security. Wheat’s history, production needs and methods of improvement were among the topics of discussion.

CIMMYT receives the World Food Prize’s Norman E. Borlaug medallion. (photo: Brenna Goth)

Wheat has socially evolved from the grain of “civilized people” to a crop for everyone, said food historian Rachel Laudan. Mechanized milling eliminated the need to devote significant time and back-breaking labor  grinding wheat and led to consumption of the grain worldwide.

 

“Wheat has touched every corner of the world,” Laudan said. Today, tortillas, noodles, breads and other regional products are available in nearly every country.

 

This global dependence on wheat highlights the importance of its nutritional value, according to Wolfgang Pfeiffer, deputy director of operations for HarvestPlus. The organization is working on biofortification, which can pack crops with minerals at no additional cost, he said.

Current efforts focus on zinc-dense wheat, though biofortication in general requires branding, marketing and advocacy. Biofortified crops have been released in 27 countries, and HarvestPlus is working to demonstrate the viability of biofortification as a global solution.

 

Apart from improving nutrition, increasing wheat yield to meet worldwide demand is a challenge, said Tony Fischer, honorary research fellow for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Australia.

 

However, new agronomy and tools, untapped wheat genetic diversity, non-conventional breeding and intensification on all fronts could lift yields. Conventional breeding is also helping, Fischer said.

 

“Even in the toughest environments, science can make progress,” he added.

 

Factors such as water use and climate change challenge wheat production and present uncertainty, said independent scholar Uma Lele and Graham Farquhar, professor at the Australian National University.

 

Declining water availability is causing discussions, debates and conflicts worldwide, yet research and development on water management and rainfed agriculture is often ignored. This complacency could lead to sudden food shortages or dramatic rises in prices, Lele said.

 

“We’ll wake up and say that we should have paid more attention to water,” she added.

 

Farquhar said farmers have faced challenges presented by climate change before but that water use efficiency for drought tolerance is becoming increasingly important. Some grain-producing areas, including Australia, Central America, Chile, Mexico and southern Africa, are projected to become drier.

 

Summit sessions emphasized that agricultural research offers tools to help.

 

The use of wheat’s distant relatives – such as rye and triticum – can help improve salt tolerance, biomass, disease and insect resistance, said Ian King, researcher at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. The university works with a UK consortium to increase the gene pool of wheat and the screening of germplasm produced at Nottingham will take place at CIMMYT.

 

Additionally, genomic selection and precision phenotyping improve breeding efficiency, said Jesse Poland, assistant professor at Kansas State University.

 

Bruno Gerard, director of CIMMYT’s Conservation Agriculture Program, explained sustainable intensification and precision agriculture principles.  Technological breakthroughs allow for more research that’s better, easier, faster and cheaper.
Not every solution will work in every country. Speakers addressed regional differences with specific presentations on wheat in Mexico, China, India, Central and West Asia and North Africa. After, a panel discussion focused on how private-public partnerships can be used to foster collaboration in addressing these challenges.

 

A special highlight of the day  occurred during the Summit dinner. CIMMYT was honored with the World Food Prize Foundation Norman E. Borlaug Medallion. CIMMYT is the Foundation’s fifth recipient of the medal, which recognizes organizations and heads of state who are not eligible for the World Food Prize but have made outstanding contributions to improving food security and nutrition.

 

Summit speakers Sir Gordon Conway, Ronnie Coffman, Per Pinstrup-Andersen (2001 World Food Prize Laureate) and Robb Fraley (2013 World Food Prize Laureate) presented the award, along with Julie Borlaug, Dr. Borlaug’s granddaughter. Marianne Bänziger, CIMMYT’s deputy director general for research and partnerships, accepted the medal on CIMMYT’s behalf.

 

The Summit ends tomorrow with sessions focusing on the future of wheat and food security.

