Abdu Mohammed is a research officer who has been working at CIMMYT’s Ethiopia office since 2018. Currently, he works on the socioeconomics components of the DNA Fingerprinting and Enhancing Climate Change Adaptive Capacity and Food Security (ECCAFS) projects.
For many years, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) has been working to improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of smallholder agriculture in India through conservation agriculture and sustainable intensification practices. The Sustainable and Resilient Farming Systems Intensification (SRFSI) project began in 2014 in the state of West Bengal, with participatory research in eight farming cooperatives from the cities of Cooch Behar and Malda. Through the SRFSI project, CIMMYT has helped encourage women to participate in agricultural processes, adopt sustainable practices for various crops and utilize new technologies to improve their livelihoods.
Women farmers in West Bengal have demonstrated an interest in part-time agribusiness occupations. Some of them are coming together to form farmer groups and cooperatives that make a profit.
Mooni Bibi and other women from her community founded the Mukta Self Help Group. This organization of female farmers, supported by CIMMYT through the SRFSI project, helped turned rice cultivation into a business opportunity that helps other women. As a result of these efforts, these women now enjoy more financial freedom, can afford healthier food, are able to provide a better education for their children and benefit from an improved social standing within the community.
The Satmile Satish Club O Pathagar (SSCOP), a CIMMYT partner, has been vital in this process. SSCOP is now a resource for technical support and a training hub for conservation agriculture. It is now focused on introducing conservation agriculture practices to more areas, beginning with Sitai, a new neighborhood in Cooch Behar. This area is rich in proactive female farmers, but its agricultural sector is not fully modernized yet.
A group of women in Sitai founded Grambikash Farmers Producer Company, another farming cooperative that aims to increase crop yields and promote sustainability. The company challenges social norms and helps women become more financially and socially independent. This group of entrepreneurs is committed to apply conservation agriculture and sustainable intensification technology on 30 acres of land, beginning in 2020, with continuous support from SSCOP.
Through its work helping farmers in Cooch Behar, SSCOP is now a center of excellence for rural entrepreneurship as well as an advocate for conservation agriculture in West Bengal. They provide technical support and serve as a training hub for conservation agriculture and various associated sectors. Much of the training done by SSCOP is now self-funded.
Since 2014, CIMMYT has been collaborating with SSCOP to reach out to more than 70,000 farmers in Cooch Behar, spreading the benefits of conservation agriculture and sustainable intensification beyond the lifespan of the SRFSI project.
Zambiaâs vice-president has recently called to reduce maize dominance and increase crop and diet diversification in his country. The reality is that maize is and will remain a very important food crop for many eastern and southern African countries. Diet preferences and population growth mean that it is imperative to find solutions to increase maize production in these countries, but experts forecast 10 to 30% reduction in maize yields by 2030 in a business-as-usual scenario, with projected temperature increases of up to 2.7 degrees by 2050 and important drought risks.
Knowing the importance of maize for the food security of countries like Zambia, it is crucial to help maize farmers get better and more stable yields under erratic and challenging climate conditions.
To address this, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and its partners have been developing hundreds of new maize varieties with good drought tolerance across sub-Saharan Africa. Stakeholders in the public research and African seed sectors have collaborated through the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project and the Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) initiative to develop drought-tolerant seed that also incorporates other qualities, such as nutritional value and disease resistance.
A groundbreaking impact study six years ago demonstrated that drought-tolerant maize significantly reduced poverty and food insecurity, particularly in drought years.
A new study from CIMMYT and the Center for Development Research (ZEF) in the main maize growing areas of Zambia confirms that adopting drought-tolerant maize can increase yields by 38% and reduce the risks of crop failure by 36%.
Over three quarters of the rainfed farmers in the study experienced drought during the survey. These farming families of 6 or 7 people were cultivating 4 hectares of farmland on average, half planted with maize.
Another study on drought-tolerant maize adoption in Uganda estimated also good yield increases and lower crop failure risks by 26 to 35%.
A balancing act between potential gains and climate risks
Drought-tolerant maize has a transformational effect. With maize farming becoming less risky, farmers are willing to invest more in fertilizer and other inputs and plant more maize.
