Location: Zambia

Harvesting wheat at Gataraga, Northern Province, Rwanda.

Smallholder wheat production can cut Africa’s costly grain imports

Written by Mike Listman on February 8, 2019. Posted in News.

International scientists are working with regional and national partners in sub-Saharan Africa to catalyze local wheat farming and help meet the rapidly rising regional demand for this crop.

The specialists are focusing on smallholder farmers in Rwanda and Zambia, offering them technical and institutional support, better links to markets, and the sharing of successful practices across regions and borders, as part of the project “Enhancing smallholder wheat productivity through sustainable intensification of wheat-based farming systems in Rwanda and Zambia.”

“Work started in 2016 and has included varietal selection, seed multiplication, and sharing of high-yielding, locally adapted, disease-resistant wheat varieties,” said Moti Jaleta, a socioeconomist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) who leads the project. “Our knowledge and successes in smallholder wheat production and marketing will also be applicable in Madagascar, Mozambique, and Tanzania.”

Maize is by far the number-one food crop in sub-Saharan Africa but wheat consumption is increasing fast, driven in part by rapid urbanization and life-style changes. The region annually imports more than 15 million tons of wheat grain, worth some US$ 3.6 billion at current prices. Only Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Africa grow significant amounts of wheat and they are still net importers of the grain.

“Growing more wheat where it makes sense to do so can help safeguard food security for people who prefer wheat and reduce dependence on risky wheat grain markets,” Jaleta explained. “We’re working in areas where there’s biophysical potential for the crop in rain-fed farming, to increase domestic wheat production and productivity through use of improved varieties and cropping practices.”

In addition to the above, participants are supporting the region’s wheat production in diverse ways:

Recommendations to fine-tune smallholder wheat value chains and better serve diverse farmers.
Testing of yield-enhancing farming practices, such as bed-and-furrow systems that facilitate efficient sowing and better weed control.
Testing and promotion of small-scale mechanization, such as power tillers, to save labor and improve sowing and crop establishment.
Exploring use of hand-held light sensors to precisely calibrate nitrogen fertilizer dosages throughout the cropping season.

Innocent Habarurema, wheat breeder in the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), cited recent successes in the release of improved, disease resistant wheat varieties, as well as engaging smallholder farmers in seed multiplication and marketing to improve their access to quality seed of those varieties.

“The main challenge in wheat production is the short window of time between wheat seasons, which doesn’t allow complete drying of harvested plants for proper threshing,” Habarurema explained. “Suitable machinery to dry and thresh the wheat would remove the drudgery of hand threshing and improve the quality of the grain, so that it fetches better prices in markets.”

*Millers, like this one in Rwanda, play a key role in wheat value chains.*

Critical wheat diseases in Zambia include spot blotch, a leaf disease caused by the fungus Cochliobolus sativus, and head blight caused by Fusarium spp., which can leave carcinogenic toxins in the grain, according to Batiseba Tembo, wheat breeder at the Zambian Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI).

“Developing and disseminating varieties resistant to these diseases is a priority in the wheat breeding program at Mt. Makulu Agricultural Research Center,” said Tembo. “We’re also promoting appropriate mechanization for smallholder farmers, to improve wheat production and reduce the enormous drudgery of preparing the soil with hand hoes.”

Participants in the project, which runs to 2020, met at Musanze, in Rwanda’s Northern Province, during February 5-7 to review progress and plan remaining activities, which include more widespread sharing of seed, improved practices, and other useful outcomes.

“There was interest in trying smallholder winter wheat production under irrigation in Zambia to reduce the disease effects normally experienced in rainfed cropping,” said Jaleta, adding that the costs and benefits of irrigation, which is rarely used in the region, need to be assessed.

Project participants may also include in selection trials wheat varieties that have been bred to contain enhanced grain levels of zinc, a key micronutrient missing in the diets of many rural Africa households.

“The project will also push for the fast-track release and seed multiplication of the best varieties, to get them into farmers’ hands as quickly as possible,” Jaleta said.

In addition to CIMMYT, RAB, and ZARI, implementing partners include the Center for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA). Generous funding for the work comes from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat.

Christian Thierfelder

Written by on April 17, 2018. Posted in Uncategorized.

Christian Thierfelder is a Principal Cropping Systems Agronomist working with CIMMYT’s Sustainable Intensification program.

Since 2009, Thierfelder has led CIMMYT’s conservation agriculture systems research in Southern Africa with the aim to adapt conservation agriculture systems to the needs and environments of smallholder farmers. He currently focuses on fine-tuning conservation agriculture systems to different agro-ecologies and researching farmers’ adoption of new technologies, green manure cover crops and grain legumes integration into maize-based farming systems, climate-smart agriculture, GxExM and agro-ecological management of the fall armyworm.

His research mainly covers Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and to a lesser extent Namibia. Thierfelder works with a wide range of national and international partners from research and extension in all target countries. Capacity building is a central part of his work, which includes farmers, extension officers and national researchers but also university students from all degree levels.

New Publications: Storage of maize products results in vitamin loss

Written by on February 15, 2018. Posted in Publications.

New Pubs

Biofortification of crops through traditional breeding techniques has become very common in the fight against malnutrition globally. Biofortified provitamin A maize is bred to produce increased carotenoids (a naturally occurring molecule also found in carrots) to reduce vitamin A deficiency (VAD). VAD affects 190 million children globally and causes an estimated 500,000 cases of preventable blindness per year. A study in 2014 showed that provitamin A maize, was as effective as a high-dose supplement at increasing vitamin A stores in Zambian children.

However, processing and storage can drastically reduce the level of carotenoids in these foods by the time they are consumed. The authors of a new study explain that processing of maize grains makes vitamins more bioavailable, but that exposure to heat, light and air can oxidize carotenoids, reducing the amount remaining in food.

The study shows that when stored for six months in traditional conditions, up to 65 percent of provitamin A may be lost, but it differs among maize varieties, with some varieties losing 40 percent of their carotenoid content in the first two weeks.

The study also examined processing and cooking methods of biofortified maize and eggs from hens who ate this maize to find the best and worst conditions for carotenoid retention. They found that boiling whole grain maize into porridge had the best retention rates of any tested processing methods, with retention rates over 100 percent, and deep frying maize and scrambling eggs had the lowest retention rates of around 70 and 80 percent, respectively.

Overall, the authors say cooking allowed both maize and eggs to retain upwards of 80 percent of effects carotenoid content, but storage at or above room temperature quickly degraded the carotenoid content. They suggest that whole grain and courser ground maize may be a good way to retain more provitamin A while sitting on a shelf, but say more research is necessary.

Read the full study “Retention of Carotenoids in Biofortified Maize Flour and β-Cryptoxanthin-Enhanced Eggs after Household Cooking” and check out other publications by CIMMYT staff below:

A white paper on global wheat health based on scenario development and analysis. Savary, S., Djurle, A., Yuen, J., Ficke, A., Rossi, V., Esker, P.D., Fernandes, J.M.C., Del Ponte, E.M., Kumar, J., Madden, L.V., Paul, P., McRoberts, N., Singh, P.K., Huber, L., Pope de Vallavielle, C., Saint-Jea, S., Willocquet, L. In: Phytopathology v. 107, no. 10, p. 1109-1122.
Characterization of leaf rust and stripe rust resistance in spring wheat ‘Chilero’. Ponce-Molina, L.J., Huerta-Espino, J., Singh, R.P., Basnet, B.R., Alvarado Beltrán, G., Randhawa, M.S., Caixia Lan, Aguilar Rincón, V.H., Lobato-Ortiz, R., García Zavala, J.J. In: Plant disease v. 102, no. 2, p. 421-427.
Evaluation of grain yield of heat stress resilient maize hybrids in Nepal. Koirala, K.B., Giri, Y.P., Rijal, T.R., Zaidi, P.H., Ajanahalli, R.S., Shrestha, J. In: International Journal of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology v. 5, no. 4, p. 511-522.
Genetic analysis of heat adaptive traits in tropical maize (Zea mays L.). Krishnaji Jodage., Kuchanur, P.H., Zaidi, P.H., Patil, A., Seetharam, K., Vinayan, M.T., Arunkumar, B. In: International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences v. 7, no. 1, p. 3237-3246.
Genetic analysis of morpho-physiological traits and yield components in F2 partial diallel crosses of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Abidine Fellah, Z.E., Hannach, A., Bouzerzour, H., Dreisigacker, S., Yahyaoui, A.H., Sehgal, D. In: Revista Facultad Nacional de Agronomía v. 70, no. 3, p. 8237-8250.
Genomics selection in plant breeding : methods, models, and perspectives. Crossa, J., Pérez-Rodríguez, P., Cuevas, J., Montesinos-Lopez, O.A., Jarquín, D., De los Campos, G., Burgueño, J., Camacho-González, J. M., Perez-Elizalde, S., Beyene, Y., Dreisigacker, S., Ravi Gopal Singh, Zhang, X., Gowda, M., Roorkiwal, M., Rutkoski, J., Varshney, R. K. In: Trends in Plant Science v. 20, no. 11, p. 961-975.
Grain yield and stability of white early maize hybrids in the highland valleys of Mexico. Torres Flores, J. L., Mendoza García, B., Prasanna, B.M., Alvarado Beltrán, G., San Vicente, F.M., Crossa, J. In: Crop Science v. 57, no. 6, p. 3002-3015.
High-throughput measurement methodologies for developing nutrient-dense crops. Guild, G., Parkes, E., Nutti, M., Palacios-Rojas, N., Stangoulis, J. In: African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development v. 17, no. 2, p. 11941-11954.
Retention of carotenoids in biofortified maize flour and β-Cryptoxanthin-Enhanced eggs after household cooking. Sowa, M., Jiaoying Yu, Palacios-Rojas, N., Goltz, S. R., Howe, J. A., Davis, C.R., Rocheford, T., Tanumihardjo, S. A. In: ACS Omega no. 2, p. 7320-7328.
Risk assessment and spread of the potentially invasive Ceratitis rosa Karsch and Ceratitis quilicii De Meyer, Mwatawala and Virgilio sp. Nov. using life-cycle simulation models : implications for phytosanitary measures and management. Tanga, C. M., Khamis, F. M., Tonnang, H., Rwomushana, I., Mosomtai, G., Mohamed, S. A., Ekesi, S. In: PLoS One v. 13, no. 1:e0189138

Climate insurance for farmers: a shield that boosts innovation

Written by on November 7, 2017. Posted in Features.

Index insurance is one of the top 10 innovations for climate-proof farming. Photo: P. Lowe/ CIMMYT

What stands between a smallholder farmer and a bag of climate-adapted seeds? In many cases, it’s the hesitation to take a risk. Farmers may want to use improved varieties, invest in new tools, or diversify what they grow, but they need reassurance that their investments and hard work will not be squandered.

Climate change already threatens crops and livestock; one unfortunately-timed dry spell or flash flood can mean losing everything. Today, innovative insurance products are tipping the balance in farmers’ favor. That’s why insurance is featured as one of 10 innovations for climate action in agriculture, in a new report released ahead of next week’s UN Climate Talks. These innovations are drawn from decades of agricultural research for development by CGIAR and its partners and showcase an array of integrated solutions that can transform the food system.

Index insurance is making a difference to farmers at the frontlines of climate change. It is an essential building block for adapting our global food system and helping farmers thrive in a changing climate. Taken together with other innovations like stress-tolerant crop varieties, climate-informed advisories for farmers, and creative business and financial models, index insurance shows tremendous promise.

The concept is simple. To start with, farmers who are covered can recoup their losses if (for example) rainfall or average yield falls above or below a pre-specified threshold or ‘index’. This is a leap forward compared to the costly and slow process of manually verifying the damage and loss in each farmer’s field. In India, scientists from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), have worked out the water level thresholds that could spell disaster for rice farmers if exceeded. Combining 35 years of observed rainfall and other data, with high-resolution satellite images of actual flooding, scientists and insurers can accurately gauge the extent of flooding and crop loss to quickly determine who gets payouts.

The core feature of index insurance is to offer a lifeline to farmers, so they can shield themselves from the very worst effects of climate change. But that’s not all. Together with my team, we’re investigating how insurance can help farmers adopt new and improved varieties. Scientists are very good at developing technologies but farmers are not always willing to make the leap. This is one of the most important challenges that we grapple with. What we’ve found has amazed us: buying insurance can help farmers overcome uncertainty and give them the confidence to invest in new innovations and approaches. This is critical for climate change adaptation. We’re also finding that creditors are more willing to lend to insured farmers and that insurance can stimulate entrepreneurship and innovation. Ultimately, insurance can help break poverty traps, by encouraging a transformation in farming.

Insurers at the cutting edge are making it easy for farmers to get coverage. In Kenya, insurance is being bundled into bags of maize seeds, in a scheme led by ACRE Africa. Farmers pay a small premium when buying the seeds and each bag contains a scratch card with a code, which farmers text to ACRE at the time of planting. This initiates coverage against drought for the next 21 days; participating farms are monitored using satellite imagery. If there are enough days without rain, a farmer gets paid instantly via their mobile phone.

ACRE makes it easy for Kenyan farmers to get insurance. Source

Farmers everywhere are businesspeople who seek to increase yields and profits while minimizing risk and losses. As such, insurance has widespread appeal. We’ve seen successful initiatives grow rapidly in India, China, Zambia, Kenya and Mexico, which points to significant potential in other countries and contexts. The farmers most likely to benefit from index insurance are emergent and commercial farmers, as they are more likely than subsistence smallholder farmers to purchase insurance on a continual basis.

It’s time for more investment in index insurance and other innovations that can help farmers adapt to climate change. Countries have overwhelmingly prioritized climate actions in the agriculture sector, and sustained support is now needed to help them meet the goals set out in the Paris Climate Agreement.

Jon Hellin leads the project on weather index-based agricultural insurance as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). This work is done in collaboration with the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) at Columbia University, and the CGIAR Research Programs on MAIZE and WHEAT.

Find out more

Report: 10 innovations for climate action in agriculture

Video: Jon Hellin on crop-index insurance for smallholder farmers

Info note: Prospects for scaling up the contribution of index insurance to smallholder adaptation to climate risk

Report: Scaling up index insurance for smallholder farmers: Recent evidence and insights.

Website: Weather-related agricultural insurance products and programs – CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)

Artificial inoculation of maize germplasm at the Naivasha MLN screening site, Kenya. (Photo: B.Wawa/CIMMYT)

New online portal offers information to curb maize lethal necrosis in Africa

Written by on July 24, 2017. Posted in News.

The new maize lethal necrosis (MLN) online portal provides up-to-date information and surveillance tools to help researchers control and stop the spread of the deadly disease.

MLN was first reported in Kenya in 2011 and has since then been reported in several countries in eastern Africa, especially the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. The disease kills plants before they can grow, and the pathogens are transmitted by insects or contaminated seed. Serious damage to the region’s maize production from MLN has impacted household food security.

The online portal, found at mln.cimmyt.org, details the spread of MLN, where the disease has been managed and controlled, and how to identify it in the field. It also provides key MLN publications, surveillance software, MLN incidence maps, information on the MLN Screening Facility, and MLN-tolerant hybrids that are either released or in pipeline.

One tool on the portal is the MLN surveillance and monitoring system that provides real-time data to identify the presence and spread of the disease across five endemic countries in eastern Africa, and three selected non-endemic countries in southern Africa. The system was developed by scientists collaborating with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

In 2016, MLN surveillance was successfully conducted in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe – three major seed producing countries in Africa – and the data is presented in the portal, detailing MLN’s status across 652 surveyed maize fields. Future data gathered in other affected countries will also be uploaded to the portal as surveillance teams conduct fieldwork using Global Positioning System online survey tools, to assess the spread and severity of the disease in these countries. Ongoing surveillance in endemic countries allows stakeholders to see real-time updates on the spread of MLN.

