research: Sustainable agrifood systems

New Publications: Tackling the wheat blast threat in South Asia

Written by Mike Listman on May 31, 2018. Posted in Publications.

This blast-infected wheat spike contains no grain, only chaff. Photo: CIMMYT files.

A spatial mapping and ex ante study regarding the risk and potential spread in South Asia of wheat blast, a mysterious and deadly disease from the Americas that unexpectedly infected wheat in southwestern Bangladesh in 2016, identified 7 million hectares of wheat cropping areas in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan whose agro-climatic conditions resemble those of the Bangladesh outbreak zone.

The study shows that, under a conservative scenario of 5-10% wheat blast production damage in a single season in those areas, wheat grain losses would amount to from 0.89 to 1.77 million tons worth, between $180 and $350 million. This would strain the region’s already fragile food security and forcing up wheat imports and prices, according to Khondoker Abdul Mottaleb, first author of the study.

“Climate change and related changes in weather patterns, together with continuing globalization, expose wheat crops to increased risks from pathogens that are sometimes transported over long distances,” said Mottaleb.

Foresight research at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) has focused on new diseases and pests that have emerged or spread in recent decades, threatening global food safety and security. For wheat these include Ug99 and other new strains of stem rust, the movement of stripe rust into new areas, and the sudden appearance in Bangladesh of wheat blast, which had previously been limited to South America.

“As early as 2011, CIMMYT researchers had warned that wheat blast could spread to new areas, including South Asia,” said Kai Sonder, who manages CIMMYT’s geographic information systems lab and was a co-author on the current study, referring to a 2011 note published by the American Pathological Society. “Now that forecast has come true.”

CIMMYT has played a pivotal role in global efforts to study and control blast, with funding from the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (WHEAT), the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

This has included the release by Bangladesh of the first blast resistant, biofortified wheat variety in 2017, using a CIMMYT wheat line, and numerous training events on blast for South Asia researchers.

Read the full article in PLOS-One: “Threat of wheat blast to South Asia’s food security: An ex-ante analysis” and check out other recent publication by CIMMYT staff below:

Africa’s unfolding economic transformation. 2018. Jayne, T.S., Chamberlin, J., Benfica, R. In: The Journal of Development Studies v. 54, no. 5, p. 777-787.
Agricultural innovation and inclusive value-chain development: a review. 2018. Devaux, A., Torero, M., Donovan, J. A., Horton, D. In: Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies v. 8, no. 1, p. 99-123.
Challenges and prospects of wheat production in Bhutan: a review. 2018. Tshewang, S., Park, R.F., Chauhan, B.S., Joshi, A.K. In: Experimental Agriculture v. 54, no. 3, p. 428.442.
Characterization and mapping of leaf rust resistance in four durum wheat cultivars. 2018. Kthiri, D., Loladze, A., MacLachlan, P. R., N’Diaye, A., Walkowiak, S., Nilsen, K., Dreisigacker, S., Ammar, K., Pozniak, C.J. In: PLoS ONE v. 13, no. 5, art. e0197317.
Fixed versus variable rest period effects on herbage accumulation and canopy structure of grazed ‘Tifton 85’ and ‘Jiggs’ Bermuda grass. 2018. Pedreira, C. G. S., Silva, V. J. da., Guimaraes, M. S., Pequeño, D. N. L., Tonato, F. In: Pesquisa Agropecuaria Brasileira v. 53, no. 1, p. 113-120.
Gestión de la interacción en procesos de innovación rural. 2018. Roldan-Suarez, E., Rendon-Medel, R., Camacho Villa, T.C., Aguilar-Ávila, J. In: Corpoica : Ciencia y Tecnología Agropecuaria v. 19, no. 1, p. 15-28.
Market participation and marketing channel preferences by small scale sorghum farmers in semi-arid Zimbabwe. 2018. Musara, J. P., Musemwa, L., Mutenje, M., Mushunje, A., Pfukwa, C. In: Agrekon v. 57, no. 1, p. 64-77.
The economics behind an ecological crisis: livelihood effects of oil palm expansion in Sumatra, Indonesia. 2018. Kubitza, C., Krishna, V.V., Alamsyah, Z., Qaim, M. In: Human Ecology v. 46, no. 1, p. 107–116.
Understanding the factors that influence household use of clean energy in the Similipal Tiger Reserve, India. 2018. Madhusmita Dash, Behera, B., Rahut, D. B. In: Natural Resources Forum v. 42, no. 1, p. 3-18.

Breaking Ground: Wei Xiong helps farmers and policymakers make better decisions

Written by on May 30, 2018. Posted in Features.

Farmers and agricultural policymakers frequently encounter tough decisions with complex trade-offs. Selecting which crop to plant next season, for example, would be much easier with a crystal ball. Wei Xiong, a senior scientist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), cannot look into the future, but he can remove a lot of the guesswork.

