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research: Climate change science

Smallholder farmers embrace climate-smart seed and mechanization fairs

Written by Tawanda Hove on . Posted in News.

Farmers pose with the drought-tolerant seed of their choice at a seed fair in Masvingo district, Zimbabwe. (Photo: Tawanda Hove/CIMMYT)

The long-term climate outlook for sub-Saharan Africa predicts more erratic rainfalls and higher temperatures. For this reason, the rapid uptake of measures to adapt to climate change within seed systems is of paramount importance. In Zimbabwe, the adoption of “climate-smart seed varieties”, environmentally-sustainable and scale-appropriate mechanization is critical to reaching zero hunger in the face of climate change. Farmers in Zimbabwe’s Masvingo district appear to have embraced this goal. More than 1,000 farmers participated in recent R4/Zambuko climate smart seed and mechanization fairs held in the region on October 11 and 12, respectively.

The fairs were organized by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in partnership with Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development. Financial support was provided by the United States Agency of International Development (USAID), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the World Food Programme (WFP). With the onset of the 2022/2023 cropping season, the new OneCGIAR Ukama Ustawi initiative will build upon this work to reach thousands more farmers in the area.

One highlight of the fairs was a strong focus on smallholder mechanization, which saw Zimbabwean and international mechanization companies displaying their products. Each demonstrated two-wheel tractors and a range of attachments, from trailers to crop production and harvesting implements. In the words of the District Development Coordinator (DDC) Kenneth Madziva, “It’s important that farmers own machinery that is appropriate to their context as we now need to move into an era of high productivity and efficient post-harvest processing. We also see some of the machinery on display quite relevant for conservation agriculture practices which aligns with the government’s Pfumvudza program.” Mechanizing the manual basin planting system in Pfumvudza to ripline seeding will dramatically reduce the farm labor usually needed to dig the basins while maintaining the key principles of conservation agriculture: no-tillage, crop residue retention and crop diversification.

According to Madziva, “Such initiatives from partners are very welcome, as rural livelihoods are predominantly agriculturally based. There is need to rapidly transition our farmers from a donor dependence to self-sufficiency, hence I am impressed with the number of farmers I have seen buy seed with their own hard-earned money.” The fairs generally strive to achieve two goals: first, ensuring that farmers are well-informed about climate adapted varieties able to withstand climate challenges such as in-season dry-spells and/or heat stress, and, second, that they buy the improved seed directly from private sector partners.

Farmers observe a two-wheel tractor engine being used to power a maize sheller. (Photo: Tawanda Hove/CIMMYT)

It is hoped that increasing famers’ exposure to scale-appropriate mechanization will translate into increased purchases of the equipment and a move away from the drudgery of both draft or manual production and processing systems. Robin Vikström, the donor representative from WFP also stated that it is high time for smallholder farmer systems be intensified, and mechanization is one of the essential triggers of intensification.

Vikström, speaking on the significance of the events said, “Such initiatives are part of a broader national resilience building strategy where our intention is to enable smallholder farmers to deal with climate shocks and stresses through capacity development trainings, diversified crop production systems, effective and well-governed Income Savings and Lending groups (ISALS) and improved livestock. This is a step forward from our tradition of distributing food, which is still necessary in certain contexts, but has to be progressed to self-reliance. The seed and mechanization fairs facilitate stronger interactions between the farmers and the private sector and furthermore the procurement of the right seed and mechanization for their ecological region. More interaction translates to better product development and increased sales which is a win-win for all stakeholders concerned. This is a major step towards sustainable achievement of food and nutrition security.”

Concerning the long-term plan of the intervention, Vikström added, “The initiative is currently set to run until 2025 with plans already underway to expand to more wards and districts as the development strategy is proving to be yielding significant results.” The seed fairs resulted in the sale of approximately 1.9 metric tons of improved white and orange maize seed, generating over $6,000 in revenue for participating private sector vendors.

Christian Thierfelder, Principal Cropping Systems Agronomist at CIMMYT and Principal Investigator for the program said, “As we expanded this year to different wards, our objective was to first create an educational platform for farmers where farmers could learn more about the various stress-tolerant seed varieties with improved genetics available from the private sector. Secondly, we wanted to create a selling platform for the private sector where various companies could have their products made much more easily accessible to the smallholder farmers. I am happy that the private sector talked about conservation agriculture, which is an important new narrative. Farmers need to grow the right seed in a good agronomic environment for the crop to succeed.”

Although this crop season’s outlook is yet to be officially communicated to farmers, there is high anticipation for a bumper harvest through improved varieties and efficient, mechanized operations and farmers were eager to buy the right seed to reap the benefits of science in their own homestead.

Plant breeding must adapt to climate change, finds study

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Publications.