MLN susceptible hybrids compared to a CIMMYT-derived MLN-tolerant hybrid. Photo: CIMMYT

Since the disease was first reported, collaborative efforts have resulted in the establishment of a MLN Screening Facility at the Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) center at Naivasha in 2013. The facility, managed by CIMMYT, has so far screened nearly 100,000 maize germplasm entries — 56 percent from CIMMYT — against MLN under artificial inoculation over the last four years.

Nine CIMMYT-derived MLN-tolerant hybrids have been already released in three countries – seven in Kenya, one in Uganda and one in Tanzania. Eleven second generation hybrids are currently in national performance trials in these countries. Intensive efforts are currently being made by seed companies in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda to expand the delivery of MLN-tolerant maize seed to the smallholders.

The MLN portal enables researchers to comprehensively assess the situation with regard to MLN, helps strengthen the national disease monitoring and diagnostic systems by providing faster and accurate data, and offers access to CIMMYT-offered MLN phenotyping services.

New Publications: Better post-harvest storage can raise vitamin A intake 25 percent in Zambia

Written by on July 13, 2017. Posted in Publications.

Provitamin A-enriched orange maize in Zambia. Photo: CIMMYT

EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) – Maize nutritionally enhanced with vitamin A can bring significant health benefits to deficient populations, but recent modeling studies in Zambia suggest that its impact is being cut short by the low retention of provitamin A carotenoids – a naturally occurring plant pigment also found in many orange foods that the body then converts into vitamin A – during storage and postharvest grain loss.

Up to 30 percent of grain is lost in African countries when maize is stored using common storage methods, such as artisanal silos or woven bags, due mostly to insect, rodent or fungi infestations and accumulation of poisonous chemical compounds called mycotoxins, which are produced by certain fungi.

A recent study evaluated the impact of carotenoid retention in orange maize using different storage methods to assess the most efficient way to store grain without losing vitamin A carotenoids. The researchers specifically evaluated how hammer and breakfast meal – the two most widely consumed grains in Zambia – age in metal silos, multilayer polyethylene and common woven bags, as well as single and multilayer polyethylene bags.

The researchers found significant differences between grain storage methods after 6 months of storage. Across all methods, hammer meal retained more carotenoid than breakfast meal after 4 months, though there was no difference in provitamin A carotenoid loss when using single and multilayer polyethylene bags.

Potential contribution of stored orange maize to the estimated average provitamin A requirement of children and women was around 25 percent – 26.5 and 24.3 percent for children and women, respectively – suggesting that orange maize meal can provide significant amounts of provitamin A to Zambian diets, even after 4 months of storage.

Read the full study “Carotenoid retention in biofortified maize using different post-harvest storage and packaging methods” and check out other recent publications from CIMMYT staff below.

Economic benefits of climate-smart agricultural practices to smallholder farmers in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of India. 2016. Khatri-Chhetri, A., Aryal, J.P., Sapkota, T.B., Khurana, R. In: Current Science, v. 110, no. 7, p. 1251-1256.
Effect of different mulching materials on maize growth and yield in conservation agriculture systems of sub-humid Zimbabwe. 2016. Mupangwa, W., Nyagumbo, I., Mutsamba, E.F. In: AIMS agriculture and food, v. 1, no. 1, p. 239-253.
Effect of in situ moisture conservation practices on environmental, energetics and economic comparisons on maize + blackgram cropping system in dryland ecosystem. 2016. Jat, M.L., Balyan, J.K., Shalander Kumar, Dadhich, S.K. In: Annals of biology, v. 32, no. 2, p. 158-163.
Effect of long-term tillage and diversified crop rotations on nutrient uptake, profitability and energetics of maize (Zea mays) in north-western India. 2016. Yadav, M.R., Parihar, C.M., Jat, S.L., Singh, A.K., Kumar, D., Pooniya, V., Parihar M.D., Saveipune, D., Parmar, H., Jat, M.L. In: Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, v. 86, no. 6, p. 743-749.
Effectiveness and economics of hermetic bags for maize storage: results of a randomized controlled trial in Kenya. 2016. Ndegwa, M.K., De Groote, H., Gitonga, Z., Bruce, A.Y. In: Crop Protection, v. 90, p. 17-26.
Carotenoid retention in biofortified maize using different post-harvest storage and packaging methods. 2017. Taleon, V., Mugode, L., Cabrera-Soto, L., Palacios-Rojas, N. In: Food chemistry, v. 232, p. 60-66.
Characteristics of maize cultivars in Africa: How modern are they and how many do smallholder farmers grow? 2017. Tsedeke Abate, Fisher, M., Abdoulaye, T., Kassie, G., Lunduka, R., Marenya, P., Asnake, W. In: Agriculture and food security, v. 6, no. 30.
CIMMYT Series on carbohydrates, wheat, grains, and health: carbohydrates, grains, and whole grains and disease prevention. Part IV. Cancer risk: lung, prostate, and stomach. 2017. Jones, J.M., Peña-Bautista, R.J., Korczack, R., Braun, H.J. In: Cereal Foods World, v. 62, no. 1, p. 12-22.
CIMMYT Series on carbohydrates, wheat, grains, and health: carbohydrates and vitamins from grains and their relationships to mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. 2017. Jones, J.M., Korczack, R., Peña-Bautista, R.J., Braun, H.J. In: Cereal Foods World, v. 62, no. 2, p. 65-75.
Crossfire: ‘Private sector engagement in smallholder value chains’. 2017. Belt, J., Hellin, J. In: Practical Action Publishing, v. 28, no. 1-2.

New Publications: Study shows improved maize decreases malnutrition

Written by on June 14, 2017. Posted in Publications.

Village headman Boyd Jimba and his family harvest maize on their farm in Mwalimo village, Lundazi district, Zambia. Photo: P. Lowe/CIMMYT

MEXICO CITY (CIMMY) – New evidence shows that not only do improved maize varieties increase crop productivity and farmer income, they can also decrease child malnutrition.

Malnutrition is the largest single factor contributing to the global disease and accounts for about 30 percent of infant deaths. Malnutrition is particularly widespread among children in Zambia, and is one of the leading contributors to the high burden of disease in the country. Around half of all Zambian children under the age of five are stunted, or too short for their age, indicating chronic malnutrition.

A recent Food Security study published by scientists at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) found that adoption of improved maize varieties significantly reduces the probability of stunting by an average of 26 percent in Zambian children.

The paper evaluated the impact of improved maize varieties with traits such as higher yields, early maturation and resistance to disease, on stunting in more than 800 households across eastern Zambia using an endogenous switching probit model to identify the determinants of child nutritional status and impact of improved maize varieties.

Researchers found that adoption of improved maize varieties held a key role in improving the income earning opportunities for rural households through increased maize yields. More maize – a staple of the Zambian diet – coupled with more money to spend on high calorie and protein foods led to a decline in malnutrition.

However, realizing the full benefits new technologies like improved maize can have on communities requires increased investment and policy support aimed at enhancing adoption by farmers, according to the study. Social dynamics and increasing education, especially among women, are particularly critical for promoting nutrition-enhancing child care practices, given that the probability of stunting was reduced by 16 percent with each additional year of schooling for the most educated female household member among adopters in the study.

Read the full study “Determinants of child nutritional status in the eastern province of Zambia: the role of improved maize varieties,” and check out more new publications from CIMMYT scientists below.

