CIMMYT Director General, Bram Govaerts, shed some light on the role that SOILS-S2P plays in regenerative approaches to the food system and improved soil health.
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FAO Director General, QU Dongyu, pays tribute to Dr. Borlaug at CIMMYT in 2006. His influence extended globally, fostering collaboration with Chinese scientists and contributing to breakthroughs in rice varieties. Dr. Borlaug’s principles resonate in the continued pursuit of agricultural innovation and the enduring legacy of FAO, which was founded 80 years ago.
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To address agriculture’s 25% contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions, researchers created AGREE. This user-friendly tool, which UC Davis and CIMMYT developed, helps estimate emissions from various agricultural activities.
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Bram Govaerts, CIMMYT director general, underscored the far-reaching implications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for agricultural production and international trade at the recent World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogue 2023.
Govaerts also noted that scientific and political responses tend to be reactive, as seen in the rapid development of vaccines in response to the emergence of the new virus during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Intention, collaboration and commitment are critical to bridging the research and practice gap. Gender development practitioners and researchers from CGIAR centers, universities, national agricultural research and extension systems (NARES), civil society, and donor representatives this week shared insights from their research and work at the gender conference in New Delhi, India.
The discussion and exchange promises to create collaborations and opportunities devoted to improving the conditions and agency of women, youth and Indigenous communities in the Global South. âTransformative research can lead to meaningful impact,â said Angela Meentzen, senior gender researcher at CIMMYT. âWe have been looking forward to this conference because coming together as researchers, scientists and development practitioners, we can discuss and share insights from each otherâs practices and experiences from the field.â
Leading researchers and scientists from CIMMYT Asia and Africa presented their research and enriched the gender discussions at the conference. Meentzen said that CIMMYT is proud to support gender research that contributes meaningfully to transformative change and impact.
Below are highlights of four research poster presentations by our researchers (of the six presented by CIMMYT) at the conference:
Scientist Vijayalaxmi Khed examined how women manage excess workload (working inside and outside the house), a clear trade-off between productive and leisure time without change in domestic responsibilities. Due to domestic workload, she found that womenâs time away from farms does not translate into leisure. Another important finding was that women with more agency had less time for leisure, unlike for men.
In her poster presentation, she concluded that rural womenâs nexus of time poverty and decision-making has âclear implications for the development and diffusion of laborsaving technologies in agriculture.â
Working on the same study with Khed, Vijesh Krishna explored the relationship between womenâs involvement in agricultural activities and decision-making. His presentation, âFarm managers or unpaid laborers?â, from the study covering 347 wheat-farming households across two years, concludes that âdespite playing a crucial role in wheat farming in central India, most women lacked the ability to influence decisions.â
Gender-intentional maize breeding for better adoption and productivity in sub-Saharan Africa
Michael Euler, agriculture and resource economist, in his poster presentation explained how an on-farm trial to improve gender-intentional breeding and varietal adoption in maize was designed by CIMMYT breeders and researchers.
The study hypothesized that gender dynamics in household labor allocation and decision-making in maize systems influence trait preferences and farmersâ adoption of varieties. So, researchers conducted on-farm trials and household surveys with individual women and men household members to capture differences in their trait preferences in maize cultivationâproduction systems, seed demand and seed accessâwith 800 smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe and Kenya.
Euler emphasized the influence of socioeconomic and agroecological factors, including bioticâabiotic stress, in the household decisions on maize varietal adoption.
He concluded that the study results will help âguide the product development of regional maize breeding programs and strengthen communitiesâ adaptation to the changing environmental conditions for maize cultivation.â
Adoption of a weeding technology may lead to labor displacement of marginalized women laborers
Presenting a poster for the same session as Euler, Maxwell Mkondiwaâin a study coauthored with colleagues Khed and Krishnaâhighlighted how rapid diffusion of a laborsaving technology like herbicides could exclude the marginalized further. The study occurred in Indiaâs state of Bihar, looking at nonfarming rural poor, primarily women, from socially marginalized groups.
