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Archives: Projects

Aguas Firmes

Written by Bea Ciordia on . Posted in Uncategorized.

The Aguas Firmes project aims to introduce and promote the adoption of conservation agriculture technologies at scale to obtain sustainable crop yields with higher productivity in irrigated environments in Calera, Zacatecas. It also seeks to address water use efficiency by adapting and promoting appropriate technologies in the volume of water applied in irrigation.

Objectives

  • Facilitate the adoption of sustainable intensification practices on more than 4,000 hectares over the next three years to reduce the water footprint of participant farmers
  • Recharge two of Mexico’s most exploited aquifers by restoring forests and building green infrastructure

Managing Wheat Blast in Bangladesh

Written by Bea Ciordia on . Posted in Uncategorized.

The Managing Wheat Blast in Bangladesh: Identification and Introgression of Wheat Blast Resistance for Rapid Varietal Development and Dissemination project aims to characterize novel sources of wheat blast resistance, identification, and molecular mapping of resistance loci/gene(s) and their introgression into varietal development pipelines for rapid dissemination of resistant varieties in Bangladesh.

Objectives

  • Validate the effects of genes Rmg1, Rmg8 and RmgGR119 in field experiments
  • Identify novel wheat blast resistant sources and generating the corresponding genetic materials for investigating the resistance Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL)/genes
  • Monitor the adoption of resistant varieties BARI Gom 33 and WMRI Gom 3 by women and men farmers to learn the drivers and obstacles that are involved in the process, to inform the design of a farmer-preferred product profile, and factors in impact pathway
  • Build the capacity of the Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute (BWMRI) to operate major infrastructure in Jashore and Dinajpur at the individual and institutional levels
  • Enhance collaboration between Bangladesh and other countries showing interest on wheat blast
  • Train young wheat researchers and breeders in Jashore Precision Phenotyping Platform (PPP)

Legume-based Agroecological Intensification of Maize and Cassava Cropping Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa (LEG4DEV)

Written by Bea Ciordia on . Posted in Uncategorized.

The Legume-based Agroecological Intensification of Maize and Cassava Cropping Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa (LEG4DEV) project aims to promote scaling of legume-based agroecological intensification of smallholder maize and cassava cropping systems in sub-Saharan Africa for water-food-energy nexus sustainability that enables food security and livelihood resilience.

Transforming Smallholder Food Systems in the Eastern Gangetic Plains (Rupantar)

Written by Bea Ciordia on . Posted in Uncategorized.

The Transforming Smallholder Food Systems in the Eastern Gangetic Plains (Rupantar) project aims to define the processes and practices (technical options, scaling interventions, policy settings and implementation) that can be applied to achieve sustainable, efficient, diversified food systems at scale in the Eastern Gangetic Plains of Bangladesh, India and Nepal.

Home to 450 million people, this region has the world’s highest concentration of rural poverty and strong dependence on agriculture for food and livelihoods. Productivity remains low and diversification is limited due to poorly developed markets, sparse agricultural knowledge and service networks, inadequate development of available water resources, and low adoption of improved, sustainable production practices.

Rupantar builds on existing work and partnership networks to link research outputs and development goals through the demonstration of inclusive diversification pathways, definition of processes for scaling to the millions of smallholder farmers in the region, and generating a better understanding of the policies that support diversification.

Research objectives

  • Defining the processes and practices (technical options, scaling interventions, policy settings and implementation) that can be applied to achieve sustainable, efficient, diversified food systems at scale in the Eastern Gangetic Plains.
  • Understanding the context for diversification in the Eastern Gangetic Plains.
  • Defining and implementing diversification pathways using collaborative and inclusive approaches.
  • Deepening understanding of the trade-offs and synergies associated with diversification pathways.
  • Engaging and communicating with change-makers to ensure outputs are used and integrated into independent programs.

