research: Sustainable agrifood systems

The Borlaug Summit on Wheat for Food Security: 27 March

Written by on March 28, 2014. Posted in News.

By Brenna Goth/CIMMYT

Check out the Storify recap here.

Wheat’s importance in the world was the focus of day three of the Borlaug Summit on Wheat for Food Security. Wheat’s history, production needs and methods of improvement were among the topics of discussion.

CIMMYT receives the World Food Prize’s Norman E. Borlaug medallion. (photo: Brenna Goth)

Wheat has socially evolved from the grain of “civilized people” to a crop for everyone, said food historian Rachel Laudan. Mechanized milling eliminated the need to devote significant time and back-breaking labor grinding wheat and led to consumption of the grain worldwide.

“Wheat has touched every corner of the world,” Laudan said. Today, tortillas, noodles, breads and other regional products are available in nearly every country.

This global dependence on wheat highlights the importance of its nutritional value, according to Wolfgang Pfeiffer, deputy director of operations for HarvestPlus. The organization is working on biofortification, which can pack crops with minerals at no additional cost, he said.

Current efforts focus on zinc-dense wheat, though biofortication in general requires branding, marketing and advocacy. Biofortified crops have been released in 27 countries, and HarvestPlus is working to demonstrate the viability of biofortification as a global solution.

Apart from improving nutrition, increasing wheat yield to meet worldwide demand is a challenge, said Tony Fischer, honorary research fellow for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Australia.

However, new agronomy and tools, untapped wheat genetic diversity, non-conventional breeding and intensification on all fronts could lift yields. Conventional breeding is also helping, Fischer said.

“Even in the toughest environments, science can make progress,” he added.

Factors such as water use and climate change challenge wheat production and present uncertainty, said independent scholar Uma Lele and Graham Farquhar, professor at the Australian National University.

Declining water availability is causing discussions, debates and conflicts worldwide, yet research and development on water management and rainfed agriculture is often ignored. This complacency could lead to sudden food shortages or dramatic rises in prices, Lele said.

“We’ll wake up and say that we should have paid more attention to water,” she added.

Farquhar said farmers have faced challenges presented by climate change before but that water use efficiency for drought tolerance is becoming increasingly important. Some grain-producing areas, including Australia, Central America, Chile, Mexico and southern Africa, are projected to become drier.

Summit sessions emphasized that agricultural research offers tools to help.

The use of wheat’s distant relatives – such as rye and triticum – can help improve salt tolerance, biomass, disease and insect resistance, said Ian King, researcher at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. The university works with a UK consortium to increase the gene pool of wheat and the screening of germplasm produced at Nottingham will take place at CIMMYT.

Additionally, genomic selection and precision phenotyping improve breeding efficiency, said Jesse Poland, assistant professor at Kansas State University.

Bruno Gerard, director of CIMMYT’s Conservation Agriculture Program, explained sustainable intensification and precision agriculture principles. Technological breakthroughs allow for more research that’s better, easier, faster and cheaper.
Not every solution will work in every country. Speakers addressed regional differences with specific presentations on wheat in Mexico, China, India, Central and West Asia and North Africa. After, a panel discussion focused on how private-public partnerships can be used to foster collaboration in addressing these challenges.

A special highlight of the day occurred during the Summit dinner. CIMMYT was honored with the World Food Prize Foundation Norman E. Borlaug Medallion. CIMMYT is the Foundation’s fifth recipient of the medal, which recognizes organizations and heads of state who are not eligible for the World Food Prize but have made outstanding contributions to improving food security and nutrition.

Summit speakers Sir Gordon Conway, Ronnie Coffman, Per Pinstrup-Andersen (2001 World Food Prize Laureate) and Robb Fraley (2013 World Food Prize Laureate) presented the award, along with Julie Borlaug, Dr. Borlaug’s granddaughter. Marianne Bänziger, CIMMYT’s deputy director general for research and partnerships, accepted the medal on CIMMYT’s behalf.

The Summit ends tomorrow with sessions focusing on the future of wheat and food security.

The Borlaug Summit on Wheat for Food Security: 26 March

Written by on March 27, 2014. Posted in News.

By Brenna Goth/CIMMYT

Read the Storify recap here.

Today’s sessions at the Borlaug Summit on Wheat for Food Security recognized Dr. Norman Borlaug’s legacy and the roles of wheat and wheat farmers around the world in the fight for global food security.

Participants packed the auditorium at the Universidad de La Salle Noreste in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, Mexico, for a day focusing on the successes and shortcomings of the Green Revolution and the challenges in producing enough food for today’s world and in the future. Keynote speakers included Sir Gordon Conway, professor at Imperial College London, and Howard G. Buffett, chairman and CEO of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.

Howard G. Buffett answers questions from Sir Gordon Conway about the “Brown Revolution.” (Photo: Brenna Goth)

Speakers addressed past and current successes in agricultural research while stressing that problems persist.

“We live in a world of chronic crises,” Conway said during his talk on lessons learned from the Green Revolution, adding that, oftentimes, when one crisis is solved, another arises.

Not all of the poor benefitted from the Green Revolution; it passed by much of Africa and it led to increased reliance on synthetic fertilizers. At the same time, rising food prices, a need to increase food production, rising meat consumption and stressors including climate change challenge food security.

Sustainable intensification – through ecological and genetic approaches – can help, Conway said, as well as making sure people get the inputs they need.

More than 700 people attended the Borlaug Summit on Wheat for Food Security (Photo: Brenna Goth)

“We’ve got to intensify production,” he said. “We’ve got to get yields up.”

Buffett also stressed sustainability with his call for a “Brown Revolution,” or a focus on saving soil and the world’s ecosystem. Much of his philanthropic work focuses on farming and agriculture.

Farming is the most important profession in the world, Buffett said, yet he has met farmers who cannot feed their families.

“I said ‘This is wrong,’” Buffett commented. “We have to figure out how to do this better.”

He called on world leaders to support agriculture and said he remains a “pessimistic optimist” in facing global challenges.

Participants enjoyed the campus of La Salle University (Photo: Brenna Goth)

Dr. Borlaug took action when witnessing these challenges and didn’t back down to opposition, according to Summit speakers. Several presentations focused on their personal relationships with Dr. Borlaug and the impact he made on wheat research.

M.S. Swaminathan, known as the father of the Green Revolution in India, spoke about Dr. Borlaug’s impact on India through a video message. In another video message, Jeanie Borlaug-Laube, Dr. Borlaug’s daughter, said her father worked for everything he had and would tell young people to continue the fight to feed the world. Wheat breeder Sanjaya Rajaram, who started his career with Dr. Borlaug, recounted early mornings in the field and Dr. Borlaug’s kindness to Mexican staff.

Though Dr. Borlaug focused much of his career on fighting wheat stem rust, new factors threaten wheat production. Hans Braun, director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program, spoke about the need to breed varieties resistant to climate change and revisit triticale, a crop full of potential and Dr. Borlaug’s “unfinished business.”

Scientists today can learn from Dr. Borlaug’s communication skills, said Ronnie Coffman, professor at Cornell University and chair of the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative. Researchers must advocate for biotechnology to fight hunger, he said.

Regarding Dr. Borlaug’s response to opposition to the Green Revolution, Coffman said, “Borlaug did not waver before the naysayers and policymakers. We must draw on his conviction and share it with the world.”

The day ended with policy recommendations and a panel discussion on what Dr. Borlaug might do today. The Summit continues tomorrow with a focus on why wheat matters to the world. Follow @CIMMYT on Twitter from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. MST for live updates.

Climate smart villages: local adaption to promote climate smart agriculture

Written by on March 13, 2014. Posted in News.

By M.L. Jat, Tripti Agarwal, R.S. Dadarwal and Promil Kapur/ CIMMYT and CCAFS

To witness firsthand the mainstreaming of climate-smart agriculture practices and innovative community-based adaptation strategies in India, Alok K. Sikka, deputy director general of the Natural Resource Management Division of the Indian Council of Agriculture Research’s (ICAR) and leader of ICAR’s National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA), visited and interacted with farmers at a climate-smart village (CSV) in Haryana on 11 February.

AK Sikka (center) at Taraori CSV. Photo: Vikas

He was accompanied by D.K. Sharma, director of the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, and P.C. Sharma, one of the Institute’s principal scientists, along with other scientists from ICAR and CIMMYT. Participants agreed that South Asian agriculture needs new technologies, community-based adaptation of relevant practices and the strengthening of local decision-making. The 27 CSVs being piloted in Haryana, India, will disseminate key climate-smart agricultural interventions, focusing on water, energy, carbon nutrient, weather and knowledge implemented through innovative partnerships and farmer cooperatives, according to M.L. Jat, CIMMYT senior cropping system agronomist.

The climate-smart villages are implemented through the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), in close collaboration with NICRA and a range of innovative partnerships. Under CCAFS, CIMMYT in close collaboration with national agriculture research and extension systems, other CGIAR centers, farmer cooperatives, the Haryana Department of Agriculture and policy planners, have piloted several CSVs in Haryana for research and as learning sites. Sustainable intensification and conservation agriculture-based management systems are the key areas in which CIMMYT and these partners work together.

Visitors interacted with farmers and members of farmer cooperatives who are actively disseminating the practices to local communities. The model of innovation platforms for strategic participatory research and learning at CSVs was recognized as an effective method to link science with society. Sikka emphasized that the depleting water table, deteriorating soil health, escalating input costs and weather uncertainties constitute critical concerns and that current production systems are not sustainable.

Discussion regarding damage to conventional tillage based wheat crop due to excess moisture owing to heavy rains and back side a happy wheat crop under CA-Photo RS Dadarwal-CIMMYT. Photo: RS Dadarwal/CIMMYT-Karnal

He cited conservation agriculture-based sustainable intensification, supplemented by more precise use of inputs like fertilizer, as the way to achieve resilience in production and natural resource conservation. Institutions and organizations must work with emerging technologies to address climate change and provide relevant options for farmers. CCAFS and NICRA are good examples of this.

India festival takes technology to farmers

Written by on March 12, 2014. Posted in News.

By Raj Kumar Jat, M.L. Jat, R. Valluru, Raju Singh, Nikhil Singh, Jagman Dhillon and Raj Gupta/CIMMYT

A day-long “FarmFest” hosted by the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) allowed farmers to interact directly with researchers on issues including new planting machines, cultivar choices for early, timely and late planting, weed management options and crop diversification.

During the “Take it to the Farmers – FarmFest” event on 22 February, BISA showcased innovative, farmer-friendly sustainable intensification options. The trials focus on increasing yields using timely planting and increased nutrient inputs; increasing cropping intensity by using short season cultivars, relay and inter-cropping; and mechanization and marketing by substituting highvalue commodities for those that fetch lower prices. Farmers were shown soil conservation measures such as gully plugs, check dams and temporary structures to store rainwater, which reduce negative environmental impact and contribute to natural capital of environmental services.

About 1,500 farmers came from 7 districts to collect information and see the performance of 1,500 bread and durum wheat genotypes grown through new BISA shuttle breeding efforts. The efforts include collaboration among the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI)-New Delhi, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU)- Ludhiana and CIMMYT-Mexico. The Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi VishwaVidyalaya University (JNKVV) agreed to participate next season.

The BISA research farm was established in November 2011 in a cotton production region that suffers from land degradation, large yield gaps and low cropping intensity. The farm’s successful conservation agriculture (CA) platform is attracting the attention of the Madhya Pradesh farmers. Scientists grow rice, wheat, maize, Indian mustard, pigeon pea and soybean without plowing or burning crop residues. Production on the 223-hectare farm is improving every season and costs are going down with the CA practices.

Many visiting farmers said they have watched the BISA farm evolve from their “pasture backyard to a granary.” They now want BISA to train them in CA and help them procure appropriate machinery. Ramlal Vishkarma of Sonpur village, whose son is a temporary worker on the BISA farm, said CA saves him US $26 to 32 per hectare each season in planting costs. He also stated that surface mulching helps conserve soil moisture and control cracks in black soils on his farm. In collaboration with JNKVV, the Directorate of Weed Science Research (DWSR), the State Agriculture Department and the seed company JPCL, BISA is promoting resource-conserving no-till agriculture to avoid residue burning, conserve ground water aquifers and provide “seeds of needs” to resource-poor smallholder farmers.

Participants were addressed by CIMMYT director general Thomas Lumpkin; V.S. Tomar, vice chancellor of JNKVV; S.K. Rao, JNKVV dean of faculty; and B.P. Tripathi, joint director of agriculture for the Government of Madhya Pradesh. Raj Kumar Jat and the BISA team coordinated visits for stakeholders to research and production plots. JNKVV volunteers explained new farm implements while M.L. Jat, Raj Kumar, Ravi Valluru, Raju Singh, Jagman Dhillon, Nikhil Singh and others discussed significant results of their research trials.

Tomar emphasized the need to develop climate-resilient, high-yielding varieties and recommended the promotion of low-cost sustainable intensification practices to improve farmers’ economic conditions. He appreciated the efforts of BISA-CIMMYT in introducing CA-based systems. Lumpkin encouraged farmers to adopt cost-saving technologies that offset ever-increasing input costs and low profits from farm outputs, adding that CA-based management practices buffer the negative effects of climatic extremes. He urged farmers to visit BISA regularly and tell researchers what would directly benefit them. M.L. Jat, CIMMYT senior cropping systems agronomist, facilitated a question-and-answer session between farmers and experts from BISA, DSWR and JNKVV.

Farmers’ feedback will help shape future research priorities at BISA, such as the need to bridge large management yield gaps, mechanization, weed management, soil moisture conservation, improved maize and wheat cultivars, quality seeds and training on new machinery and technologies

Seed systems team strategizes and plans for Africa

Written by on March 10, 2014. Posted in News.

By Florence Sipalla/CIMMYT

The CIMMYT-Africa seed systems team met in Nairobi, Kenya, on 7 February to take stock of progress in 2013, identify challenges and brainstorm on turning those challenges into opportunities. Global Maize Program (GMP) Director B.M. Prasanna and members of the breeding, communications and socioeconomics teams also attended.

Development officer promotes SIMLESA Project

Written by on March 10, 2014. Posted in News.

By Isaiah Nyagumbo/CIMMYT

Starting a personal conservation agriculture plot and providing training via group theater are some of the tactics an extension development officer in Malawi is using to reach farmers.

Fredrerick Lukhere, the local extension development officer for the Mtuthama Extension Planning Area, has led by example as part of the Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Systems in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) project, which is funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. A SIMLESA team visited fields in the Kasungu district on 12 February. The team was led by Isaiah Nyagumbo, SIMLESA Southern Africa objective 2 coordinator, and included Gift Mashango, program manager; Jefias Mataruse, research assistant; Cyprian Mwale, national coordinator; Donwell Kamalongo, national objective 2 coordinator; Keneth Chaula, assistant chief agricultural extension officer; and others from the local district office.