Determinants of child nutritional status in the eastern province of Zambia: the role of improved maize varieties. 2016. Manda, J., Gardebroek, C., Khonje, M. G., Alene, A.D., Mutenje, M., Kassie, M. In: Food Security, vol. 8, no. 1, p. 239–253.
Determinants of Crop Residue use along an intensification gradient in West Africa’s Savannah zones. 2016. Akinola, A. A., Abdoulaye, T., Valbuena, D., Erenstein, O., Amare Haileslassie, Germaine, I., Shehu, M., Ayedun, B. In: Tropicultura, vol. 34, no. 4, p. 396-410.
Development and deployment of a portable field phenotyping platform. 2016. Crain, J.L., Yong Wei, Barker, J., Thompson, S.M., Alderman, P.D., Reynolds, M.P., Naiqian Zhang, Poland, J. In: Crop Science, vol. 56, p. 1-11.
Development and Feasibility of innovative relay seeders for seeding wheat into standing cotton using a high clearance tractor in cotton-wheat system. 2016. Singh, M., Mahal, J.S., Sidhu, H.S., Manes, G.S., Jat, M.L., Singh, Y. In: Applied Engineering in Agriculture, vol. 32, no. 4, p. 341-352.
Development and validation of KASP assays for genes underpinning key economic traits in bread wheat. 2016. Rasheed, A., Weie Wen, Fengmei Gao, Shengnan Zhai, Hui Jin, Jindong Liu, Qi Guo, Yingjun Zhang, Dreisigacker, S., Xianchun Xia, He Zhonghu. In: Theoretical and Applied Genetics, vol. 129, p. 1843-1860.
The role of Hyalomma Truncatum on the dynamics of Rift Valley fever: insights from a mathematical epidemic model. 2017. Pedro, S.A., Abelman, S., Fisher, M., Tonnang, H., Mmbando, F., Friesen, D. In: Acta biotheoretica, vol.65, no.1, p.1-36.
Use of genomic estimated breeding values results in rapid genetic gains for drought tolerance in maize. 2017. Vivek, B., Krishna, G., Vengadessan, V., Babu, R., Zaidi, P.H., Le Quy Kha, Mandal, S.S., Grudloyma, P., Takalkar, S., Krothapalli, K., Singh, I.S., Ocampo, E.T.M., Fan Xingming, Burgueño, J., Azrai, M., Singh, R.P., Crossa, J. In: The Plant Genome, vol. 10, no. 1, p. 1-8.
Response to climate risks among smallholder farmers in Malawi: a multivariate probit assessment of the role of information, household demographics, and farm characteristics. 2017. Mulwa, C., Marenya, P.. Dil Bahadur Rahut. Kassie, M. In: Climate Risk Management, vol. 16, p. 208-221.

Fall armyworm devastates crops in sub-Saharan Africa: A quick and coordinated regional response is required

Written by on June 2, 2017. Posted in News.

The recent appearance of the fall armyworm, an insect-pest that causes damage to more than 80 crop species in 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, poses a serious challenge and significant risk to the region’s food security.

In a recent interview, B.M. Prasanna, director of the Global Maize Program at International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the CGIAR Research Program on MAIZE, who is working at the forefront of CGIAR’s response, highlights the potential impact of the pest and how CGIAR researchers are contributing to a quick and coordinated response across the region.

Q: What is the fall armyworm and why is it so destructive?

The fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) is an insect-pest which causes major damage to more than 80 crop species, including economically important crops, such as maize, rice, sorghum, wheat, sugarcane, several other vegetable crops and cotton.

It was first officially reported in Nigeria in early 2016 and has been officially confirmed in 11 and suspected in at least 14 other African countries, as of April 2017.

Q: What are the potential impacts of the pest in sub-Saharan Africa?

The fall armyworm poses a serious challenge and a significant, ongoing risk to Africa’s food security.

The pest’s ability to feed on a range of crop species means that smallholder farming systems in Africa, which are based on intercropping, are particularly vulnerable. Also, the rapid damage and migratory capacity of the pest, combined with its capacity to reproduce quickly in the right environmental conditions and its ability to rapidly evolve resistance to synthetic pesticides increase the region’s vulnerability.

In sub-Saharan Africa, where fall armyworm is currently devastating maize crops, estimates indicate 13.5 million tons of maize valued at $3 billion are at risk in 2017-2018, which is equivalent to over 20 percent of total production for the region (based on data from CABI, April 2017).

Q: What are the key challenges that countries in sub-Saharan Africa will face?

There is no doubt that smallholder farmers, particularly maize farmers, in sub-Saharan Africa will face a significant and ongoing risk from the fall armyworm. In particular, resource-poor smallholders will be severely affected due to their inability to control the pest using synthetic pesticides, currently the only way to effectively respond, which are very costly.

Q: What are three ways that countries in sub-Saharan African can strengthen resilience of food and agricultural systems to the potential effects of Fall Armyworm?

Working groups need to be established quickly to develop and implement strategies to respond to the issue. In particular, we need to develop a comprehensive, regional response centered on: Monitoring and early warning; Social and economic assessments of impacts, and forecasting; Integrated Pest Management (IPM); Development and dissemination of low-cost, effective and sustainable solutions and development of appropriate regulatory tools and policies to support the response.
As this process unfolds, gaps, challenges and successes will need to be documented to inform capacity-building needs with a focus on understanding the capacity of individual countries to respond. While fall armyworm outbreaks across Africa is an emergency situation, it should also be an opportunity to review and understand regional food production and food security issues and as an opportunity to improve on systematic approaches to build capacity to prevent and respond to future threats of transboundary pests and pathogens in Africa.
Strong coordination across different levels of government is required: “political coordination” (among the local governments, NPPOs, and sub-regional organizations), and “technical coordination” (fast-tracked testing and deployment of relevant technologies).

Q: What role do CIMMYT and CGIAR have in building capacity in the region’s ability to respond to Fall Armyworm?

CGIAR institutions, including CIMMYT and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), have significant strengths in building the region’s ability to respond to trans-boundary pathogens (e.g., previous examples include Maize Lethal Necrosis, wheat rust and insect-pests, such as fall armyworm.

Specific examples of CGIAR/CIMMYT expertise that will be important in the fall armyworm response include:

Development and dissemination of crowd-source based tools and digital surveillance systems and analysis of the data collected across countries for a strong monitoring and early warning system.
Systematic and large-scale assessment of the present and potential socio-economic impact of fall armyworm in Africa, and the development of forecasting tools to understand potential losses
Review of the efficacy of different fall armyworm management options (learning from experiences of the United States, Brazil and Mexico), and adapting this information to the African context
Determining the efficacy of cultural control options against fall armyworm, including early versus late planting of crops like maize, handpicking, soil and habitat management, crop hygiene, etc.
Evaluating the impacts on-going integrated pest management (IPM) initiatives and the impacts of the fall armyworm invasion on the effectiveness of these interventions
Developing and implementing appropriate insect resistance monitoring and management strategy in fall armyworm affected countries
Analysis of the effects of conservation agriculture on fall armyworm management and the influence of fall armyworm incidence on diverse cropping systems
Testing and introgression of conventionally-derived resistance (from identified CIMMYT and U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service [USDA-ARS] germplasm sources) into Africa-adapted maize germplasm, followed by fast-tracked varietal release, seed scale-up and delivery of improved maize hybrids/varieties through public-private partnerships (e.g., MLN is a great example of this).
Developing a “Fall Armyworm Information Portal”, similar to the MLN Information Portal and Wheat Rust Tracker (led by CIMMYT), as a one-stop portal for relevant information.

Q: CIMMYT recently co-hosted an emergency meeting on the strategy for effective management of fall armyworm in Africa. What were the key outcomes and next steps for the response to this issue?

The emergency meeting was an opportunity to assess the present and potential damage due to fall armyworm and to devise a holistic control strategy.

CIMMYT, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) jointly hosted a Stakeholders Consultation Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya (April 27-28, 2017). About 150 experts and stakeholders from 24 countries in Africa, and five outside Africa (Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Britain and the United States) participated, with participants from government, national plant protection agency, national agricultural research systems in Africa, as well as scientists from international agricultural research organizations, and representatives of service providers, non-governmental organizations, development partners, donor agencies and the media.

