For more information, contact CIMMYT’s Pakistan office.
Pakistan has released 20 new high-yielding, disease-resistant and climate change–resilient wheat and maize varieties during the year.
The achievement came mainly on the back of a partnership between the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) and the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) with support from the US development agency USAID.
Read more here.
Energy is vital for modern farming. “Disruption in energy supply to the farm sector can hold back efforts to achieve poverty, hunger, health and education and energy-related SDGs in the rural farming areas,” said Akhter Ali, corresponding author of the study and agricultural economist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center. Read more here.
With sorrow we report the passing on June 14 of Anthony F. E. (Fred) Palmer, former maize agronomist and physiologist who contributed notably to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) networking and capacity building during crucial periods.
A British national, Palmer joined CIMMYT as a post-doctoral fellow in 1968 and retired from the center in 1996. With undergraduate studies in Agronomy at the University of Reading, Palmer completed masters and doctoral degrees in Crop Physiology at Cornell University. His early years at CIMMYT headquarters included work in maize physiology, agronomy and training.
In 1972 Palmer moved to Pakistan, serving as a production agronomist in that key Green Revolution setting until 1978, when he returned to Mexico as a training officer. “Fred was a true gentleman as a researcher and trainer,” said Stephen Waddington, retired CIMMYT maize agronomist who worked with Fred in Africa. “He was a mentor and friend to many junior CIMMYT staff, including myself, and countless trainees and visiting scientists from partner countries.”
Capitalizing on his experience and accomplishments, in 1985 CIMMYT posted Palmer to Nairobi, Kenya, as the team leader of the East African Cereal Project, funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). During the project’s third phase, Palmer helped to establish and guide an entry-level crop management training program, in conjunction with the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and Egerton University, targeting maize researchers from eastern and southern Africa. Based at the university’s Njoro campus, the effort included construction of training facilities and guest rooms and Palmer successfully prepared Egerton administrators and faculty to take over the program, according to Joel Ransom, a North Dakota State University professor who served as a CIMMYT maize agronomist in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
“Scores of young agronomists mastered the fundamentals of on-farm research through that program,” Ransom said. “Palmer’s mentoring, training, and leadership greatly advanced the professional development of African maize and wheat scientists.”
Matthew Reynolds, CIMMYT distinguished scientist and wheat physiologist, recalls talking to Palmer about the latter’s efforts to apply fledgling tools for measuring photosynthesis in the field, a topic in which he had specialized at Cornell. “Fred was a very kind and unassuming man who treated everyone with respect, qualities that made him a great training officer and a well-regarded colleague,” said Reynolds.
Palmer firmly believed that national partners needed the capacity to train staff, particularly those fresh out of university studies, strengthening both their knowledge and professional linkages.
“By bringing young scientists together and working with them as a multidisciplinary research team,” Palmer wrote in a report on CIMMYT training in eastern and southern Africa, “it is anticipated that these scientists will learn to value each other’s work as essential to successful research.”
The CIMMYT community sends its warmest condolences to the Palmer family.
The Wheat Productivity Enhancement Program aims to enhance and protect the productivity of wheat in Pakistan by supporting research that leads to the identification, adoption, and optimal agronomic management of new, high yielding, disease-resistant wheat varieties. The main goal of the project is to facilitate efforts of scientific institutions in Pakistan to minimize adverse effects of wheat rusts — including the highly virulent Ug99 stem rust disease — through surveillance and genetically resistant varieties.
As part of the U.S. government’s assistance to Pakistan, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Pakistan’s Ministry of Agriculture have identified the development of wheat varieties with resistance to virulent rust strains as a goal for improving food security and related agricultural production challenges. This document outlines a project for providing cereal rust protection for wheat production in Pakistan.
This wheat production enhancement project is a multi-partner, collaborative research and development program that includes human resource development. The primary external partners — USDA, CIMMYT, and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas — work cooperatively with Pakistan research organizations to refine work plans and implement research and development activities in rust surveillance, pre-breeding, breeding, seed, and agronomy as described in objectives section.