Project outcomes

  • Demonstrated pathways for equitable and sustainable diversified food systems in the EGP.
  • Improved evidence-based policies for planning and development programs that promote diversification.
  • Self-sustaining diversification pathways that are owned by local partners and promoted without ongoing project support.

Mining Useful Alleles for Climate Change Adaptation from CGIAR Genebanks

Written by Bea Ciordia on . Posted in Uncategorized.

The Mining Useful Alleles for Climate Change Adaptation from CGIAR Genebanks project, led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), is expanding the use of biodiversity held in the world’s genebanks to develop new climate-smart crop varieties for millions of small-scale farmers worldwide. It aims to identify plant accessions in genebanks that contain alleles, or gene variations, responsible for characteristics such as heat, drought or salt tolerance, and to facilitate their use in breeding climate-resilient crop varieties.

Through this project, breeders will learn how to use genebank materials more effectively and efficiently to develop climate-smart versions of important food crops, including cassava, maize, sorghum cowpea, and rice.

Building on 10 years of support to CIMMYT from the Mexican government, CGIAR Trust Fund contributors, and the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Mining Useful Alleles for Climate Change Adaptation from CGIAR Genebanks project combines the use of cutting-edge technologies and approaches, high-performance computing, GIS mapping, and new plant breeding methods to identify and use accessions with high value for climate-adaptive breeding of varieties needed by farmers and consumers.

This project works closely with the Fast Tracking Climate Solutions from CGIAR Germplasm Banks project.

Objectives

  • Support faster and more cost-effective discovery and deployment of climate -adaptive alleles from the world’s germplasm collections
  • Test integrated approaches for five major crops (i.e., cassava, maize, sorghum, cowpea, and rice), providing a scalable model for the rapid and cost-effective discovery and deployment of climate-adaptive alleles.

Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA)

Written by Bea Ciordia on . Posted in Uncategorized.

The Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) project is an initiative that will enhance access to climate information services and validated climate-smart agriculture technologies in Africa.

AICCRA aims to support farmers and livestock keepers to better anticipate climate-related events and take preventative actions, with better access to climate advisories linked to information about effective response measures.

Harnessing Appropriate-Scale Farm Mechanization in Zimbabwe (HAFIZ)

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on . Posted in Uncategorized.

The Harnessing Appropriate-Scale Farm Mechanization in Zimbabwe (HAFIZ) project aims to support investments by the government and by the private sector in appropriate-scale farm mechanization in Zimbabwe, particularly around Pfumvudza (a system of manual conservation agriculture), and transfer learnings to South Africa.

Overall, the project has the goal to improve access to mechanization and reduce labor drudgery whilst stimulating the adoption of climate-smart/sustainable intensification technologies. The project will improve the understanding of private sector companies involved in appropriate-scale farm mechanisation towards the local markets in which they operate.

Manufacturing knowledge of two-wheel and small four-wheel tractor operated implements for mechanized Pfumvudza will also increase and private sector companies will have increased access to information through the development and strengthening of regional and national communities of practitioners on appropriate-scale farm mechanization. Finally, the project will strengthen the capacity of the existing knowledge networks around appropriate-scale mechanisation in Zimbabwe, through the results that will be generated and through the regular multi-stakeholder roundtables that will be organised.

Objectives

  • Increasing and more spatially-targeted Government spending in appropriate-scale farm mechanisation in Zimbabwe (and South Africa)
  • Increasing sales of appropriate-scale farm mechanization equipment in Zimbabwe (and South Africa) thanks to more targeted marketing by private sector (both in terms of geographies and clients)
  • Local manufacturing and commercialization of two-wheel tractor operated basin diggers and bed planters in Zimbabwe.

Adaptation, Demonstration and Piloting of Wheat Technologies for Irrigated Lowlands of Ethiopia (ADAPT-Wheat)

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Wheat is the second most important staple crop in Ethiopia and a major pillar for food security. Based on fingerprinting analysis from 2018, about 87% of all wheat varieties grown in Ethiopia are CIMMYT-derived.