Discussions covered the present status of the pest in Africa as well as contingency plans to manage the pest, assessment of current control options being used. Experts from the U.S. and U.K. provided expertise and insight on the response to fall armyworm in the U.S. and Brazil.

Action points and recommendations on four key areas were developed to ensure an effective, coordinated response:

Contingency planning and awareness generation;
Fall armyworm monitoring and early warning;
Socio-economic impact assessments and modeling of potential losses;
Development and Dissemination of fall armyworm management options;
Coordination of Institutional Interventions for fall armyworm management in Africa.

FAO is expected to convene a regional workshop in early June to engage and coordinate with relevant regional organizations who will be involved in the response.

CIMMYT and CGIAR have responded and will continue to address the issue over the following months. For more information see these recent publications: Multi pronged approach key for effectively defeating fall army worm in Africa; Scientists tackle deadly fall armyworm infestation devastating maize in Southern Africa and Global experts and stakeholders meet to develop fall armyworm emergency strategy for Africa.

Similarly, international coverage of the fall armyworm crisis has been extensive and includes the following:

This article was originally posted by CGIAR.

As climate change threatens to increase the incidence of plant pests and diseases, action must be taken to protect smallholder farmers and global food security.

At this year’s UN Climate Talks, CIMMYT is highlighting innovations in wheat and maize that can help farmers overcome climate change. Follow @CIMMYT on Twitter and Facebook for the latest updates.

Three major commercial maize seed exporting countries in southern Africa found free from maize lethal necrosis

Written by on November 25, 2016. Posted in News.

brenda_2 — Maimouna Abass, a plant health inspector at Zambia Agriculture Research Institute collects leave samples to test for MCMV in a practical session during the MLN surveillance and diagnostic workshop held in Harare, Zimbabwe. Photo: D. Hodson/CIMMYT

NAIROBI, Kenya (CIMMYT) – Three major commercial maize-growing and seed exporting countries in southern Africa were found to be so far free from the deadly maize lethal necrosis (MLN) disease. MLN surveillance efforts undertaken by national plant protection organizations (NPPOs) in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe in 2016 have so far revealed no incidence of MLN, including the most important causative agent, maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMV).

The three countries export an estimated 7,000 metric tons of maize seed to Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Swaziland and Tanzania for commercial cultivation by millions of smallholder farmers whose households rely on maize as a staple food.

MLN surveys were conducted as part of ongoing efforts through a project on MLN Diagnostics and Management, funded by U.S. Department for International Development (USAID) East Africa Mission, to strengthen the capacity of NPPOs on surveillance and diagnostics. A total of 12 officers were equipped with knowledge on modern sampling and diagnostics techniques to test plants and seed lots for MLN causing viruses; this was done through a training workshop held in Harare, Zimbabwe on March 3 and 4, 2016 facilitated by scientists working with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).

The NPPO teams from Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe then undertook surveys of farmers’ and commercial maize seed production fields, including testing (through MCMV immunostrips) for possible presence of the virus.

“When CIMMYT called the first stakeholders awareness meeting we realised we needed to do this surveillance as soon as possible to ascertain MLN status in the country – and so the training was very important and extremely useful,” said Maimouna Abass, a plant health inspector at Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI). “The fact that we went to the field and successfully conducted the surveys using the MLN diagnostics and sampling techniques learnt was great.”

Abass and three colleagues who participated in the training, trained 10 other inspectors who took part in the surveillance work.

The results from farmers’ fields, commercial seed production fields and agri-seed dealers, showed negative results for the presence of MCMV and MLN. The MLN surveillance techniques and protocols used across all the three countries were similar, making it possible to effectively compare the results.

“The harmonization of the protocols, across the teams from Malawi and Zambia, was important for me, since this meant that the three countries were able to do the same surveillance using the same protocols and applying the same design across all the countries,” said Nhamo Mudada, chief research officer from the Plant Quarantine Station in Zimbabwe.

Participants recieve instructions from L.M Suresh, a maize pathologist at CIMMYT, during the MLN surveillance and diagnostic workshop. Photo: D.Hodson/CIMMYT

Although the MLN disease has not been detected in the southern Africa region, the risk of incidence still remains high through various means, including insect vectors, contaminated seed, and cross-border grain transfers. Therefore, continued caution and stringent surveillance, monitoring and diagnostic measures are required to prevent the possible incidence and spread of MLN into the non-endemic countries.

Further surveillance work will be conducted in 2017, so that each team can cover other targeted areas within their respective countries. MLN surveillance using harmonized protocols will also be undertaken in the MLN-endemic countries, namely Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Through systematic surveillance efforts, NPPOs, seed companies and policymakers can clearly understand the prevalence of MLN in specific areas in an endemic country for targeted management. Also, seed companies will be able to target production of commercial seed in MLN-free areas.

As this work progresses, B. M. Prasanna, director of the CGIAR Research Program on MAIZE and CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program as well as Leader for the MLN Diagnostics and Management Project, emphasized the need to intensively deploy MLN-tolerant and resistant varieties, not only in the MLN-endemic countries in eastern Africa, but also in the non-endemic countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

“We have about 22 new, high-yielding, MLN-tolerant or resistant hybridsthat are presently under national performance trials in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. We actively encourage seed companies operating in southern Africa to take up promising pre-commercial hybrids with MLN tolerance or resistance from CIMMYT, for release, scale up and deployment to the farmers,” Prasanna said. “Diagnostics and surveillance have to go hand in hand with deployment of new improved varieties that can effectively respond to the MLN challenge.”

In the East African countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, seed companies have already released MLN-tolerant varieties. While one hybrid is already being commercialized in Uganda, three more are expected to reach farmers in Kenya and Tanzania from 2017.

“There is also now a very urgent need to deploy MLN resistant varieties in Rwanda and Ethiopia. We need to convey this message to the government and seed companies and work closely to get the seed of MLN resistant varieties to the farmers as soon as possible,” Prasanna added.

The MLN diagnostics and management project, which is funded by the U.S. Department for International Development (USAID), supports work aimed at preventing the spread of MCMV from MLN-endemic to non-endemic areas in sub-Saharan Africa. USAID also supports the commercial seed sector and phytosanitary systems in targeted countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe), in the production of MCMV-free commercial seed, and promotes the use of clean hybrid seed by the farmers.

Building Zambia’s drought-tolerant maize business

Written by on July 12, 2016. Posted in News.

LUSAKA, Zambia — For 62 year old Margaret Chisangano, life had been full of hard work. She used to rise early morning and carry out her tasks on her small farm – mainly growing maize without access to irrigation.

Chisangano lives in a rural village in Chongwe District of Zambia’s Lusaka Province. Average temperatures and erratic rainfalls in the region have been increasing, making it a daily challenge to feed her five grandchildren.

Margaret Chisangano harvested and sold 25 tons of drought tolerant maize from her 7-hectare plot in 2015, from 7.5 tons the previous season. This year, she expects to double her yields. With the extra income, Chisangano can feed her entire family and buy clothes, medicine and school supplies for her grandchildren. Photo: Johnson Siamachira/CIMMYT — Margaret Chisangano harvested and sold 25 tons of drought tolerant maize from her 7-hectare plot in 2015 – up from 7.5 tons the previous season. This year, she expects to double her yields. With the extra income, Chisangano can feed her entire family and buy clothes, medicine and school supplies for her grandchildren. Photo: Johnson Siamachira/CIMMYT

“Due to the harsh climate, farming was like gambling with nature,” she says. “Relying on the government’s relief food was only a temporary solution that did not solve our larger issues.”