The Heat Stress Tolerant Maize (HTMA) for Asia project is a public-private alliance that targets resource-poor people and smallholder farmers in South Asia who face weather extremes and climate-change effects. HTMA aims to create stable income and food security for resource-poor maize farmers in South Asia through development and deployment of heat-resilient maize hybrids.
South Asian farmlands have been increasingly experiencing climate change-related weather extremes. If current trends persist until 2050, major crop yields and the food production capacity of South Asia will decrease significantly – by 17 percent for maize – due to climate change-induced heat and water stress.
In response, CIMMYT and partners are developing heat stress-resilient maize for Asia. The project leverages the germplasm base and technical expertise of CIMMYT in breeding for abiotic stress tolerance, coupled with the research capacity and expertise of partners.
The Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP) for Pakistan is working to sustainably increase agricultural productivity and incomes in the agricultural sector through the promotion and dissemination of modern technologies/practices in the livestock, horticulture (fruits and vegetables) and cereals (wheat, maize and rice) sector. The CIMMYT-led project aims to foster emergence of a dynamic, responsive, and competitive system of science and innovation in Pakistan.
This unique project places particular emphasis on building partnerships between public research and those it serves, including farmers and the private sector. AIP operates through three activity windows: commissioned projects, a competitive grants system and human resource development. Within these activity windows AIP addresses complex agricultural systems, but is divided into four “science windows’” including cereals and cereal systems, livestock, vegetables and perennial horticulture. The key indicator of AIP’s success is the number of small farmers who adopt or benefit from productivity or value-enhancing technologies.
The long term goals of the project are food security, environmental protection, gender sensitization and poverty reduction through the adoption of sustainable technologies, resource management practices, advance agricultural models and improved systems.
Building resilience, self-reliance and a reliable business model
In the northwestern province of Pakistan, near the Afghan border, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is helping connect farmers with precision planters to support higher maize yields and incomes. Maize is one of the most important cereals in Pakistan, but in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa yields are significantly lower than the national average. The majority of maize farmers in this province have less than five acres of land and limited access to resources, including high-quality maize seed and mechanization.
Under the Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP) for Pakistan, CIMMYT introduced push row planters in 2016 to help farmers to get a uniform crop stand and save labor costs and time as compared to traditional planting practices. CIMMYT has since then partnered with Greenland Engineering to import tractor-operated precision maize planters. These precision planters allow farmers to plant two rows of maize in one pass and evenly distribute both seeds and fertilizer.
“Optimum planting density in combination with nutrient supply is key to getting the maximum maize yield,” says Muhammad Asim, a senior researcher with the Cereal Crops Research Institute (CCRI). “The precision planter helps farmers achieve this while also getting a uniform crop stand and uniform cobs.”
Jalees Ahmed, a smallholder maize farmer from the Nowshera district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, received a push row planter through CIMMYT’s AIP program. He used to hire six laborers to plant one acre of maize, but with the push row planter, Jalees only needs to hire one laborer and benefits from a more uniform crop.
Raham Dil, another farmer in the Mardan district, recently purchased a push row planter for his farm which he also rents to fellow farmers in the area.
Both Ahmed and Dil say these planters have made it easier to support their families financially. Interest in precision planters continues to grow.
Last fall, more than 80 farmers attended a field day in the Nowshera district where CIMMYT researchers demonstrated how to use the precision planter to sow maize. CIMMYT’s country representative for Pakistan, Imtiaz Muhammad, highlighted the importance of mechanized maize planting for farmers and CIMMYT’s commitment to improve maize-based system productivity in less developed regions of the country.
The Agricultural Innovation Program for Pakistan is led by CIMMYT and funded by USAID. This project seeks to increase productivity and incomes by testing and promoting modern practices for agriculture’s major sub-sectors in the country.
Nearly 3,000 smallholder wheat farmers throughout Pakistan will begin to sow seed of newer, high-yielding, disease-resistant wheat varieties and spread the seed among their peers in 2019, through a dynamic initiative that is revitalizing the contribution of science-based innovation for national agriculture.