From data on chemical weeding, the study analyzed the technologyâs impact on inequalityâ highlighting how marginalized women laborers who work on manual weeding are then replaced by men who apply herbicides.
He stressed that not enough research is devoted to understanding whether farmer adoption of laborsaving technologies worsens economic inequalities or reinstates labor into better tasks. âWe hope the evidence we generated will help researchers and policymakers develop relevant actions toward more inclusive innovations, and support laborers with new skills for the transitions,â said Mkondiwa.
Women exhibit limited technical knowledge and experience social benefits differently in male-headed households of CASI technology adoption
Emma Karki, in her poster, explained that there is limited knowledge of the impact of technology adoption on women in a male-headed household in South Asiaâwith decision powers generally resting with male household members. The research tried to understand the gendered differences in the evaluation of technology adoption in male-headed households using conservation agriculture-based sustainable intensification (CASI) technology as a case study.
The study focused on identifying the commonalities and differences in the experiences and evaluation of CASI technology. Results indicated that âdespite technology adoption, women had limited mechanistic understanding compared to men, with similar limitations on womenâs time use and capacity development,” said Karki.
For future CASI promotion, Karki concluded: âReducing information gaps and incorporating technological preferences of women needs prioritizing, including creating opportunities for them to access knowledge and engage both men and women in critical discussions surrounding gender norms.â
Similarly, Moti Jaletaâs research presentation highlighted the challenges of mechanization adoption for smallholder farmers in Ethiopia, primarily women. âIntentional research, whether in gender or social development, helps identify problems and opportunities for change,â endorsed Jaleta.
Meaningful research helps achieve gender and social inclusion goals
The âFrom Research to Impact: CGIAR GENDER Impact Platform and ICAR Conference 2023â, between October 9-12, 2023, in New Delhi, gathered researchers from 68 countries. In her inaugural address at the conferenceâs opening, the President of India Smt. Draupadi Murmu affirmed, âFor ecologically sustainable, ethically desirable, economically affordable and socially justifiable production, we need research which can enable conditions to reach these goals.â
At the end of the four-day conferenceâwith 60 research presentations and six plenary sessionsâthe organizers and participants reflected on their resolve âFrom Research To Impact,â and the promise to recognize and collectively address the gender and social inequities in agrifood systems development.
AÂ recent webinar organized by CIMMYT brought together three experts to discuss the importance of millets as key contributors to improving food and nutrition security and resilience to climate change. Offering a wealth of knowledge and insights, the panel discussion was moderated by Kevin Pixley, director of the Dryland Crops Program (DCP), who led a dynamic and engaging discussion highlighting CIMMYT’s work on dryland crops, the climate resiliency and versatility of millets, and biofortification initiatives.
“Millet improvement programs are central to regional dryland crop improvement networksâ, stated Harish Gandhi, breeding lead for DCP. Providing a comprehensive overview of the program, Gandhi emphasized its significance in addressing food and nutrition security as well as climate resilience. “With partners, we are co-designing and co-implementing crop improvement strategies, catalyzing the development of effective and sustainable crop improvement networks”, he said. The dryland crop improvement networks bring together 17 National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES) in Western, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa working jointly to cultivate the potential and impacts of sorghum, pearl millet, groundnut, cowpea, bean, pigeon pea and chickpea. The program is aligned with CGIAR and the CIMMYT 2030 Strategy to transform agrifood systems through a dense network of impactful partnerships for enhanced sustainability, productivity and profitability.
The climate resiliency and adaptability of millets to arid and semi-arid regions make them a staple for smallholder farmers in Africa. “Millet is a drought-tolerant, climate-resilient crop with profound nutritional benefits. It’s rich in iron, zinc and other essential nutrients, making it a promising food against malnutrition and diet-related diseases”, emphasized Maryam Dawud, project lead at the Lake Chad Research Institute in Nigeria. Highlighting the significance of millets in building resilient agricultural systems, Dawud also explored innovations in millet consumption in diverse food products, including gluten-free options.