Xiong uses modeling tools to simulate how agricultural systems would respond to different policies, technological innovations and climate change.

“With these simulations, we can show farmers and policymakers different hypothetical outcomes,” said Xiong. “We can help them make better, more informed decisions.”

Xiong and his multi-disciplinary team are interested in looking at new angles of agricultural issues. For one project, Xiong is investigating how climate change could affect global beer prices. He and his team are studying the effects of increasingly frequent extreme weather events, such as drought, on global barley yields and how this could affect beer production and prices.

“We call the project drinking security,” added Xiong.

Xiong is also interested in the impacts of air pollution on agricultural production and livelihoods in India and China.

“We want to know if air pollution affects yields and whether policies to curb air pollution will have any impact on farmer incomes, food prices and international trade,” he said.

Xiong collaborates with a team of Chinese agricultural scientists and local extension officers on a program called Size & Technology Backyard. The program aims to increase farmers’ yields while decreasing agricultural pollution in the water, air and soil. During each growing season, agricultural students stay in villages to conduct surveys and field research with farmers.

“Based on that data, we can create an agricultural modeling system that incorporates everything from the crop physiology side, to the socioeconomic side and human dimension side,” said Xiong. “We can project which farmers are most likely to adopt which specific kinds of technology based on everything from their location to their family structure.”

But in China, Xiong explained, agriculture still falls under government control.

“The government has always decided which crop you should plant, which area you should use and how to use the areas,” said Xiong. “Most of the policies are based on suggestions by experts.”

The team will use their simulation models to recommend policies that benefit farmers and the environment.

Xiong effectively links many silos through his work at CIMMYT, in large part due to his diverse educational background. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in geography at Hubei University, he continued with a master’s degree in meteorology from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) in Beijing. He later went on to earn a doctorate in agronomy from China Agricultural University.

After ten years as a professor at CAAS, Xiong worked at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis where he designed large-scale simulations of crop production and the effects of global policy. In 2014, he collaborated with other researchers on a global agriculture systems modeling project through a position at the University of Florida. Last fall, Xiong joined CIMMYT at its headquarters in El Batán, Mexico, working on sustainable intensification.

Xiong will return to China later this year to help establish a new CIMMYT office in Henan and strengthen CIMMYT’s partnership with Henan Agricultural University. The new location will focus on research and training, and will host two international senior scientists with expertise in remoting sensing, informatics, physiology and crop management.

Tar Spot Complex a potential big black spot on US maize economy

Written by on May 30, 2018. Posted in News.

Figure: Maize-producing counties in the USA that are vulnerable to Tar Spot Complex (TSC) of maize, developed based on climate analogue model analysis procedure matching historic climatic data of 13 counties where TSC has been detected.

A new study shows that nearly 12 million hectares of the maize-growing USA, approximately 33 percent of the entire maize-growing area of the country, might be vulnerable to a disease called Tar Spot Complex (TSC).

Native to Latin America, one of the two major fungal pathogens involved in TSC of maize was detected for the first time in the United States in 2015. In Latin America, TSC can cause up to 50 percent losses in maize yields, but the impact of one fungal pathogen alone on maize yields unknown. There is a hypothetical likelihood that the second fungal pathogen involved in TSC, could migrate to the US. If this happens, the devastating TSC disease in the US could cause significant economic damages.

Even a one percent loss in maize production caused by the disease in this area could lead to a reduction in maize production of 1.5 million metric tons of grain, or approximately $231.6 million in losses. Such production losses would not only affect the $51.5 billion US maize industry, but also the food security in a number of low-income countries that are heavily dependent on maize imports from the US.

The emergence and spread of new crop diseases or new variants of already established diseases around the globe over the last decades have generated serious threats for food safety and security. Therefore, the improvement of crop disease resistance has become one of the key focus topics of research at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).

The intent of this study is to raise public awareness regarding potential TSC outbreaks and to develop strategies and action plans for such scenario.

This study was published by an interdisciplinary team of CIMMYT scientists in the journal of Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change regarding the potential threats of TSC in the US and its global consequences. Within this article, ex-ante impact assessment techniques were combined with climate analogue analysis to identify the maize growing regions that may be vulnerable to potential TSC outbreaks in the USA.

This work was supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Maize (MAIZE).

A Capacity Approach To Climate Change Modeling: Identifying Crop Management Adaptation Options

Written by on May 23, 2018. Posted in News.

Crop growth simulation models coupled with climate model projections are promoted and increasingly used for assessing impacts of climate change on crop yields and for informing crop-level adaptations. However, most reported studies are unclear regarding the choice of the global circulation models (GCMs) for climate projections and the corresponding uncertainty with these type of model simulations.In our study, we investigated to what extent far climate-change modeling can be used for identifying crop management adaptation options to climate change. We focused our analysis on a case study of maize production in southern Africa using the APSIM crop growth model (Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator) and projections from 17 individual climate models for the period 2017-2060 for the contrasting representative concentration pathways 2.6 and 8.5.