 

Conservation agriculture machinery arrives in Pakistan

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By Imtiaz Hussain and Imtiaz Muhammad/CIMMYT

 

CIMMYT’s Conservation Agriculture Program (CAP) is addressing the lack of good quality conservation agriculture (CA) seeders and multi-crop planters in Pakistan. Under the USAID-funded Agricultural Innovation Program for Pakistan, CAP will facilitate pilot testing and refining CA-based multi-crop seeders in cereal systems. CIMMYT-Pakistan imported multi-crop happy seeders, bed planters and zero tillage drills from India with the cooperation of CIMMYT-India. This machinery arrived at the National Agriculture Research Center, Islamabad, at the end of February.

Machinery is unloaded at the NARC, Islamabad. Photos: Awais Yaqub

CIMMYT brought CA to Pakistan in the 1980s with the introduction of zero tillage drills in rice-wheat areas. The technique helped solve the issue of late planting in ricewheat cropping systems. With the mechanization of harvesting, however, the burning of crop residue has become problematic. In addition, huge amounts of standing and loose residue affect the first-generation zero tillage drill. Farmers in Punjab hand-plant hybrid maize and cotton crops on already-made ridges and wide beds; there is also need to mechanize this operation.

The pilot testing of new seeders will start this year in cropping systems such as rice-wheat, maize-wheat, cotton-wheat and rain-fed wheat. The seeders will help farmers plant different crops under different levels of residue to reduce residue burning. CIMMYT will provide CA seeders to national agriculture research system partners for use in agriculture extension and adaptive research and for demonstrations in farming communities.

The activity will also promote the refinement and production of resource-conserving seeders through public-private partnerships in the project area.

The Borlaug Summit on Wheat for Food Security: speaker roundup

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By Brenna Goth/CIMMYT

 

More than 25 speakers will gather with nearly 700 participants in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, Mexico, next week for the Borlaug Summit on Wheat for Food Security, an event celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Norman Borlaug. Top wheat scientists, policy analysts, scholars and authors will address topics ranging from the history of wheat to current agricultural innovations. Take a look at what some of our speakers have been up to and see the whole list here.

 

  • Wheat scientist Graham Farquhar was recently honored with the U.K.’s Rank Prize for his work developing a technique that led to the “emergence of new commercial wheat varieties.”
  • Plant breeder Ronnie Coffman received the inaugural World Agriculture Prize in October.
  • Per Pinstrup-Andersen looks at the response of policymakers to food price crises.
  • Tony Fischer was recognized at CIMMYT last year for his contributions to wheat science.
  • Scholar Uma Lele addresses gender and agriculture on her blog.
  • Jikun Huang talks about food demand and supply in China in this Q&A.
  • Ashok Gulati gives his opinion on India’s agricultural sector.
  • Rikin Gandhi explains how farmers benefit from sharing videos.

 

Follow #Borlaug100 for more news from the Summit. Sessions will be streamed live from 26-28 March on www.borlaug100.org.

New initiative launched to enhance capacity of wheat scientists

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By Yahya Rauf/CIMMYT

 

CIMMYT and USDA, in collaboration with the United States Education Foundation for Pakistan (USEFP), launched a capacity enhancement initiative in the form of a coaching course, under the Wheat Productivity Enhancement Program (WPEP).

 

The objective of the initiative is to ensure that promising young Pakistani wheat scientists apply for and obtain international Ph.D. scholarships. Pakistan lacks professional wheat scientists and most working wheat scientists are at the age of retirement. By 2020, Pakistan will face difficulties due to a shortage of qualified professionals in wheat research. This new initiative is a step forward to develop the country’s wheat research capacity.

Participants attend a capacity enhancement initiative with CIMMYT, USDA and USFP officials. Photos: Awais Yaqub/CIMMYT

 

The course recognizes that young scientists need assistance in preparing for the tests, applications and interviews required for international scholarships. CIMMYT and USEFP selected 11 Pakistani wheat scientists from across the country based on their professional skills, association with wheat research and academic potential. The course participants will go through two months of coaching for the GRE, TOEFL and other standardized tests.