Domestic wheat production and productivity has nearly doubled over the past 15 years, due to improved farmer access to better varieties, agronomic practice recommendations and conducive marketing and supply chain policies. Nevertheless, due to population growth, higher incomes and accelerated urbanization, the demand for wheat in Ethiopia is increasing faster than productivity, with the demand for an additional 1.5 million tons of wheat per year satisfied through imports.

In 2018, the Government of Ethiopia set a policy to achieve wheat national self-sufficiency by 2023. Additional production would come primarily from the irrigated lowlands of the Awash valley, in the Afar and Oromia regions, where the current cotton mono-culture would be converted to a cotton-wheat rotation.

Preliminary yield trials conducted by Werer Agricultural Research Center and based on experiences in Sudan where climate conditions are similar, on-farm wheat grain yields of 4 tons per hectare can be achieved. The potential area for irrigated wheat-cotton is at present around 500,000 hectares, which, when fully implemented, has the potential to make Ethiopia self-sufficient for wheat production.

The challenges to develop the current lowland into productive farming systems are significant and include identifying high yielding, early maturing, heat-tolerant, rust-resistant wheat varieties with appropriate end-use quality.

Appropriate mechanization will be required to allow farmers to facilitate rapid preparation of fields for wheat sowing after harvesting cotton, as well as for mechanized harvesting. Tested packages of agronomic and land management practices will be needed to optimize the production systems while mitigating against soil salinization.

In coordination with the national research and extension systems, this project will evaluate and pilot wheat technologies and packages of practices to reach 1,000 smallholders and medium commercial farmers in the Awash valley, and enable them to use these technologies and practices on 10,000 hectares of irrigated land in the first year, following the conclusion of this project.

Objectives

  • Capacity of research and development practitioners working on irrigated lowland wheat developed.
  • Improved wheat elite lines evaluated, and pre-release seed multiplication initiated of variety candidates.
  • Tested package of agronomic practices are ready for scaling.
  • Demonstration and piloting of appropriate machineries (modern mechanization) for irrigated wheat production.

Dryland Crops

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Dryland Crops, formerly known as the Accelerated Varietal Improvement and Seed Systems in Africa (AVISA) project, aims to improve the livelihoods of small-scale producers and consumers of sorghum, millet, groundnut, cowpea and bean. Project partners focus on improving the breeding and seed systems of these crops in their key geographies in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda. Other crops receiving growing attention in the project include finger millet, pigeon pea and chickpea.

Although significant adoption of improved seed of dryland cereals and legume crops in Africa has been reported, its overall use remains low. There is a growing interest in these crops, particularly because of their resilience to climate-change; however, the seed sector is constrained by lack of product information, dearth of knowledge of the size and scale of the business opportunity, and inadequate access to early generation seed.

Dryland Crops will address these constraints by contributing to the establishment of robust systems that:

  • Enable networks to work synergistically across countries with common challenges and opportunities.
  • Support national agricultural research systems to access research, professional development and infrastructure-building opportunities.
  • Increase the quantity and quality of data substantiating varietal superiority and the demand for seed and grain of improved varieties.
  • Boost the availability of early generation seed and strengthen links between the research system and private- and public-sector actors.

The aspiration is to codevelop, validate by co-implementation, and continuously improve with partners research-to-farm-to-consumer models that achieve positive impacts on farmers’ livelihoods and consumers’ wellbeing.

The Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT and IITA will lead initiatives for common bean and cowpea, respectively. For sorghum, pearl millet and groundnut breeding, CIMMYT will design programs that support crop improvement networks, including CGIAR and national agricultural research systems, and incorporate best approaches, principles, and tools, particularly those availed through the Excellence in Breeding (EiB) platform.