Fredrick Lukhere takes the time to explain maize-soybean rotations to farmers in Kasungu. Photo by Jefias Mataruse

More than 60 farmers, including 42 men and 20 women, participated in the tour. Initiated in 2010, SIMLESA activities in Malawi’s Kasungu District are in their fourth season. The project aims to improve the food security and incomes of 650,000 households in eastern and southern Africa within 10 years. Activities also aim to increase productivity by 30 percent and reduce downside risk by 30 percent through use of improved maize and legume varieties and conservation agriculture-based sustainable intensification technologies.

Lukhere has promoted SIMLESA activities using innovative techniques. He reinforces innovation platforms and partnerships founded on the Area Stakeholder Panel, a local community-based institution. He strengthens partnerships with local NGOs such as CADECOM and Total Land Care, subcontracted by SIMLESA to scale out sustainable intensification technologies. He has single-handedly trained NGO staff on how to set up and implement outscaling activities using SIMLESA’s outscaling model involving maizelegume (soybean) rotations.

Exploratory trials involving maize and soybeans are testimony to Fredrerick Lukhere’s efforts in Kasungu, Malawi. Photo by Isaiah Nyagumbo

Lukhere has also ensured the success of core exploratory trials, which were established in 2010 with six farmers in the area. The trials provide a learning platform and are also a source of research data. To increase farmer confidence in the technologies tested, Lukhere set up his own conservation agriculture plot planted with maize in 2012 and has increased the area to 0.5 hectares. The healthy and well-managed maize crop stands as a testimony to Luhkere’s efforts. He also runs a small drama group that trains farmers on SIMLESA technologies and performs to visitors and farmers during field days.

As a result of Luhkere’s efforts, at least 37 farmers are hosting outscaling trials; 84 follower or volunteer farmers are using these technologies without any support; and another 140 farmers are working through CADECOM in the surrounding extension planning areas. Total LandCare also supports farmers by providing herbicides and loans and hosts SIMLESA trials in neighboring extension planning areas.

Growing more: sustainable intensification in southern Africa

Written by on March 4, 2014. Posted in Features.

By Christian Thierfelder/CIMMYT

The “double-up legume system” improves food security in Malawi by increasing yield and farmers’ incomes. Photos: Christian Thierfelder

Gently undulating plains and green maize fields dominate the landscape of central Malawi as far as the eye can see. The ridges, furrows and bare soil in between, resulting from traditional land preparation, are common. Heavy rainfalls and accelerated soil erosion turn the Chia Lagoon, connected to Lake Malawi, brown and murky. The continued loss of soil fertility and the need to adapt to climate variability led CIMMYT and its partners to introduce conservation agriculture (CA) in Malawi in 2005.

The Nkhotakota district, where conservation agriculture systems have been widely adopted, shows changes in the landscape, such as residue-covered soil surfaces along the roadsides. Farmers are embracing the new CA concepts and are successfully growing maize directly planted with a pointed stick. CIMMYT and partner organizations including Total LandCare and the Ministry of Agriculture, funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development, support these efforts. The impacts of CA in Malawi are obvious. More than 30,000 farmers in the central part of the country have been informed about the practices and now use them on their own fields, which is a direct result of CIMMYT science and the concerted efforts of private, governmental extension and national research organizations.

Farmer Christopher Helima shows a new drought-tolerant maize variety grown using conservation agriculture.

Farmer Belemoti Sikelo, from the Mwansambo Extension Planning Area, has participated in the program for more than eight years. “I used to be a farmer that always ran out of maize grain in February or March and had to work for other farmers in the area to enable my family and me to survive,” Sikelo said. “Since I started using conservation agriculture practices, we have always had enough food during the critical months. I have expanded the land area under conservation agriculture on my farm and I have also tried conservation agriculture without expensive herbicides; I believe it is possible to apply conservation agriculture techniques without chemical weed control, but it needs good management and residue cover to reduce the weed pressure. Farmers around me come and visit my demonstration plots and ask me about my secrets for a good-looking maize crop. They admire the fields where I have planted groundnuts and maize under conservation agriculture.”

Disease pressure on traditionally monocropped maize has forced farmers to rotate maize with cowpeas, groundnuts and pigeonpea. Through diversified crop rotations, they have managed to control the parasitic weed striga (Striga asiatica L.), fungal diseases and damage from white grubs, the larvae of the black maize beetle (Phyllophaga ssp. and Heteronychus spp.). As an added advantage, they have improved family nutrition and have surplus produce to sell in local markets.

A team of researchers from Brazil, Malawi, Mexico and Zimbabwe visited longterm on-station and on-farm CA trials and demonstrations in central Malawi during 4-8 February to monitor progress and impact, in their quest to sustainably intensify smallholder farming systems.

The use of conservation agriculture multiplies these benefits. Legumes such as groundnuts, cowpeas and soybeans can be grown on flat soil with half the row spacing, which is not possible under the conventional ridge and furrow system. The increased plant population has more than doubled grain yield, provides better ground cover and reduces soil erosion. The need to grow more food on the same land area has spurred innovation. To increase legume production, farmers have started to adopt the “double-up legume system.” Growing legumes with different growth habits side-byside – for example pigeon pea with cowpea or groundnuts – increases farmers’ yields and incomes even more, while also improving food security.

Lastly, drought-tolerant maize varieties provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-funded Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project were recently introduced and are being tested under different crop management systems. With the new stress-tolerant maize cultivars, farmers can now overcome seasonal dry spells and to grow longer season varieties. The risk of crop failure is reduced under conservation agriculture due to better moisture retention on residue-covered fields. This important benefit will be key in the coming years, as temperatures will likely increase and rainfalls become more erratic.

Remote sensing prepares for liftoff

Written by on January 31, 2014. Posted in News.

By Sam Storr/CIMMYT

Remote sensing experts, breeders, agronomists and policymakers discussed turning their research and experiences into tools to benefit farmers and increase food production while safeguarding the environment during CIMMYT’s workshop “Remote Sensing: Beyond Images” from 14-15 December 2013.

The "Sky Walker” advances phenotyping in Zimbabwe. Photo: J.L. Araus, University of Barcelona/CIMMYT — The “Sky Walker” advances phenotyping in Zimbabwe. Photo: J.L. Araus, University of Barcelona/CIMMYT

The event was sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the Mexican Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA) and the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture (MasAgro) as well as the CGIAR Research Program on Maize and the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA).

Remote sensing devices make it possible to observe the dynamics of anything from single plants up to entire landscapes and continents as they change over time by capturing radiation from across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. For example, images taken by cameras in the thermal-to-visible end of the spectrum can reveal a broad range of plant characteristics, such as biomass, water use and photosynthesis efficiency, disease spread and nutrient content. Radar or light radar (LiDAR) imaging can be used to create detailed imaging of plant physical structure from the canopy down to the roots. When mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), these sensors can rapidly survey much greater areas of land than is possible from the ground, particularly in inaccessible areas. It is hoped that such research will complement highthroughput phenotyping, opening the way for plant breeders to design larger and more efficient crop improvement experiments.

For agronomy research, remote sensing can provide new information about weather, crop performance, resource use and the improved genetic traits sought by crop breeders. It may also help global agriculture meet the challenge of achieving more with fewer resources and include more farmers in innovation. If methods can be found to share and connect this data, farmers will also benefit from greater transparency and more informed policymaking.

Opening the workshop, Thomas Lumpkin, CIMMYT director general, reminded participants of the urgency of meeting the growing demand for staple crops while overcoming crop diseases, resource scarcity and climate change-induced stresses. The advance of technologies and data processing tools allows researchers to see the potential contribution of remote sensing. “For thirty years, the remote sensing community has been on the cusp of doing something wonderful, and now we believe it can,” said Stanley Wood, senior program officer for BMGF. “What excites us is the amount of energy and enthusiasm and the knowledge that their work is important.” Several presentations showcased how remote sensing can be used to benefit smallholder farmers. For example, the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project is looking at using rainfall data to target its interventions for the greatest impact.

Bruno Gérard, director of CIMMYT’s Conservation Agriculture Program, spoke about the challenges of CIMMYT’s work in helping smallholder farmers to practice “more precise agriculture.” The spread of mobile phones and information and communications technologies (ICTs) in the developing world shows the potential for CIMMYT to bring recommendations derived from remote sensing to farmers and allows them to provide their own input. The workshop ended with a panel discussion on how to develop remote sensing services that will be adopted by intended users. Participants expect the workshop and similar activities will provide the strategic direction to drive a new generation of remote sensing applications that can bring real benefits to farmers.

For more information on the program, abstracts, participants and presentations, visit the MAIZE website.

Australian ambassador visits program in Ethiopia

Written by on December 10, 2013. Posted in News.

By Dagne Wegary/CIMMYT

The Australian Ambassador to Ethiopia paid her first visit to a CIMMYT program this month and commended efforts to improve livelihoods in resource-poor rural households.

On her 7 November visit, Ambassador Lisa Filipetto learned about activities under the Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) program, which have been implemented in different parts of Ethiopia since 2010. She visited SIMLESA sites in northwest Ethiopia, where work is conducted by the Amhara Regional Agricultural Research Institute (ARARI). Maize-based farming in the region is characterized by unsustainable production systems, including monocropping, repeated tillage and residue removal. SIMLESA promotes new crop varieties and production practices such as intercropping, maize-legume rotations, reduced tillage and year-round residue coverage. Farmers who have traditionally monocropped maize appreciate the new practices, which help them increase harvests while replenishing soil fertility.

