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research: Sustainable agrifood systems

Conservation agriculture trials impress in southern Ethiopia

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In Hawassa region, southern Ethiopia, maize yields have been steadily declining. The deep-rooted agricultural practices of low farm input application and removal of crop residues to feed livestock have damaged the land: soil is eroded, nutrients and organic matter are depleted.

But change is afoot. In Ethiopia, the Sustainable intensification of maize-legume cropping systems for food security in eastern and southern Africa (SIMLESA) initiative is being implemented by the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) and the Southern Agricultural Research Institute (SARI), with technical support from CIMMYT and financial assistance from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). Last year, SIMLESA conducted on-farm trials using conservation agriculture (CA) techniques: minimum tillage, crop residue management, intercropping/crop rotation (with maize and haricot beans) and participatory variety selection trials.

One of the farmers taking part in the trials was Yohanes Gudeta. He planted four CA trial plots: sole maize (BH-543), sole haricot bean (rotation), sole maize (rotation) and maize intercropped with haricot bean. In comparing these with the trial plot he farmed using traditional techniques, Gudeta observed that “the maize under CA is very robust and green, an indication of far better yields than we usually harvest.” Next planting season, Gudeta plans to increase his area under CA from trial plots to 0.5 ha.

According to Dagne Wagery, SIMLESA National Coordinator for Ethiopia, the trials aim to demonstrate that practicing CA allows for enhanced productivity and profitability of maize and legumes, whilst decreasing production risks such as abiotic and biotic constraints. Gudeta agrees: “soil erosion is a big problem in this area considering that we have sandy soils. The plots under CA are not affected by soil erosion,” he said. Farmers participating in the trials have also found that CA is less labour intensive, largely due to the Roundup herbicide used in CA, which controls grasses as well as weeds.

The success of the trials encouraged EIAR and CIMMYT to organize a farmers’ field day to demonstrate the performance of CA technologies, which was held in the Hawassa Zuria district on 16 August. Farmers from the other SIMLESA districts of Meskan and Misrak Badawacho attended, alongside agriculture officers, developments agents, seed dealers, and researchers.

The visitors were impressed with the visible results of CA, especially in the aspect of intercropping maize and beans, as this provides additional crop yield from the same piece of land. “Obtaining additional yield, be it maize or beans from the same piece of land is a boost to food security and land use efficiency,” said Solomon Admassu , SIMLESA Hawassa Site Coordinator and organizer of the field day. Following the success of these trials, the stakeholders have pledged to increase the dissemination and adoption of CA for enhanced food security in Ethiopia.

The role of socio-economics in MasAgro

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Socioeconomics will play a vital role in ensuring the success of MasAgro. To this end, a socio-economic inter-institutional group has been formed, with the first meeting held at CIMMYT on 27 July 2011.

The group currently consists of nine key Mexican socio-economists who will work closely with CIMMYT in developing and implementing socioeconomic research proposals that contribute directly to MasAgro. They will also be responsible for bringing in other key researchers and identifying PhD and MSc students to work on the socio-economic components of MasAgro, as well as evaluating research proposals.

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The experts are: Javier Becerril García (Autonomous University of Yucatán, Economics Faculty), Antonio Yúnez-Naude (Center of Economic Studies, COLMEX), Luz Alicia Jiménez Portugal (University of Guadalajara, Economics Department), Gildardo Espinosa Sánchez, Jaime Arturo Matus Gardea, and Oliverio Hernández Romero (Colegio de Postgraduados), José de Jesús Espinoza Arellano (INIFAP), Roberto Escalante Semerena (University Union of Latin America and the Caribbean), and Vicente Javier Aguirre Moreno (Autonomous Agricultural University of Antonio Narro). In the meeting they were joined by Jonathan Hellin, Tina Beuchelt, Laura Donnet, Karen García, Marc Rojas, and Bram Govaerts, all from CIMMYT.

Two priority research projects for the agro-ecological zones of Bajío, the highlands, and lowland tropics were identified in the meeting. The first will focus on a socio-economic diagnostic study encompassing farmers’ socio-economic characteristics and farming practices. The second research project will focus on identifying key actors (seed suppliers, farmers, tortilla producers, for example) in the maize value chains, the relationship between these actors, and how to make the value chains work more effectively and efficiently.

SIMLESA strengthens project monitoring and evaluation capacity

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SIMLESA-ASARECA1SIMLESA strengthens project monitoring and evaluation capacity. A Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Workshop was held in Nairobi, Kenya, during 13-17 June 2011 as part of the Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume cropping systems for food security in Eastern and Central Africa (SIMLESA) project. It was facilitated by a team from the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) and led by Enock Warinda.