Our findings demonstrate that the identification of crop management-level adaptation options based on linked climate-crop simulation modelling is largely hindered by uncertainties in the projections of climate change impacts on crop yields. With uncertainties in future crop yield predictions of around 30 to 40% or more, many potential adaptation options to climate change are not identifiable or testable with crop-climate models.

First, the variation of climate predictions is high. Their accuracy is limited by fundamental, irreducible uncertainties that are the result of structural differences in the GCMs as well as different model parametrization and downscaling approaches. We found that different GCMs gave largely different results, without any clear pattern.

Second, there is also large uncertainty in simulating the responses of crops to changing climate because of the different structures, and input data and parameters of crop models. Besides, crop models often lack key processes (e.g., physiological plant responses to extreme temperatures) related to climate change impacts, as they were not built for this purpose. It is also evident that due to the limited capability of crop models in simulating effects of soil and crop management practices on crop yields, only a limited number of adaptation options could be informed.

A more successful approach for informing adaptation to climate change may be to begin with the decision-making context, assessing the existing capacities and vulnerabilities of farmers and their communities to climate change. This “capacity approach” does not require probability-based estimates of future climate, but rather a range of plausible representations that can help to better understand how the climate-related vulnerabilities can be addressed. Most of the decisions on crop management are made by the farmer in the context of his/her production objectives and farming opportunities and constraints. From there, farming options can be identified and proposed that are feasible and robust over a range of plausible climatic futures, without the need for detailed climate projections.

Furthermore, adaption to climate change is also entwined with socioeconomic drivers, such as globalization, economic and political priorities, and demographics. In fact, complexities in economic and social systems may outweigh climatic uncertainties in determining possible and feasible adaptation options. A general trend observed is that by diversifying their income sources, including off-farm income, farmers become less vulnerable to climate variability and change.

Whilst we argue that results from GCMs cannot be directly used for informing local-scale adaptation options, we do acknowledge that the use of ensembles of both climate and crop models in regionally- and globally-oriented impact studies can provide valuable information that can guide policy decision-making on agricultural adaptation to climate change at national and international scales.

These findings are described in the article entitled Can we use crop modelling for identifying climate change adaptation options? recently published in the journal Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. This work was conducted by Marc Corbeels, David Berre, Leonard Rusinamhodzi and Santiago Lopez-Ridaura from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD).

This blog was originally published on the website Science Trends, find it here.

Breaking Ground: Lorena Gonzalez fast-forwards action on hunger using technology

Written by Matthew O'Leary on May 17, 2018. Posted in Features.

Intrigued by the unique relationship our food crops have to their geographical environment, Lorena Gonzalez dedicated her passion for geomatic technology to collect site-specific farm data that is revolutionizing the way researchers and farmers tackle hunger.

Working with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) as a research assistant, Gonzalez is part of a seismic shift in agriculture, replacing time-consuming manual data collection with technology.

Instead of walking the fields taking measurements by hand, data is collected from a distance through remote sensing. Using cameras on board manned and unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as on ground sensors, Gonzalez gathers information such as plant height, canopy temperature and relative biomass, and evaluates plant health and soil spatial variability in minutes rather than weeks.

Collaborating with farmers and colleagues from maize and wheat breeding programs Gonzalez uses Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to organize and analyze data and patterns related to specific farm locations, making it easier to relate information to growers’ specific needs.

“It is important to make sure that data is properly geo-referenced, this way we know exactly how each crop is impacted by the matrix of factors in its environment,” said Gonzalez. “Collecting crop management and field data such as fertilization rates, irrigations schemes or soil properties provides us with information to understand and improve plant growth.”

The tailored information is used to improve farmers’ decision-making, allowing for more precise agriculture to create sustainable farming systems that produce more food with fewer resources, she said.

Gonzalez’ love for all things data saw her delve into the world of geospatial science studying her bachelor in Geomatics Engineering in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi. Her passion for helping farmers achieve food security led her to apply for a job at CIMMYT. Since working with the Sustainable Intensification Program she has developed skills to collect and visualize agricultural data in meaningful ways to inform different stakeholders.

“Farmers, researchers and politicians can make better decisions when we streamline field data using available technology. The path of data from field to farm decision-makers can be streamlined using the available technology creatively and collaboratively, if we dare to build the appropriate systems.”