However, taking the decision of adopting new farm technologies in a climate risky environment could be a daunting task. Farmers may potentially gain a lot but, at the same time, they must consider downside risks.
As Gertrude Banda, a lead farmer in eastern Zambia, put it, hybrid seeds have a cost and when you do not know whether rains will be enough âthis is a gamble.â In addition to climate uncertainty, farmers worry about many other woes, like putting money aside for urgent healthcare, school fees, or cooking nutritious meals for the family.
Information is power
An additional hurdle to adoption is that farmers may not know all the options available to cope with climate risks. While 77% of Zambia households interviewed said they experienced drought in 2015, only 44% knew about drought-tolerant maize.
This inequal access to knowledge and better seeds, observed also in Uganda, slows adoption of drought-tolerant maize. There, 14% of farmers have adopted drought-tolerant maize varieties. If all farmers were aware of this technology, 8% more farmers would have adopted it.
Because farmers are used to paying for cheap open-pollinated varieties, they are only willing to pay half of the hybrid market price, even though new hybrids are performing very well. Awareness campaigns on the benefits of drought-tolerant maize could boost adoption among farmers.
According to the same study, the potential for scaling drought-tolerant maize could raise up to 47% if drought-tolerant varieties were made available at affordable prices at all agrodealers. Several approaches could be tested to increase access, such as input credit or subsidy schemes.
Read the full articles:
Impacts of drought-tolerant maize varieties on productivity, risk, and resource use: Evidence from Uganda
Productivity and production risk effects of adopting drought-tolerant maize varieties in Zambia
These impact studies were made possible through the support provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), funders of the Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) initiative.
Moti Jaleta is a senior agricultural economist. He has been working at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) since 2011 and currently coordinates an IFAD-funded project on enhancing smallholder wheat productivity through sustainable intensification in Rwanda and Zambia.
Jaleta’s research areas of interest include adoption and impact assessments of improved agricultural technologies, with special focus on maize and wheat; crop-livestock interactions and their implications on the sustainability of cereal-based mixed farming systems; analysis of the roles of agricultural markets and value chain development in smallholder commercialization; and impact assessments of conservation agriculture-based practices as a means of sustainable intensification of smallholder farming in maize and wheat based systems of Eastern and Southern Africa.
Sometimes innovations fail to make an impact. Take 3D televisions, for example; launched at a large scale more than a decade ago, they did not achieve the expected commercial success. On paper, the technology was an affordable and thrilling breakthrough in home entertainment, but in practice many viewers failed to embrace it due to poor implementation. Today, it has largely fallen by the wayside.
Farming innovations can suffer similar fates if product designers do not consider the overall socioeconomic picture during development, warns Munyaradzi Mutenje, an agricultural economist with the Socioeconomics program of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).
âWhen the direct seed drill was first launched in Zimbabwe, farmers did not take to it,â Mutenje explains. âHere was a technology that could reduce the drudgery of hand sowing â vastly reducing labor costs and saving time â but no one wanted it. The scientists asked âwhy is no-one adopting this seed drill we designed? It solves so many production challenges⊠Why donât people want it?ââ
It transpired that women, who constitute a significant portion of the farming community in Zimbabwe, simply found the direct seed drill too heavy and awkward for practical use. They chose to stick with traditional farming methods and were skeptical of the new technology. In short, the product was not designed with the end user in mind.
Design that meets farmersâ needs
Mutenje works in close association with CIMMYTâs sustainable intensification team in Zimbabwe, adding value by opening a dialogue with many different types of farmers. âFrom the basket of sustainable intensification technologies available, which one is appropriate for each type of farmer?â she asks herself when designing new interventions.
Technologies can seem good to scientists, but they might not be suitable for farmers, who operate within a system of which agriculture is only one component.
âYou have to look at the situation from the farmersâ perspective,â Mutenje explains. âIn order to assess the economic viability of innovations and to understand how and where to target them, we have to look at factors like social acceptance and cultural barriers that might constrain adoption within farming communities.â
Once technologies are rolled out to farmers, it is vital to seek feedback about the demand for new, and reviews of existing, technologies. This allows scientists to tailor their innovations to the needs and objectives of farmers.