 

CIMMYT Country Representative Imtiaz Muhammad reminded participants at the inaugural ceremony that self-motivation, dedication and devotion are required to achieve the objectives of the course. He also praised the efforts of all stakeholders, including USEFP and USDA staff members, who helped launch this program.

 

Ian Winborne, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service plant health advisor, welcomed the participants and said if the first phase of this initiative is successful in accomplishing its objectives, USDA will be interested in funding its continuation.

Stress-resilient maize hybrids developed for Asian tropics

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By K. Seetharam, M.T. Vinayan and P.H. Zaidi/CIMMYT

The development of maize germplasm with combined drought and water-logging tolerance and a strong product line ready for deployment in Asia’s stress-prone, rain-fed production systems are notable successes of a CIMMYT project nearing its official end date.

Participants closely watch water-logging-tolerant hybrids developed under the ATMA project. Photo: Do Van Dung

Maize production in tropical Asia is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The erratic distribution of monsoon rains causes intermittent drought and water-logging within a single crop season, especially in eastern India, Bangladesh and other parts of South and Southeast Asia, and is the major cause of the low productivity of rain-fed maize. About 80 percent of maize in the Asian tropics is grown as a rain-fed crop.

Maize yields in irrigated systems are more than double those of rain-fed maize but the production capacity of irrigated systems in Asia is close to saturation. Rain-fed areas must play a greater role in meeting the increasing demand for maize in Asia.

The private seed sector focuses largely on irrigated systems and is not producing stress-tolerant varieties. However, small and medium seed companies and public sector institutions are beginning to show interest in abiotic stress tolerant maize germplasm from CIMMYT.

To develop this germplasm, CIMMYT, in collaboration with national partners in South and Southeast Asia, launched Abiotic Stress Tolerant Maize for Asia (ATMA) in May 2011, supported by GIZ, Germany. Partners include the Directorate of Maize Research (DMR); Maharana Pratap Agriculture University (MPUAT); Udaipur and Acharya N.G. Ranga Agriculture University (ANGRAU); the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI); Vietnam’s National Maize Research Institute (NMRI), the Institute of Plant Breeding, University of Philippines (UPLB); and the University of Hohenheim (UoH) in Stuttgart, Germany. CIMMYT-Hyderabad, India, hosted the final year progress review meeting during 17-18 February.

ATMA hybrids combine drought and water-logging tolerance. Photo: P.H. Zaidi

B.M. Prasanna, director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program, highlighted the need and importance of maize breeding for rain-fed conditions. This was followed by a talk on the power of genomic selection in breeding for polygenic traits, which was delivered by Albert Melchinger from UoH. O.P. Yadav, director of the DMR, New Delhi, spoke about the importance of abiotic stress-resilient maize hybrids and appreciated recent developments in the area. Partner institutions presented the results of trials conducted in their target environments.

P.H. Zaidi, senior maize physiologist and project coordinator, presented the across-environment results of the trials conducted in partner countries. Raman Babu, maize molecular breeder, gave an update on identifying large effect quantitative trait loci (QTL) for water-logging tolerance and progress in genomic selection. Apart from established breeding methods and a phenotypic selection approach, methods include genomewide association studies (GWAS) and rapid-cycle genomic selection (RC-GS). Results of socioeconomic studies demonstrating the high demand for water stress-resilient maize varieties with combined drought and waterlogging tolerance in eastern India and Bangladesh were presented by Surabhi Mittal, CIMMYT socioeconomist.

Participants toured ATMA trials at the CIMMYT-Hyderabad experiment station as well as the state-of-the-art phenotyping system for drought and waterlogging stress. Zaidi explained how effectively the data on growing degree days (GDD) and from the soil moisture profile probe are used in managing drought at the desired level of intensity and uniformity. “Such a well-defined phenotyping system is the key to success, which can assure breeding gains for complex traits such as drought or water-logging, whether using conventional or molecular breeding approaches,” said Dang Ngoc Ha, vice director of the NMRI.