Some 73 tons of seed of 15 improved wheat varieties recently went out to farmers in the provinces of Baluchistan, Gilgit Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh, as part of the Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP), an initiative led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) with funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
“Our main goal is to help farmers replace outdated, disease-susceptible wheat varieties,” said Muhammad Imtiaz, CIMMYT scientist and country representative for Pakistan who leads the AIP. “Studies have shown that some Pakistan farmers grow the same variety for as long as 10 years, meaning they lose out on the superior qualities of newer varieties and their crops may fall victim to virulent, rapidly evolving wheat diseases.”
With support from CIMMYT and partners, participating farmers will not only enjoy as much as 20 percent higher harvests, but have agreed to produce and share surplus seed with neighbors, thus multiplying the new varieties’ reach and benefits, according to Imtiaz.
He said the new seed is part of AIP’s holistic focus on better cropping systems, including training farmers in improved management practices for wheat.
Wheat is Pakistan’s number-one food crop. Farmers there produce over 25 million tons of wheat each year — nearly as much as the entire annual wheat output of Africa or South America.
Annual per capita wheat consumption in Pakistan averages over 120 kilograms, among the highest in the world and providing over 60 percent of Pakistanis’ daily caloric intake.
The seed distributed includes varieties that offer enhanced levels of grain zinc content. The varieties were developed by CIMMYT in partnership with HarvestPlus, a CGIAR research program to study and deliver biofortified foods.
According to a 2011 nutrition survey, 39 percent of children in Pakistan and 48 percent of pregnant women suffer from zinc deficiency, leading to child stunting rates of more than 40 percent and high infant mortality.
“I am very excited to be part of Zincol-16 seed distribution, because its rich ingredients of nutrition will have a good impact on the health of my family,” said Munsif Ullah, a farmer from Swabi District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Other seed distributed includes that of the Pakistan-13 variety for rainfed areas of Punjab, Shahkar-13 for the mountainous Gilgit-Baltistan, Ehsan-16 for rainfed areas in general, and the Umeed-14 and Zardana varieties for Baluchistan.
All varieties feature improved resistance to wheat rust diseases caused by fungi whose strains are mutating and spreading quickly in South Asia.
CIMMYT and partners are training farmers in quality seed production and setting up demonstration plots in farmers’ fields to create awareness about new varieties and production technologies, as well as collecting data to monitor the varieties’ performance.
They are also promoting resource-conserving practices such as balanced applications of fertilizer based on infrared sensor readings, ridge planting, and zero tillage. These innovations can save water, fertilizer, and land preparation costs, not to mention increasing yields.
“CIMMYT’s main focus in Pakistan is work with national wheat researchers to develop and spread better wheat production systems,” Imtiaz explained. “This includes improved farming practices and wheat lines that offer higher yields, disease resistance, and resilience under higher temperatures and dry conditions, as well as good end-use quality.”
CIMMYT’s partners in AIP include the National Rural Support Program (NRSP), the Lok Sanjh Foundation, the Village Friends Organization (VFO), the Aga Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP), the National Agricultural Research Council (NARC) Wheat Program, the Wheat Research Institute (WRI) Faisalabad and Sakrand centers, AZRI-Umarkot, Kashmala Agro Seed Company, ARI-Quetta, BARDC-Quetta, and Model Farm Services Center, KP.
Last year’s maize-growing season in Pakistan yielded a record-breaking six-million tons, decreasing the country’s dependence on imported maize seed and boosting local sales and exports of maize-based products.
Officials and growers attribute this surge in yields extensive use of inputs such as fertilizer, high-yielding improved maize hybrid new varieties and collaborative programs that focus on targeting maize seed improvement to the local environment.
One such program is the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) -led and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) -funded Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP) for Pakistan.
During the recently held 5th Annual maize working group meeting, partners representing 25 public and private institutions discussed what can be done following efforts to consolidate and sustain innovative interventions by AIP. Approximately 50 Participants from Pakistan attended this two-day meeting, where participants shared progress on their respective maize activities, updates on the status of seed production and product identification under AIP, and future prospects.
In a thematic group discussion, participants helped to identify gaps, recognize the role of stakeholders, and develop doable recommendations across the value chain.
Yusuf Zafar, chairman of the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), said he appreciated the contributions of CIMMYT and USAID to Pakistan’s maize sector. “The collaboration and partnership of the public and private sectors under AIP is an exemplary one. We will continue supporting the continuation of this platform with all available means and resources” said Zafar while ensuring PARC’s commitment to this initiative after the completion of the project.