Breeding is a vital part of the global agrifood system, enabling scientists to adapt crops to developing environmental factors, support improved crop management, and inform policy interventions on global food production. The challenge to crop breeding increases every year, as farmers experience more of the effects of climate change, while the population and food demand continue to rise.

Research by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) has determined that climate change is affecting the objectives, efficiency, and genetic gains of current plant breeding, causing limitations to the breeding approach of the next generation.

The study found that climate change necessitates a faster breeding cycle and must drive changes in breeding objectives by putting climate resilience as the top priority.

“The risk of multiple crop failure due to climate change is very real. Breeding must become more deterministic in terms of adaption if we are to avert food price-hikes, hunger, and social unrest,” said Matthew Reynolds, Distinguished Scientist and Head of Wheat Physiology at CIMMYT.

Challenges in developing climate-ready crops originate from the paradox between urgent breeding requirements prompted by climate change and the limited understanding of how different genotypes interact with the climates. Integrating multiple disciplines and technologies including genotyping, phenotyping, and envirotyping can contribute to the development and delivery of climate-adapted crops in a shorter timeframe.

Read the study: Climate change challenges plant breeding

Cover photo: Wheat growing at the Xuchang Henan experimental station, China. (Photo: Zhiqiang He/CIMMYT)

CIMMYT at COP27

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Features.

COP27, the UN Climate Change Conference for 2022, took place this year in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, between November 6-18. Scientists and researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) represented the organization at a wide range of events, covering gender, genebanks, soil health, and digital innovations.

Gender and food security

In an ICC panel discussion on Addressing Food Security through a Gender-Sensitive Lens on November 7, Director General Bram Govaerts presented on CIMMYT’s systems approach to address gender gaps in agriculture. This event formed part of the ICC Make Climate Action Everyone’s Business Forum, which aimed to bring together experts to determine solutions to the planet’s biggest environmental challenges.

Govaerts highlighted the importance of extension and training services targeting female farmers, particularly those delivered by women communicators. This can be achieved through training female leaders in communities, which encourages other women to adopt agricultural innovations. He also emphasized the obstacles to global food security caused by conflict, climate change, COVID-19, and the cost-of-living crisis, which will in turn create more challenges for women in agriculture.

The role of CGIAR genebanks in a climate crisis

Govaerts and Sarah Hearne, principal scientist, introduced the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM4C) innovation sprint on Fast Tracking Climate Solution from Genebank Collections, at a virtual side event organized by the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR).

Hearne explained that the development of current and future varieties is dependent upon breeders sourcing and repackaging native genetic variation in high value combinations. The CGIAR network of germplasm banks holds vast collections of crops that are important for global food and feed supplies. Among the diversity in these collections is currently unexplored and unused native variation for climate adaptation.

Through strong partnerships, multi-disciplinary activities, and the harnessing of diverse skillsets in different areas of applied research and development work, the sprint will help to identify genetic variations of potential value for climate change adaptation and move that variation into products that breeders globally can adopt in their variety development work. Through these efforts, the sprint improves access to specific genetic variation currently sat in the vaults of germplasm banks and facilitates crop improvement programs to develop the varieties that farmers demand.

The sprint is a clear example of the shift in paradigms we are looking for, so that people in the year 2100 know we took the right decisions in 2022 for them to live in a better world, said Govaerts. He continued by emphasizing the need for the initiative to be integrated within the systems it aims to transform, and the importance of accelerating farmers’ access to seeds.

The initiative is only possible because of the existence of the genebank collections that have been conserved for humanity, and due to cross-collaboration across disciplines and sharing of data and resources.

Addressing soil fertility management

Tek Sapkota, senior scientist, presented at Taking Agricultural Innovation to the Next Level to Tackle the Climate Crisis, the AIM4C partner reception on November 11, which gathered critical actors committed to making agriculture one of the most impactful climate solutions. Hosted on the one-year anniversary of the AIM4C launch at COP26 and on the eve of the COP27 day on adaptation and agriculture, the event was a celebration of progress made to date to address the climate crisis by 2025.

Along with 20 partners, CIMMYT submitted an AIM4C innovation sprint on climate-resilient soil fertility management by smallholders in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, which was announced at COP27 alongside other sprints.

Sapkota, who leads a project that is part of CIMMYT’s AIM4C innovation sprint submission, presented alongside the Minister of Climate Change and Environment from the United Arab Emirates, the Secretary of Agriculture for the United States, and the Regional Director for Central Asia, West Asia and North Africa at CGIAR.

Digital solutions for sustainable systems

Tharayil Shereef Amjath Babu, agricultural economist in modeling and targeting, hosted an event on Accelerating Digital Climate Services for resilient food systems in the Global South, exploring the work of two CGIAR Initiatives: Securing the Food Systems of Asian Mega-Deltas (AMD) for Climate and Livelihood Resilience and Transforming Agrifood Systems in South Asia (TAFSSA) on November 17.

In the Global South, farmers are being affected by unreliable weather patterns caused by climate change, which means they can no longer rely on their traditional knowledge. However, demand climate services can fill this vacuum, enabling meteorological agencies to produce accurate climate information, co-create digital climate services for agricultural systems, and support sustainable and inclusive business models.

Cover photo: A CIMMYT staff member at work in the maize active collection in the Wellhausen-Anderson Plant Genetic Resources Center, as featured in a session on Fast Tracking Climate Solution from Genebank Collections at COP27. (Photo: Xochiquetzal Fonseca/CIMMYT)

Study explores how to reduce GHG emissions while supporting food security through nitrogen management

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Publications.

Use of fertilizer nitrogen (N) in farming is essential for food production but also contributes to climate crisis through GHG emissions. Synthetic nitrogen fertilizer accounts for 2.4 percent of global emissions, while its supply chain accounts for 21.5% of the annual direct emissions from agriculture.

One potential solution for developing appropriate N management strategies is yield-scaled nitrous oxide (N₂O) emission (YSNE), which has been recognized for its potential to balance food security and mitigate emissions. Improving understanding and use of YSNE under various field conditions is an essential part of widespread adoption of this approach.

Scientist working in the Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) together with Hawassa University, Ethiopia and Landcare Research, New Zealand  assessed the relationship between N inputs and YSNE with published results and identified response patterns of YSNE to N inputs based on 1,800 observations from maize, rice and wheat crops at global scale.

Type 1 measures: increasing yields without changing N₂O emissions. Type 2 measures: reducing N₂O emissions without changing yields. Type 3 measures: both increasing yields and reducing N₂O emissions. (Photo: CIMMYT)

A positive relationship between N inputs and YSNE was evidenced in more than 60% of the dataset across all three crops, while a small proportion had an optimum N rate that minimized YSNE. Type of crop, annual mean temperature and soil N content affected the background yield-scale N₂O emission with higher soil temperature and N content leading to higher BYSNE. The analyses suggest that YSNE can be reduced by increasing yields, by reducing N₂O emissions and both by increasing yields and reducing N₂O emissions. The results of this study suggest appropriate N management strategies, yields, and N2O emissions.

Read the full article: Understanding response of yield-scaled N₂O emissions to nitrogen input: Data synthesis and introducing new concepts of background yield-scaled N₂O emissions and N₂O emission-yield curve

Cover photo: Woman using spreader for fertilizer application in India. (Photo: Wasim Iftikar/CSISA)

Bringing voluntary carbon offset markets to smallholder Indian farmers

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Features.

To mitigate their amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, companies and individuals have access to international voluntary carbon offset markets, which are trading systems that financially compensate credit producer participants for offsetting the amount of carbon emitted. An innovative new initiative from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR) is working to establish carbon markets among smallholder farmers in India, with the goal of reducing GHG emissions, encouraging climate smart farming practices through financial incentives.

In India, agriculture is one of the biggest sources of GHG emissions – between 14 and 21 percent of all GHGs are attributable to agricultural activities, which derive from the use of farm machinery, rice cultivation, fertilizer use, and other activities. Emissions from agriculture are increasing drastically due to synthetic fertilizers and enteric fermentation from livestock.

Within CIMMYT’s farmer-centered approach, participants in voluntary carbon markets will improve their own financial viability in two ways – through adopting sustainable practices and through receipt of payments from carbon markets. The approach will also employ regenerative interventions such as direct dry seeding of rice, minimal tillage, crop diversification, use of biofertilizers, and perennial cropping all while contributing to an overall reduction in GHG emissions.

“Working with ICAR to engage smallholder farmers with high-quality carbon offsets allows the farmers to offset their unavoidable emissions,” said Vijesh Krishna, senior CIMMYT scientist. “This program promotes inclusiveness because this newly created income is distributed among participating farmers, thereby improving their income.”

These regenerative agriculture interventions will increase and retain soil’s carbon content, water permeability and retention, resulting in crops’ ability to withstand drought, flooding, and temperature stresses. Only a small percentage of farmers currently implement these methods in India.

CIMMYT and ICAR researchers estimate that widespread adoption of these practices, combined with upgraded technologies, has the potential to return the carbon levels in agricultural soils from an average of 0.5 percent back to 1.5 percent. At present, the agricultural soils of India are poor with respect to soil organic carbon.

Carbon markets for smallholders

About 2,000 small holder farmers of Punjab, Haryana, and parts of Maharashtra, all in India, are enrolled in the project through individual partnership agreements. Once farmers implement regenerative agricultural methods, they will be eligible to receive payments for carbon credits generated for 10 to 20 years, conditional upon continuing to use climate-smart practices.