The workshop inspired the development of key M&E frameworks and provided participants with information and tools for better result management. The five-day workshop employed a practical, interactive approach using case studies and analyses of real-life situations. Twentyeight participants were drawn from the SIMLESA country teams of Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania, plus representatives from CIMMYT.

SIMLESA program leader Mulugetta Mekuria opened the workshop, emphasizing the Program Steering Committee’s recommendation of a standardized M&E protocol. The workshop enhanced participants’ skills to develop the requisite framework, track project progress, and develop effective data-quality-management and performance-monitoring plans. By the end of the workshop, participants had developed action plans for M&E activities in their respective countries.

CIMMYT to lead global MAIZE alliance as CGIAR enters fifth decade

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manosA new era began this week with the launch of the CGIAR Research Program MAIZE, a US$170 million global alliance to expand and accelerate research into maize, on 06 July 2011. The announcement was made during a celebration of the CGIAR’s 40th birthday, held at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, marking a new direction for the CGIAR and demonstrating that after four remarkable decades it remains vigorous and committed to addressing emerging challenges.

“This program aims to double the productivity of maize farms, while also making those farms more resilient to climate change and reducing the amount of land used for growing the crop,” said Carlos Perez del Castillo, CGIAR Consortium Board Chair. “As a result, farmers’ incomes are expected to rise and their livelihood opportunities to increase, contributing to rural poverty reduction in developing countries.” Maize is the preferred staple food source for more than 900 million people, including one third of the world’s malnourished children. The program’s first target group is smallholder farmers, among the most vulnerable people in developing countries, particularly those who live in stress-prone environments and have poor market access. Forty million smallholder farm family members are expected to see direct benefits by 2020 and 175 million by 2030.

The program will be implemented by CIMMYT and the International Institute of Tropic Agriculture (IITA), together with over 350 public and private partners worldwide. CIMMYT studies show that the demand for maize in the developing world is expected to double between now and 2050. Meanwhile, agriculture is under pressure from population growth, climate change, and natural resource degradation. Future expansion of maize area will come at the cost of crop diversity, forests, and erodible hill slopes. Fertilizer, water, and labor costs are also rising.

The challenge for MAIZE therefore is to find sustainable ways to grow significantly more maize on less land than ever before. The program is based on nine strategic initiatives, reflecting priorities for maize research. These are:

  • Socioeconomics and policies for maize futures
  • Sustainable intensification and income opportunities for the poor
  • Smallholder precision agriculture
  • Stress tolerant maize for the poorest
  • Towards doubling maize productivity
  • Integrated postharvest management
  • Nutritious maize [bio-fortified varieties]
  • Seeds of discovery [mobilizing maize genetic diversity]
  • New tools and methods for NARS and SMEs

All the strategic initiatives also include capacity building to empower a new generation of women and men scientists. The program is expected to provide enough maize to meet the annual food demands of an additional 135 million consumers by 2020 and 600 million by 2030.

“This is a highly ambitious project to address world hunger,” said Thomas Lumpkin, CIMMYT Director General. “It will take an enormous amount of work and cooperation between public and private sector institutions to meet the goals. The global challenges facing mankind are immediate and chronic; the time to act is now. Millions of lives depend on our ability to develop sustainable solutions to feed more people with fewer resources than ever before.”

For more information, see the proposal document at: http://staging.cimmyt.org/en/what-we-do/ maize-and-wheat-cgiar-programs

CIMMYT’s commitment to Malawi’s agricultural development recognized

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On 02 August 2010, Malawi’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security held a meeting in Lilongwe, Malawi, for all donor-funded agriculture projects coordinated by international centers operating in the country. This meeting was organized by the Agriculture Sector Wide Approach Program (ASWAP) in order to review how contributions from these projects complement national agricultural initiatives, and to inform the donor community of how their support is making an impact.

CIMMYT, one of eight CGIAR centers working in Malawi, received special recognition from Dr. Andrew Daudi, Malawi’s Principal Secretary for Agriculture, and from Dr. Jeff Luhanga, Controller of Technical and Extension Services. Both acknowledged CIMMYT as a key collaborative partner for maize production technologies, which have helped improve Malawi’s maize-based food security. Specific CIMMYT achievements in Malawi include the development, release, and dissemination of improved maize varieties; the promotion of metal silo technology; training of national scientists; and the adoption of conservation agriculture practices for smallholder farmers.