While presenting the annual review, Muhammad Imtiaz, CIMMYT Country Representative for Pakistan discussed the status of the project. AIP will continue under a no-cost extension until 2019 and the project is looking for assistance from the private sector in order to continue into the future.
In closing, Anjum Ali, Member Plant Sciences Division, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, PARC, acknowledged the effort of CIMMYT in bringing all the stakeholders of maize including academia, public and private R&D institutions, policymakers under one umbrella. He further added, “PARC will channel all the deliberations from this meeting and will work with relevant government bodies to come up with amicable solutions for the problems faced by the private sector in products testing and marketing.” The timely and doable recommendations of the working group will serve as a working document for the government in the future, Ali added.
The Agricultural Innovation Program’s mission to sustainably increase agricultural productivity and incomes in Pakistan is supported by the United States Agency for International Development. Partners who have been key in this effort include the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, the International Livestock Research Institute, the University of California – Davis, the World Vegetable Center and the International Rice Research Institute. It has been under no-cost extension since the program ended in March 2017, which extends the program until 2019.
A spatial mapping and ex ante study regarding the risk and potential spread in South Asia of wheat blast, a mysterious and deadly disease from the Americas that unexpectedly infected wheat in southwestern Bangladesh in 2016, identified 7 million hectares of wheat cropping areas in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan whose agro-climatic conditions resemble those of the Bangladesh outbreak zone.
The study shows that, under a conservative scenario of 5-10% wheat blast production damage in a single season in those areas, wheat grain losses would amount to from 0.89 to 1.77 million tons worth, between $180 and $350 million. This would strain the region’s already fragile food security and forcing up wheat imports and prices, according to Khondoker Abdul Mottaleb, first author of the study.
“Climate change and related changes in weather patterns, together with continuing globalization, expose wheat crops to increased risks from pathogens that are sometimes transported over long distances,” said Mottaleb.
Foresight research at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) has focused on new diseases and pests that have emerged or spread in recent decades, threatening global food safety and security. For wheat these include Ug99 and other new strains of stem rust, the movement of stripe rust into new areas, and the sudden appearance in Bangladesh of wheat blast, which had previously been limited to South America.
“As early as 2011, CIMMYT researchers had warned that wheat blast could spread to new areas, including South Asia,” said Kai Sonder, who manages CIMMYT’s geographic information systems lab and was a co-author on the current study, referring to a 2011 note published by the American Pathological Society. “Now that forecast has come true.”
CIMMYT has played a pivotal role in global efforts to study and control blast, with funding from the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (WHEAT), the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
This has included the release by Bangladesh of the first blast resistant, biofortified wheat variety in 2017, using a CIMMYT wheat line, and numerous training events on blast for South Asia researchers.
Read the full article in PLOS-One: “Threat of wheat blast to South Asia’s food security: An ex-ante analysis” and check out other recent publication by CIMMYT staff below:
Maize is Pakistan’s third important cereal following wheat and rice. Pakistan’s maize yield is among the highest in South Asia with an average yield of 4.5 tons per hectare (t/ha). Maize production in Pakistan in 2016-17 set a record high of 6.1 million tons, a 16 percent increase from the previous year and almost a 600 percent increase from levels in the early 1980s. The introduction and rapid expansion of hybrid maize in the mid 1990s, particularly in the spring season, is among the drivers for the wider adoption of maize in Pakistan.
Despite the noteworthy progress of maize production and productivity, Pakistan still imports more than 80 percent of the hybrid seeds, costing the country over $50 million annually and making retail price of hybrid seeds expensive. Dependency on seed import will not warrant sustainable maize production.
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)–led and United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP) for Pakistan is supporting national partners to revitalize maize research and product development initiatives. AIP achieved introduced CIMMYT’s superior second-generation tropically adapted haploid inducers (CIM2GTAILs) for the first time in the history of Pakistan.
Haploid inducers are a specially developed maize genetic stock that are used to develop doubled haploid (DH) maize lines. DH maize lines are highly uniform, genetically pure and stable, making the maize breeding process more intuitive and efficient by simplifying logistics.