The project is committed to gender equity as a guiding principle, considering the critical role women play in choosing legume and cereal varieties and seed sources. Women seed entrepreneurs and women-led seed companies will garner special attention for capacity development. Partnerships with actors through the value chain, platforms and demonstrations will ensure women have equal access to improved technologies.

The previous phase of the AVISA project was led by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

Development of Smart Innovation through Research in Agriculture (DeSIRA)

Written by Emma Orchardson on . Posted in Uncategorized.

The overall objective of the 5-year EU-funded DeSIRA action, led by the International Potato Center (CIP), is to improve climate change adaptation of agricultural and food systems in Malawi through research and uptake of integrated technological innovations.

CIMMYT’s role is focused on the following project outputs:

  • Identify and develop integrated technology options that effectively provide management options to contribute to reducing risks and increasing resilience and productivity of the smallholder farmers’ agrifood systems in Malawi. Towards this objective, CIMMYT will evaluate drought-tolerant and nutritious maize varieties under conservation agriculture and conventional practices, and assess the overall productivity gains from agronomic and germplasm improvements versus current farming practices.
  • Develop, test and promote robust integrated pest and disease management strategies to predict, monitor and control existing and emerging biotic threats to agriculture while minimizing risks to farmers’ health and damage to the environment. Towards this objective, CIMMYT will evaluate the effect of striga on maize performance under conservation agriculture and conventional practices; evaluate farmer methods and other alternatives to chemical sprays for the control of fall armyworm; and study the effect of time of planting for controlling fall armyworm.

Heat and Drought Wheat Improvement Consortium (HeDWIC)

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on . Posted in Uncategorized.

The Heat and Drought Wheat Improvement Consortium (HeDWIC) is a global research and capacity building network that takes wheat research from the theoretical to the practical by incorporating the best science into real-life breeding scenarios.

By harnessing the latest technologies in crop physiology, genetics and breeding, HeDWIC makes it easier for wheat scientists to work together on solutions to the complex problems of heat and drought adaptation, contributing to the development of new, climate-resilient wheat varieties for farmers. HeDWIC-associated scientists examine current breeding material and collections held in germplasm banks and apply genomic and phenomic tools to identify novel diversity for heat, drought adaptative traits. This results in novel pre-bred lines in terms of genetic diversity for key stress-adaptive traits suitable for use in breeding programs and/or re-selection as cultivars.

The consortium delivers these lines to public and private wheat programs worldwide via the International Wheat Improvement Network (IWIN) — coordinated for more than half a century by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) — as international public goods whose global impacts are well documented. Through PhD sponsorships and other opportunities for involvement in research, HeDWIC also provides hands-on training to young scientists, preparing a new generation of crop experts to tackle the pressing issues of crop adaptation under future climate scenarios.

HeDWIC adds value to developing more climate-resilient wheat varieties by:

  • Facilitating global coordination of wheat research related to heat and drought stress in partnership with the Wheat Initiative.
  • Developing research and breeding technologies in response to the priorities of stakeholders: researchers, breeders, farmers, seed companies, national programs, and funding organizations.
  • Connecting geographically and agro-climatically diverse sites for rigorous testing of promising concepts.
  • Curating data resources for use by the global wheat research community.
  • Accelerating the deployment of new knowledge and strategies for developing more climate resilient wheat.
  • Preparing a new generation of promising young scientists from climate-affected regions to tackle crop improvement challenges faced by their own countries.
  • Building additional scientific capacity of wheat researchers in a coordinated fashion that enables a faster response to productivity threats associated with climate change.
  • Enabling farmers to adapt to wheat production in a hotter and drier climate faster due to the coordinated effort and synergy lent by HeDWIC.

HeDWIC is directly funded by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) and is supported by in-kind contributions from IWIN, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation/UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)-funded Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat for Improved Livelihoods (AGG) project, the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (WHEAT), the International Wheat Yield Partnership, the Wheat Initiative’s AHEAD, and many international partners who support research and capacity building activities through ongoing collaboration.