A UAV is launched to collect data from a field in CIMMYT’s experiment station in Ciudad Obregón, Mexico. Photo: CIMMYT/ Peter Lowe

With climate change already affecting crop production, GIS becomes an increasingly important tool farmers can use to adapt and maintain crop yields, Gonzalez said. According to PNAS, each degree Celsius increase in global mean temperature is estimated to reduce the average global yields of wheat and maize by up to seven percent. These crops are key to the survival of humanity, providing a major portion of our caloric intake.

Remote sensing and precision agriculture plays a fundamental role in the ongoing challenge to reduce and cope with the effects of climate change and maximize land efficiency. Using quality data presented in useful ways helps farmers improve decision making, she added.

Gonzalez believes providing open access to geospatial decision support tools will allow smallholder famers to gain the information needed to make site-specific decisions on the exact quantity, location and timely application of resources needed to optimize food production.

If the world is to eliminate world hunger and malnutrition by 2030 as set out in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, smallholder farmers – who produce 80 percent of the world’s food – must benefit from access to remote sensing and precision agriculture, she said. Nine out of ten of the world’s 570 million farms are managed by families, making the family farm the predominant form of agriculture, and consequently a potentially crucial agent of change in achieving sustainable food security and in eradicating hunger in the future, according to UN reports.

Currently, Gonzalez is collecting data for an innovative private-public partnership, Mexico COMPASS, to help Mexican smallholder farmers increase wheat and sugar cane production by identifying factors that cause the yield gap between crop potential and actual performance.

The project aims to improve crop productivity and smallholder farmer incomes while facilitating rural community economic development. The data collected by Gonzalez in Mexico’s Yaqui Valley and in the state of Tabasco contributes to a system that combines earth observation satellite data with captured farm data to create a site-specific decision support tool for farmers. The project will help farmers to make better use of natural resources while monitoring crop health.

Improving smallholder farmer capacity and ability to make informed farming decisions is key to ending hunger and improving livelihoods, said Gonzalez.

Gonzalez’s work with CIMMYT’s Sustainable Intensification Program on the Mexico COMPASS project is funded by the UK Space Agency and has as partners: Rezatec, The University of Nottingham, Booker Tate and Colegio de Postgraduados (COLPOS).

Mexico and CIMMYT share a common vision for sustainable food production

Written by Jennifer Johnson on May 9, 2018. Posted in News.

Visiting the CIMMYT germplasm bank. Photo: C.Beaver/CIMMYT.

Mexico’s Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA) is committed to provide Mexican farmers with the best possible seed and technical support, according to Baltazar Hinojosa Ochoa, Mexico’s secretary of agriculture, during his first visit to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) on May 6.

“My career in agriculture goes back 32 years, and I myself am a farmer,” Hinojosa said in his opening address. “With this great opportunity to visit CIMMYT also comes a great commitment to its work—I am here to work by your side, to learn, and to help make sure the projects you are working on become reality and continue the legacy of work you have upheld over many years.”

CIMMYT Director General Martin Kropff discussed CIMMYT’s longstanding partnership with Mexico and SAGARPA, and the Center’s work to help farmers in Mexico and around the world improve their productivity and sustainability. “Mexico is our home, our ally, and the cradle of the green revolution. The technologies and seeds that we develop here in Mexico are used in Africa, Asia, Latin America—practically all over the world,” he said.

Bram Govaerts, the Latin America regional representative at CIMMYT, presented in detail the positive impact that the seeds, technologies and sustainable intensification practices of the MasAgro project, a partnership between CIMMYT and SAGARPA, has had in Mexico.

Tour of CIMMYT campus. Photo: S.Rico, CIMMYT. — Tour of CIMMYT campus. Photo: C.Beaver/CIMMYT.

He cited a study by Mexico’s University of Chapingo that found that extension agents trained in the MasAgro method were 10 times more effective at (reaching) farmers.

Another study found that farmers who implemented MasAgro’s innovative sustainable intensification techniques were able to increase their maize yields under raid-fed agriculture by nearly a ton per hectare in several Mexican states.

The secretary of agriculture expressed particular interest in sustainable intensification practices that prevent soil erosion and promote efficient water use, citing the prime importance of conserving these resources that are crucial to protecting agriculture and food security.

“You have a clear vision of what needs to be done, and we are committed to that vision with you,” Hinojosa said. “We must begin to work today on issues such as water use and soil erosion rather than wait until our resources are already degraded.”

The secretary was then given a tour of CIMMYT’s seed bank, home to the largest collection of maize and wheat genetic diversity in the world, followed by presentations from CIMMYT researchers on their work with maize, wheat and sustainable intensification. Other visitors included Jorge Luis Zertuche, subsecretary of agriculture; Eduardo Mansilla, delegate of SAGARPA in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas; Sergio Martínez, advisor to the secretary of agriculture; as well as members of the CIMMYT management committee and researchers from the MasAgro project.