Though the project is approaching its official end, partners aim to carry it forward by formulating a new proposal to submit to a potential donor. “In case no immediate funding is arranged, we should take the products forward using our own institutional resources, as this is much-needed type of product for our maize farmers living in stress-prone ecologies,” O.P. Yadav said.

In his concluding remarks, Prasanna praised the contributions of partnering institutions throughout the project duration, which resulted in a strong germplasm base and product pipeline for complex traits such as drought, water-logging and the new product with combined stress tolerance.

Climate smart villages: local adaption to promote climate smart agriculture

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By M.L. Jat, Tripti Agarwal, R.S. Dadarwal and Promil Kapur/ CIMMYT and CCAFS

To witness firsthand the mainstreaming of climate-smart agriculture practices and innovative community-based adaptation strategies in India, Alok K. Sikka, deputy director general of the Natural Resource Management Division of the Indian Council of Agriculture Research’s (ICAR) and leader of ICAR’s National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA), visited and interacted with farmers at a climate-smart village (CSV) in Haryana on 11 February.

AK Sikka (center) at Taraori CSV. Photo: Vikas

 

He was accompanied by D.K. Sharma, director of the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, and P.C. Sharma, one of the Institute’s principal scientists, along with other scientists from ICAR and CIMMYT. Participants agreed that South Asian agriculture needs new technologies, community-based adaptation of relevant practices and the strengthening of local decision-making. The 27 CSVs being piloted in Haryana, India, will disseminate key climate-smart agricultural interventions, focusing on water, energy, carbon nutrient, weather and knowledge implemented through innovative partnerships and farmer cooperatives, according to M.L. Jat, CIMMYT senior cropping system agronomist.

The climate-smart villages are implemented through the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), in close collaboration with NICRA and a range of innovative partnerships. Under CCAFS, CIMMYT in close collaboration with national agriculture research and extension systems, other CGIAR centers, farmer cooperatives, the Haryana Department of Agriculture and policy planners, have piloted several CSVs in Haryana for research and as learning sites. Sustainable intensification and conservation agriculture-based management systems are the key areas in which CIMMYT and these partners work together.

 

Visitors interacted with farmers and members of farmer cooperatives who are actively disseminating the practices to local communities. The model of innovation platforms for strategic participatory research and learning at CSVs was recognized as an effective method to link science with society. Sikka emphasized that the depleting water table, deteriorating soil health, escalating input costs and weather uncertainties constitute critical concerns and that current production systems are not sustainable.

Discussion regarding damage to conventional tillage based wheat crop due to excess moisture owing to heavy rains and back side a happy wheat crop under CA-Photo RS Dadarwal-CIMMYT. Photo: RS Dadarwal/CIMMYT-Karnal

 

He cited conservation agriculture-based sustainable intensification, supplemented by more precise use of inputs like fertilizer, as the way to achieve resilience in production and natural resource conservation. Institutions and organizations must work with emerging technologies to address climate change and provide relevant options for farmers. CCAFS and NICRA are good examples of this.

Pioneering advocate of innovation, resource conservation and technology adoption visits South Asia

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By Andrew McDonald/CIMMYT

 

A former CIMMYT scientist recently returned to South Asia to share his expertise in conservation agriculture.

 

Peter Hobbs worked for CIMMYT as a regional agronomist from 1988 to 2002 and co-led the creation and management of the Rice-Wheat Consortium (RWC) for the Indo-Gangetic Plains. Hobbs now works at Cornell University, most recently as associate director of International Programs. The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) project invited Hobbs to Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh and the Terai region of Nepal from 18 to 24 January, where he offered perspectives on South Asia’s progress in the last decade in ricewheat systems research, and heard comments from colleagues.