“We believe these efforts can be expanded to other regions of India, and other countries,” said Sieg Snapp, CIMMYT’s Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program director. “Helping farmers and reducing GHG emissions at the same time is the way forward in dealing the crisis of climate change.”

Farms are geo-tagged and monitored using remote sensing for regenerative farming practices, and soil carbon content will be measured at the beginning and end of the crop cycle. Those that produce rice and wheat with a lower carbon footprint will be identified, so their produce gets purchase and price preferences from those who want to promote lower carbon agriculture.

Digital agronomy tools and satellite imagery analysis to measure and verify soil carbon offsets and on-farm GHG emission levels are essential for scaling small farmer-centered carbon projects. The veracity, transparency, and traceability of each carbon offset have direct implications for its credibility and actual market value. CIMMYT will contribute towards a Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) platform to expand climate action country-wide.

So far, CIMMYT and ICAR researchers estimate that the enrolled smallholder famers have sequestered between four and five tons of carbon dioxide. After independent third-party auditors verify the data, farmers will be paid based on the amount of GHG reduction, with the first carbon offset payments expected to be issued in 2023.

Cover photo: A green maize seedling emerges from the soil (Photo: Wasim Iftikar/CIMMYT)

Gender-informed policies fundamental for climate change adaptation

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Publications.

Scientists from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) are working to understand the gender gap in climate change adaptations and the causes behind this disparity.

Using data from 2,279 farm households in Ethiopia, the results show a significant gap due to the observable and unobservable different characteristics of households headed by men and women. For example, women are less likely to adopt climate change adaptation measures due to their workload in household chores. However, evidence suggests that when the gender gap shrinks, climate change adaptation can be improved in female-headed households by almost 19%.

The study determined that policies must tackle unobservable characteristics in order to address the gender gap. Short-term projects and long-term gender-informed policies are essential in creating equitable opportunities for all.

This crucial work will support developing countries to achieve targets set by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and farming households’ susceptibility to the risks of climate change.

Read the study: Gender and climate change adaptation: A case of Ethiopian farmers

Cover photo: Female farmer harvests green maize in Ethiopia. Women are essential to the agricultural sector, but the gender gap prevents them from embracing climate change adaptation measures. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)

After the flood

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Publications.

Heavy summer rains have led to severe floods in Pakistan, affecting over 800,000 hectares of land. Rural areas in the southern coastal provinces have been hardest hit with water levels remaining high throughout the Indus River system. This compounds the existing inequalities in livelihoods and represents significant humanitarian as well as agricultural impacts.

Due to flood damage, the estimated direct crop loss by economists stands at around $2.3 billion. Reports indicate that over 32 million people have been displaced by the flooding and urgent humanitarian needs include access to food, water, shelter, and public health.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) strongly encourages enhanced investment in ensuring that our agricultural systems can adapt to as well as mitigate climate change impacts. In the current context, the development and distribution of improved wheat seed must be seen as a central pillar of flood response to secure wheat-dependent livelihoods.

No single drop, be it geo-political or climatic, will tip the balance on our global food system. But we must be increasingly aware of the compounding and amplifying effects of each crisis and develop strategies towards more sustainable agri-food systems.

Read the full study: One drop at a time: recent heavy rain has led to flooding in Pakistan, devastating agricultural land, and rural communities

Cover photo: Current areas of cropland and flood-affected crop land in Pakistan. This highlights the significant impacts of the flood waters, particularly on cropland in southern parts of the country. The boundaries shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance.

Why co-creation is vital for sustainable agriculture

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in News.

Agricultural mechanization engineer Subash Adhikari adjusts a maize shelling machine on a farmer´s verandah in Rambasti, Kanchanpur, Nepal. (Credit: P. Lowe/CIMMYT)

The adoption of climate-smart agricultural production processes and technologies is a vital strategy in attempts to mitigate the global impacts of climate change without compromising on food security. However, supporting farmers to permanently implement new technologies and approaches requires a deep understanding of their needs, robust training, and effective transfer of knowledge.

At the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), projects across the Global South aim to embed agrifood systems that are sustainable for all.

To share how CIMMYT empowers farmers and develops new technologies, Director General Bram Govaerts attended a panel event hosted by the Business Council for International Understanding (BICU) on September 19. For an audience of foreign government officials, multilaterals, and private sector executives, panelists introduced new perspectives to support global food security efforts and inspire greater collaboration.

Partnership approach

Panelists were asked to explain the technologies that can be unlocked by agricultural financial mechanisms, referencing how research and development is keeping pace with the quick adaptations needed by farmers to address climate change.

Examples from CIMMYT’s participation in the AgriLAC Resiliente CGIAR Initiative, a project for sustainable agricultural development in Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighted the innovative partnerships that are pushing forward research and development in the sector, enabling food systems and actors to act quickly to meet food security needs, mitigate climate hazards, stabilize communities and reduce forced migration.