Participatory experimental field in Beernarayana climate-smart village. (Photo: CIMMYT)

“Layering” climate smart rice-wheat farming practices in India boosts benefits

Written by on May 8, 2018. Posted in News.

Farmers confront a daunting range of options for potentially achieving high crop yields in India’s western Indo-Gangetic Plains, where rice and wheat crops are planted in rotation to meet high demand for dietary food staples.

Since 1965, rotational crop planting has been deployed in the area to intensify production in a limited growing area, initially yielding positive food security results. Over time, agricultural practices have led to troubling consequences for the landscape, leading to unreliable or lower yields for farmers.

Now, new scientific research into “layering” climate smart agriculture techniques shows promise, demonstrating the potential for crop adaptability to climate change. Experiments reveal the possibilities for high productivity, benefits for water and energy supplies resulting in a smaller environmental footprint.

Throughout Southeast Asia, but particularly in the Indo-Gangetic Plains area, natural resources are three to five times more stressed due to agricultural intensification, urbanization, population growth, increasing climate change risks, and land degradation difficulties.

“Land is degraded in the region because over the past 50 years crop production increased quickly leading to inefficient use and mismanagement of resources,” said M.L. Jat, a Principal Scientist with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), who works with a team of scientists on sustainable intensification and climate smart agriculture.

The scientists conducted a study to determine the most effective methods to grow rice and wheat in constrained conditions where horizontal expansion of crop growing areas is no longer a viable option for increasing yields.

Before embarking on their research, scientists were already aware that due to overpopulation, to meet rising food demand in the Indo-Gangetic Plains area, the only option for farmers is to increase yields on land already under agricultural production. Land shortages are exacerbated by reduced availability of water and energy.

By 2050, variability in growing conditions due to climate change is projected to lower crop yields by 10 to 40 percent and total crop failure will become more common.

Additionally, over the same time period, more than half the current wheat growing area in the Indo-Gangetic Plains will likely become unsuitable for production due to heat stress. Over pumping of ground water for rice production is simultaneously depleting the water table.

“Adaptation to climate change is no longer an option, but essential for minimizing crop losses that will occur as a result of the adverse impact of climate change,” Jat said, adding that the key to future food security is to use agricultural technologies that promote sustainable intensification and adapt to emerging climatic variability.

“Farmers face an enormous challenge – to be successful they must now rely on sustainable intensification management practices and adapt to emerging climate variability while playing a role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and sequestering carbon to keep global warming in check,” he said.

The key will be to boost the use climate smart agriculture techniques, which have the potential to address these challenges, maintain environmental equilibrium and produce high crop yields simultaneously.

The strategy opens the door to sustainably increase agricultural productivity and farmer income, adapt to and develop the capacity to resist climate change, and reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions.

After experimental fieldwork, the scientists learned that strategically combining climate smart agricultural technologies already used selectively as a result of years of CIMMYT-designed trials in the region are most likely to lead to high crop yields and food security.

WINNING TECHNIQUES

Their findings are reported in a new research paper published in Agricultural Water Management journal.

Currently, farmers are using such climate smart water and energy saving techniques as direct seeded rice, zero tillage, laser land leveling, alternate wetting and drying, weather forecast based irrigation, precision nutrient management. Other climate smart techniques include retention of crop residues on the fields to store carbon and prevent emissions and unhealthy smog levels that result from residue burning.

“Climate smart agriculture practices in isolation may not fulfill their full potential in adapting to climate risks and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in rice-wheat production systems,” Jat said.

“However, layering of these practices and services in optimal combinations may help to adapt and build resilience under diverse production systems and ecologies to ensure future food security.”

The scientists studied six scenarios in three different climate smart villages in India’s sub-tropical state of Haryana in the Indo-Gangetic Plains.

The first scenario was based solely on observing the normal practices of a farmer, the second and third scenarios were layered with different technologies used for tillage, crop establishment, residue and nutrient management, and designated as “improved farmers’ practices.”

The other three scenarios were based on climate smart agriculture practices combined with the available range of technologies deployed to enhance tillage, crop establishment, laser land leveling; residue, water and nutrient management; improved crop varieties, information and communication technology and crop insurance.

Scientists set out to determine the best combination of practices and found that layering of climate smart agriculture practices improved rice-wheat system productivity from 6 to 19 percent depending on techniques used.

Layering also led to savings of more than 20 percent irrigation water. Global warming potential was reduced by 40 percent.

“The research leaves us feeling optimistic that the work we’ve been conducting throughout South Asia is leading to strong results,” Jat said. “Our aim now is to continue to work through various real life scenarios to see how far we can go in sustainably intensifying the entire region so that food supply can keep apace with population growth under emerging climate change challenges.”

The project was supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (WHEAT) and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).

Q+A with Iván Ortíz-Monasterio on nitrogen application and consequences

Written by on May 7, 2018. Posted in News.