This material was shared with two AIP public partners, Maize and Millets Research Institute (MMRI) and University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF). The CIM2GTAILs showed high haploid induction rates (~8-15 percent) under CIMMYT-tested (sub)tropical conditions in Mexico and Kenya, and showed better agronomic performance in terms of plant vigor, synchrony with tropical source populations, better standability, and resistance to important tropical foliar diseases and ear rots..
This DH technology is capable to develop a large number of inbred lines with highest uniformity and homozygosity in shortest possible time of 2-3 generations. Conventional breeding methods needs 6-8 generations to develop stable maize inbred line.
While handing over the inducer seeds to UAF, Muhammad Imtiaz, CIMMYT country representative for Pakistan said “the initiation of the DH technology in Pakistan will modernize and enhance maize breeding efficiency of local institutions particularly in availing locally adapted inbred lines.”
The two institutions have mobilized additional resources from the Government of Pakistan to establish the required DH facilities in their respective institutions and currently they are multiplying the seeds in a controlled environment. Receiving the seeds that were sent from CIMMYT Mexico, Muhammad Aslam, assistant professor at UAF and Muhammad Arshad, director of MMRI sincerely acknowledged the continued and unreserved support from CIMMYT particularly in building the capacity of national programs.
CIMMYT and AIP have trained Pakistani researchers on DH technology in Mexico and Kenya and have allocated 52 market-ready maize varities, including hybrids and biofortified varieties, to 12 public and private partners to foster availability and affordability of maize seeds in Pakistan.
The Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP) for Pakistan is working to sustainably increase agricultural productivity and incomes in the agricultural sector through the promotion and dissemination of modern technologies/practices in the livestock, horticulture (fruits and vegetables) and cereals (wheat, maize and rice) sector. Project management is vested in a unique consortium of CGIAR Centers and the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), led by CIMMYT supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development. The project aims to foster emergence of a dynamic, responsive, and competitive system of science and innovation in Pakistan. AIP seeks to catalyze equitable growth in agricultural production, productivity, and value.
Australian High Commissioner to India, Harinder Sidhu, visited the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) in Ladhowal, Ludhiana, India on February 19.
Arun Joshi, Managing Director for BISA & CIMMYT in India, welcomed her with an introduction about the creation, mission and activities of BISA and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).
Sidhu also learned about the work CIMMYT and BISA do in conservation agriculture in collaboration with Punjab Agricultural University, machinery manufacturers and farmers. This work focuses on using and scaling the Happy Seeder, which enables direct seeding of wheat into heavy loads of rice residue without burning. This technology has been called “an agricultural solution to air pollution in South Asia,” as the burning of crop residue is a huge contributor to poor air quality in South Asia. Sidhu learned about recent improvements to the technology, such as the addition of a straw management system to add extra functionality, which has led to the large-scale adoption of the Happy Seeder.
The high commissioner showed keen interest in the Happy Seeder machine, and was highly impressed by the test-wheat-crop planted on 400 acres with the Happy Seeder.
Salwinder Atwal showed Sidhu the experiments using Happy Seeder for commercial seed production, and ML Jat, Principal Researcher at CIMMYT, presented on the innovative research BISA and CIMMYT are doing on precision water, nutrient and genotype management.
Sidhu visited fields with trials of climate resilient wheat as Joshi explained the importance and role of germplasm banks and new approaches such as use of genomic selection in wheat breeding in the modern agriculture to address the current challenges of climate change. He also explained the work CIMMYT does on hybrid wheat for increasing yield potential and breeding higher resistance against wheat rusts and other diseases.
ML Jat, who leads the CIMMYT-CCAFS climate smart agriculture project, explained the concept of climate smart villages and led Sidhu on a visit to the climate smart village of Noorpur Bet, which has been adopted under the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security.
During Sidhu’s visit to Noorpur Bet, a stakeholder consultation was organized on scaling happy seeder technology for promoting no-burning farming. In the stakeholder consultation, stakeholders shared experiences with happy seeder as well as other conservation agriculture amd climate smart agriculture technologies. BS Sidhu, Commissioner of Agriculture for the Government of Punjab chaired the stakeholder consultation and shared his experiences as well as Government of Punjab’s plans and policies for the farmers to promote happy seeder and other climate smart technologies.