Scientists are conscious of ensuring that solutions to one challenge are not the cause of new problems elsewhere; co-development is essential to this, ensuring the views of all actors are represented. Using the Integrated Agri-food System Initiative (IASI) methodology, created by CIMMYT in partnership with the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), projects can develop strategies and actions with a significant likelihood of supportive public and private investment that will transform food systems.

Expertise from farmers

Even the best agricultural technology in the world is only effective if it is used. When discussing barriers to the implementation of technology, Govaerts emphasized CIMMYT’s mechanization prototyping, co-creation, and experimentation work that bridges the gap between farmers and scientists and encourages adoption of new methods and tools.

Having farming influencers onboard has proved priceless, as these people co-create prototypes and experiments that demonstrate results and offer assured testimony to reluctant stakeholders.

Innovations can transform livelihoods, giving farmers a way to increase income and provide stability and better opportunities for their families – which is the most appealing reason for adoption.

Training programs are also fundamental, ensuring skills and knowledge around new technologies are freely available to farmers, technicians, and researchers. CIMMYT projects such as MasAgro in Mexico, has trained more than 3,000 producers and 400 technicians in sustainable agriculture, with more than 70,000 producers participating in educational events during the pandemic.

Hunger and climate change – a dual problem?

Conversation also centered on whether the development of new technologies is aiming to confront world hunger and climate change as separate issues, or whether solutions can be suitable for both challenges.

Essential actions to mitigate the food crisis require a global perspective, acknowledging that unexpected crises will always arise. For example, Russia and Ukraine account for 28% of the world’s wheat exports, so high prices are linked to supply chain disruption. More than 2.5 billion people worldwide consume wheat-based products, so the effects of these disruptions could mean significant hunger and potential civil unrest. Nations already in crisis, such as Yemen, Sudan and Ethiopia, may be worse hit, but other countries with high dependency on imports like Egypt are also affected.

Govaerts highlighted the inextricable links between the causes of food insecurity and climate change. He underscored CIMMYT’s holistic approach to overcoming widespread impacts on the global food system, such as the concurrent challenges of COVID-19, climate change and the Ukraine crisis, by co-developing lasting solutions incorporating these three elements:

  • Extensive research on climate change adaptation and mitigation in maize and wheat-based production systems across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
  • Climate focused research aims to help smallholder farmers adapt to climate shocks and to raise and maintain yields profitably and sustainably by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Capacity building for stakeholders in the development and application of new technologies.

Many other deep disruptions are on their way. It is time to invest in science, research, innovation, technologies, and start practicing teamwork to allow those investments to translate into a better future for the planet, and for us.

About BICU:

BICU is a leading business-supported non-profit education initiative, established by President Eisenhower of the United States in 1955 for the purpose of facilitating public-private partnerships and high-level business to government dialogue.

Fragile global food system calls for a collaborative approach

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in In the media.

Bram Govaerts, Director General of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), underscored the need for collaboration to address the challenges of global food shocks, climate change and agricultural trade.

Speaking at a Strengthening AR4D in South Asia workshop on Thursday, September 1, Govaerts highlighted the work of CIMMYT’s Borlaug Institute of South Asia (BISA) project.

“The collaborative, inclusive approach of BISA (Borlaug Institute for South Asia) is more relevant than ever today. In an era when the challenges of food and nutrition insecurity — exacerbated by climate change, poverty, and inequality — cannot be solved by one sector,” he explained.

Read more: Fragile global food system calls for a collaborative approach

CIMMYT is prominent in global climate-food systems conversations, new study shows

Written by Mike Listman on . Posted in Publications.

Published in Nature Scientific Reports, a new study describes an innovative method to assess the reach and impacts of knowledge and partnerships created as part of the work of research-for-development organizations.

It uses text mining and the analysis of social networks and hyperlinks to draw inferences from publicly available digital sources, including institutional repositories, scientific databases, and social media.

“The method can uncover narratives, dynamics, and relationships that are hidden from traditional bibliometric analyses,” said Tek Sapkota, a cropping systems and climate change specialist at the International Maize and Wheat improvement Center (CIMMYT) and co-author or the study, which also involved the University of Coimbra, Portugal, and the University of Molise, Italy.

“Nearly 90 percent of CIMMYT’s research is related to climate change and its impact on food systems and vice-versa, so we assessed that to illustrate our new, web-based analytical framework. This novel approach can help research-for-development organizations to leverage online data and measure their impact.”

Read the full study: Digital artifacts reveal development and diffusion of climate research

Cover photo: Twitter mentions network for the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center official account (@CIMMYT). (Credit: Nature Scientific Reports)

In Ethiopia, local challenges inform national action for climate-smart agriculture

Written by Enawgaw Sisay on . Posted in News.