âWhen we design technologies that meet farmersâ needs because we have interacted with them and understood the whole system; that is our greatest impact.â
All roads lead to CIMMYT
Growing up on a farm in rural Zimbabwe instilled in Mutenje a deep respect for womenâs role in agriculture in southern Africa. With her father engaged in off-farm work, her mother tended the farm. She grew curious about household decision-making and was inspired to pursue a career in agricultural science, first studying at the University of Zimbabwe before obtaining her doctoral degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa with a thesis on the effects of AIDS on rural livelihoods.
âI was inspired by the multidisciplinary nature of science and how its application to farming allows scientists to directly help feed people and really transform peopleâs lives.â
During her undergraduate studies, Mutenje learned from CIMMYT scientists who offered her class practical agronomic examples and taught the students how to apply data analysis to solve complex problems. Fascinated by the power of data to elucidate patterns that can help scientists, she resolved, âOne day I will work for CIMMYT to address food and nutritional security issues in southern Africa!â
In 2012, her aspirations became reality as she joined CIMMYT in Zimbabwe as a postdoctoral fellow. Today, she is a CIMMYT scientist.
Work that sparks joy
Working with the CIMMYT sustainable intensification program on projects spanning five countries in southern Africa, Mutenje finds joy in working alongside partners as part of a large team. âYou become one big family,â she reflects.
She feels pride in working with smallholder farmers and transforming their livelihoods through science. By boosting the knowledge and potential of women in particular, she believes that sustainable, positive change is possible.
âWomen are the custodians of food and nutritional security, so we need to understand their challenges and opportunities. If you help women and offer them training, their impact will go far since they will pass their knowledge on to their children.â
Policy change to help farmers
Although working directly with farmers is what Mutenje enjoys the most, she concedes that prompting widespread change often calls for deeper scrutiny of the value chain, to identify bottlenecks that constrain adoption. Gathering empirical data and presenting evidence of the complete story to policymakers has enabled Mutenje to influence policy change on a national scale.
âIn Mozambique, we discovered fertilizer costs were too high for farmers, so they were missing out on a technology that would enable increased yields.â
Mutenjeâs work analyzed the whole system and found the import tax on fertilizer component materials was too high and that manufacturers were simply handing that cost down to the farmers. By highlighting this issue to government representatives, she triggered a change in import tax policy. This initiative resulted in fertilizer prices that are affordable to farmers, facilitating improved yields and livelihoods.
âAn evidence-based approach, based on quantitative and qualitative data from multiple sources allows scientists to present the complete story,â she explains. âArmed with this, we can convince policymakers to make changes to help farmers and improve food security.â
Agricultural research for development has tremendous potential for widespread impact in poverty alleviation and food security. However, achieving real benefits for farmers is challenging and many well-intentioned projects fail to achieve large-scale impact. According to Brendan Brown, a postdoctoral research fellow with CIMMYTâs socioeconomics program in Nepal, this is where his work can help.
âThere have been decades of work trying to improve agricultural livelihoods, but many of these interventions are yet to have tangible impacts for farmers,â Brown said. âMy research seeks to help address this gap, using novel frameworks and applying participatory methods.â
Socioeconomic research at CIMMYT plays a key role at the nexus of agricultural innovations, helping to enhance interventions and initiatives for greater impact. Knowledge from such studies helps to prioritize and target resources, optimizing research capacity and accelerating the uptake of innovations.
âI attempt to understand constraints and opportunities at various scales from farms all the way up to institutional levels,â Brown explained. âI then seek to find pathways to catalyze change that lead to improved farmer livelihoods. Such research is integral to getting agronomic research into farmersâ fields.â
This area of research calls for a mixture of qualitative and quantitative tools and expertise, for which Brown is well suited. He has a bachelorâs degree in Agricultural Science with a major in Soil Science. âHowever, after working in agricultural research and development for a few years, I saw a gap in linking agronomy to the contextual realities of smallholder farming, so I opted to pursue a career that bridges the gap between the physical and social sciences.â
A desire to help
Brown grew up in Australia, between Sydney and a family farm on the south coast of New South Wales. He enjoyed being outdoors, âpreferably barefoot,â participated in hobby farming, and from an early age showed an interest in social justice issues. A career aptitude test taken towards the end of high school revealed he was suited to be one of three things: a ship captain, a nurse or an agricultural scientist. He opted for the latter.