Iván Ortíz-Monasterio, expert on sustainable intensification and wheat crop management at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), recently took part in a study detailing the detriments of excess fertilizer use and the benefits of more precise dosages.

In the following interview, he discusses the overuse of nitrogen fertilizer and related consequences, his experience with farmers, and his outlook for the future. According to Ortíz-Monasterio and study co-authors, research on wheat in the Yaqui Valley, state of Sonora, northwestern Mexico, and home to CIMMYT’s Norman E. Borlaug Experiment Station (CENEB), has direct implications for wheat crop management worldwide.

“The Yaqui Valley is agro-climatically representative of areas where 40 percent of the world’s wheat is grown, including places like the Indo-Gangetic Plains of India and Pakistan, the Nile Delta in Egypt, and the wheat lands of China,” said Ortíz-Monasterio.

Q: A key finding of the new publication was that, after a certain point, applying more nitrogen fertilizer does not increase yields, making excessive applications essentially a drain on farmers’ resources. Why then do farmers continue to apply more fertilizer than the crop needs?

A: Well there is a risk, if you under-apply N fertilizer, your yield goes down. Farmers are afraid that the yield will be lower and that their profit will be lower. The cost of under-applying for them is greater than the cost of over-applying, because they’re not paying all the costs of over applying. Those costs include the environmental impacts associated with greenhouse gas emissions, at a regional scale in the case of the Yaqui Valley because of nitrification of the Sea of Cortez, and at a local level due to contamination of the water table. All these costs are passed on to society. If we passed them on to farmers, then they would be more concerned about over-applying nitrogen fertilizers.

Q: Do you think farmers becoming more concerned is something that could happen?

A: Well there are starting to be more regulations in Europe. In the UK, farmers cannot apply any nitrogen before or at sowing; they can apply fertilizer only once the plant is about 15 centimeters tall. In other parts of Europe, like Germany, farmers cannot apply more than 150 kilograms of nitrogen on wheat, so it’s happening in other parts of the world. The government of Mexico and others are making commitments to reduce nitrous oxide emissions by 20 percent by 2030 and, in the case of agriculture, the main source of nitrous oxide is nitrogen fertilizer. To meet such commitments, governments will have to take policy action so, yes; I think there’s a good chance something will happen.

Q: There are technologies that can help farmers know precisely when to apply fertilizer and how much, for optimal crop yield and nitrogen use. Do many farmers use them? Why or why not?

NDVI map. Photo: CIMMYT. — NDVI (normalized difference vegetative index) map. Photo: CIMMYT archives

A: Something interesting to me is what’s happening right now. For the last 10 years, we’ve been working with Yaqui Valley farmers to test and promote hand-held sensors and hiring farm advisors paid with government money who provide this service free to farmers, and adoption was high. Then the government removed the subsidy, expecting farmers to begin covering the cost, but

farmers didn’t want to pay for it.

Then a company that uses drones approached me and other researchers in the region and requested our help to convert wheat crop sensor data obtained using airborne drones to recommended fertilizer dosages. We agreed and, in their first year of operation, farmers growing wheat on 1,000 hectares paid for this service. I don’t know what it is—maybe seeing a colorful map is more sexy—but farmers seem to be willing to pay if you fly a drone to collect the data instead of having a farm advisor walk over the field. But it’s great! In the past we relied on the government to transfer the technology and now we have this great example of a private-public partnership, where a company is helping to transfer the technology and making a profit, so that will make it sustainable. I’m very excited about that!

Q: Does CIMMYT have a plan to increase adoption of these technologies?

A CIMMYT technician uses a hand-held sensor to measure NDVI (normalized difference vegetative index) in a wheat field at the center's CENEB experiment station near Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, northern Mexico. Photo: CIMMYT. — A CIMMYT technician uses a hand-held sensor to measure NDVI (normalized difference vegetative index) in a wheat field at the center’s CENEB experiment station near Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, northern Mexico. Photo: CIMMYT archives

A: We’re not married to one technology, but need to work with all of them. You know we started with Greekseeker, which is a ground-based sensor, and now we’re also working with drones, with manned airplanes mounted with cameras, and even satellite images. So, there are four different ways to collect the data, and we’ve seen that the Greenseeker results correlate well with all of them, so the technology we developed originally for Greenseeker can be used with all the other platforms.

Q: Are you optimistic that farmers can shift their perceptions in this area and significantly reduce their nitrogen use?

A: I think we’re moving in that direction, but slowly. We need policy help from the government. Officials need to give some type of incentive to farmers to use the technology, because when farmers do something different they see it as a risk. To compensate for that risk, give them a carrot, rather than a stick, and I think that will help us move the technology faster.

Fourth international workshop on farming system design in south Asia

Written by on May 3, 2018. Posted in News.