At the meeting, Mulugetta Mekuria, CIMMYT regional liaison officer and SIMLESA project leader, presented on CIMMYT’s works, focusing on the center’s strong science, partnerships, and capacity building. He also distributed related project briefs from the center. These documents impressed Daudi, who requested that all centers develop similar informational and communicative materials. Meeting attendees all agreed to follow one shared format for these materials to be used in future publications.

Specific CIMMYT initiatives operating in Malawi include: the New Seed Initiative for Maize in Southern Africa (NSIMA); Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA); the Effective Grain Storage Project; Sustainable Intensification of Maize Legume Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA); the Soil Fertility Consortium for Southern Africa (SOFECSA); and work on conservation agriculture in maize-based farming systems.

For more information on CIMMYT’s work in Malawi, see CIMMYT’s June 2010 e-news Maize farmers and seed businesses changing with the times in Malawi.

CIMMYT at forum for revamping agriculture in Africa

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16The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) held its 5thAfrican Agriculture Science Week from 19-23 July 2010 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, a country in northwest Africa. More than 700 African farmers, ministers, scientists, policymakers, and public and private sector representatives utilized this opportunity to review the progress of agriculture research and development in Africa over the last three years, under the general theme of “African Agriculture in a Changing Global Environment.” The participants, including three CIMMYT representatives, also established a regional research agenda for the next three years.

FARA is an umbrella organization for major agricultural stakeholders in Africa; it advocates and coordinates roles for agricultural research for development among national and international agricultural research centers and advanced research institutions. Despite hardships, like climate change and the global financial crisis, many influential African policymakers pledged to help increase investments in African agriculture. Several Ministers of African nations declared their commitment to the African Union’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP). CAADP is an united approach to increase agricultural productivity in Africa through improvements in land and water management, market access, food supply, and agricultural research. Some of the program’s goals include increasing agricultural productivity 6% each year, and allocating 10% of annual government budgets to the farming sector.

At FARA’s Science Week, booth and poster display areas provided presenters with opportunities to interact and showcase their work. CIMMYT’s booth provided information about various center initiatives, including those involving maize (with a focus on drought tolerant maize), conservation agriculture, Ug99, post-harvest losses, the African seed sector, and the project Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA). The display included posters, publications, and a photo slideshow. Publications in French were especially popular, as it is the main language in Burkina Faso. CIMMYT also submitted a video on metal silo technology to the Inaugural African Film Festival, which was introduced as part of African Agriculture Science Week.

“The CIMMYT film on the metal silo did a great job in showcasing innovation and the benefits not only for farmers, but also for the associated small-scale metal fabrication industry,” said Jacqueline Nnam, FARA knowledge sharing officer. You can watch parts of the video online: part 1 and part 2.

Representing CIMMYT at the event was Wilfred Mwangi, associate director of the Global Maize Program; Mulugetta Mekuria, project leader of SIMLESA; and Anne Wangalachi (pictured above right), science writer based at CIMMYTKenya, who reported that the CIMMYT booth attracted many visitors, including the Rwanda Minister of Agriculture, Agnes Kalibata, who was interested in drought tolerant maize and metal silo technology, and how these could be introduced and used in her country.

For more information about the event, visit http://faraweek2010.blogspot.com/.

CIMMYT experts lead data training course in Peru

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19Two CIMMYT-Mexico department heads, along with Mateo Vargas from Mexico’s Chapingo Autonomous University, traveled to Peru this July to lead a five-day training course on field data analysis, with an emphasis on maize. The course, coordinated by Luis Narro of CIMMYT-Colombia, ran from 19-23 July 2010 at the campus of Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina (UNALM), in Lima, Peru.

Twenty-three fellow scientists and researchers (six were women) attended the course, which received Peruvian government funding specifically earmarked for CGIAR initiatives. Other sponsors included the university; the National Institute of Agricultural Innovation (INIA, part of the Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture); CIMMYT; and the institutions of attendees (six Peruvian universities, one Colombian university, and the International Potato Center, CIP).

CIMMYT’s José Crossa (head of Biometrics & Statistics), along with Vargas, filled two of the days with information on theory, analysis, and interpretation of experiment data (including full blocks at random and incomplete blocks); and stability analysis (regression models, AMMI, SREG, PLS, hereditability, and genetic correlations). Statistical analysis software (SAS) was used to analyze all the information.