It was at university that Brown gained the insight of applying his agricultural knowledge to helping smallholder farmers. During a backpacking trip from Cape Town to Cairo, which incorporated some agricultural volunteering, he witnessed first-hand the difficulties farmers face in sub-Saharan Africa. Upon returning to his studies, he resolved to pursue a career that would enable him to help smallholders and, at the same time, address some of the worldâs biggest ethical dilemmas.
Research with impact
Newly graduated, Brown worked with the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), based in Canberra, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), based in Ghana, where he gained hands-on experience working in agricultural systems in developing countries across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. It also inspired his PhD, which explored the disconnect between development work at research stations and the reality experienced by African farmers.
âDuring my PhD, I collaborated with CIMMYT through the Sustainable Intensification of Maize Legume Systems in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) initiative. I developed a more nuanced approach to what âadoptionâ actually means in terms of uptake and impact assessments. I also studied communitiesâ attitudes to conservation agriculture practices and diagnosed key institutional bottlenecks within research and extension systems.â
Brownâs studies allowed him to develop novel mixed methods and participatory impact pathways to promote new farming practices, such as conservation agriculture, to smallholder farmers in Africa. âMy work with CIMMYT allows me to contribute to solving some of the worldâs biggest issues. Through interacting with smallholders, facilitating conversations and creating new understanding, I hope to contribute to real change.â
Moving to Asia
After spending nearly a decade in and out of Africa, he joined the CIMMYT team in Nepal earlier this year and is relishing the opportunity to explore new contexts in South Asia.
âSo much potential exists within the food systems of South Asia given the existence of multiple cropping seasons and diverse markets, as well as exciting developments in the use of mechanization and irrigation that have potential for delivering large-scale benefits, driving improved food security and profits.â However, he points out the integration of such innovations in this part of the world can be challenging due to inherent complex social hierarchies and caste systems. âI still have much to learn within such complex systems.â
Brownâs work in South Asia focusses on understanding the adoption, scaling and impact of sustainable intensification technologies and practices. He is primarily working with the Sustainable and Resilient Farming Systems Intensification (SRFSI) initiative, which aims to reduce poverty by making smallholder agriculture more productive, profitable and sustainable while safeguarding the environment and involving women in agriculture.
By studying the portfolio of CIMMYT-led initiatives in the region, he is also developing his understanding of prevailing sustainable intensification practices and the issues farmers face when implementing them. In addition to his work with SRFSI, Brown is soon to embark on a new ACIAR-funded research project aiming to enhance sustainable mechanization of farming systems in two provinces of Nepal by mobilizing strategic planning and collaboration.
âI look forward to sitting down with local agricultural service providers to understand how they run their businesses and how they structure their livelihoods,â Brown expressed. âThis will then be paired with the perspectives of farmers, as well as extension officers, researchers and policymakers to build theories of change and pathways to maximize the uptake and impact of sustainable intensification practices.â
He highlights how local ownership of change can be fostered by implementing participatory methods during this process. This can result in transformative change, felt from the institutional level all the way to the smallholder farmer. Brown hopes his work in South Asia will deliver widespread impact for smallholder farmers and he welcomes collaboration and sharing of ideas and approaches with others working towards similar objectives.
Vijesh Krishna is a lead economist focusing on the economics of technological change in agriculture. He joined CIMMYT in 2017 and has been mainly working on inclusive technology adoption and its impacts on resource use, productivity, and farmer livelihoods. Before joining CIMMYT, Krishna worked as a senior research fellow at the University of Goettingen in Germany (2012-2017), where he examined the determinants and impacts of land-use transformation systems in Indonesia. He also worked as a production and resource economist for CIMMYT in South Asia (2009-2012) and as a Ciriacy-Wantrup post-doctoral fellow at the University of California at Berkeley (2008-2009).
Krishna holds a PhD in agricultural economics (University of Hohenheim), an MPhil in environmental policy (University of Cambridge), and an MSc in agricultural economics (University of Agricultural Sciences Bangalore). His research findings are published in several peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters.