research: Sustainable agrifood systems

African ambassadors to Zimbabwe support improved agriculture technologies

Written by on May 30, 2016. Posted in News.

HARARE — Several African nation ambassadors to Zimbabwe pledged to step up support for improved agriculture technologies during a visit to The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center’s (CIMMYT) Southern Africa Regional Office (CIMMYT-SARO) in Harare, Zimbabwe, in April.

The special field day and meeting, held as part of CIMMYT 50 celebrations, gave ambassadors from 12 African countries (Algeria, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Namibia, Nigeria, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa and Zambia) the opportunity to learn about CIMMYT projects that are helping to strengthen food systems in sub-Saharan Africa and discuss future initiatives.

During the visit, the need to develop policies that promote smallholder farmers’ access to technologies that enable them to increase yields and improve crop resilience in the face of challenges such as droughts, as well as policies to address poverty, food security and economic growth surfaced as main priorities for the countries represented.

African ambassadors learned about CIMMYT-promoted agricultural technologies while visiting the CIMMYT-Southern Africa Regional Office (CIMMYT-SARO) in Harare, Zimbabwe. Photo: Johnson Siamachira/CIMMYT

In his welcome address, Mulugetta Mekuria, CIMMYT-SARO regional representative, pointed out, “Sub-Saharan Africa’s food security faces numerous challenges, but drought is the most devastating because our farmers rely on rainfed agriculture. As you will see, CIMMYT’s work has created high-level impacts. But a host of challenges still hamper socioeconomic growth, such as reduced funding of agricultural research.”

According to Mekuria, CIMMYT’s work in sub-Saharan Africa aims to ensure farmers can access improved maize seed with drought tolerance and other relevant traits that contribute to higher, more stable yields, as well as technologies such as optimal fertilizer application. He noted that farmers in sub-Saharan African countries lag behind other regions in fertilizer application, applying, on average, less than 10 kg per hectare, which is 10 percent of the world average.

Another issue brought up was the lack of funding of agricultural research for development by most bilateral agencies on which African governments depend. The diplomats pledged to advise their governments of the need to increase support for improved agricultural technologies. They agreed that funding agricultural research work in line with the 2006 Abuja Declaration to allocate at least 1 percent of the donor country’s gross domestic product to agricultural research is of the utmost importance. Enhancing access to markets, extension services and inputs and supporting women and youth in agriculture were also identified as fundamental policy issues that need to be urgently addressed. Strong partnerships and collaborative efforts between various African governments, CIMMYT and the private sector were also called for.

The ambassadors were briefed on CIMMYT’s achievements in the region, and how, in partnership with national agricultural research systems and private seed companies, they have released more than 200 drought-tolerant maize varieties that perform significantly better under moderate drought conditions than varieties already on the market, while yielding the same – or better – in a normal season. More than 6 million farmers in sub-Saharan Africa grow improved drought tolerant maize varieties developed by CIMMYT and partners.

A wide range of CIMMYT-SARO technologies were also showcased, including sustainable intensification strategies based on the principles of conservation agriculture. Compared to conventional cropping practices, conservation agriculture increases yields after two to five cropping seasons due to the combined benefits of minimum soil disturbance, crop residue retention and crop rotation. Conservation agriculture has been successfully promoted in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe for the past 10 years. For example, yield increases of 20-60 percent were recorded in trials in farmers’ fields in Malawi, while in Zambia and Zimbabwe, yields increased by almost 60% using animal traction innovation agriculture technologies.

Other technologies demonstrated were pro-vitamin A maize and quality protein maize. The diplomats learned that CIMMYT had released eight pro-vitamin A hybrids with 28% more vitamin A content in Zambia (4), Malawi (3) and Zimbabwe (1). On improved varieties, CIMMYT sent 823 seed shipments (1.3 million envelopes) to 835 institutions worldwide over the last four years.

“The success of our projects goes beyond the breeding work. Through the value chain approach, our work now is to ensure that seed companies and, ultimately, maize farmers benefit from the seed that is developed with their needs in mind. Getting drought-tolerant maize and other improved seeds to the markets and farmers is a critical next step,” said James Gethi, CIMMYT seed systems specialist.

Annual meeting highlights adoption of conservation agriculture in Sichuan, China

Written by on May 24, 2016. Posted in News.

Chaosu explains the operation and results of the Chinese-made Turbo Happy Seeder to an enthusiastic group of researchers and farmers at a conservation agriculture demonstration site near Santai, Mianyang, Sichuan Province. Photo: Jack McHugh/ CIMMYT — Chaosu explains the operation and results of the Chinese-made Turbo Happy Seeder to an enthusiastic group of researchers and farmers at a conservation agriculture demonstration site near Santai, Mianyang, Sichuan Province. Photo: Jack McHugh/CIMMYT

CHENGDU, CHINA – The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), in collaboration with the Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Science (SAAS) is expanding conservation agriculture (CA) practices to promote sustainable intensification (SI) (i.e., agriculture aimed at enhancing the productivity of labor, land and capital) in China’s Sichuan Province.

Sustainable intensification can simultaneously address a number of pressing development objectives, including adapting production systems to climate change, sustainably managing land, soil, nutrient and water resources, improving food and nutrition security and ultimately reducing rural poverty. Zero tillage (ZT) minimizes soil disturbance, provides continual residue soil cover and includes crop rotations, all of which increases soil fertility and water use efficiency and helps cereal farmers sustain their crop yields over the long term.

As part of a joint CA project with CIMMYT, Tang Yonglu, Dean of the Crop Research Institute, SAAS, and his team have promoted sustainable mechanization and residue management, incorporated farmer input and hosted demonstrations in the rainfed regions of Sichuan. As a result, farmers from Mianyang District in Sichuan are now interested in ZT; a plan was thus put in place to build capacity and help farmers plant ZT maize and rice in May and June 2016.