It also builds on decades of breeding and collaborative research under abiotic stress coordinated by CIMMYT, with support from agencies including Mexico’s Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER), the CGIAR Trust Fund —in particular the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) — Australia’s Grains Research Development Corporation (GRDC), Germany’s Ministry of Agriculture (BMEL), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), and others.

Child Health, Agriculture and Integrated Nutrition (CHAIN)

Written by Emma Orchardson on . Posted in Uncategorized.

The proportion of children under five years old who are stunted in Zimbabwe is estimated to be 28%. Stunting leads to a higher risk of dying, poorer school performance and lower wages in adult life. Improving the quantity and quality of food for children under two years of age is the best approach we have to prevent stunting. An earlier project (Sanitation, Hygiene, Infant Nutrition Efficacy, SHINE) provided mothers with information on infant and young child feeding (IYCF) and provided a daily supplement (Nutributter) to provide extra calories and vitamins to children. However, many children still did not meet their daily nutrient requirements and over one-quarter remained stunted.

The SHINE data showed that nutrient intake remained insufficient to meet both macro- and micronutrient requirements for most children. The overarching hypothesis of the CHAIN project is that this nutrient gap can be filled by a combined agriculture and infant-feeding intervention.

Objectives:

  • Deliver an integrated agriculture and infant feeding intervention (“IYCF-plus”) to households in a randomized, community-based trial in rural Zimbabwe
  • Evaluate the impact of IYCF-plus on nutrient intake and growth in young children at risk of stunting
  • Evaluate the impact of the IYCF-plus intervention on biological barriers to nutrient uptake and utilization
  • Identify metabolic signatures of the IYCF-plus intervention in young children

Double Burden of Malnutrition in Zimbabwe

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on . Posted in Uncategorized.

The “double burden of malnutrition” refers to the seemingly paradoxical coexistence of obesity and undernutrition. It affects people whose diet consists primarily of “empty” calories: high-energy foods lacking in essential vitamins and minerals.

This project takes aim at both issues by combining improved agronomic practices with the use of biofortified maize varieties, to increase the nutritional value of maize, Zimbabwe’s most important, high-calorie staple food crop.

This project, whose full title is “Addressing malnutrition with biofortified maize in Zimbabwe: From crop management to policy and consumers”, will carry out on-station trials at Harare Research Station and Domboshava Training Centre, and conduct on-farm trials with 60 farmers in two wards in Murehwa district. These trials will help researchers predict the effect of bio + agro fortification at the national level. Project findings will be broadly disseminated through a well-defined stakeholder engagement strategy.

Objectives:

  • Evaluate new Provitamin A maize varieties and the next generation of multiple-biofortified lines under different agronomic practices to gain knowledge on the combination of bio + agronomic fortification.
  • Determine the actual nutrient content of the new Provitamin A lines in farmers’ fields with a range of different soil fertility levels and under farmers crop management.
  • Evaluate the possible impact of the combined bio + agro fortification approach on micronutrient uptake and human health by integrating the new grain composition with food supply data from household/individual dietary surveys at country level in Zimbabwe.
  • To move knowledge into practice, the information developed throughout the project will be distributed to stakeholders working in nutrition in Zimbabwe. This will ensure that the knowledge generated in the project helps farmers and consumers to maximize the benefits from biofortified crops.

Improving rainfed (Kharif) maize productivity

Written by Emma Orchardson on . Posted in Uncategorized.

India’s maize production area currently covers over 10 million hectares, with an annual production of about 25 million tons. Most of this crop is rainfed and therefore vulnerable to climatic shocks such as monsoon rains and associated abiotic and biotic constraints. Moisture availability is seldom adequate for rainfed maize, as the erratic or un-even distribution patterns of monsoon rains often causes intermittent drought, heat or excessive moisture/waterlogging at different crop growth stage(s). This is the main factor responsible for the relatively low productivity of rainfed maize – locally known as Kharif. Additionally, due to un-assured return, farmers often hesitate to invest in improved seed, fertilizers and inputs, which further contributes to poor yields.