The fourth international workshop on “Science of Farming Systems: Moving from Prototyping to Model-Based Assessment and Designing of Sustainable and Resilient Farming Systems in South Asia” took place in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India from 19 to 22 March this year. The workshop was jointly organized by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) – Indian Institute of Farming System Research (IIFSR) and was supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat Agri-Food Systems (WHEAT) and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture & Food Security (CCAFS).

Twenty-five participants from 11 research centers across 13 Indian states and Nepal attended the workshop. Workshop objectives included mainstreaming science-based approaches to farming systems analysis and research for development programs in South Asia, as well as overview and training courses on farming systems and technologies, especially focusing on FarmDESIGN, modelling software developed by WUR. A number of talks around FarmDESIGN were given, including hands-on workshops by scientists from CIMMYT and WUR.

Group photo of participants at the fourth international workshop on farming system design in south Asia. Photo: CIMMYT.

South Asian farming systems are characterized by a large diversity of smallholder systems with diversified faming system households. Accordingly, the farming systems research has been central to the south Asian national agriculture research systems. ICAR-IIFSR has developed specific integrated farming systems (IFS) prototypes for different agro-ecological zones of India and implemented them in research stations and rural communities.

The growing complexity of climate, markets and income uncertainties, as well as large age divides within farming households limits the large-scale adoption these prototype farming systems weigh output performance on the one hand and tradeoffs such as income resilience, environmental footprints and markets on the flip-side. Therefore, designing farm systems with effective targeting of climate resilience, profitability and sustainability, requires suitable technologies, practices to understand and capture the diversity of farming systems, their main components, characteristics, interrelationships and flows.

Previous CIMMYT-ICAR-WUR collaborations have explored the use of farm level modeling tools to assess, with multiple criteria, the sustainability of such IFS, identify main trade-offs and synergies and provide guidelines for their improvement. Capacity development of farming system network researchers on the use and application of the FarmDESIGN model has been one important activity in such collaboration. For scaling the outputs of such exercise, the farming systems have to be evaluated in terms of relevant indicators for different farm household types and communities, allowing them to identify main potential leverages and obstacles for adoption of different intervention. In this regard, this workshop is being organized involving key stakeholders.

The workshop objectives were to mainstream science based approaches for farming systems analysis in research for development programs in South Asia; to share results of integrated assessments of farming systems’ performance in a range of agro-ecologies across South Asia and discuss main implications for the re-design of IFS; to select methods for improved prototyping and model-based analysis using on-station data for developing an out-scaling process that is tested in multiple environments for large scale application; to share and solve main technical barriers implementation; to share and discuss other modeling techniques and their potential complementarity; to provide an overview of the application ‘FarmDESIGN,’ which was created by WUR, discuss main issues for further development to cover the needs of South Asian farming systems and further steps for larger implementation; discuss future research activities and collaborations.

Santiago Lopez Rodaura, senior farming systems specialist, CIMMYT and Jeroen Groot, farming systems expert from WUR gave a hands-on session on debugging, analysis visualization and analyzing prototype implementations in FarmDESIGN. AK Prusty, scientist, ICAR-IIFSR and collaborators from WUR, elaborated on-farm diagnosis and analysis in FarmDESIGN. AS Panwar, director, ICAR-IIFSR, led a session with presentations of case studies from peer review articles in diverse ecologies to demonstrate improved efficiency, income and reducing footprints through optimizing resource allocation with science-based approach using FarmDESIGN and other modeling programs using at least 10 prototype farming systems cases.

The workshop concluding with a planning session facilitated by CIMMYT principal scientist ML Jat. Recommendations were made by all the participants and emphasized studies on ongoing interventions looking at 10-15 year scenarios in cropping systems. Participants suggested studying climate prediction data and crop simulations with alternate wet-dry techniques to consider variability in the water table, among a number of other follow-up suggestions.

A “Virtual Task Force” was assigned to organize follow-ups on progress made based on meeting suggestions across locations and present a document to the Prime Minister of India’s office with suggestions for the Government of India’s initiative “Doubling farmer Income by 2022.”

Participants suggested creating a users guide for FarmDESIGN to be circulated to encourage wide-scale adoption, along with a manual for targeting typology interventions.

Panwar said, “seeing the progress across sites, I am convinced with the impact FarmDESIGN model has brought and will continue to with support from CIMMYT and WUR for changing face of cropping systems research”.

The program was able to achieve its target for improved understanding and capacity of key researchers on designing and implementing science based farming systems for improved efficiency and enhanced adoption in smallholder systems of South Asia.

The fourth international workshop on “Science of Farming Systems: Moving from Prototyping to Model-Based Assessment and Designing of Sustainable and Resilient Farming Systems in South Asia” was jointly organized by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) – Indian Institute of Farming System Research (IIFSR) and was supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat Agri-Food Systems (WHEAT) and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture & Food Security (CCAFS).