Former CIMMYT scientist Peter Hobbs. Andrew McDonald/CIMMYT
Former CIMMYT scientist Peter Hobbs. Andrew McDonald/CIMMYT

“Peter Hobbs is the pioneer of zero tillage wheat in South Asia – one of CIMMYT’s best contributions in this region after Norman Borlaug,” said R.K. Malik, a member of CSISA’s senior management team who accompanied Hobbs through India. Malik was a core member of the RWC during Hobb’s time and a champion of zero tillage (ZT) for sowing wheat in rice-wheat rotations. Malik recalled CIMMYT’s early efforts to introduce conservation agriculture in India. Hobbs was integral, bringing the first ZT machine to India from New Zealand in 1989 -the Aitchison drill which was later modified, improved and widely adopted in India.

 

He said that Hobbs applied innovative and multi-disciplinary approaches that united the efforts of the national research programs with an array of public and private stakeholders. “This technology was dependent on identifying champions in the areas where we worked to engage innovative farmers, energize the scientists involved and link them with local machinery manufacturers and farmers, Hobbs said. Hobbs shared observations on his travels through the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains. “After seeing the fields in Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, there is no question that ZT and reduced-tillage technologies do work and do provide benefits as long as they are done properly and the enabling factors are in place,” he said.

 

He stressed that farmers must have access to machinery, inputs and related expertise, perhaps through a network of service providers. “That means we have to look at the way research can help farmers – having a more participatory approach and providing incentives to scientists and extension workers based on accountability and performance is critical for success,” Hobbs stated. “The RWC and legacy of pioneering scientists like Peter Hobbs, Raj Gupta and R.K. Malik established the foundation for CIMMYT’s ongoing work and impact with farmers in the region through projects like CSISA,” said Andrew McDonald, CSISA project leader. “It was a true pleasure to have Peter’s insights into where we are succeeding and where we can do better. South Asia is changing quickly, but the core lessons from where we’ve come still resonate.”

 

Hobbs is optimistic about the potential of these technologies in Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh. “It was very rewarding to see that interest in resource- conserving technologies has grown and continues to thrive in this region, and specifically in the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains, where there is great potential to benefit farmers and also contribute to food security in a more environmentally friendly way.”

India festival takes technology to farmers

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By Raj Kumar Jat, M.L. Jat, R. Valluru, Raju Singh, Nikhil Singh, Jagman Dhillon and Raj Gupta/CIMMYT

  
A day-long “FarmFest” hosted by the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) allowed farmers to interact directly with researchers on issues including new planting machines, cultivar choices for early, timely and late planting, weed management options and crop diversification.

 

During the “Take it to the Farmers – FarmFest” event on 22 February, BISA showcased innovative, farmer-friendly sustainable intensification options. The trials focus on increasing yields using timely planting and increased nutrient inputs; increasing cropping intensity by using short season cultivars, relay and inter-cropping; and mechanization and marketing by substituting highvalue commodities for those that fetch lower prices. Farmers were shown soil conservation measures such as gully plugs, check dams and temporary structures to store rainwater, which reduce negative environmental impact and contribute to natural capital of environmental services.

 

About 1,500 farmers came from 7 districts to collect information and see the performance of 1,500 bread and durum wheat genotypes grown through new BISA shuttle breeding efforts. The efforts include collaboration among the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI)-New Delhi, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU)- Ludhiana and CIMMYT-Mexico. The Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi VishwaVidyalaya University (JNKVV) agreed to participate next season.

 

The BISA research farm was established in November 2011 in a cotton production region that suffers from land degradation, large yield gaps and low cropping intensity. The farm’s successful conservation agriculture (CA) platform is attracting the attention of the Madhya Pradesh farmers. Scientists grow rice, wheat, maize, Indian mustard, pigeon pea and soybean without plowing or burning crop residues. Production on the 223-hectare farm is improving every season and costs are going down with the CA practices.