Australian-Ambassador-to-Ethiopia-briefed-on-the-peformances-of-SIMLESA-activties

Filipetto was accompanied by scientists from CIMMYT-Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), SIMLESA partners. Dr. Biru Yitaferu, director general of ARARI, and Likawent Yeheyis, director of livestock research for ARARI, welcomed the visiting team. Yitaferu highlighted ARARI’s managerial structure, mandates, missions and resource capacities while Yiheyis presented an overview of SIMLESA work in the region.

Presentations showcased the program’s extensive research and development activities including conservation agriculture-based exploratory trials; farmer participatory variety selection (PVS) for maize, grain legumes and forage and fodder varieties; and technology implementation in South Achefer and Jabitenan districts, which is aided by ARARI researchers and district agricultural offices.
Ambassador-Lisa-Filipetto-and-SIMLESA

Filipetto visited a SIMLESA site hub in South Achefer and saw activities of the Abchikli Farmers’ Training Center on conservation agriculture-based intercropping, as well as PVS trials with hybrid and open-pollinated maize and varieties of sweet lupine – a multi-purpose legume crop traditional in Ethiopia. Four of the sweet lupine varieties in the trials are under the final stage of evaluation for future commercial release. Yeheyis said Amhara’s agriculture bureau will include conservation agriculture, maize-legume intercropping and maize-fodder/forage relay cropping in its regular extension program. This will contribute significantly to adoption of the technologies by a wider range of farming communities in the region, according to Yeheyis.

At the end of her visit, Filipetto expressed great interest in partnering with CIMMYT to improve livelihoods in the region. SIMLESA in Ethiopia is funded by Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).

SIMLESA-supported innovation platforms inspire Kenya’s farmers

Written by on November 29, 2013. Posted in News.

By Michael Arunga/CIMMYT

Farmers in Siaya and Bungoma counties of western Kenya, a region with low agricultural productivity, are embracing good agricultural practices and increasing their harvests through innovation platforms established as part of the Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) project, in collaboration with the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI).

Members of Boro Farmers Innovation Platform attend a SIMLESA meeting.

This was evident during 7-8 October when a team of scientists from CIMMYT, KARI, SIMLESA and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) visited farmers in both counties who are members of the Boro and Bungoma South farmer innovation platforms. During the visit, farmers described how they had adopted conservation agriculture and intercropping and switched to using herbicides to control weeds.
Ferdinand Makhanu, one of several farmers visited in the Bumula region, said that information from SIMLESA’s innovation platforms has helped him improve his seed and farming technologies. “I initially harvested 10 bags of maize, which increased to 15,” he said. “I attribute this yield increase to utilizing the rich information I got during innovation platform meetings.” Makhanu’s farm is only about half a hectare, so the yield increase he describes — 450 kilograms (each bag of maize weighs about 90 kilograms) — is significant. He stated he now has better harvests, a greater variety of food crops on his farm and healthier cattle, enabling him to provide for the basic needs of his seven children.

About 200 kilometers away, in Siaya County, Julius Ong’ayi from the Ng’ombe Sifa Self Help Group also praised the innovation platforms. “I learned about conservation agriculture, which has improved my soil’s fertility,” he said. Ong’ayi said the greatest challenge faced by area farmers is adapting to new farming methods. “Many farmers stubbornly stick to traditional seeds, when innovation platforms provide modern solutions that improve yields,” he told the visiting SIMLESA team.

Julius Ong’ayi of Boro Farmers Innovation Platform in Siaya county, Kenya, tends to legumes on his farm. Photos: Michael Arunga

An Operational Field Guide for Developing and Managing Local Agricultural Innovation Platforms, produced by KARI with funding from AusAID through the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), which also funds SIMLESA, defines an innovation platform as a forum to foster interaction among a group of relevant stakeholders around a shared interest. Innovation platforms offer opportunities or practical solutions at the local level, linking farmers to markets and other stakeholders, and provide evidence for realistic policies and policy areas at the regional and national levels, according to Mulugetta Mekuria, CIMMYT socioeconomist and SIMLESA coordinator.

Mekuria urged farmers to try new maize varieties, including drought-tolerant ones developed in collaboration with CIMMYT and released by KARI. “We know farmers want to use the varieties they know and have used for many years,” Mekuria said. “However, we have farm-level evidence that the new varieties grown under conservation agriculture-based sustainable intensification practices contribute to increased yield, reduce production costs and improve soil fertility over time.”

Silo project celebrates successful first year, calls for policy reforms

Written by on November 8, 2013. Posted in News.

By Wandera Ojanji/CIMMYT

The wide adoption of metal silos for grain storage by smallholder farmers in eastern and southern Africa requires the identification of policy gaps, incentives and disincentives and institutional partnerships, according to CIMMYT policy economist Jones Govereh.

Metal silos are effective long-term storage facilities, protecting grain from pests such as grain borers and maize weevils. While lauding the decision of some governments to reduce the corporate tax on farming from 30 percent to 25 percent in 2010, Govereh called on them to include galvanized metal sheets imported solely for grain storage silos under the tax exemptions in place for other agricultural imports. “Farmers are not going to realize the benefits of storage investments without proper policies in place,” Govereh said. “Governments in the region need marketing and storage policies that support a liberalized marketing environment and avoid a maize marketing monopoly, which distorts investments in storage technologies. We also need policies that facilitate better coordination of public-private operations to avoid overlaps and conflicts.”