Precision Nutrient Management: The Future of Nitrogen Use Efficiency

Written by on April 20, 2018. Posted in News.

This March, the Borlaug Institute of South Asia (BISA) held an international workshop on enhancing Nitrogen use efficiency in wheat using the combined approach of breeding and precision agronomy in Ladhowal, Punjab. The objective of this workshop was to train young scientists and students on new opportunities for improving Nitrogen use efficiency in wheat. This initiative is a part of the project supported by the Rothamsted Research, U.K. known as the Indo-U.K. Centre. Eighteen young scientists and post-graduate students from organizations across India and the U.K. attended the event.

The workshop was kicked off by N.S. Bains, director of research, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), who emphasized the need to increase Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in wheat through breeding and agronomic adjustments. The workshop combined lectures and hands-on activities during field visits. In the lectures, participants received a global overview of fertilizer use and strategies for improving NUE in cereals with special reference to wheat. Lecturers used examples from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) germplasm bank to highlight the variability of genetic NUE in wheat, explored modeling approaches for improving NUE and soil-based approaches.

BISA organized field visits to provide a real-life learning platform for participants to see the precision nutrient management techniques used in the research trials. Coordinators provided hands-on training about in field root measurements and other physiological and agronomic traits. Coordinators defined NUE, discussed calculations and explained how root traits can affect Nitrogen use efficiency – extensive root systems allow plants to use Nitrogen more effectively. The group participated in using a handheld GreenSeeker Nitrogen sensor with the help of algorithms to find critical values nitrogen and fertilizer doses.

Concluding the workshop, Rajbir Singh, director, ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute (ATARI) at PAU, Ludhiana said “precision nutrient management is the new and futuristic research in the field of NUE.”

Feedback from participants shows an increased understanding of processes and procedures for improved NUE in wheat, genotype by environment interactions and recent advances in precision nutrient management. The site-specific knowledge and hands-on training supported better understanding on rate and timing effects of Nitrogen in conventionally and fertigation applied fertilizer. The knowledge exchange of experts from multi-disciplinary fields enhanced the understanding of principles of precision nutrient management and provided guidance for organizing the precision nutrition platform.

The Borlaug Institute for South Asia is a non-profit international research institute dedicated to food, nutrition and livelihood security as well as environmental rehabilitation in South Asia, which is home to more than 300 million undernourished people. BISA is a collaborative effort involving the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center and the Indian Council for Agricultural Research. The objective of BISA is to harness the latest technology in agriculture to improve farm productivity and sustainably meet the demands of the future.

Santiago Lopez-Ridaura

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

Santiago Lopez-Ridaura focuses on the quantitative analysis of agricultural systems at the field, farm, landscape and regional level. By developing and applying a suit of quantitative systems analysis approaches, methods and tools, he builds a detailed understanding of the characteristics, dynamics and diversity of farming systems in a given region. Then, through multi-criteria assessments of different cropping and farming systems, he helps target interventions to specific types of farms within certain agro-ecologies.

Lopez-Ridaura works closely with farmers, farmer organizations, national and international non-governmental organizations, and agricultural research and development institutions to help them answer what technological and policy interventions are most appropriate for a given community. This enables organizations to comprehensively understand the main challenges and opportunities of specific technologies, and improve their adoption and adaptation to reach impact at scale.

Natalia Palacios Rojas

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

Natalia Palacios’s main area of work is the development of maize germplasm with high nutritional quality, including high quality protein maize, high zinc and high provitamin A maize, the evaluation of nutritional and processing quality of maize under different production systems and the characterization of maize for end-use quality. She has also recently become involved in the safety of maize kernels by evaluating different strategies for aflatoxin control. Her research also includes the development of food processing methods to increase health and nutrition benefits for consumers.

Palacios has worked as a Quality Specialist at CIMMYT since 2005. She studied Microbiology at Andes University in Bogota, Colombia, and completed her doctoral studies in Plant Biology at the University of East Anglia and the John Innes Centre in Norwich, England. She later completed two postdoctoral placements at the University of Dublin, Ireland, and the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology, Germany.

Christian Thierfelder

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

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

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

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

Vijesh V. Krishna

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

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.

Iván Ortiz-Monasterio

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

Iván Ortiz-Monasterio is an agronomist and principal scientist at CIMMYT. He focuses on plant nutrition and soil fertility as a means to improve nutrient use efficiency in cereal systems through crop management and improvement, with the objective of increasing productivity, nutritional quality and profitability while reducing environmental impact.

His research has involved the development of technologies as well as technology transfer to farmers’ fields, with emphasis on the use of precision agriculture with optical sensors for nutrient diagnosis. He has also works on the application of remote sensing in agriculture.