 

Many visiting farmers said they have watched the BISA farm evolve from their “pasture backyard to a granary.” They now want BISA to train them in CA and help them procure appropriate machinery. Ramlal Vishkarma of Sonpur village, whose son is a temporary worker on the BISA farm, said CA saves him US $26 to 32 per hectare each season in planting costs. He also stated that surface mulching helps conserve soil moisture and control cracks in black soils on his farm. In collaboration with JNKVV, the Directorate of Weed Science Research (DWSR), the State Agriculture Department and the seed company JPCL, BISA is promoting resource-conserving no-till agriculture to avoid residue burning, conserve ground water aquifers and provide “seeds of needs” to resource-poor smallholder farmers.

 

Participants were addressed by CIMMYT director general Thomas Lumpkin; V.S. Tomar, vice chancellor of JNKVV; S.K. Rao, JNKVV dean of faculty; and B.P. Tripathi, joint director of agriculture for the Government of Madhya Pradesh. Raj Kumar Jat and the BISA team coordinated visits for stakeholders to research and production plots. JNKVV volunteers explained new farm implements while M.L. Jat, Raj Kumar, Ravi Valluru, Raju Singh, Jagman Dhillon, Nikhil Singh and others discussed significant results of their research trials.

 

Tomar emphasized the need to develop climate-resilient, high-yielding varieties and recommended the promotion of low-cost sustainable intensification practices to improve farmers’ economic conditions. He appreciated the efforts of BISA-CIMMYT in introducing CA-based systems. Lumpkin encouraged farmers to adopt cost-saving technologies that offset ever-increasing input costs and low profits from farm outputs, adding that CA-based management practices buffer the negative effects of climatic extremes. He urged farmers to visit BISA regularly and tell researchers what would directly benefit them. M.L. Jat, CIMMYT senior cropping systems agronomist, facilitated a question-and-answer session between farmers and experts from BISA, DSWR and JNKVV.

 

Farmers’ feedback will help shape future research priorities at BISA, such as the need to bridge large management yield gaps, mechanization, weed management, soil moisture conservation, improved maize and wheat cultivars, quality seeds and training on new machinery and technologies

Nepal project explores wheat diversity

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By Brenna Goth/CIMMYT
A CIMMYT project in Nepal made significant progress in identifying local wheat diversity last year.

Members of a seed cooperative in the Changathali village, Lalitpur district near Kathmandu, Nepal. The group has been practicing participatory
varietal selection (PVS), seed production and dissemination for the last 10 years, but is now facing problems due to urbanization. Maiya Maharjam (wearing the yellow scarf) is the leader of this cooperative and previously won the NARC award for PVS and seed distribution.

The project, “Collection, multiplication, characterization and safety duplication of wheat and barley landraces from Nepal,” led by Arun Kumar Joshi, principal scientist for the Global Wheat Program, began in January 2013 and will run until October 2015. National partners include Madan Raj Bhatta and Bal Krishna Joshi from the Nepal Agriculture Research Council, Khumaltar, Lalitpur.

Since the project began, researchers have developed guidelines “to explore, collect and characterize wheat and barley diversity,” according to the project’s 2013 Technical and Financial Progress Report. They found that traditional wheat diversity exists with opportunities for further exploration.

A cabinet in the headquarters of the National Wheat Research Program, Bhairhawa, displays a selection of wheat seed. Photos: Emma Quilligan

Researchers focused on the Baitadi, Dadeldhura and Doti districts in western Nepal, a traditional wheat region. Researchers visited Village Development Committees and farmers to collect seed and interviews. Farmers are still cultivating a variety of landraces, which feature drought tolerance and good chapatti quality. In total, 85 wheat accessions were collected and mapped along with 16 barley landraces. Employees from Nepal’s gene bank also helped with the effort.

The collections are currently under regeneration. The gene bank will send about 180 wheat and 50 barley collections to CIMMYT and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) by June 2015 for duplication.

Afghan farmers visit conservation agriculture farm

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By Raj Kumar Jat/CIMMYT

Nine Afghan farmers, including four women, recently learned about conservation agriculture in Pusa, Bihar, India.

Their visit to the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) on 18 January focused on advances in conservation agriculture (CA)-based management, improved wheat varieties and climate change variability coping strategies. The visit was part of an agribusiness study tour organized by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Representatives of the Government of Bihar met with the farmers at BISA-Pusa to hear their reactions to the latest technological developments. The delegation was led by Mohamed Ali and facilitated by Vijay Prakash, project director of the Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA), Department of Agriculture, Government of Bihar.

Raj Kumar Jat, cropping systems agronomist for BISA, gave an overview of BISA-CIMMYT research-for-development activities and strategies for the region to improve crop productivity and farm profitability. He explained that BISA develops and promotes CA-based best practices for maize- and wheatbased cropping systems that directly benefit farmers in the region. BISA collaborates with the State Agricultural University, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, different CIMMYT programs such as the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).

Afghan farmers, officers from the government of Bihar and the staff of BISA-CIMMYT gather in wheat grown on permanent raised beds at the BISA Farm in Pusa Samastipur. Photo: Raj Kumar Jat

The delegation viewed agricultural machinery, strategic research trials and demonstration plots of wheat, maize, mustard and chickpea, which were planted on permanent raised beds using zero-tillage in laser-leveled fields. Jat explained different CA technologies and the comparative advantages of zero tillage, permanent raised bed planting and laser land leveling over conventional practices.

Farmers in the region face high labor costs and low labor availability, increasing energy prices and frequent climate variability, which require climate-resilient, lowcost alternatives to improve farm profitability. Jat said CA-based management practices can reduce production costs and improve resource-use efficiency, productivity and profitability. Planting different field crops on permanent raised beds using zero tillage reduces tillage and irrigation costs, improves water and nutrient-use efficiency and produces higher yields. He added that crop residue retention reduces weed population and improves soil fertility.

Inclusion of laser land leveling in conservation agriculture also saves water, promotes a uniform crop stand and improves nutrient-use efficiency and crop yields. Zero tillage seeding advances the sowing of different crops by one week, though the use of improved varieties and quality seed are equally important.

Training builds research skills

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By Rajiv Sharma /CIMMYT

CIMMYT-Afghanistan organized a training event for staff from the Agricultural Research Institute of Afghanistan (ARIA) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) from 26-29 January in Kabul. Entitled “Experimental Design: Constitution, Analysis and Interpretation,” the event helped identify constraints to improving the quality of research and strengthen the capacity to integrate statistical procedures in research methodologies. Agricultural research deals with variability stemming from both controllable and uncontrollable sources.

Partitioning out the two and determining whether observed variation originates from real differences or are from chance is central to field experimentation. When Ram Sharma, cereal breeder for the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Area (ICARDA) and instructor of the event, asked participants what they expected to learn from the training, they responded that they were interested in how to design an experiment as well as how to interpret and write scientific reports. Sharma is also part of the CGIAR Program for Central Asia and Caucasus, Tashkent.

CIMMYT-Afghanistan organized an experimental design training in Kabul. Photo: CIMMYT-Afghanistan

The event was attended by 35 participants from ARIA, the Department of Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQD), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Joint Development Associates, MAIL, Kabul University and the MAIL Department of Irrigation. Sharma emphasized the importance of statistics in agricultural research as well as the use of replication, randomization and local control. Completely randomized designs (CRD) and factorial designs were also covered. Sharma explained that CRD can be used to analyze a farmer’s field after cultivation to determine in-field variance. He also taught the participants how to use crop statistic software and make a field book using computer programs. Example analyses showed attendees how to analyze their own data and interpret them. Qasem Obaidi, director of ARIA, closed the program and said it was helpful for the researchers and agronomists.

He thanked CIMMYT-Afghanistan, Sharma and CIMMYT’s Rajiv Kumar Sharma for their help. CIMMYT-Afghanistan also used the occasion to congratulate three of its staff members, Abdul Qayum, Shafi Ahmad and Mohammad Nasim, for completing 10 years of service to CIMMYT.