Govereh spoke during the regional annual review and planning meeting of the Effective Grain Storage for Sustainable Livelihoods of African Farmers (EGSP) Phase-II Project held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 20-21 August. Building on the successes of the previous phase (2008-2011), EGSP-II (2012-2016) is improving food security and reducing the vulnerability of resourcepoor farmers – particularly women farmers – in eastern and southern Africa through the dissemination of metal silos. The project is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The annual review had three main objectives: to evaluate progress, achievements and challenges; to exchange ideas, information and research outputs among CIMMYT, SDC and other key partners; and to plan for the future.

The meeting was attended by implementing partners in Kenya, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, CIMMYT project staff and SDC representatives. The meeting allowed participants to share ideas and information on implementation, raise awareness on promotion and dissemination of effective grain storage technologies and consult stakeholders on effective post-harvest technologies, policy environment and market issues. The project also held exchange visits to Kenya and Malawi for key partners. Participants shared experiences on project implementation, learned about the project’s impact on smallholder farmers’ livelihoods and discussed challenges. Tadele Tefera, CIMMYT entomologist and project coordinator, praised national teams and partners for achieving research and dissemination targets for the year.

Hugo De Groote, CIMMYT economist, said metal silos have a major impact on farmers’ livelihoods. Those who have not adopted the technology sell most of their maize at harvest (when prices are at their lowest because the supply is at its peak) while adopters sell much of their grain in the fifth month at higher prices, he said. Adopters stored their maize for two months longer than non-adopters and were food secure for one month longer. Vongai Kandiwa, CIMMYT gender and development specialist, noted the importance of mainstreaming gender in the project to minimize the risk of creating, maintaining or exacerbating gender gaps.

Stakeholders also reported several challenges, including an inadequate number of skilled and competent artisans with entrepreneurship skills; lack of fabrication materials; expensive materials; low awareness and knowledge of the technology; and inadequate extension services.To overcome these challenges, stakeholders agreed to boost awareness through promotional events, engage in capacity building of collaborators and strengthen the artisan network. Olaf Erenstein, director of CIMMYT’s Socioeconomics Program, thanked the implementing partners and other stakeholders for their dedication and commitment and SDC for its continued support.

Course teaches farming system analysis

Written by on November 1, 2013. Posted in News.

By Frédéric Baudron /CIMMYT

An international group of Ph.D. students was trained on farming systems and rural livelihoods during a course this month in Ethiopia. CIMMYT, Hawassa University and Wageningen University organized “Farming System and Rural Livelihoods: Adaptation and Vulnerability” from 6-18 October.

Twenty-five Ph.D. students from 17 countries – including Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, the Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, Portugal, Rwanda, South Africa, Sweden, Uganda, the United States and Zimbabwe – participated. CIMMYT Ph.D. students Yodit Kebede, Tesfaye Shiferaw and Alain Ndoli also attended the course. The course provided participants with the theory behind farming systems analysis; participatory methods to characterize farming systems; practical use of the sustainable rural livelihood framework; methods of farm-scale yield gap analysis; and methods for scenario analysis and optimization. The four study sites were targets of the Sustainable Intensification for Maize-Legume systems in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) project in southern Ethiopia. Frédéric Baudron from CIMMYT Ethiopia was one of the course supervisors. He co-organized field activities, assisted students with group assignments and gave a lecture titled “Farming System (Re)Design and Scenario Development.”

Female-friendly seeder to boost conservation agriculture in Africa

Written by on October 31, 2013. Posted in News.

By Frédéric Baudron/CIMMYT

A lightweight seeder designed for conservation agriculture could help households headed by women in eastern and southern Africa to adopt the technology. CIMMYT’s Farm Mechanization and Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Intensification (FACASI) project is addressing declining farm power by delivering small mechanization to farmers. Femalerun households are particularly labor-constrained. They often don’t own or are not permitted to use draft animals and are among the last to access land preparation services, which severely affects yield.

FACASI imported several female-friendly seeders designed by John Morrison, a consultant and adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee. Unlike other commercially available machines, which are bulky, heavy and challenging for women to use, Morrison’s development is a light, singlerow seeder specially designed for operation in non-plowed fields. The seeder is equipped with a residue rake to clear crop residue from the path, a rolling coulter blade to cut any remaining residues in the path, a furrow-opener shank to open a soil slot for seeds and fertilizer and a pressing wheel to help the operator press the soil slot closed.

The seeder performed well during its pre-test last month in Njoro, Kenya, by women, FACASI scientists and John Morisson himself, and later at a demonstration to the CIMMYT Board of Trustees. Thorough field testing will take place next November in Kenya and Tanzania. A business model will also be developed to guarantee access to the technology for women farmers. The proportion of women-headed households is particularly high in eastern and southern Africa (23 percent in Ethiopia, 32 percent in Kenya and 38 percent in Zimbabwe), according to the World Bank. Increasing the power available to these households – through small mechanization and promoting power-saving technology such as conservation agriculture – is one way to close the gender gap.

CIMMYT leadership pays Kenyan Deputy President a courtesy call

Written by on October 23, 2013. Posted in News.

By Florence Sipalla/CIMMYT

Photo: Dominic Odhiambo, Kenya Deputy President’s office.

Members of the executive committee of CIMMYT’s Board of Trustees and Management Committee, along with the director of the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), met with Kenya’s Deputy President Honorable William Ruto at his office on 27 September in Nairobi.

Ruto was briefed on CIMMYT’s work in Kenya, which is geared toward enhancing food security and livelihoods, especially for smallholder farmers. Policy issues such as the importance of wheat as a strategic crop for Africa and transgenic research were also discussed during the meeting. Board Chair Andrew Barr was accompanied by Director General Thomas Lumpkin and board members Tom McKay, John Snape and Salvador Fernandez Riviera. Prasanna Boduppalli, the Nairobi-based director of the CIMMYT Global Maize Program Director; Hans-Joachim Braun, director of the Global Wheat Program; Ephraim Mukisira, director of KARI; and Wilfred Mwangi, regional liaison officer, also participated in the meeting.

In close collaboration with KARI, CIMMYT has worked in Kenya for almost 40 years, contributing to research on maize, wheat, conservation agriculture and socioeconomics in addition to building the capacity of local scientists in different fields. The role of the newly-inaugurated CIMMYT-KARI Maize Doubled Haploid Facility and the Maize Lethal Necrosis Screening Facility in responding to the challenges posed by the maize disease was also highlighted at the meeting. The Kenyan government was represented at the event by Sicily Kariuki, the principal secretary for the State Department of Agriculture in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, and James Nyoro, senior advisor on food security to the Presidency.

Agriculture is the backbone of Kenya’s economy and the CIMMYT-KARI collaboration contributes significantly to more productive agriculture. The government has also demonstrated support for CIMMYT work by donating land for research activities and participating in CIMMYT events, such as this year’s Board of Trustees meeting in Nairobi, which was opened by Felix Koskei, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries. CIMMYT Director General Thomas Lumpkin displays an agreement between CIMMYT and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) regarding office space at its headquarters in Nairobi. Lumpkin was accompanied by CIMMYT Regional Liaison Officer Wilfred Mwangi (left) and ICRAF Director of Finance and Operations Laksiri Abeysekera.

Goodbye and good luck to Bekele Shiferaw

Written by on October 23, 2013. Posted in News.

By Florence Sipalla/CIMMYT

Bekele-Shiferaw CIMMYT bid farewell to Bekele Shiferaw, former director and principal scientist of the Socioeconomics Program, at a luncheon hosted in his honor in Nairobi on 1 October. Staff members paid tribute to Shiferaw’s work, highlighting the global growth and expansion of the program under his leadership from 2009 to 2013.

He also received a plaque from CIMMYT acknowledging his valuable role in the organization. Signed by Andrew Barr, chair of the Board of Trustees, and Director General Thomas Lumpkin, the plaque read in part: “For your enormous contribution to rebuilding the Socioeconomics Program, guiding and managing a phase of substantial and rapid growth, shaping the MAIZE and WHEAT CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs) … and studying and championing the potential of wheat in Africa and its formal recognition as a strategic crop for that region. These and your other contributions to CIMMYT’s mission will always be remembered.”

Shiferaw is a supervisor who “helps you know how far you can stretch,” said Joyce Kiplimo, an administrator who worked closely with him. Other attendees thanked him for his work with the program. “Bekele will be remembered for the quality staff in the program and for his effort to expand projects across regions,” said Wilfred Mwangi, the regional liaison officer. Olaf Erenstein, the new program director, acknowledged Shiferaw’s role in establishing a team with diversity in its disciplinary expertise. “Thank you for all your time and efforts in getting us where we are,” Erenstein said.

Shiferaw thanked CIMMYT staff members, especially those in the Socioeconomics Program, who worked with and supported him in developing strategies, attracting resources and recruiting staff to rebuild the program. He also thanked the program directors for their support, which enabled him to grow the program and strengthen ties invaluable for conducting multidisciplinary research in all regions. “We have strengthened ties with all the programs and launched large projects on Sustainable Intensification, Adoption Pathways, Postharvest Management, Climate Change and Food Security (CCAFS), Global Futures and Policy, Institutions and Markets (CRP2),” Shiferaw said. “We managed to raise the profile of wheat in Africa by engaging policy makers,” he added, referring to the Wheat in Africa conference that resulted in the inclusion of wheat as a major strategic crop for Africa.

Shiferaw said he looks forward to future collaboration in his new role as executive director of the Partnership for Economic Policy, an international organization that links a global network of institutions, researchers and experts to enhance capacity in economic and development policy analysis in developing countries.