Chaosu inspects an immature ZT wheat field affected by frost. This crop will be followed by ZT mechanically transplanted rice into the standing residue in late May. Previously, rice was manually transplanted by women following conventional inversion tillage. This new planting scheme tested by CIMMYT in north western China will save 1-2 weeks and considerable input costs for the new ZT farmers in south west China. Photo: Jack McHugh/ CIMMYT — Chaosu inspects an immature ZT wheat field affected by frost. This crop will be followed by ZT mechanically transplanted rice into the standing residue in late May. Previously, rice was manually transplanted by women following conventional inversion tillage. This new planting scheme tested by CIMMYT in Northwestern China will save 1-2 weeks and considerable input costs for the new ZT farmers in Southwest China. Photo: Jack McHugh/CIMMYT

At an annual SAAS-CIMMYT meeting, Tang’s team presented their findings on the effect soil compaction and waterlogging have on wheat production. Soil compaction occurs when random wheeling over cropping areas of farm vehicles, such as tractors and harvesters, packs the soil so tightly that soil conditions deteriorate, reducing crop yields. Waterlogging caused by flooding or intense rain on degraded soils also negatively affects yields.

At the meeting, CIMMYT proposed managing soil compaction through controlled traffic farming (CTF), an essential ZT practice that alleviates soil degradation. CTF permanently separates the crop area and the traffic lanes, thereby avoiding vehicle-induced soil compaction and improving and sustaining soil health. SAAS plans on implementing CTF as one tool in its sustainable intensification efforts.

During the two-day event, local researchers presented their academic and work reports and attended a field demonstration on advances in ZT mechanization; technical training sessions for farmers were also held. Other researchers addressed subjects such as soil health, weed control, sustainable techniques for rainfed wheat and mechanization techniques for rainfed maize.

Field demonstrations compared the performance of crops sown using locally produced one-pass planting machines and the Chinese made Turbo Happy Seeder. It was the first time participating researchers and farmers had seen a demonstration of the Happy Seeder. The Chinese seeder minimizes soil disturbance and uses devices that block residue, which makes it very useful for planting irrigated and rainfed crops when high levels of residue are maintained in the fields. For the locally produced machines to operate successfully, they require low levels of residue on the soil surface or that residues be incorporated into the soil.

Differences in planting machinery performance were difficult to discern in the wheat fields, due to yield losses across the region as a result of a very cold period in January. What was apparent was that while all the machines were equally effective in terms of crop establishment, there appeared to be slight differences in water stress in crops sown by the rotary till planter (high soil disturbance) and the non-rotary planter (low soil disturbance). This improvement in crop soil water was not lost on the participants as they strolled through the fields while listening to Li Chaosu, senior researcher at the Crop Research Institute, SAAS, explain the results.

CIMMYT SAAS collaboration is set to expand in the mountainous regions of Sichuan Province later this year, when new farmers come on board to implement ZT rice transplanting. The Green Farming Association, in collaboration with the local Agricultural Mechanization Bureau based in Santai, is also forging ahead with its conservation agriculture plans with CIMMYT’s guidance and support.

CIMMYT delivers technology to public and private partners in Nepal

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

Puniram Chaudhary in Kailali District explains the advantages of growing new lentil variety Black Masuro over the local variety. Photo: Narayan Khanal

KATHMANDU, NEPAL (CIMMYT) – Farmers in Nepal are benefiting from the work done by the Cereal Systems Initiative of South Asia (CSISA) in Nepal, which promotes public-private partnerships with small and medium enterprises in the seed sector to aid sustainable intensification of wheat- and maize-based cropping systems over the past two years.

Representatives of these enterprises have received business mentoring, participated in an exercise on creating business plans, collaborated with Indian seed companies and attended a “theory of change” workshop. Subsequently, two seed companies (GATE Nepal Pvt. Ltd. and Unique Seed Company) requested technical support from CIMMYT to organize field demonstrations of new wheat and lentil varieties for farmers in six strategic districts in the hills and terai (plains) of Nepal. In terai demonstrations were held in Banke, Bardiya, Kailali and Kanchanpur. In hill districts demonstrations were held in Surkhet and Dadeldhura. Altogether, CIMMYT provided support for 60 wheat and lentil field demonstrations during the 2015-2016 winter season in collaboration with national agriculture research system partners.

A team of professionals, which included representatives from District Agriculture Development Offices (DADOs), Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC), CSISA-Nepal, seed companies and the media, attended the demonstrations from 13-17 March 2016. They observed three treatments: a farmers’ variety under farmers’ management; an improved variety under farmers’ management and an improved variety under improved management. The visitors also viewed seed production plots, interacted with farmers about key lessons learned and discussed possible strategies for scaling out wheat and lentil technology through public-private partnerships.

During the visit, it was clear that farmers understood the advantages of growing quality seed of recently released wheat varieties such as Vijay, compared to the local varieties. Some farmers asked for wheat varieties with physical features and cooking qualities similar to those of NL 297, an old variety. At one of the participatory variety selection (PVS) plots, senior wheat breeder Madan Bhatta proposed NARC’s pipeline variety BL4341 as an alternative to NL 297. Milan Paudel, GATE Nepal agriculture officer, became keenly interested in BL4341 and said he would collect seed from the trial plot so his company could multiply it.

Women farmers selected wheat variety Danfe at the PVS trial in Gadhi VDC, Surkhet District. Photo: Narayan Khanal

The team also observed the wheat field of farmer Ram Chandra Yadav, who had planted Vijay on 3 ha using a zero-tillage seed drill. Yadav is also a local service provider of the zero-tillage seed drill promoted by the CSISA project. During the current wheat season, he has provided paid services on 18 hectares (44.5 acres) belonging to other farmers. The team also witnessed the success of new wheat varieties WK 1204, Dhawalagiri and Danphe in the hill district of Surkhet, where farmers planted a significant area with seed saved from their previous harvest.

Lentils were also in focus, most farmers liked the performance of new variety Black Masuro across districts in the terai. Rabendra Sah, senior technical officer of the National Grain Legume Research Program, said that to get higher yields, farmers should sow Black Masuro by 15 October.

DADO officials acknowledged CIMMYT’s contribution to seed system development and mechanization. They proposed an improved model for producing seed of major food crops in public-private partnerships. In this model, seed companies agree to make contractual arrangements with seed producer groups and cooperatives to produce and market truthfully labeled (TL) seed. Once the contract is signed, DADOs will provide source seed to the seed companies at a subsidized rate, and the seed will be multiplied by producer groups and cooperatives. The TL seed thus produced will then be distributed through different food security related projects.

Given that DADOs from Surkhet and Kanchanpur are keen to participate in this model, CIMMYT has agreed to further strengthen such partnership arrangements. There is a growing realization that the CIMMYT can mobilize private seed companies in Nepal to utilize the network of farmer groups and cooperatives to scale out technologies/varieties.

CIMMYT scientist to assume leadership role at the American Society of Agronomy

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

EL BATAN, Mexico – Ivan Ortiz-Monasterio, principal scientist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), was announced as the 2017 Global Agronomy Section Vice Chair of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) on March 29.

CIMMYT Principal Scientist Ivan Oritz-Monasterio Photo courtesy of Ivan Oritz-Monasterio — CIMMYT principal scientist Ivan Ortiz-Monasterio.

The ASA is a scientific society dedicated to promoting the transfer of knowledge and practices to sustain global agronomy. The Global Agronomy Section, one ASA’s eight divisions, deals with international agriculture or agricultural issues outside the United States.

As Section Vice Chair, Ortiz-Monasterio, who works in CIMMYT’s Sustainable Intensification Program, will help Presiding Chair Sjoerd Duiker oversee the coordination of the Global Agronomy Section’s programs and services. The Vice Chair position rotates to Section Chair after the first year of service. Ortiz-Monasterio will also serve as a member of the Nomination Committee for Section Vice Chair and Section Representative to the Board of Directors.

Ortiz-Monasterio said he sees the Vice Chair position as a chance to enhance relations between the CGIAR and the association.

“As Vice Chair and Chair of the Global Agronomy Section of ASA, I hope to bring a closer involvement of the CG with the American Society of Agronomy,” he said.

Ortiz-Monasterio has worked at CIMMYT since 1989, first in the Global Wheat Program and, since 2009, as Principal Scientist with the Sustainable Intensification Program. Over his scientific career he has penned more than 150 publications that include more than 65 articles in international refereed journals, 18 book chapters, as well as numerous abstracts and conference papers.

Bayer collaboration promises new innovations for South Asia farms

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

Farmer Ram Shubagh Chaudhary in his wheat fields, in the village of Pokhar Binda, Maharajganj district, Uttar Pradesh, India. He alternates wheat and rice, and has achieved a bumper wheat crop by retaining crop residues and employing zero tillage. Photo: Petr Kosina / CIMMYT — Farmer Ram Shubagh Chaudhary in his wheat fields, in Uttar Pradesh, India. CIMMYT/Petr Kosina

NEW DELHI (CIMMYT) — Rice-wheat rotation is practiced by farmers on over 13 million hectares of farmland in South Asia, providing the primary source of food security in the region. However, climate change is projected to have a huge impact and reduce agricultural production 10 to 50 percent by 2050. Complex and local impacts from climate change and other challenges require solutions to risks that can be readily-adapted. Representatives from Bayer Crop Science recently visited the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) offices in India to discuss the potential for developing jointly managed sustainable approaches and technologies to address such challenges.

Sustainable intensification, which involves such conservation agriculture practices as minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover and the use of crop rotation to increase profits, protect the environment, maintain and boost yields, is a potential solution that has worked to address the impact of climate change in South Asia. Such practices contribute to improved soil function and quality, which can improve resilience to climate variability.

“Systems research with conservation agriculture practices like direct seeded rice, no-till wheat and recycling crop residues have shown tremendous potential to address the challenges of water and labor scarcity, conserve natural resources and lower the environmental footprint of South Asia’s food bowl,” said M.L. Jat, CIMMYT senior cropping systems agronomist and the South Asia coordinator for the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security, collaboratively managed by the CGIAR consortium of international agricultural researchers.

During the Bayer meeting, challenges and opportunities were identified for direct seeded rice — which requires less labor and tends to mature faster than transplanted crops — and sustainable intensification programs throughout South Asia, particularly in India. Discussions were based on the success of other CIMMYT-Bayer collaborations across South Asia that aim to address agricultural challenges through sustainable intensification — including direct seeded rice — quantifying mitigation potential of conservation agriculture-based management in rice-wheat rotation and smart farm mechanization to make farm management more efficient and productive.

Moving forward, CIMMYT and Bayer will focus on agricultural systems research to ensure even more effective interventions with higher yields, collaborate to develop new sustainable technology and increase uptake throughout the region. Sustainable intensification practices are expected to continue to grow in the region thanks to these and other collaborations, along with the advent of technological advancements and increased adoption.

CIMMYT and Bayer’s Crop Science team are looking for practical solutions to future challenges in South Asian agriculture. Photo: Deepak, CIMMYT — CIMMYT and the Bayer Crop Science team are looking for practical solutions to future challenges in South Asian agriculture. CIMMYT/Deepak

Bayer representatives at the meeting included: Hartmut van Lengerich, head of cereals and fungicides; Juergen Echle, global segment manager of rice herbicides; Christian Zupanc, global segment manager of rice fungicides; Mahesh Girdhar, global crop manager of rice and Rajvir Rathi, vice president of public and government affairs. CIMMYT representatives included: Tek Sapkota, mitigation specialist; Balwinder Singh, crop modeling specialist and Alwin Keil, senior economist.

SIMLESA meeting reveals many successes, gears up for phase II

Written by on April 29, 2016. Posted in News.

Malawian smallholder farmer Dyless Kasawala, of Kasungu District, demonstrating her maize-legume rotations technologies. Through SIMLESA, she has managed to attain household food security in an area plagued by frequent droughts. Photo: Johnson Siamachira/CIMMYT. — Malawian smallholder farmer Dyless Kasawala of Kasungu District demonstrates her maize-legume rotation technologies. Through SIMLESA, she has managed to attain household food security in an area plagued by frequent droughts. CIMMYT/Johnson Siamachira

HARARE, Zimbabwe (CIMMYT) — A recent gathering of more than 60 researchers and representatives of donors, seed companies, national agricultural research systems (NARS), and non-governmental organizations from Africa and Australia, led to strategic discussions about the Sustainable Intensification of Maize and Legume Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) program.

Delegates gathered in Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe, for the sixth SIMLESA annual review and planning meeting to discuss the project’s progress and achievements, share lessons learned over the past six years, and deliberate over potential improvements for implementing activities in the project’s final two years.

“The SIMLESA project has targeted increasing farm-level food security and productivity in the context of climate risk and change,” said Bright Kumwembe, principal secretary of Malawi’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, speaking on behalf of the minister. “The program has become a model to many regional and sub-regional collaborative projects that address agricultural intensification. In this respect, the challenge to NARS lies especially in developing technologies, information and knowledge that sustainably increase agricultural productivity and at the same time reduce down-side risks.”

As part of the meeting, participants visited three farmers in Kasungu District who are involved in on-farm trials assessing conventional farming practices, conservation agriculture with no herbicide application, conservation agriculture using herbicides and conservation agriculture including maize-legume crop rotations. Farmer Dyless Kasawala, was observed to have managed to improve soil fertility in her fields, increase her maize yield and improve food security in her household.

Farmers in the area are engaging in agro-processing activities, such as extracting oil from groundnuts, to add value to their farming enterprises.

Established in 2010 and funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), SIMLESA has as its primary objective to improve food security for 650,000 small farming households by increasing food production and incomes of vulnerable farmers with commercial viability by 2023. Ongoing SIMLESA Phase II activities will conclude in June 2018.

“The Program Steering Committee (PSC) recognizes the hard work of all participants and especially the dedicated scientists in the national programs. SIMLESA is on track to deliver significant impacts in the next two years, “said Eric Craswell, committee co-chair.

Delegates discussed the favorable Mid-Term Review (MTR) conducted last year. “SIMLESA I and II is a complex program with many partner countries, agencies, science disciplines, and objectives. Despite that complexity, the MTR found the program on the whole to be well-managed by CIMMYT, and the NARS partners had a strong sense of ownership of the program. It was very evident that the whole SIMLESA team is determined to meet the objectives of the program, to contribute and to work as a team,” Craswell said.

Mulugetta Mekuria, SIMLESA project leader, highlighted the 2015 MTR recommendations, which indicate that SIMLESA should rebalance plans and activities of all program objectives and various program-wide themes; ensure that the science which underpins the development of sustainable intensification packages and policy dialogue is completed and published in extension reports and peer-reviewed literature; and refocus its monitoring and evaluation processes, communication plans and gender activities.

To achieve these changes, each country and the program as a whole should prepare, within the approved budget, a revised work plan extending to the end of SIMLESA II. The program would then be able to make an informed decision on what to prioritize and what needs to be phased out, Mekuria said.

Participants discussed key issues in phase II, related to MTR recommendations, concluding that the goals should include:

consolidating activities during the 2016-2018 period, with no new activities implemented during the remaining life of the program
documenting scientific outputs for all the research conducted and synthesize the lessons learned
streamlining logframe activities and developing a revised work plan
scaling-out available technologies in collaboration with partners; and
redesigning the project’s livestock component to align it with SIMLESA objectives.

SIMLESA Program Steering Committee co-chair Eric Craswell told participants to refocus their work through scaling up activities. Photo: Johnson Siamachira/CIMMYT. — SIMLESA program steering committee co-chair Eric Craswell told participants to refocus their work through scaling up activities. CIMMYT/Johnson Siamachira

John Dixon, ACIAR principal advisor/research program manager, cropping systems and economics, said the 2015 SIMLESA review had highlighted the commitment to the program by national partners.

“This gives us the opportunity to rebalance plans, focus on areas that can be brought together and synthesize results,” Dixon said. “Now is the time to scale-up by taking our research to farmers through extension, non-governmental organizations and farmers’ associations – moving from doing, to handing over the research.”

Donors push for sustainable agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean

Written by on April 26, 2016. Posted in News.

Intelligent and precise mechanization, presented by Víctor López. Photo: Margaret Zeigle/GHI — Smart, precise mechanization, presented by Víctor López. Photo: Margaret Zeigle/GHI

CALI, Colombia (CIMMYT) — Investment in agricultural research for development provides extraordinary returns and benefits for stakeholders, said the director general of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), expressing support for a new multi-donor funding platform.

AgroLAC 2025, coordinated by the Inter-American Development Bank in partnership with Dow Chemical Company and The Nature Conservancy, aims to stimulate investment in rural areas, encouraging profitable and sustainable agriculture by supporting pilot projects, funding initiatives and technologies that strengthen agricultural research and promote the sustainable agricultural innovation and development agenda of the Latin America-Caribbean (LAC) region. CIMMYT recently joined the initiative.

“With the looming challenge of feeding 9 billion people in 2050, CIMMYT fully supports the clear recommendations put forward by the AgroLAC 2025 Initiative for policies to help Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) sustainably realize the potential of its outstanding natural resources,” said Martin Kropff, CIMMYT director general, in a recent blog post.

“Local governments, development agencies, foundations and higher education and research institutions must invest heavily in agricultural research and development. If they do so, the return on their investment will be profound,” he added. “In Mexico alone, this amounts to a network of over 150 partners, 50 research platforms, 233 demonstration modules and several thousands of extension plots, reaching over 200,000 farmers.”

The application of knowledge and technology at scale has the potential to raise national maize and wheat productivity by 25 percent and 10 percent, respectively, by working with some of the most marginalized farmers in resource-poor areas of Mexico, Kropff wrote.

AgroLac 2025 conference participants in Cali, Colombia. Photo: AgroLAC 2025

With support from Colombia’s Presidential Agency on International Cooperation, AgroLAC 2025 recently hosted its second partnership conference sponsored by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Cali, Colombia.

At the event, CIMMYT’s sustainable intensification for Latin America team led a meeting on “Accessible mechanization for climate-smart agriculture in Latin America.”

Bram Govaerts, strategy lead for Latin America with CIMMYT’s Sustainable Intensification Unit and Víctor López, MasAgro’s manager of institutional relations, described CIMMYT’s experience designing mechanized solutions for conservation agriculture – farming practices that involve minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover and the use of crop rotation to simultaneously maintain and boost yields, increase profits and protect the environment – through the MasAgro (Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture) program and other regional programs.

Read the original AgroLAC 2025 Spanish press release here.

Read CIMMYT Director General Martin Kropff’s blog on AgroLac2025 here.

CIMMYT kicks off 50th anniversary celebrations in southern Africa

Written by on April 26, 2016. Posted in News.

Celebrating “CIMMYT 50” in Harare, Zimbabwe. Photo: Johnson Siamachira/CIMMYT.

HARARE, Zimbabwe (CIMMYT) — Improved maize varieties, crop management practices and sustainable intensification characterize valuable contributions made by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) over the past 50 years, said a Zimbabwe government official at recent anniversary celebrations, calling for renewed investments in agricultural development in the country.

CIMMYT-Southern Africa maize breeder Cosmos Magorokosho, showcasing CIMMYT's work as part of CIMMYT50 commemorations. Photo: Johnson Siamachira/CIMMYT. — CIMMYT-Southern Africa maize breeder Cosmos Magorokosho, showcasing CIMMYT’s work as part of CIMMYT50 commemorations. Photo: Johnson Siamachira/CIMMYT.

Under the theme ‘’turning research into impact,’’ the April 11 celebrations at the CIMMYT-Southern Africa Regional Office in Harare were attended by more than 300 people, including members of CIMMYT’s board of trustees, donors, representatives from non-governmental organizations, research institutions, national agricultural research systems from eastern and southern Africa, the diplomatic community, farmer associations and seed companies.

“I’d like to highlight the long-standing partnership between CIMMYT and its African partners and the efforts being made to sustainably increase the productivity of maize-based systems to ensure food and nutritional security, increase household incomes and reduce poverty in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Joseph Made, Zimbabwe’s Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development, during a speech.

During the “CIMMYT 50” event, the world’s leading research center on maize and wheat showcased its work by conducting an on-station tour, a field trip to observe crop-livestock integration activities and a visit to the maize lethal necrosis quarantine facility being established in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe's Minister of Agriculture, Mechanization and Irrigation Development, addresses the CIMMYT50 commemoration in Harare, Zimbabwe. Photo: Johnson Siamachira/CIMMYT. — Zimbabwe’s Minister of Agriculture, Mechanization and Irrigation Development, addresses the CIMMYT50 commemoration in Harare, Zimbabwe. Photo: Johnson Siamachira/CIMMYT.

Made acknowledged that CIMMYT’s research work has resulted in the development of hundreds of improved maize varieties and crop management practices and more recently, sustainable intensification options that are now spreading through the region.

However, Made also emphasized the need for continued investment “in view of the ever-growing population and the adverse effects of climate change and variability.”

“What is currently happening is that governments are preoccupied with short-term problems at the expense of long-term problems,” said Martin Kropff, CIMMYT’s director general, citing new challenges, such as climate change, that are shifting or shortening growing seasons, resulting in irregular rainfall and weather patterns.

“Such challenges can be overcome partly by giving farmers early warning, especially via mobile phone, of the coming season’s expected weather, and improved seed to withstand drought, heat, floods and short growing seasons,” Kropff said, adding that 40 percent of CIMMYT’s activities take place in Africa.

CIMMYT Director General Martin Kropff celebrating 50 years of CIMMYT at the organization’s Southern Africa Regional Office. Photo: Johnson Siamachira/CIMMYT.

Extensive research activities take place in Harare, other substations and on-farm trials.

From 2007 to 2014, over 200 unique drought-tolerant and nutrient use-efficient maize varieties were released through more than 100 private sector companies in 14 African countries.

In 2014 alone, CIMMYT supported the production of nearly 52,000 tons of certified drought-tolerant maize seed, enough to plant over 2 million hectares (4.9 million acres) and touch the lives of people in approximately 5.2 million households.

CIMMYT continues to make an impact in Africa by building the capacity of national institutions, enterprises, researchers and farmers, and ensuring that gender and culture are integrated in every intervention.

The main “CIMMYT 50” celebratory commemorative event will be held in Mexico City from September 27 to 29 2016.

Severe drought-affected area in Lamego, Mozambique. (Photo: Christian Thierfelder/CIMMYT)

Will El Niño be a wake-up call to invest in food security solutions?

Written by on April 8, 2016. Posted in Blogs.

HARARE (CIMMYT) — In southern Africa close to 50 million people are projected to be affected by droughts caused by the current El Niño, a climate phenomenon that develops in the tropical Pacific Ocean causing extreme weather worldwide — this year, one of the strongest on record. Many of those millions are expected to be on the brink of starvation and dependent on emergency food aid and relief.

However, severe droughts are nothing new to the region. Between 1900 and 2013 droughts have killed close to 1 million people in Africa, with economic damages of about $3 billion affecting over 360 million people. Over the past 50 years, 24 droughts have been caused by El Niño events, according to research by Ilyas Masih. If droughts are so recurrent and known to be a major cause of yield variability and food insecurity in southern Africa, why are we still reacting to this as a one-time emergency instead of a calculated threat?

Unpredictable harvests: Above, yield variability in the world’s top 5 maize producing countries (left) vs. southern Africa (right) Source: FAOSTAT, 2015

Over the past 50 years, donors have focused on the “poorest of the poor” in agriculture – areas where farming is difficult due to low and erratic rainfalls, poor sandy soils and high risk of crop failure. Investments were made in these areas to change farmers’ livelihoods – and yet the numbers of food insecure people are the same or rising in many southern African countries. Once drought hits, most farmers are left with no crops and are forced to sell their available livestock. Due to many farmers flooding the market with poor meat at once, prices for both livestock and meat hit rock bottom. Only when the situation becomes unbearable does the development community act, calling for emergency aid, which kicks in with a stuttering start. Abject poverty and food aid dependency is the inevitable consequence.

A farmer in Zimbabwe explains his challenges with drought and low soil fertility. Photo: Michael Listman — A farmer in Zimbabwe explains his challenges with drought and low soil fertility. CIMMYT/Michael Listman

Short-term relief can help millions of farmer families in this current crisis, and emergency solutions will likely be necessary this year. However, emergency relief is not the solution to saving lives and money in a world where extreme weather events are only going to become more frequent.

We know that the next drought will come within the next two to three years.

Proactive, strategic and sustainable response strategies are needed to increase farming system resilience and reduce dependency on food aid during extreme weather events like El Niño. This starts with improving the capacity of local, regional and national governments to make fully informed decisions on how to prepare for these events. Interventions must reach beyond poor performing areas, but also support higher productivity areas and emerging commercial farmers, who have greater potential to produce enough grain on a national scale to support areas hardest hit by droughts and dry-spells.

Groundnuts in rotation with maize under conservation agriculture can provide food and nutrition despite climate variability in Malawi. Photo: Christian Thierfelder — Groundnuts in rotation with maize under conservation agriculture can provide food and nutrition despite climate variability in Malawi. CIMMYT/Christian Thierfelder

Climate-smart agriculture technologies, drought-tolerant maize, and such techniques as conservation agriculture, agroforestry and improved soil fertility management are approaches to farming that seek to increase food and nutrition security, alleviate poverty, conserve biodiversity and safeguard ecosystem services.

They need to be scaled out to increase resilience to climate variability. This strategy of improved foresight and targeting coupled with adoption of climate-smart agriculture and improved outscaling can lead to increased resilience of smallholder farming systems in southern Africa, reducing year-to-year variability and the need for emergency response.

Learn more about the impacts of El Niño and building resilience in the priority briefing “Combating drought in southern Africa: from relief to resilience” here, and view the special report from FEWS Net illustrating the extent and severity of the 2015-16 drought in southern Africa.

Participatory approaches to gender in agricultural development

Written by on March 8, 2016. Posted in Features. 318 Comments on Participatory approaches to gender in agricultural development

When designing and implementing agricultural development projects, it is difficult to ensure that they are responsive to gender dynamics. For Mulunesh Tsegaye, a gender specialist attached to two projects working on the areas of nutrition and mechanization in Ethiopia, participatory approaches are the best way forward.

“I have lived and worked with communities. If you want to help a community, they know best how to do things for themselves. There are also issues of sustainability when you are not there forever. You need to make communities own what has been done in an effective participatory approach,” she said.

Maize dish prepared with QPM maize with cook Amina Ibrahim at NuME field day, Sayo village, Dano district. Photo: P. Lowe/CIMMYT

Including both men and women

The CIMMYT-led Nutritious Maize for Ethiopia (NuME) project uses demonstrations, field days, cooking demonstrations and messaging to encourage farmers to adopt and use improved quality protein maize (QPM) varieties, bred to contain the essential amino acids lysine and tryptophan that are usually lacking in maize-based diets. The Ethiopian government adopted a plan to plant QPM on 200,000 hectares by 2015-2017.

NuME’s project staff, and donor Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD), are highly committed to gender-based approaches, meaning that Mulunesh’s initial role was to finalize the gender equality strategy and support implementation with partners.

By involving partners in an action planning workshop, Mulunesh helped them to follow a less technical and more gender-aware approach, for example by taking women’s time constraints into account when organizing events.

This involved introducing some challenging ideas. Due to men’s role as breadwinners and decision-makers in Ethiopian society, Mulunesh suggested inviting men to learn about better nutrition in the household in order to avoid perpetuating stereotypes about the gender division of labor.

“For a project to be gender-sensitive, nutrition education should not focus only on women but also on men to be practical. Of course, there were times when the project’s stakeholders resisted some of my ideas. They even questioned me: ‘How can we even ask men farmers to cook?’”

Now, men are always invited to nutrition education events, and are also presented in educational videos as active partners, even if they are not themselves cooking.

“Nutrition is a community and public health issue,” said Mulunesh. “Public involves both men and women, when you go down to the family level you have both husbands and wives. You cannot talk about nutrition separately from decision-making and access to resources.”

Faxuma Adam harvests green maize Sidameika Tura village, Arsi Negele Photo: Peter Lowe/ CIMMYT: Empowering men and women through mechanization

The Farm Power and Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Intensification (FACASI) project is involved in researching new technologies that can be used to mechanize farming at smaller scales. Introducing mechanization will likely alter who performs different tasks or ultimately benefits, meaning that a gender-sensitive approach is crucial.

Again, Mulunesh takes the participation perspective. “One of the issues of introducing mechanization is inclusiveness. You need to include women as co-designers from the beginning so that it will be easier for them to participate in their operation.”

“In general, the farmers tell us that almost every agricultural task involves both men and women. Plowing is mostly done by oxen operated by men, but recently, especially where there are female-headed households, women are plowing and it is becoming more acceptable. There are even recent findings from Southern Ethiopia that women may be considered attractive if they plow!”

Women and men are both involved to some extent with land preparation, planting, weeding, harvesting or helping with threshing. However, women do not just help in farming, they also cook, transport the food long distances for the men working in the farm, and also take care of children and cattle.

A study by the Dutch Royal Tropical Institute, Gender Matters in Farm Power, has already drawn some conclusions about gender relations in farm power that are being used as indicators for the gender performance of the mechanization project.

These indicators are important to track how labor activities change with the introduction of mechanization. “My main concern is that in most cases, when a job traditionally considered the role of women gets mechanized, becomes easier or highly paid, it is immediately taken over by men, which would imply a lot in terms of control over assets and income,” said Mulunesh.

Front row, from left to right: Mulunesh Tsegaye, FACASI gender and agriculture specialist; Katrine Danielsen KIT; Elizabeth Mukewa consultant; Mahlet Mariam, consultant; and David Kahan CIMMYT, business model specialist. Back row, from left to right: Anouka van Eerdewijk KIT; Lone Badstue CIMMYT strategic leader, gender research and mainstreaming; and Frédéric Baudron, FACASI project leader. Credit: Steffen Schulz/CIMMYT

Community conversations

In order to foster social change and identify the needs of women and vulnerable groups, Mulunesh initiated a community conversation program, based on lines first developed by the United Nations Development Programme. Pilots are ongoing in two districts in the south of Ethiopia; a total of four groups are involved, each of which may include 50-70 participants.

“You need to start piece-by-piece, because there are lots of issues around gender stereotypes, culture and religious issues. It is not that men are not willing to participate; rather it is because they are also victims of the socio-cultural system in place.”

When asked about the situation of women in the community, many people claim that things have already changed; discussions and joint decisions are occurring in the household and women are getting empowered in terms of access to resources. Over the coming year, Mulunesh will compare how information diffuses differently in gender-segregated or gender mixed groups.

FACASI is funded by the Australian International Food Security Research Centre, managed by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research and implemented by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).