Mahalingam Govindaraj, senior scientist at HarvestPlus-Alliance Bioversity and CIAT, gave insights into crop biofortification, underlining the pressing need for crop nutritional enhancement due to widespread deficiencies, especially in the Global South. He introduced the HarvestPlus developed Biofortification Priority Index (BPI) which enables decision makers to make informed decisions about crop selection, target nutrients and countries. Additionally, Govindaraj highlighted the success of biofortification in enhancing essential micronutrients, especially in pearl millet, and discussed the science, technology and innovations that help to drive the mainstreaming of biofortification within CGIAR and NARES breeding and testing programs.
During the Q&A session, the speakers addressed questions from the audience of more than 150 participants, clarifying misconceptions and expanding on their subjects. Questions from the engaging audience span a wide range of themes and included the significance of different millet types and why they are frequently grouped together; the correlation between zinc and iron content in pearl millets, particularly in relation to their high fiber content; and the strategic approach of dryland crops in supporting capacity building for the NARES, among many other topics.
As the webinar came to a close, it was evident that millets are more than just cereals; they offer a promising solution to a variety of global food system challenges. From their resilience in harsh climates to their rich nutritional value and potential for innovation in various food products, millets stand as a beacon of hope in developing climate-resilient agriculture for a sustainable future.
The webinar is also accessible in Spanish, French and Hindi.
Climate change poses a significant challenge to agricultural production and food security worldwide. âRising temperatures, shifting weather patterns and more frequent extreme events have already demonstrated their effects on local, regional and global agricultural systemsâ, says Kevin Pixley, Dryland Crops Program director and Wheat Program director a.i. at CIMMYT. âAs such, crop varieties that can withstand climate-related stresses and are suitable for cultivation in innovative cropping systems will be crucial to maximizing risk avoidance, productivity and profitability under climate-changed environments.â
In a new study published in Molecular Plant, scientists from CIMMYT, Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and national agricultural research programs in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda to predict novel traits that might be essential for future varieties of popular crops. Having surveyed nearly 600 agricultural scientists and stakeholders, they identify likely agronomic changes in future cropping systems seeking sustainability, intensification, resilience and productivity under climate change, as well as associated essential and desirable traits, especially those that are not currently prioritized in crop improvement programs.
Focusing on six crops which hold vital importance for African food security and CIMMYT and CGIARâs missionâmaize, sorghum, pearl millet, groundnut, cowpea and common beanâthe authors review opportunities for improving future prioritized traits, as well as those they consider âblind spotsâ among the experts surveyed.
Predicting future essential traits
The results of the study speak to the need for considering cropping systems as central to climate change resilience strategy, as well as the need to reconsider the crop variety traits that will eventually become essential.
Overall, experts who participated in the survey prioritized several future-essential traits that are not already targeted in current breeding programs â mainly water use efficiency in pearl millet, groundnut, and cowpea; adaptation to cropping systems for pearl millet and maize; and suitability for mechanization in groundnut. The survey confirmed that many traits that are already prioritized in current breeding programs will remain essential, which is unsurprising and consistent with other recent findings. While smarter and faster breeding for currently important traits is essential, the authors suggest that failure to anticipate and breed for changing needs and opportunities for novel characteristics in future varieties would be a big mistake, compromising farmersâ resilience, improved livelihood opportunities, and food security in the face of changing climate.
Importantly, the authors explain, the predicted future-essential traits include innovative breeding targets that must be prioritized. They point to examples such as improved performance in inter- or relay-crop systems, lower nighttime respiration, improved stover quality, or optimized rhizosphere microbiome, which has benefits for nitrogen, phosphorous and water use efficiency.
The authors emphasize that the greatest challenge to developing crop varieties to win the race between climate change and food security might be innovativeness in defining and boldness to breed for the traits of tomorrow. With this in mind, they outline some of the cutting-edge tools and approaches that can be used to discover, validate and incorporate novel genetic diversity from exotic germplasm into breeding populations with unprecedented precision and speed.
Read the full study: Redesigning crop varieties to win the race between climate change and food security
The future direction of oilseeds appears to be closely tied to patents around seed technology, as industry and governments plan for a net-zero future. CIMMYT’s germplasm bank is available worldwide and relies heavily on collaborations with public and private entities, where breeding is a critical part of partnerships to further foster thriving markets.
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CIMMYT joins with members of the international development community to mourn the passing of renowned wheat geneticist and âFather of the Green Revolution in India,â Monkombu Sambasivan Swaminathan who died on September 27 at the age of 98.
Swaminathan devoted his life to sustainably feeding the world. His vision reshaped India almost overnight to a breadbasket for South Asia, through adoption of innovative high-yield wheat varieties and efficient farming techniques for Indian farmers. TIME magazine acclaimed him as one of the twenty most influential Asians of the 20th Century, making him one of three from India to be named alongside Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore.
Swaminathan began his career in the world of academia. After earning his Ph.D. in plant genetics from Cambridge University in 1952, he moved to the United States to continue his research as a professor; however, his home country India eventually called him back home. With the crisis of a rapidly increasing population and low food production, Swaminathan returned to become a scientist at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), where he later served as Director from 1961 to 1972.
It was during this time that he began his collaboration scientist Norman Borlaug, future Nobel Prize laureate and soon to be leader of CIMMYT wheat research. Swaminathan saw the value of the Mexican semi-dwarf wheat varieties, which were developed by Borlaug, for wheat production in India and requested that Borlaug send him a range of breeding materials containing the Norin dwarfing genes. The seeds arrived in 1963 along with Borlaug and the pair travelled the wheat-belt of India. Swaminathan arranged multi-location trials for the varieties and established an inter-disciplinary team to adapt the new varieties for Indian conditions.
The next step was convincing local farmers to grow the varieties. By 1966, Swaminathan had established 2,000 model farms where farmers could see for themselves the benefits of the new wheats. Swaminathanâs final act in kickstarting the Green Revolution in India was to successfully lobby the Indian government to import 18,000 tons of the Mexican seed.
Just 4 years later Indiaâs wheat harvest had doubled to 20 million tons, ending the nationâs dependence on wheat imports and saving millions from starvation. Swaminathan continued to work with the Indian government to maintain food security and long-term self-sufficiency across the country and the impact of his work earned him the first World Food Prize in 1987.
Swaminathan held a number of leadership roles in world agricultural and conservation organizations over his lifetime, including the FAO council, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, the World Wide Fund for Nature (India), and the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences. He also served as Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and Secretary to the Government of India at the Department of Agricultural Research and Education from 1972-79, as well as Director General of the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines from 1982-88.
A humanitarian at heart
Not just a scientist, Swaminathan was an advocate and humanitarian. Shortly after winning the World Food Prize, he used the award funds to establish a research center, the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), in Chennai, India. The MSSRF allowed him to work on his other passion, sustainable development, where he coordinated research and action on conservation of endangered species, protection of coastal ecosystems, precision farming, ecotechnology, community education and technical training, and programs for rural internet access.
He has received 84 honorary doctorate degrees from universities around the world and multiple awards including the Padma Shri (1967), Padma Bhushan (1972) and Padma Vibushan (1989) â the fourth, third and second highest civilian awards in India. He has also won numerous international awards including the 1994 UNEP Sasakawa Environment Prize, the UNESCO Gandhi Gold Medal in 1999 and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award in 2000.
âHe was a real gentleman with a sharp memory,â recalls CIMMYT distinguished scientist Ravi Singh. âI always admired his capacity and his ability to link complicated topics into a nice synthesis.â
He was an inspiration to thousands and will be greatly missed for his scientific brilliance, his pioneering advocacy and humanitarianism, and his life mission to reduce world hunger through improved technology for citizens from all levels of society.
The CIMMYT family extends its deepest condolences to the Swaminathan family.
For the sixth installment of the ongoing seminar series on womenâs leadershipâCatalysts of Change: Women Leaders in ScienceâCIMMYT had the opportunity to interact with Ismahane Elouafi, Executive Managing Director of CGIAR. This session was held when Ismahane was Chief Scientist at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
At the outset, Bram Govaerts, Director General of CIMMYT, introduced Ismahane as a strong advocate for diversifying into neglected and underutilized crops and rethinking the food system as a whole. âShe is an early advocate for resilience and inclusion from a human and biological perspective, is internationally known for promoting the use of non-fresh water in agriculture, and empowering women in science,â he said.
Ismahane outlined her career trajectoryâher initial fascination with the sciences, particularly in biology and genetics, during school; how her military training in Morocco to become the nationâs first female fighter pilot had to be aborted, prompting her to pursue a new career; her subsequent enrollment in an agricultural college, as other specialized institutions did not have available seats; and how, despite the hiccups, she went on to obtain a Masterâs degree in Genetics and Plant Breeding, followed by a Ph.D. in Genetics.
âI do not succumb easily to discouragement, certainly not to prejudice or naysayers,â she stated. âCuriosity and perseverance have consistently guided me over the past 25 years of my career.â
Ismahane describes herself as a mother of two wonderful children, a Moroccan who immigrated to Canada, an Arab Muslim woman, and a passionate advocate for genetics.
Coming from a family of six daughters, she noted that discrimination or favoritism played no role in her upbringing. âMy parents encouraged our curiosity and instilled in us a love for learning and sharing knowledge,â she said. Ismahane selected her fellowship opportunities with ICARDA and CIMMYT due to their international exposure, which enabled her to move from laboratory to laboratory and university to university, allowing her to explore new technologies and engage in global projects.
In each setting, she learned more than just science. âI learned how to deal with people, appreciate diverse cultures, languages, and food.â She stressed the importance of learning new languages and how learning Spanish opened doors for her in Latin America. âNot understanding each other makes us defensive, leading to problems in the world,â she told her audience.
At a point in her life when she wanted to settle down and have a family, Ismahane migrated to Canadaâwhat she calls âa new chapter.â In Canada, she got a chance to work with the federal government in Ottawa and gained experience in science management. âIt made me look at science differentlyâhow budgets are allocated, how performance is measured, how to work with different stakeholders. This was a big learning curve for me,â she said, adding that if we want science to be heard and used in policy and budget decisions, we need more scientists in management. âYou canât let lawyers and finance people run the shop.â
After moving across different management roles, she realized that her calling was international development. âIt took me going to Canada, being part of Canada’s systems and bureaucracy, and learning science management to realize that my heart lies in international development using science, tech, and innovation.â
She also shared insights about her strategic work at FAO, which aimed to achieve the âfour bettersââbetter production, better nutrition, better environments, and better life, leaving no one behind. âFor me, leaving no one behind and having a better life for everybody based on agriculture is very important,â she shared.
In a follow-up interview with Andrea Gardeazabal, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Manager – ICT for Agriculture at CIMMYT, Ismahane shared some challenges of being a woman leader or scientist in a male-dominated field.
âThey are the same challenges as those of being a good scientist: finding the right subject, securing the right resources, and having the right partners. But for women, particularly young women, you also have to prove yourself in a new place,â she said.
Her advice to younger women in science was: âYou have to like what you’re doing or move on. By moving, you grow. There are so many opportunities, and so much to do. Hence, be in a place that you like. Believing in what you do and enjoying it makes the difference.â
Ismahane shared that organizational policies aimed at supporting women must address the fundamental biological needs of women, allowing them to fulfill their roles as mothers and maintain their families. For that, a robust support system within the workplace is essential.
âIn all sectors, but more in science and agriculture, we need positive discrimination,â she said. She explained that this does not imply selecting women who lack qualifications; rather, it means providing opportunities for qualified women to enter and excel in these fields. âIt will be necessary to maintain such measures for the next 50 to 70 years to promote a more balanced workforce, because right now the numbers are not encouraging at all, particularly when you go into senior management,â she said. âWe need to put in place policies that encourage women to continue in their careers,â she added.
Ismahane pointed out how historically the agricultural sector has focused on a limited number of species because of economic restraints, which rendered the agriculture sector susceptible to climate change and a contributor to the problem. âTransformation of the agri-food system is a mustâit’s not optional. We must create a system that is more resilient, sustainable, inclusive, and efficient,â she emphasized.
Ismahane also pointed out how the logistics of moving agricultural commodities globally often do not make sense and can worsen greenhouse gas emissions. âCurrently, data related to commodity transport and emissions are largely controlled by multinational companies, who rarely share this information,â she said. Leveraging traceability to assess the carbon footprint of commodities can promote responsible trading and support local and regional production, she explained.
The floor then opened for audience Q/A.
Click here to watch the seminar video or visit our website.
As hotter temperatures and drought become the norm in places used to growing wheat, yields will be reduced, climate change will have some effect on most of the worldâs wheat. CIMMYT is working to strengthen seed systems as demand for staple crops like wheat is only expected to increase as the climate crisis makes the worldâs food system more vulnerable.
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On August 29, CIMMYT held the latest installment of its seminar series on womenâs leadershipâCatalysts of Change: Women Leaders in Science. The online event featured a presentation from Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, an animal scientist by training, who has previously worked as policy advisor for numerous African governments and global institutions and currently serves as chair of the CGIAR System Board.
In her opening talk, Sibanda outlined the many and varied roles she has held throughout her career, including professor, farmer, and business owner. Discussing her early education in a segregated colonial Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia), her time as an undergraduate student in Egypt, or the challenge of starting a family alongside developing her career, Sibanda was keen to highlight the lessons learned at each stage of life and emphasized the importance of creating cross-cultural friendships, nurturing professional networks, establishing priorities, and promoting continuous learning.
A learning spirit
Sibanda has over 15 years of experience working as a governor at national, regional, and international levels, but it took some time to initially build her confidence in the role. She recalled feeling daunted during her very first meetings because she had not been trained, but her learning spirit helped carry her through. âI always looked around the room and chose my mentorsâbased on something I liked about their valuesâsomething I liked about the way they asked questions, or something I liked about their demeanor and how they engaged with othersâand I started learning.”
This approach has garnered her a large circle of mentorsâand friendsâand having served on more than 12 different boards she now feels this is a space that she enjoys, particularly as there are still opportunities for learning. âI think itâs the spirit of continuous thirst for knowledge, for new information, that has kept me going.”
âAnd itâs all about integrity,â she added. âWhat people see in me is what they get. Iâve never had to be fake. What I know, I make sure I know very well. What I donât know, Iâm not shy to say I donât know.â
Convince each other that it can be done
Having unpacked her life as a scholar, mother, working professional, and governor, Sibanda explained that her current focus is on giving back. For her, supporting the next generation of women in the workplace is a key part of leadership. She cited Graça Machel and Mama Mary Robinson as inspirations, both for their work ethic and their ability to connect with people at different levels. âBut most importantly, they give it to other women,â she said. âThey love mentoring girls and other women.â
In her own experience, some of the major obstacles she faces as a woman, a farmer, and an African are the specific biases associated with each of those three things. âWomen need to be helped, they are disadvantaged; farmers are poor, especially if they come from Africa; and mothers need to spend more time at home and not be globetrotting to meetings.â To counter these biases, she explained, it is important to show that you can thrive and excel in all environments. âItâs not about either or, itâs about showing we can do it, regardless of the circumstances.â
âWomen are natural agents of change, and all they need is a conducive environment. As women, we should be spending more time with other women, making sure we share our stories, our successes, and our struggles. The whole idea is to convince each other that it can be done.â
Sibandaâs presentation was followed by a Q&A session led by Ana Luisa Garcia Rivera, senior regional genotyping coordinator at CIMMYT. Watch the recorded session below.
How many times have we seen innovative ideas launched into the marketplace, seeming to offer answers to key problems, only to see them fail to make the impact that we expected? In the modern world, having a great idea is not enough to ensure market success. Even when new products, processes or technologies have been carefully and successfully tested in trials and studies, the process of scaling and launching them often leads to disappointing results.
History of the Scaling Scan
“The Scaling Scan is a necessary breakthrough for those connected with meaningful impact. The Scaling Scan is accessible, practical, grounded in the reality, and most importantly, a watershed rethinking the ‘bigger is better’ logic of scaling.”
Rob McLean, CIMMYT scaling coordinator senior program specialist in Policy and Evaluation at IDRC and author of “Scaling Impact”
The Scaling Scan was developed to improve this process and ensure that new innovations have the best chance of success. Traditionally, scaling an innovation has often resulted in âlinearâ thinking, where the project team focuses on the advantages of their new product and relies on these for launch. The Scaling Scan encourages teams to broaden their thinking into areas within the overall private and public sector environments where they may have less experience, but which can greatly help or hinder the success of new ideas. It looks at 10 âingredientsâ to consider, discuss, and develop strategies to address â ranging from end-user financing and business cases to national strategies and regulations.
The first version of the Scaling Scan was launched in 2017 following cooperation between scaling expert Lennart Woltering at CIMMYT and the Public Private Partnership Lab (PPPLab), a research consortium based in the Netherlands. A second, updated version was released the following year. The tool has been implemented through workshops held around the world, with trained moderators to encourage discussion, share ideas and develop expertise. These discussions resulted in five action steps:
More than 1,200 participants attended the workshops that were held in English, Spanish and French. Half of the workshops were held in Africa, with the rest divided between Asia and North and South America, including 11 in Mexico. In 2022, an online version was made available through the launch of a new website, https://scalingscan.org/ with support from the Deutsche Gesellschaft fĂŒr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the One CGIAR Mitigate initiative. This has further increased the availability of and access to scaling information.
“The Scaling Scan pushes users to go beyond a narrow focus on scaling an innovation. It is a great tool that enables practical thinking about the multiple pathways to impact at scale and the range of stakeholders that need to be considered in scaling process.”
Kelly Hayley Price, DRC senior evaluation officer
3rd edition Scaling Scan Launch                   Â
On September 14, 2023, the 3rd edition of the Scaling Scan will be launched. With the support of GIZ, FAO, Alliance, and SNV, the tool has been enhanced to include some changes inspired by discussions at the workshops. There is increased consideration of gender roles and how these might affect, or be affected by, a scaling program. Likewise, the impact of climate change is also included. In terms of usability, the Scaling Scan has been adapted to make it more accessible to use without a moderator, meaning that users will be able to benefit even if they have difficulty getting to a workshop. It has also been designed to make it easier to customize the Scaling Scan to fit oneâs own needs, rather than requiring the standard version used in workshops.
To find out more about the Scaling Scan, please visit https://scalingscan.org/, or email e.valencia@cgiar.org for more information.
The widespread availability of chemical nitrogen fertilizers is a prime driver of the vast improvement of crop yields over the past 50 years. However, their use has come with a price, as nitrogen escaping into surrounding soil and air has negative impacts on the environment and human health, including water pollution, depletion of soil-fertility, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Researchers from CIMMYT and JIRCAS (Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Science) examined ways to curtail the leakage of nitrogen into ecosystems, through a process called biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) in the paper âGenetic variation among elite inbred lines suggests potential to breed for BNI-capacity in maize,â published in the journal Scientific Reports on August 17, 2023.
BNI is a plant-based natural process that reduces nitrogen losses, which can reduce fertilizer demand while sustaining agricultural systems. The roots of plants that exhibit BNI activity release natural substances that inhibit the activity of nitrifying bacteria in soil, thus reducing the amount of nitrogen lost to the surrounding ecosystem. Many plant species have natural BNI activity in their roots.
Although synthetic chemical nitrification inhibitors are commercially available to reduce nitrogen losses, the high costs of this approach have limited its adoption. By contrast, breeding new varieties with increased natural BNI activity can offer a practical and economical approach to reduce nitrogen fertilizer need and waste.
âWe are in the discovery phase regarding BNI activity and its determining traits for maize. Such information is crucial to pave the way for breeding programs and genetic improvement efforts,â said Kevin Pixley, co-author of the paper and former director of CIMMYTâs Genetic Resources Program. âWe need to identify genetic markers for BNI compounds including âzeanoneâ, which will enable breeders to develop maize varieties that require and waste less nitrogen fertilizer, while achieving high yields.â
This research identified 18 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) that act as genetic âsignpostsâ for breeders to use to accelerate and increase the accuracy of breeding to increase BNI activity for maize. The researchers also identified six âcandidateâ or putative genes associated with BNI activity and related to nitrogen use efficiency, thereby enhancing the understanding of the genetics controlling BNI activity.
âOur identification of SNPs and genes that regulate how maize processes nitrogen begins to draw a road map to guide the development of molecular markers for use in breeding new maize varieties that meet farmer and consumer needs at a lower environmental cost,â said senior author Cesar Petroli. âBuilding on the results obtained and reported in our recent publication, we are developing maize (doubled haploid) populations to refine the genetic map for BNI activity in maizeâ.
This research was conducted with partners from JIRCAS and the Universidad de la RepĂșblica, Uruguay.
In plant breeding, efforts to increase the rate of genetic gains and enhance crop resilience to the effects of climate change are often limited by the inaccessibility and costs of phenotyping methods. The recent rapid development of sensors, image-processing technology and data analysis has provided new opportunities for multiple scales phenotyping methods and systems. Among these, satellite imagery may represent one of the best ways to remotely monitor trials and nurseries planted in multiple locations, while standardizing protocols and reducing costs.
This is because relevant data collected as part of crop phenotyping can be generated from satellite images. For instance, the sensors onboard the SkySat satellite constellation of Planet Labs have four spectral bandsâblue, green, red, and infraredâwhich can be used to calculate the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), which is a measure of vegetation and its greenness, and various canopy traits like ground cover, leaf area index and chlorosis. It can also be used to monitor plot establishment and phenological parameters.
The use of satellite-based phenotyping in breeding trials has typically been restricted by low resolution, high cost and long intervals between fly-overs. However, the advent of a new generation of high-resolution satellitesâsuch as the SkySat constellationânow offers multispectral images at a 0.5m resolution with close to daily acquisition attempts on any place on Earth. This could be a game changer in terms of the scale at which yield trials can be conducted, enabling more precise variety placement and thereby increasing genetic diversity across farmerâs fields and reducing the probability of disease epidemics. It could also revolutionize the capacity for research in realistic field conditions, since traits can be measured throughout the cycle in a highly standardized way, over multiple sites at low cost. For example, an image which covers 25 km2 can monitor an entire research station at a cost of about US$300.
To test the suitability of this technology, a team of researchers from CIMMYT set out to evaluate the reliability of SkySat NDVI estimates for maize and wheat breeding plots of different sizes and spacing, as well as testing its capacity for detecting seasonal changes and genotypic differences.
Both their initial findings, recently published in Frontiers in Plant Science, and more recently acquired data, show that the SkySat satellites can be used to monitor plots commonly used in wheat and maize nurseries. While wheat yield plots usually are 1.2m wide, maize plots tend to consist of at least two rows, resulting in a width of 1.5m. Plot length ranges from 2-4m. The authors also discuss on other factors to be considered when extracting and interpreting satellite data from yield trials, such as plot spacing.
Through the successful collection of six satellite images in Central Mexico during the rainy season and parallel monitoring of a maize trial in Zimbabwe, the researchers demonstrate the flexibility of this tool. Beyond the improvement of spatial resolution, the researchers suggest that the next challenge will be the development and fine-tuning of operational procedures that ensure high quality, standardized data, allowing them to harness the benefits of the modern breeding triangle, which calls for the integration of phenomics, enviromics and genomics, to accelerate breeding gains.
Read the full study: Satellite imagery for high-throughput phenotyping in breeding plots
This research was supported by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, the CGIAR Research Program on Maize, the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat, and the One CGIAR Initiatives on Digital Innovation, F2R-CWANA, and Accelerated Breeding.