A recent workshop in Ethiopia brought together researchers from the Ethiopia Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) and the Ministry of Agriculture, the Regional Bureau of Agriculture, alongside partners from regional agricultural research institutes, Universities, and CGIAR centers. (Credit: CGIAR)

In some of Ethiopia’s most vulnerable communities, climate change is having a disastrous effect on agriculture, a critical sector to the livelihood of millions. Droughts, floods, pests, and disease outbreaks are key challenges farmers face in the age of the climate crisis. These climate-related threats have already contributed to reducing agricultural productivity and food insecurity.

In order to minimize agricultural risks from the above challenges and maximize farmers’ resilience, there is a critical need to introduce the technologies, innovations, and practices that underpin ‘climate-smart agriculture. For instance, cascading knowledge on agricultural risk management and promoting conservation agriculture may prove to be sustainable practices that address the limiting factors of food security. This, however, cannot be done in a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. In Ethiopia, we’ve seen how climate-smart agriculture (CSA) not only needs to be localized – so it is effective in different environments – it also needs to be inclusive, meeting the needs of women and youth in various communities.

CSA is critical to making Ethiopian farmers and their communities more resilient in the face of climate change. Awareness-raising campaigns and consultations fit an important role in engaging scientists, practitioners, and beneficiaries to understand and implement area-specific climate adaptation mechanisms through CSA-based input. A current challenge is that climate-smart interventions in Ethiopia are limited because of a lack of awareness of the necessary skill set to implement and manage those technologies properly. After all, it is wise to remember that CSA is a knowledge-intensive exercise. For instance, let us look at the Ethiopian highlands, which constitute a substantial amount of the country’s farming population. In the extreme highlands of Ethiopia – generally dubbed as Wurch or mountain zone above 3800m elevation above sea level – CSA implementation is even scarce due to climatic and socio-economic conditions. In fact, those parts of the highlands are often referred to as the “forgotten agroecology” and agricultural research institutions – both in Ethiopia and beyond – must develop and package climate-smart interventions tailored for regions that have these agroecological characteristics.

Despite some practical challenges, it is also wise to note that there are successful cases of CSA implementation and addition across the various parts of the country. This is recognized for the literature review to document CSA experiences in the country and develop a detailed ‘CSA compendium’. These experiences can promote public engagement informed and inspired by the practical experience of climate-smart interventions, both from sites that have similar agroecological characteristics – as well as different – so that farmers and communities can learn from the successes and failures of other ventures. This public engagement should be underpinned by business and financing models that work for resource-poor farmers, so they can access or invest in making their agriculture more climate-smart.

Knowing what works where will be essential to develop strategies that can facilitate targeting and scaling CSA approaches. Developing a CSA compendium, a collection of concise but detailed information on CSA practices can be an entry point to achieve this – which also requires efforts from various experts and collaboration among institutions in the country and beyond.

In line with this understanding, a recent workshop in Ethiopia brought together researchers from the Ethiopia Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) and the Ministry of Agriculture, the Regional Bureau of Agriculture, alongside partners from regional agricultural research institutes, Universities, and CGIAR centers.

It aimed to raise awareness among partners on the kinds of climate-smart packages of agricultural technologies and practices that are socially inclusive and responsive to the needs of young people while also being feasible from a socio-economic standpoint and ready to be expanded and delivered on a bigger scale. Key presentations were made about what CSA is and what it is not. In addition, the type and description of indicators used to identify CSA practices that are economically feasible, socially acceptable, and gender-responsive were discussed in-depth. As part of this exercise, experts identified more than 20 potential climate-smart agriculture interventions tested, validated, and implemented effectively in different parts of the country.

Some of the key presentations and discussions at the workshop revealed critical lessons for implementing CSA:

  • Climate-smart agriculture is not a set of practices that can be universally applied but rather an approach that involves different elements embedded in local contexts.
  • Climate-smart agriculture relates to actions both on farms and beyond the farm, incorporating technologies, policies, institutions, and investment.”
  • Climate-smart agriculture is also a continuous process, though we should focus on the big picture and avoid trivial debates about whether CSA is a practice, technology, or an option.
  • Due consideration should be given to gender sensitiveness and social inclusiveness as a criterion in identifying compelling innovations.
  • Better indicators should be developed in measuring how climate-smart agriculture is adopted.

The workshop was the first of a series planned to raise awareness of different approaches to climate-smart agriculture while aligning Ethiopian institutions behind common understandings of how climate-smart agriculture can be delivered at both a local and national level.

In closing this first workshop, Ermias Abate, Deputy Director-General of the Amhara Region Agricultural Research Institute, stated, “Agriculture wouldn’t move an inch forward if we continued with business as usual and hence the need to be smart to face the new realities of agriculture under climate change.”

The Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research in Africa (AICCRA) workshop was held between December 24 and 25, 2021, in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, and was organized jointly by:

  • The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)
  • CGIAR Program on Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)
  • International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
  • International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and
  • International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
A farmer in the Ara district, in India's Bihar state, applies NPK fertilizer, composed primarily of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. (Photo: Dakshinamurthy Vedachalam/CIMMYT)

Biological nitrogen fixation and prospects for ecological intensification in cereal-based cropping systems

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Publications.

Among the inputs needed for a healthy soil, nitrogen is unique because it originates from the atmosphere. How it moves from the air to the ground is governed in part by a process called biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), which is catalyzed by specific types of bacteria.

Nitrogen supply is frequently the second most limiting factor after water availability constraining crop growth and so there is great farmer demand for accessible sources of nitrogen, such as synthetic nitrogen in fertilizer. This increasing demand has continued as new cereal varieties with higher genetic yield potential are being released in efforts to feed the world’s growing population.

Currently, the primary source for nitrogen is synthetic, delivered through fertilizers. Synthetic nitrogen revolutionized cereal crop (e.g., wheat, maize, and rice) production by enhancing growth and grain yield as it eliminated the need to specifically allocate land for soil fertility rejuvenation during crop rotation. However, synthetic nitrogen is not very efficient, often causing excess application, which leads to deleterious forms, including ammonia, nitrate, and nitrogen oxides escaping into the surrounding ecosystem, resulting in a myriad of negative impacts on the environment and human health. Nitrogen loss from fertilizer is responsible for a nearly 20% increase in atmospheric nitrous oxide since the industrial revolution. Notably, more nitrogen from human activities, including agriculture, has been released to the environment than carbon dioxide during recent decades, leading climate scientists to consider the possibility that nitrogen might replace carbon as a prime driver of climate change.

New research co-authored by International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) scientists, published in Field Crops Research, posits that facilitating natural methods of gathering useable nitrogen in BNF can reduce the amount of synthetic nitrogen being used in global agriculture.

As agricultural systems become more intensive regarding inputs and outputs, synthetic nitrogen has become increasingly crucial, but there are still extensive areas in the world that cannot achieve food and nutrition security because of a lack of nitrogen.

“This, together with increasing and changing dietary demands, shows that the future demand for nitrogen will substantially grow to meet the anticipated population of 9.7 billion people by the middle of the century,” said J.K. Ladha, adjunct professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at University of California, Davis, and lead author of the study.

Before the synthetic nitrogen, the primary source of agricultural nitrogen was gathered through BNF as bacteria living underground that convert atmospheric nitrogen into nitrogen that can be utilized by crops. Therefore, legumes are often employed as a cover crop in rotating fields to replenish nitrogen stocks; their root systems are hospitable for these nitrogen producing bacteria to thrive.

“There are ways in which BNF could be a core component of efforts to build more sustainable and regenerative agroecosystems to meet nitrogen demand with lower environmental footprints,” said Timothy Krupnik, Senior System Agronomist at CIMMYT in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Plant scientists have often hypothesized that the ultimate solution for solving the ever-growing nitrogen supply challenge is to confer cereals like wheat, maize, rice, with their own capacity for BNF. Recent breakthroughs in the genomics of BNF, as well as improvements in the understanding how legumes and nitrogen bacteria interact, have opened new avenues to tackle this problem much more systematically.

“Enabling cereal crops to capture their own nitrogen is a long-standing goal of plant biologists and is referred to as the holy grail of BNF research,” said P.M. Reddy, Senior Fellow at The Energy Research Institute, New Delhi. “The theory is that if cereal crops can assemble their own BNF system, the crop’s internal nitrogen supply and demand can be tightly regulated and synchronized.”

The study examined four methods currently being employed to establish systems within cereal crops to capture and use their own nitrogen, each with their advantages and limitations. One promising method involves identifying critical plant genes that perceive and transmit nitrogen-inducing signals in legumes. Integrating these signal genes into cereal crops might allow them to construct their own systems for BNF.

“Our research highlights how BNF will need to be a core component of efforts to build more sustainable agroecosystems,” said Mark Peoples, Honorary Fellow at The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Canberra, Australia. “To be both productive and sustainable, future cereal cropping systems will need to better incorporate and leverage natural processes like BNF to mitigate the corrosive environmental effects of excess nitrogen leaking into our ecosystems.”

Besides the efforts to bring BNF to cereals, there are basic agronomic management tools that can shift focus from synthetic to BNF nitrogen.

“Encouraging more frequent use of legumes in crop rotation will increase diversification and the flow of key ecosystem services, and would also assist the long-term sustainability of cereal-based farming systems­,” said Krupnik.