NuME is funded by DFATD and managed by CIMMYT in collaboration with Ethiopian research institutions, international non-governmental organizations, universities and public and private seed companies in Ethiopia.

Moving beyond agriculture’s gender status quo

Written by on March 8, 2016. Posted in Blogs.

This opinion piece links to a seminar on “Cooperation of CGIARs and academia in sustainable gender + intensification in IAR4D” given at CIMMYT by Margreet van der Burg, Senior University Lecturer/Researcher at Wageningen University, on International Women’s Day, 8 March. Any opinions expressed are her own.

Agricultural change is part of historical change and cannot be separated from social change processes. Therefore, we have to commit to also include women and others who were largely overlooked in agriculture in the past. We cannot live without agricultural produce; we would all die without food. Changes in agriculture will affect us all in various ways and on different scales. It is all our very interest. For research on agricultural innovation this implies in my view that we need to be determined in addressing and carefully integrating human social change processes into it from step one till the very end.

Taking part in processes of change is taking part in development. My take on development is that we commit ourselves to consciously work together towards inclusive development, meaning optimizing opportunities for all while valuing diversity and acknowledging we are all part of these change processes, albeit not from the same social positions. Therefore, to me, development definitely includes the support to increasing opportunities and chances for groups of people who historically have been becoming largely invisible and not heard nor adequately represented.

In most societies, women’s opportunities and chances are more limited than men’s, even where equal rights laws are in place. Deeply rooted mindsets and bodily ingrained routines we have all been learning as young children, make us feel most comfortable when we can operate without having to question them. We often see this around us, especially when confronted with life-changing circumstances, such as sudden poverty, war, migration and climate change. We are poorly prepared to try alternative options, may get worn out and even lose our sense of purpose. It takes a conscious and concerted effort to question and modify those immediate responses.

But we can all learn much more from unfamiliar “others” than we often do now. Praising being outstanding through exclusivity or privilege in opposition to “others” does not support change processes; but sharing and facilitating do. If we all are prepared to see, listen and together investigate how and why “differences” based on gender and other social dimensions work out, we can combine insights and move forward in ways most can profit from. “Deviants,” for instance, can help to point out sharply where societies fail, and can lead to better diagnostics. “Others” who mostly have no vested interest in the status quo, can become important agents of change in processes where a lot of bridging is needed to negotiate change.

In many societies, women are predominantly defined as “others,” as opposed to men. If we support women in voicing their perspectives, this will shed new light on change processes from various angles and scales. Within the large group of women, there are also differences. Some women might be in a better position to act as change agents within the social dynamics at stake. In many societies, young women get exposure to “others” — for instance, through education — and can become change agen

ts if the elder community members and they themselves work on bridging differences in a respectful way. Men can stand up as allies and help bridging differences to their fellows. Integrating these gender — social dynamics of change into international agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D) will be a challenging task in the coming years for not only women’s, but everyone’s benefit. I am very pleased to have and take my share!

MasAgro named a project transforming Mexico by leading university

Written by on February 22, 2016. Posted in News. 1 Comment on MasAgro named a project transforming Mexico by leading university

**MasAgro named a project transforming Mexico. Photographer: MasAgro/CIMMYT**

MONTERREY, Mexico – The Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture (MasAgro) project of Mexico’s Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food, in close collaboration with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), was recognized by Universidad Tecnológico y Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) as being one of “10 projects that are transforming Mexico.”

“This project is transforming Mexico and, four years after its launch, it has benefited more than 200,000 farmers,” said Silverio García Lara, professor at ITESM’s School of Engineering and Science, Monterrey campus. “The project focuses on the base of the productive and economic pyramid,” explained the researcher, who favors “developing cutting-edge technologies to regenerate and renew Mexican farming.”

ITESM is involved in a project focusing on biotechnology for food security that applies cutting-edge technologies to analyze MasAgro’s new maize varieties and ensure they meet the nutrition and processing quality parameters of the Mexican market, explained Natalia Palacios, the person responsible for CIMMYT’s Maize Quality Laboratory, in an information bulletin that was broadcast when the winning project was presented at the 46th Research and Development Congress held on 20-22 January at ITESM’s Student Center, Monterrey campus.

“We are very proud of MasAgro because its results in the lab and especially in farmers’ fields have been widely recognized both nationally and internationally; today ITESM, a research partner that has collaborated with us since the beginning, also recognizes the project,” said Bram Govaerts, Leader of CIMMYT’s Sustainable Intensification Strategy for Latin America.

Among MasAgro’s main achievements, Govaerts highlighted the adoption of sustainable intensification of basic grain production on half a million hectares. He also emphasized the development of 20 high yielding maize hybrids which, combined with MasAgro’s sustainable agronomic practices, have increased rainfed maize farmers’ income by 9-31%. According to Govaerts, 16 precision machines for use in different production situations, from subsistence to intensive or commercial farming, and different postharvest storage solutions are among the technologies that MasAgro offers.

“Our farmers out in the fields are very interested in innovating and obtaining new technologies coming from the labs and from international research institutions such as CIMMYT,” stated García Lara when presenting ITESM’s award for the work done by MasAgro.

NAAS fellow M.L. Jat talks climate change, sustainable agriculture

Written by on February 18, 2016. Posted in Features. 1 Comment on NAAS fellow M.L. Jat talks climate change, sustainable agriculture

M.L. Jat shows resilient cropping system options for eastern Indo-Gangetic plains at BISA farm

CIMMYT Senior Scientist M.L. Jat has received India’s National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) fellowship in Natural Resource Management for his “outstanding contributions in developing and scaling” conservation agriculture-based management technologies for predominant cereal-based cropping systems in South Asia.

M.L.’s research on conservation agriculture (CA) – sustainable and profitable agriculture that improves livelihoods of farmers via minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover, and crop rotations – has guided improvements in soil and environmental health throughout South Asia. His work has led to policy level impacts in implementing CA practices such as precision land leveling, zero tillage, direct seeding, and crop residue management, and he has played a key role in building the capacity of CA stakeholders throughout the region.

Research such as M.L.’s is more important every day, as we learn to do more with less on a planet with finite resources and changing climate. Sustainable innovation, including climate-smart agriculture, is a major theme at the ongoing COP21 climate talks where global leaders are gathered to decide the future of our planet. M.L. tells us below how CA can play a part in climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the future of CA in South Asia.