“I am very impressed to see all these developments and enthusiasm of the farmers and other stakeholders for scaling conservation agriculture practices for sustaining the food bowl,” said Sidhu. She noted that Punjab and Australia have many things in common and could learn from each other’s experiences. Later she also visited the Punjab Agricultural University and had a meeting with the Vice Chancellor.
This visit and interaction was attended by more than 200 key stakeholders including officers from Govt. of Punjab, ICAR, PAU-KVKs, PACS, BISA- CIMMYT-CCAFS, manufacturers, farmers and custom operators of Happy Seeder.
The Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) is a non-profit international research institute dedicated to food, nutrition and livelihood security as well as environmental rehabilitation in South Asia, which is home to more than 300 million undernourished people. BISA is a collaborative effort involving the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR).
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CIMMYT) – As part of activities around 2018 International Women’s Day, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) will hold a seminar on women and youth in wheat-based farming systems: How do women and youth contribute? What are their problems and concerns? How can their issues be addressed to increase farm productivity and benefit all household members?
The event will draw some 70 participants from public, private, and academic organizations, including high-level wheat sector officials, social scientists from all Pakistan provinces, and scientists from CIMMYT, the global leader in publicly-funded research on maize and wheat and related farming systems.
Among other topics, speakers will share and discuss Pakistan-specific findings from GENNOVATE, a large-scale qualitative study by CGIAR during 2014-16, based on focus groups and interviews involving more than 7,500 rural men and women in 26 developing countries.
The event, which takes place in the Inspire Meeting Hall, Agricultural Economics Research Institute (AERI), NARC Premises, Park Road, Islamabad, on Thursday, 8 March from 8:45 to 11:30 a.m., will feature presentations followed by question and answer sessions and discussions and will be chaired by Ghulam Muhammad Ali, Director General, NARC, and Dr. Imtiaz Muhammad, Country Representative, CIMMYT Pakistan.
The program includes Muhammad Khair and Zarmina Achakzi from Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS), who will highlight the role of women in farming in Balochistan and factors that limit their income and social status. Sidra Majeed and Nusrat Habib of the Agricultural Economics Research Institute (AERI), NARC, will present on gender roles and responsibilities in Pakistan.
From CIMMYT, Mulunesh Tsegaye, a research associate, will describe GENNOVATE findings on women and youth’s roles in wheat-based agriculture in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan provinces. Consultant Sidra Minhas will share gender-related results from 14 agricultural program evaluations in Pakistan and how better to address gender dynamics in project design, programming, monitoring, and evaluation. Kristie Drucza, gender and social development research manager, will introduce results of three quantitative surveys that highlight the need for greater participation of women in agriculture research to raise the sector’s productivity and profitability.
The theme of 2018 International Women’s Day is #PressforProgress, and encourages global momentum in striving for gender parity.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), women make up 43 percent of the agricultural workforce in developing countries, but for many access to resources and services is severely restricted and they are often left out of decisions regarding use of income—even that which they earn.
You can obtain a two-page summary of the GENNOVATE report “Gender and Innovation Processes in Wheat-Based Systems” by clicking on the title.
GENNOVATE is supported by generous funding from the World Bank; the CGIAR Gender & Agricultural Research Network; the government of Mexico through MasAgro; Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ); numerous CGIAR Research Programs; and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
For further information or interviews:
Kashif Syed, Communications Specialist, CIMMYT
k.syed@cgiar.org, cell: +92 (334) 5559205
Dr. Akhter Ali, Agricultural Economist, CIMMYT
akhter.ali@cgiar.org
Dr. Kristie Drucza, Gender and Social Development Research Manager, CIMMYT, Ethiopia
k.drucza@cgiar.org
ISLAMABAD (CIMMYT) – On February 14, a delegation of representatives from the USAID Pakistan Mission visited the National Agricultural Research Center (NARC) in Islamabad to see the interventions by USAID-funded Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP) implemented by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).