Many farmers like Chisangano in rural Zambia are struggling to maintain their harvests while climate change makes it harder every year to produce a successful harvest. In the face of the drought crippling southern Africa, drought tolerant maize can reduce risks for farmers and allow for more consistent crop production in the face of climate variability. This enables farmers to allocate more land to higher-value crops with better economic returns, improving food security and incomes.

CIMMYT is working to improve access to good-quality maize through production and deployment of affordable and improved drought-tolerant, stress-resilient and high-yielding maize varieties for smallholder farmers throughout Zambia. Kamano Seed Company is one of six seed companies that CIMMYT partners with to improve maize production and marketing for small-scale farmers. The company provides drought-tolerant maize seeds, fertilizers and training to help farmers commercialize their production.

The company also focuses on increasing productivity and market access for farmers to drought-tolerant maize seed, and trains farmers on how to properly apply fertilizer that can help double or quadruple their maize yields. Many farmers Kamano works with are growing maize commercially for the first time.

Chisangano was one of the first female farmers to join the contract farming project. Like many rural women in Zambia, she had little access to economic opportunities outside of subsistence farming.

To invest in developing agribusinesses, Kamano Seed Company is establishing links with banks to access loans to pay the farmers for their maize seed to avoid side marketing. The smallholder farmers also receive training in business skills, including record keeping, and the basics of contract farming.

“This new knowledge to look at farming as a business, and the training in record keeping, has changed my farming enterprise,” said Chisangano. “Before, we did not treat farming as a business, and as a result we couldn’t earn any profits.”

Investing in agribusinesses development allows farm families to have a more consistent source of food and income throughout any given year, according to Nokutula Zimba, Kamano Seed Company senior marketing and sales officer. “In the long term, these farming activities help communities withstand future food crises and increase income-earning opportunities.”

Kamano Seed Company works with extension agencies to train smallholder farmers on quality standards, field inspection and isolation distances to ensure the seed they produce meets the required standards. Photo: Kamano Seed Company

In addition to on-the-ground development, CIMMYT provides input for greater seed policy reforms in southern Africa to facilitate easy seed movement across borders, and to make the variety release and registration processes more efficient.

Click here to learn more about what CIMMYT is doing to help maize farmers grow their business here.

Led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, and implemented through in-country public and private partnerships, the Drought-Tolerant Maize for Africa Seed Scaling Project is supported by the United States Agency for International Development and emphasizes the scaling up and scaling out of drought tolerant maize seed and uptake by smallholder farmers. The project aims to produce close to 12,000 metric tons of certified seed for use by approximately 2.5 million people in six countries in eastern and southern Africa by the end of 2020.

Drought-tolerant maize a boon to farmers in Zambia hit by El Niño

Written by on July 8, 2016. Posted in Features.

“With consistently impressive harvests thanks to DT maize varieties, I’m always assured that my family will have enough food, and I can earn a decent income from selling some grain," said Piri, a smallholder farmer in Petauke District, Zambia. Photo: CIMMYT/Rodney Lunduka. — “With consistently impressive harvests thanks to DT maize varieties, I’m always assured that my family will have enough food, and I can earn a decent income from selling some grain,” said Piri, a smallholder farmer in Petauke District, Zambia. Photo: CIMMYT/Rodney Lunduka.

NAIROBI, Kenya (CIMMYT) – Drought-related challenges in Africa call for proactive interventions rather than reactive ones. Every so often a drought hits, jolting the development community into action, and leading to the delivery of food aid to millions of people facing starvation — beneficial efforts in the short term, but futile for achieving lasting change.

The need for sustainable strategies that guarantee households remain food secure even when natural disasters strike is widely recognized throughout the international agriculture-for-development community and supported by the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.

CIMMYT plays a significant role in supporting these efforts in Africa by developing drought-tolerant (DT) maize and wheat seeds that give smallholder farmers long-term solutions to recurring drought. Drought-tolerant maize varieties are scaled out through the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Seed Scaling (DTMASS) project.

The drought that has gripped much of southern Africa during the 2015/2016 agricultural season due to a disruptive El Niño went on record as the worst in 50 years, affecting an estimated 40 million people. While Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe declared the drought a national disaster, Zambia managed to meet its national maize production average, thanks largely to smallholder farmers, who plant roughly 51% of the total cultivated land in the country.

As in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, in Zambia rain performance determines crop performance; however, despite the late and erratic rains in 2015-2016, smallholder farmers have reason to smile. This good fortune is evident in Petauke district in Zambia’s Eastern Province, roughly 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the capital Lusaka, where granaries are packed to the brim thanks to the bountiful maize harvest.

At the recommendation of a fellow farmer, 36-year-old Miriam Piri, a mother of six, started planting a DT maize variety in 2013 under the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa project. Realizing she was getting a bigger yield from the DT variety than a local one, Miriam continued to plant it.

“I grow DT maize variety PAN53 on roughly two hectares of land, and for the last three years my yields have been impressive,” said Piri. “I was a little anxious about my harvest because of poor rains, but I got the highest yield ever in three years!”

For its ability to thrive in both dry and wet conditions, and in low- to mid-altitude regions, PAN 53 is easily one of the most popular DT varieties in Zambia. In addition to its impressive yields, farmers enjoy the hybrid’s flint-type grain, which makes for easier and quicker pounding, and its densely packed cobs, which add up to more grain. PAN 53 is also resistant to leaf blight, gray leaf spot and ear rot.

Every season Piri plants 40 kilograms (90 pounds) of PAN 53, from which she harvested 45 50-kg bags in 2013. This was followed by yields of 35, 50 and 70 bags in 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively.

“Going forward, I will plant both local and drought-tolerant varieties for my family’s consumption and sale, respectively. I sell the DT maize exclusively to the government and wholesalers, so I get a fair price. With this income, I can focus on other projects,” Mwanza said. Photo: Kelah Kaimenyi/CIMMYT

PAN 53 is produced and distributed by Pannar, the largest independent seed group in South Africa, and one of the largest seed suppliers in sub-Saharan Africa. Pannar has the third largest market share in Zambia.

According to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, Zambia is expected to substantially exceed national requirements this consumption year given its maize production of 2.87 million metric tons (MT) in 2016, combined with an estimated maize carryover stock of approximately 667,500 MT.

A few doors down from Piri is 66-year-old Piri Mwanza, who also plants DT maize. For Mwanza, planting a DT maize hybrid at the onset of this year’s drought was a risk he was willing to take. Throughout 44 years as a farmer, he knew only the local maize variety until an agro-dealer convinced him to try something new. He invested $37 to buy 20 kilograms of DT maize seed and fertilizer for his one-hectare farm. Despite poor rains, he harvested 55 bags of maize compared to 40 bags the previous year with the local variety.

“I’m impressed with my harvest, and will continue investing in DT maize even when the season gets better and the rains normalize,” said Mwanza.

Planting drought-tolerant varieties has proven to be a sustainable strategy for improving food security. Continuous efforts by CIMMYT’s DTMASS project to promote the benefits of improved varieties will go a long way toward convincing smallholder farmers to adopt them.

Smallholders in Rwanda and Zambia to enhance wheat productivity through new project

Written by on June 28, 2016. Posted in Features.

A contractor operating his Combine harvester in wheat field Boru Lencha village, Hetosa district in Ethiopia. Photo: P.Lowe/CIMMYT — A contractor operating his combine harvester in a wheat field in Hetosa district, Ethiopia. Photo: P.Lowe/CIMMYT

KIGALI, Rwanda (CIMMYT) – The recent designation of wheat as a strategic crop for Africa by the African Union in 2013 reflects the rising importance of wheat production on the continent. Since then, efforts have intensified to incorporate wheat production into existing farm systems and to help smallholders grow it to meet rising demand and reduce the economic impact of the high cost of imports.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is contributing to these efforts through a project launched this month in Kigali, Rwanda. The four-year Enhancing Smallholder Wheat Productivity through Sustainable Intensification of Wheat-based Farming Systems in Rwanda and Zambia (SWPSI) project aims to enhance the potential of wheat produced by smallholder farmers to bolster food security.