What are the major threats global climate change poses to South Asian agriculture?

South Asia is one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to climate change. With a growing population of 1.6 billion people, the region hosts 40% of the world’s poor and malnourished on just 2.4% of the world’s land. Agriculture makes up over half of the region’s livelihoods, so warmer winters and extreme, erratic weather events such as droughts and floods have an even greater impact. Higher global temperatures will continue to add extreme pressure to finite land and other natural resources, threatening food security and livelihoods of smallholder farmers and the urban poor.

How does CA mitigate and help farmers adapt to climate change?

In South Asia, climate change is likely to reduce agricultural production 10‐50% by 2050 and beyond, so adaptation measures are needed now. Climate change has complex and local impacts, requiring scalable solutions to likewise be locally-adapted.

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices such as CA not only minimize production costs and inputs, but also help farmers adapt to extreme weather events, reduce temporal variability in productivity, and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, according to numerous data on CA management practices throughout the region.

What future developments are needed to help South Asian farmers adapt to climate change?

Targeting and access to CA sustainable intensification technologies, knowledge, and training – such as precision water and nutrient management or mechanized CA solutions specific to a farmer’s unique landscape – will be critical to cope with emerging risks of climate variability. Participatory and community-based approaches will be critical for scaled impact as well. For example, the climate smart village concept allows rural youth and women to be empowered not only by becoming CA practitioners but also by serving as knowledge providers to the local community, making them important actors in generating employment and scaling CA and other climate-smart practices.

Where do you see your research heading in the next 10-15 years?

Now that there are clear benefits of CA and CSA across a diversity of farms at a regional level, as well as increased awareness by stakeholders of potential challenges of resource degradation and food security in the face of climate change, scaling up CA and CSA interventions will be a priority. For example, the Government of Haryana in India has already initiated a program to introduce CSA in 500 climate smart villages. Thanks to this initiative, CA and CSA will benefit 10 million farms across the region in the next 10-15 years.

Climate-Smart Villages

Climate-Smart Villages are a community-based approach to adaptation and mitigation of climate change for villages in high-risk areas, which will likely suffer most from a changing climate. The project began in 2011 with 15 climate-smart villages in West Africa, East Africa and South Asia, and is expanding to Latin America and Southeast Asia. CIMMYT is leading the CCAFS-CSV project in South Asia.

Will we feed humanity by 2050?

Written by on January 26, 2016. Posted in News.

Bram Govaerts, Leader of CIMMYT's program on Sustainable Intensification in Latin America, speaks at the Oxford Farming Conference. Photo: CIMMYT — Bram Govaerts, Leader of CIMMYT’s program on Sustainable Intensification in Latin America, speaks at the Oxford Farming Conference. Photo: CIMMYT

“Imagine a sports car designed to travel at high speed on paved highways, running on a gravel road. It’s going to break down, isn’t it? The same thing happens when agricultural technologies are applied without using smart agronomy to increase input use efficiency, protect the environment and ensure sustainability,” said Bram Govaerts, Leader of CIMMYT’s program on Sustainable Intensification in Latin America.

Govaerts presented at a keynote speech titled “Ending hunger: Can we achieve humanity’s elusive goal by 2050?” at the Oxford Farming Conference (OFC) of the University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, on 5-7 January. The conference has been held in Oxford for more than 70 years with the aim of contributing to the improvement and welfare of British agriculture. Farmers, researchers, politicians and economists from across the world attend the event. This year, the main theme was “Daring Agriculture,” including such subjects as global agriculture, innovation, sustainable intensification, technology and agribusiness.

As evidenced during the event, there are many challenges in agriculture. We need to produce more food with fewer resources and less environmental impact while reducing world hunger and poverty. In his speech, Govaerts highlighted the main challenges to achieving food security for a world population that is projected to reach nearly ten billion by 2050. These challenges include the growing demand for food, demographic changes and the impacts on agriculture of weather events such as El Niño. Govaerts also mentioned CIMMYT’s efforts aimed at fighting world hunger and how initiatives such as MasAgro are taking science to the farm.

“It was very exciting to talk about the sustainable strategies we’re working on with farmers, technicians, scientists, institutions and partners to be able to produce more with fewer resources and, especially, to produce intelligently by adapting technologies to the needs of farmers, by developing machine prototypes and by using appropriate varieties and post-harvest practices,” said Govaerts.

To see the presentation, click here.

How to work with agricultural innovation systems

Written by on January 26, 2016. Posted in News. 1 Comment on How to work with agricultural innovation systems

Participants of the “Designing projects focusing on agricultural innovation systems” workshop. Photo: CIMMYT

Agricultural innovation systems (AIS) are networks that contribute to creating, disseminating and using scientific and technological knowledge, as well as coordinating and supporting technological processes. However, the way in which farm projects are designed and research processes are organized has hindered the implementation of these systems. In order to establish guidelines for designing these type of initiatives, the CGIAR Research Program on MAIZE and the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) of the Netherlands organized a workshop called “Designing projects focusing on agricultural innovation systems” in Wageningen, the Netherlands, on 11-13 December 2015.

Representatives of the CGIAR, Sustainable Intensification of Maize and Legume Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA), Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), Intensification of Maize-Legume Systems in the Eastern Province of Zambia (SIMLEZA) and CIMMYT’s MasAgro and Buena Milpa projects attended the workshop in order to exchange knowledge on lessons learned from their own experiences implementing AIS.

One of the main activities of the workshop included defining AIS as having a holistic and integrated focus that includes technology, innovation and methodology. Workshop participants indicated that based on the lessons they had learned, each farmer has unique needs and it’s essential to integrate technologies at the farm level.

Another subject discussed at the workshop was the scaling out of knowledge to other locations and at different system levels. Scaling out depends on establishing strong and complementary partnerships, on the interaction of the actors in the system and on organizational and institutional change. In agricultural research, it is important to get out of the lab and into the field to understand the social drivers behind technology uptake, recognize diversities of needs and understand the reasons behind the adoption – or failure to adopt – certain technologies. Participants completed the workshop with an understanding of the complex, multidimensional aspects of AIS.