USAID’s Mary Hobbs, Director of the Economic Growth and Agriculture Section, and Kenneth Dunn, Deputy Director, met with CIMMYT-Pakistan’s Country Representative, Imtiaz Muhammad and NARC’s Director General, Ghullam Muhammad Ali.
During the visit, the delegation toured wheat field trials, the Maize Stem Borer Mass Rearing Lab at the NARC and discussed the importance of public-private partnerships and collaborations for developing a strong agricultural system. They also toured the NARC germplasm bank, which provides vital support to the national crop improvement programs in the form of required germplasm seeds of different crops and is a genetic resource of cultivated crops and their wild relatives, useful for breeding.
Muhammad gave a brief presentation on CIMMYT activities and interventions across Pakistan and about successes in the program to strengthen the cereal crops research and system.
Hobbs said, “CIMMYT’s efforts are really worthy and contribute to the overall agriculture-based economy and uplifting the livelihoods of farming communities.”
CIMMYT-led AIP is the result of the combined efforts of the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the World Vegetable Center (AVRDC) and the University of California at Davis. With these national and international partners on board, AIP continues to improve Pakistan’s agricultural productivity and economy.
The Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP) is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
ISLAMABAD (CIMMYT) – In Pakistan, malnutrition is endemic. Children, in particular, are severely affected, with nearly half of all children in Pakistan being chronically undernourished.
Chronic malnutrition commonly leads to a condition called stunting, which can permanently limit growth and development. Pakistan ranks among the highest countries in the world for vitamin A and zinc deficiencies, which affect cognition and can lead to otherwise preventable blindness.
A new initiative hopes to combat malnutrition in Pakistan using biofortified maize, a tactic already in use in several areas around the world.
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) has been improving yield, increasing total protein and micronutrient levels (like vitamin A and zinc) in maize for over 50 years. This work has continued in Pakistan through the United States Agency for International Development – funded Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP) in partnership with the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council and other stakeholders in public and private sector
Since 2014, AIP has been testing CIMMYT-biofortified maize varieties in Pakistan to ensure the maize will grow in local conditions. In some cases, improved maize outperformed even local commercial checks in terms of yield. Earlier this year, CIMMYT allocated three pro vitamin A (PVA) enriched maize hybrids to the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF), making Pakistan the first South Asian country to receive these products. The seed increase of the parental lines as well as the hybrids is in progress currently to expedite the process of hybrid registration and large scale seed production. Apart from the higher carotenoid content, the grain yields of these hybrids are remarkably high with a record of up to 12 tons per hectare from the various testing stations in Pakistan. The average maize yield in Pakistan is 4 tons per hectare. In addition to the support from AIP, UAF is also contributing its own resources to harness the benefits of these hybrids and eventually reduce vitamin A deficiency.
“We will engage the private sector and other value chain actors to fast track the deployment of these hybrids in the target areas,” says Muhammad Aslam, assistant professor at UAF.
Each biofortified maize variety offers different benefits to consumers. Quality protein maize includes all the essential amino acids required by the human body, enhanced zinc maize makes zinc more available for human digestion and provitamin A maize contains natural pigments, called carotenoids, which are converted to vitamin A in the body. Biofortified maize has proven to effectively combat vitamin A and zinc deficiencies, and is already being used around the world to combat malnutrition.
Maize demand in Pakistan has more than tripled since the 1990s. Maize is now being utilized by farmers and consumers in Pakistan in various forms and it is the most important cereal crop in terms of productivity, with among the highest yields in South Asia.
A number of public and private partners have expressed interest in the commercialization of provitamin A and zinc enhanced maize products. Earlier this year, Pakistan released two quality maize protein hybrids for the first time, indicating the potential for biofortified maize products to grow in the country.
“What is important now is to enhance synergies among stakeholders and mobilize resources and required expertise to scale up the seed production and dissemination of these biofortified maize products to curb the deplorable trend of Pakistan’s hidden hunger,” says AbduRahman Beshir, CIMMYT’s seed systems specialist.
For more information on this work:
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP) for Pakistan works to increase agricultural productivity and incomes in the agriculture sector through the development and dissemination of new agriculture technologies. The project is managed by a group of CGIAR Centers and the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).