“Given the increasing opportunities in wheat research, CIMMYT is happy to work with partners to help farmers adopt improved technologies, establish innovation platforms and strengthen wheat value chains in the two countries,” said Bekele Abeyo, Ethiopia country representative and wheat breeder at CIMMYT.

Zambia and Rwanda rank 46th and 59^th respectively in the list of wheat-producing nations, topped by China. Production in Zambia, where wheat grows on more than 40,000 hectares (99,000 acres), is largely undertaken by medium and largescale commercial operations in irrigated conditions with very little smallholder production. On the other hand, in Rwanda wheat is grown on about 35,000 hectares in rainfed conditions mainly by smallholder farmers.

“The contrast between the two countries will help generate wider lessons on variations and give an opportunity to test whether wheat is still a potential crop to produce profitably under smallholder systems,” said Moti Jaleta, CIMMYT SWPSI project leader.

The new project will target 4,000 smallholder farmers in the two countries, with a focus on increasing wheat productivity from the current 2.1 tons per hectare to an average of 4.5 tons per hectare.

Smallholders will also benefit from improved technologies, which include rust-resistant and high-yielding wheat varieties, such good agronomic practices as row planting, precise fertilizer application, plant density and planting dates. Additionally, threshing technologies to enhance grain quality and efforts to link farmers with established traders and millers to help them secure markets for their wheat surplus will be undertaken.

The project mandate includes a scoping study on the potential for smallholder wheat production in Madagascar, Mozambique and Tanzania.

Funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the consortium of agricultural researchers, the CGIAR Research Program on WHEAT, SWPSI will be implemented under the leadership of CIMMYT in close collaboration with the Center for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA), the Rwanda Agriculture Board and the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute.

Speaking during the launch, the acting executive director of CCARDESA, Simon Mwale, noted the rising demand for wheat, particularly in southern Africa, which also has a very conducive climate for wheat farming.

“Inclusion of Rwanda in the project is a unique opportunity for CCARDESA, and it will facilitate strong collaboration and new learning opportunities, being a new country to be covered by CCARDESA,” he said.

Experts hope SWPSI will contribute to the broader focus of the strategy to promote African wheat production and markets.

Some 30 key stakeholders met at a side event organized by CIMMYT at the recent 7th Africa Agricultural Science Week (AASW) to discuss how best to implement the region’s wheat strategy. The AASW and FARA General Assembly is the principal forum for all stakeholders in African agriculture science, technology and innovation to share solutions to some of the most pressing challenges the continent faces. CIMMYT’s SWPSI project is key to supporting the wheat for Africa strategy whose goal is to increase agricultural productivity and food security throughout the region.

New Publications: Land availability and smallholder development in Zambia

Written by on June 27, 2016. Posted in Publications.

Farmers Ngunya Phiri and husband Daniel heads for home with a full load of cobs on their ox cart after harvesting maize cultivated under conservation agriculture in their field in Chipata district, Zambia. Photo: P.Lowe/CIMMYT

EL BATAN, Mexico — Large surface area and low population density make Zambia one of the most land abundant countries in the world.

However, despite this abundancy new data shows that land access is of mounting concern for smallholders. 54 percent of Zambia’s land is under customary tenure, far less than the 94 percent often utilized in land policy documents, according to a new study. Customary land tenure refers to the systems that most rural African communities operate to express and order ownership, possession, and access, and to regulate use and transfer. Unlike introduced landholding regimes, the norms of customary tenure derive from and are sustained by the community itself rather than the state or state law.

Of this available land, most populations are clustered in just 5 percent that has reasonably good market access conditions. These areas are often located in regions with high levels of rainfall variability due to historical infrastructure investments. In addition, these regions are witnessing a rapid increase in land commodification, land alienation and declining fallow rates.

The study concludes that land policy alone is not sufficient to cope with the mounting land constraints experienced by the majority of rural people in Zambia. Investments in infrastructure and services to improve market access conditions and climate change adaption capacity in Zambia’s remaining customary land is a necessity. Land and economic development policies must be attentive to changing dynamics in customary land areas in order to ensure the future viability of the smallholder farming sector.

Read more about the study “The geography of Zambia’s customary land: Assessing the prospects for smallholder development” and other new publications from CIMMYT staff below:

Effects of relay cover crop planting date on their biomass and maize productivity in a sub-humid region of Zimbabwe under conservation agriculture. 2016. Mhlanga, B.; Cheesman, S.; Maasdorp, B.; Mupangwa, W.; Munyoro, C.; Sithole, C.; Thierfelder, C. NJAS Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences. Online First.
Postulation of rust resistance genes in Nordic spring wheat genotypes and identification of widely effective sources of resistance against the Australian rust flora. 2016. Randhawa, M.S.; Bansal, U.; Lillemo, M.; Miah, H.; Bariana, H.S.; Erenstein, O. Journal of Applied Genetics. Online First.
Quantitative trait loci mapping reveals pleiotropic effect for grain iron and zinc concentrations in wheat. 2016. Crespo-Herrera, L.A.; Singh, R.P.; Velu, G. Annals of Applied Biology. 169 (1) : 27-35.
The geography of Zambia’s customary land : assessing the prospects for smallholder development. 2016. Sitko, N.J.; Chamberlin, J. Land Use Policy 55 : 49-60.
Wheat landraces production on farm level in Turkey; Who is growing in where?. 2016. Kan, M.; Ortiz-Ferrara, G.; Kucukcongar, M.; Keser, M.; Ozdemir, F.; Muminjanov, H.; Qualset, C.; Morgounov, A.I. Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences 53(1) : 159-169.

Building a sustainable future: A history of conservation agriculture in southern Africa

Written by on June 23, 2016. Posted in News.

This story is one of a series of features written during CIMMYT’s 50th anniversary year to highlight significant advancements in maize and wheat research between 1966 and 2016.

HARARE, Zimbabwe (CIMMYT) — When practiced unsustainably, agriculture has led to environmental degradation and famine, which have plagued civilizations through the centuries. Innovations such as irrigation or the plow (since circa 6,000 and 3,000 BC) increased productivity, but often deteriorated long-term soil fertility through erosion and other forms of degradation.

We are now facing historically unprecedented challenges to food security. We must increase food production by 70 percent to feed nine billion people by 2050, without damaging our finite and often already degraded natural resource base. In addition, farmers face more frequent drought and water scarcity, which makes it increasingly difficult to grow crops, and extreme weather events such as the 2015-2016 El Niño, which has already caused large-scale crop failures and soaring maize prices in southern Africa.

Conservation agriculture (CA) practices based on the principles of minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover and crop rotation are helping farmers combat growing environmental challenges by maintaining and boosting yields, while protecting the environment and increasing profits for smallholders globally. When CA practices are coupled with water-use efficient and drought tolerant varieties, the benefits are even greater.

Drought is increasingly common in Malawi, leaving an estimated three million people in need of urgent humanitarian food assistance this year alone. However, a fortunate few will escape hunger, including more than 400 farmers and their families in Balaka, southern Malawi, who have been practicing CA over the last 12 years. "Few farmers have livestock in Balaka, so crop residues can be kept on the fields instead of feeding them to cattle," according to Thierfelder, who says Malawi presents a good case for conservation agriculture. CIMMYT and its strategic development partner Total LandCare have helped more than 65,000 farmers adopt CA systems throughout the entire country. Above, SIMLESA lead farmer Agnes Sendeza harvests maize ears on her farm in Tembwe, Salima District, Malawi. Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT — Drought is increasingly common in Malawi, leaving an estimated 3 million people in need of urgent humanitarian food assistance this year alone. However, more than 400 farmers and their families in Balaka, southern Malawi, who have been practicing CA over the last 12 years will escape hunger. CIMMYT and its partner Total LandCare have helped more than 65,000 farmers adopt CA systems throughout the entire country. Above, SIMLESA lead farmer Agnes Sendeza harvests maize ears on her farm in Tembwe, Salima District, Malawi. Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT

“CA approaches can mean the difference between farmers being able to feed their families or having to starve,” says Christian Thierfelder, senior cropping systems agronomist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), regarding the recent El Niño – the strongest on record – in southern Africa. To date, approximately 10 million people in southern Africa are dependent on food aid and an estimated 50 million people are projected to be affected, pushing them to the brink of starvation.

Sustainable intensification of agricultural systems and practices such as CA have become a necessity for farmers in Africa, where a combination of climate change and unsustainable agricultural practices are undermining land and water resources. This, coupled with an exploding population, makes increasing productivity while conserving the environment absolutely urgent.

Based on its experience in Latin America, which began in the early 1990s, CIMMYT started its first CA project in Africa in 2004, targeting Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This initial work focused on understanding CA systems in the context of farmers and their environmental conditions and was funded by the German government and the International Fund for Agriculture Development. Its aim was to facilitate the adoption of CA systems by smallholder farmers. This culminated in the establishment in 2009 of a large PAN-African project on Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Systems in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA).

Farmers in Shamva District, Zimbabwe, are introduced to an animal traction direct seeder which allows seeding and fertilizing directly into crop residues with minimum soil disturbance. Labor-saving sowing systems are a key benefit for labor-constrained farmers and provide an entry point for CA adoption and outscaling. Photo: Thierfelder/CIMMYT — Farmers in Shamva District, Zimbabwe, are introduced to an animal traction direct seeder which allows seeding and fertilizing directly into crop residues with minimum soil disturbance. Photo: Thierfelder/CIMMYT

Since then, CIMMYT has leveraged its large network of partners to scale out CA. Between 2010 and 2015, CIMMYT, supported by a large group of donors including the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the United States Agency for International Development and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, helped over 173,000 farming households in the region adopt sustainable intensification practices.

Today, CA research at CIMMYT in Africa is increasingly focused on adaptation to the changing climate, which is leading to more erratic rainfall, increased heat stress and seasonal dry spells, in an effort to increase the use of climate-resilient cropping systems. CIMMYT’s work on CA in the region has shown that the practice can significantly increase farmers’ resilience to climate variability and change. Combining sustainable intensification practices with improved varieties has proved to increase productivity by 30-60 percent and income by 40-100 percent under drought conditions.

Despite CA’s successes, many smallholder farmers in developing countries still lack knowledge and understanding of sustainable agricultural practices and often revert to traditional farming practices that are labor-intensive and environmentally damaging. Also, CA systems are difficult to scale out if favorable policies and markets are not in place.

Araujo Njambo (right), a smallholder maize farmer in Mozambique, was used to the traditional way of farming that his family has practiced for generations, which required clearing a plot of land and burning all plant residues remaining on the soil to get a clean seedbed. However, as demand for land increases, this fuels deforestation and depletes soil nutrients. CIMMYT has been working with farmers like Njambo since 2006 to adapt sustainable intensification practices like CA to his circumstances. In remote areas of Mozambique, where Njambo’s farm is located, CA systems provide significant benefits during dry spells because farmers have no access to irrigation and depend only on rainfall. In the 2013-2014 cropping season, Njambo harvested his best maize yield in the last six years thanks to CA. Photo: Christian Thierfelder/CIMMYT — Araujo Njambo (right), a smallholder maize farmer in Mozambique, was used to the traditional way of farming that his family has practiced for generations, which required clearing a plot of land and burning all plant residues remaining on the soil to get a clean seedbed. However, as demand for land increases, this fuels deforestation and depletes soil nutrients. CIMMYT has been working with farmers like Njambo since 2006 to adapt sustainable intensification practices like CA to his circumstances. In the 2013-2014 cropping season, Njambo harvested his best maize yield in the last six years thanks to CA. Photo: Christian Thierfelder/CIMMYT

Mineral fertilizer, for example, is a basic agricultural input, but its adoption and use remain limited in sub-Saharan Africa. Farmers apply less than 10 kilograms per hectare on average due mainly to poor distribution networks (especially in rural areas) and high prices that are 3-5 times those in Europe. Lack of knowledge and training on how to use mineral fertilizer and other agricultural inputs renders them ineffective.

New discoveries in agriculture and breeding must be adaptable and transferable to smallholder farmers. This means improving physical distribution of technologies, training, knowledge and information sharing, credit availability and creating enabling environments for growth.

Just before passing away in September 2009, world-renowned agricultural scientist Norman Borlaug famously implored the world to “take it to the farmer” – a call to action we must follow if we are to sustainably feed the world by 2050. Without a basic understanding of good agricultural practices, most smallholder farmers will not be able to grow enough crops to move past subsistence farming.

Grain yield from a conservation agriculture demonstration plot in Zomba District, Malawi, is measured precisely as part of CIMMYT’s research on the combined benefits of drought tolerant maize and CA. Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT

Maize seed systems in Africa: Understanding the basics

Written by on June 7, 2016. Posted in Features.

CIMMYT maize seed system specialist James Gethi inspects a maize field in Nzega, Tanzania. Photo: Kelah Kaimenyi/CIMMYT.

Maize is not only a staple in diets across sub-Saharan Africa – it is a cash crop that supports millions of farmer households. Maize is grown on over 33 million hectares in just 13 of 48 countries in the region – accounting for 72% of all maize produced in the region. This crop, without a doubt, is king.

However, rising temperatures and erratic rainfall patterns threaten maize production across the continent. Total crop loss occurs if there’s little or no rainfall at the flowering stage, when maize is most vulnerable. And when temperatures increase, soil moisture is quickly depleted and farmers have to resort to prolonged irrigation, a costly undertaking for smallholders.

Drought-tolerant (DT) maize varieties produce better yields both in good and bad seasons compared to most commercial varieties available in the region. Since 2006, CIMMYT has developed 200 drought-tolerant varieties and hybrids, many of which also possess desirable traits such as resistance to major diseases.

In addition to developing quality maize that is high yielding and disease resistant, the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Seed Scaling (DTMASS) project led by CIMMYT is working to ensure these improved varieties are affordable and attractive to farmers. Two and a half million smallholder farmers in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia are expected to benefit from in-country partnerships and networks that boost production and distribution of DT maize seed. These countries account for 25 percent (or 252 million) of the population in sub-Saharan Africa, and 41 percent of maize production areas.

To access quality improved seed, farmers in Africa face various constraints such as high prices, low supply and limited knowledge about improved seeds. Through surveys conducted among nearly 5,000 farmer households in Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia, CIMMYT learned that when farmers buy seed, the traits they care most about are early crop maturity, yield, and tolerance/resistance to stresses such as drought and disease. In most cases, long-term use and preference for a particular seed variety influence buying habits, but now farmers are increasingly focusing on tolerance/resistance to drought, pests and diseases.

“Our key focus is on sustainable seed production and increasing demand,” said Kate Fehlenberg, DTMASS project manager. “This means building market skills for producers and creating an environment to entice risk-averse farmers to try new drought-tolerant varieties.”

CIMMYT is working with partners to increase farmer preference for DT seed by supporting promotional and marketing activities, and improving seed production capacity. CIMMYT will also work to ensure local institutions have the technological and production capacity to independently produce and distribute seed throughout DTMASS target countries.

Scaling activities will allow DT seed to spread across various geographical areas (scaling “out”) and build the capacity of local institutions to independently control sustainable seed production (scaling “up”). Both scaling up and out rely on giving stakeholders in the maize value chain compelling reasons to continue producing, distributing and consuming DT maize varieties.

Over 50 selected small- and medium-scale seed companies will be supported through training workshops on seed production and seed business management. Seed companies will also receive financial grants to support expansion activities such as purchasing special seed processing and packing equipment, restoring seed storage and other facilities, and marketing.