In recent years the country’s tropical regions have experienced frequent and widespread drought, coupled with increased (day and night) temperatures during the main maize growing season, in addition to the scattered drought, heat and/or waterlogging that occur almost every year. The compound effects of multiple stresses during monsoon season is reflected in the low productivity of Kharif maize, which is usually less than half compared to irrigated (Rabi) maize.

In response to this, the “Improving rainfed (Kharif) maize productivity” project was established in collaboration with the All-India Coordinated Maize Improvement Program (AICMIP), with the aim of developing maize varieties with tolerance to drought, heat stress and waterlogging. This can play in important role in enhancing maize productivity in rainfed, stress-prone ecologies, and ultimately help boost national maize productivity and production.

Objectives:

  • Breed commercially viable, stress-resilient hybrids for rainfed cultivation in stress-prone, dry lowland ecologies;
  • Implement stress phenotyping for target traits at precision phenotyping sites and take forward selected best-bet, stress-resilient hybrids for large-scale evaluation in target environments through the AICMIP network;
  • Assess genomic diversity among AICMIP, CIMMYT, and ICAR-IIMR germplasm for abiotic stress tolerance;
  • Heterotic classification of AICMIP and ICAR-IIMR inbred lines through delineation of combining abilities.

Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat (AGG)

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat (AGG)

Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat (AGG), a project led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), brings together partners in the global science community and in national agricultural research and extension systems to accelerate the development of higher-yielding varieties of maize and wheat — two of the world’s most important staple crops.

Specifically focusing on supporting smallholder farmers in low- and middle-income countries, the project uses innovative methods that improve breeding efficiency and precision to produce varieties that are climate-resilient, pest- and disease-resistant, and highly nutritious, targeted to farmers’ specific needs.

The maize component of the project serves 13 target countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe in eastern and southern Africa; and Benin, Ghana, Mali, and Nigeria in West Africa. The wheat component of the project serves six countries: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan in South Asia; and Ethiopia and Kenya in sub-Saharan Africa.

This project builds on the impact of the Delivering Genetic Gain in Wheat (DGGW) and Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) projects.

Objectives

The project aims to accelerate the development and delivery of more productive, climate-resilient, gender-responsive, market-demanded, and nutritious maize and wheat varieties in support of sustainable agricultural transformation in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

To encourage adoption of new varieties, the project works to improve equitable access, especially by women, to seed and information, as well as capacity building in breeding, disease surveillance, and seed marketing.

Funders

Project funding is provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the United States Agency for International Development and the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research (FFAR).

Key partners

The primary partners for this project are the national agricultural research systems in the project target countries and, for the maize component, the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and small and medium enterprise (SME) seed companies.

Scientific and technical steering committees

We are grateful to our excellent maize and wheat scientific and technical steering committees for their suggestions and thoughtful question on key issues for the success of AGG. Read about the recommendations from the maize steering committee here and the wheat steering committee here.

Year 1 Executive Summary

In its first year of operation, AGG has made great strides in collaboration with our national partners towards the project goals –despite the unprecedented challenges of working through a global pandemic. For specific milestones achieved, we invite you to review our AGG Year 1 Executive Summary and Impact Report (PDF).

Year 2 Executive Summary

AGG has made progress towards all outcomes. Our scientists are implementing substantial modifications to breeding targets and schemes. AGG is also in a continuous improvement process for the partnership modalities, pursuing co-ownership and co-implementation that builds the capacities of all involved. For specific milestones achieved, we invite you to review our AGG Year 2 Executive Summary and Impact Report (PDF).

CIMMYT’s adult plant resistance breeding strategy

Download a summary of CIMMYT’s breeding strategy for adult plant resistance (PDF).

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