Read the study: Biological nitrogen fixation and prospects for ecological intensification in cereal-based cropping systems

Cover photo: A farmer in the Ara district, in India’s Bihar state, applies NPK fertilizer, composed primarily of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. (Photo: Dakshinamurthy Vedachalam/CIMMYT)

Understanding the role of organic material application in soil microbial community structures

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Publications.

While previous studies have demonstrated the importance of organic material in soil for sustainable agricultural practices, there has been limited research into how organic material application affects the soil microbial community structures.

Researchers from El Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV) studied soil from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center’s (CIMMYT) long-term experiment in northwestern Mexico to determine the effect on the soil metagenome after adding easily decomposable organic residues. The soil was collected from plots where maize and wheat were cultivated without tillage on permanent beds with crop residue left on the soil surface since 1992.

Dried young maize plants were added to the soil in the laboratory. After three days of incubation, soil samples were analyzed using shotgun metagenomic sequencing to discover how the application of young maize plants affects the structure of microbial communities in arable soil, how the potential functioning of microbial communities is altered, and how the application affects the soil taxonomic and functional diversity.

Bacterial and viral groups were strongly affected by organic material application, whereas archaeal, protist and fungal groups were less affected. Soil viral structure and richness were impacted, as well as metabolic functionality. Further differences were recorded in cellulose degraders with copiotrophic lifestyle, which were enriched by the application of young maize plants, while groups with slow growing oligotrophic and chemolithoautotrophic metabolism performed better in unamended soil.

Given the importance of embedding and adopting sustainable agricultural practices as part of climate change adaptation and mitigation, the study improves our insight in a key aspect of sustainable agriculture, the management of crop residues.

Read the full study: Application of young maize plant residues alters the microbiome composition and its functioning in a soil under conservation agriculture: a metagenomics study

Cover photo: Wheat crops growing at CIMMYT’s long-term experiment site in Ciudad Obregon, Mexico. (Credit: Nele Verhulst/CIMMYT)

Big data analytics for climate-smart agricultural practices in South Asia (Big Data2 CSA)

Written by Emma Orchardson on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Heterogeneity in soils, hydrology, climate, and rapid changes in rural economies including fluctuating prices, aging and declining labor forces, agricultural feminization, and uneven market access are among the many factors that constrain climate-smart agriculture (CSA) in South Asia’s cereal-based farming systems.

Most previous research on CSA has employed manipulative experiments analyzing agronomic variables, or survey data from project-driven initiatives. However, this can obscure the identification of relevant factors limiting CSA, leading to inappropriate extension, policy, and inadequate institutional alignments to address and overcome limitations. Alternative big data approaches utilizing heterogeneous datasets remain insufficiently explored, though they can represent a powerful alternative source of technology and management practice performance information.

In partnership with national research systems and the private sector in Bangladesh, India and Nepal, Big data analytics for climate-smart agricultural practices in South Asia (Big Data2 CSA) is developing digital data collection systems to crowdsource, data-mine and interpret a wide variety of primary agronomic management and socioeconomic data from tens of thousands of smallholder rice and wheat farmers.

The project team analyzes these data by stacking them with spatially-explicit secondary environmental, climatic and remotely sensed data products, after which data mining and machine learning techniques are used to identify key factors contributing to patterns in yield, profitability, greenhouse gas emissions intensity and resilience.

These approaches however must be practical in order for them to be useful in agricultural development and policy. As such, the project’s analytical results will be represented through interactive web-based dashboards, with gender-appropriate crop management advisories deployed through interactive voice recognition technologies to farmers in Bangladesh, India and Nepal at a large-scale. Big Data2 CSA is supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) Flagship 2 on Climate-Smart Technologies and Practices.

Objectives

  • Develop ICT tools enabling digital collection of crop management data and a cloud-based database that can be managed by next-users
  • Support advanced degree-level students to engage in field and data science research
  • Create a digital data collection platform enabling crowd sourcing of crop management information to evaluate contributions to CSA
  • Create interactive and customizable web-based dashboards presenting post-season research results and providing CSA management recommendations
  • Organize CSA and big data policy briefings on mainstreaming processes and policy workshops

Tek Sapkota

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Tek Sapkota currently leads the Climate Change Science Group within CIMMYT’s Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program and is based in CIMMYT headquarters in Mexico. He carries out research in the area of agricultural systems, soil science and environmental sciences. He is particularly involved in studying agro-ecosystems management consequences on nutrient dynamics and their effect on food security, climate change adaptation and mitigation. He is a member of the Climate Investment Committee in OneCGIAR.

Sapkota has served in IPCC as Lead author as well as Review editor. He is an associate Editor of Nature Scientific Report and Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems journals. He is an agricultural expert in the India GHG platform.