Later in the week, Kai Sonder (head of the Geographic Information Systems Unit, GIS, part of the Socioeconomics Program) switched gears slightly and focused the following three days on GIS issues. He used local examples and data to show how to apply GIS to agricultural research, how to generate geo-referenced data with GPS in the field, and how to create maps and spatial data using the freeware applications DivaGIS and Geoda. All the participants received a DVD with spatial data and materials and programs used in the workshop. Complementing the workshop, Crossa also presented a conference on how to use phenotypic and genotypic data from multi-location trials to increase the genetic gain of selections. Held in UNALM’s auditorium for their postgraduate program, 50 people attended, including workshop participants, UNALM professors, and researchers from INIA and CIP.

The attendees thanked CIMMYT for organizing the event and others of its caliber, and highlighted the excellent quality of the course and the expertise of the workshop leaders. CIMMYT-Colombia thanks its CIMMYT-Mexico colleagues for their collaboration.

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CIMMYT graduates its first ever CA-certified technicians

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11History was in the making at El Batán last Friday, 30 July 2010. After months of training, studying, and practical application, four ASGROW technicians successfully completed a written and applied test on conservation agriculture (CA), achieving the first-ever CIMMYT-approved CA certifications. This was part of a CIMMYT-led initiative to disseminate CA in central Mexico. For three years CIMMYT has been partnering with SAGARPA-Fondo Borlaug, Fundación Produce Estado de México, and Monsanto to establish sustainable agriculture in the Mexico’s central highlands.

“I never thought I would make it this far,” said Fermín Hernández Méndez, a technical consultant for ASGROW in Hidalgo, Mexico. “Reaching this point has not been easy, so now I am very proud of all the hard work it took to get here.”

Méndez was one of 10 ASGROW technicians who participated in the 2009-10 CIMMYT course “Technical Certification in Conservation Agriculture,” which focused on CA for highland maize in central Mexico (specifically the states of Mexico, Hidalgo, and Tlaxcala), and covered CA techniques for all farming stages. These technicians also supervise CA modules as part of a partnership between CIMMYT and seed company ASGROW, a Monsanto subsidiary.

“This certification for technicians in conservation agriculture is very important for CIMMYT,” said DG Tom Lumpkin. “It is through these technicians that we are able to promote CA dissemination and achieve advances in Mexican agriculture.”

Roughly a week prior, on 22 July 2010, the 10 technicians arrived at El Batán to take the certification test. Most were young, a visual reminder of how young or innovative farmers are usually quicker to adopt CA practices than their traditional elders. The test included an hour-long written exam followed by a two-hour practical exam, during which the technicians rotated between 12 stations where they had to demonstrate their CA knowledge in the field. Only four technicians successfully completed this rigorous examination (César Lorenzo García, Fermín Hernández Méndez, Jesús Cerecero Gutiérrez, and Valentín Reyes Castro), but all were invited to attend the certificate awarding ceremony, designed as an opportunity to praise everyone for their hard work. In addition to the nine attending technicians and their families, the Friday ceremony, which included dinner, was attended by Bekele Shiferaw, director of the Socioeconomics Program; Francisco Magallanes, El Batán superintendent; Carlos Buzio, marketing supervisor for ASGROW-Mexico; David López, highlands distribution channel representative for ASGROW-Mexico; Karen García, representing AGROBIO; and several members of the CA team.

“CIMMYT is an example of what can be achieved through applied science, with dedication, passion, and above all, with intelligence,” Shiferaw said in his speech during the ceremony, on behalf of Tom Lumpkin, who was unable to attend. “But I want to make clear that in order to reach the shared goal of sustainable agriculture, we must all work together: farmers, the private and public sector, and scientists.”

Technicians who did not achieve certification the first time around were still recognized for their efforts with a tool kit suitable for CA machinery work, and were reenrolled for the second certification course in 2010-11, which will be run in collaboration with SAGARPA and other partners.

“Conservation agriculture is becoming a big movement in Mexico, and we hope support for it will continue grow, as other partners like SAGARPA also increase their commitment,” said Bram Govaerts, head of the conservation agriculture team in Mexico and leader of the course, adding that he looks forward to further partnerships to positively impact Mexican agriculture.

Maize-legume project launched in southern Africa

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During 11-15 May 2010, CIMMYT scientists from the Conservation Agriculture, Socioeconomics, and Maize programs met with SIMLESA partners in Malawi and Mozambique, coinciding with each country’s official SIMLESA launch. SIMLESA (Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa) is new four-year project to improve farm-level food security and productivity in eastern and southern Africa. The project is a collaboration of international and national agricultural research programs, led by CIMMYT, funded by the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), and implemented in collaboration with national partners.

On 12 May in Malawi, the Principal Secretary of Malawi’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Andrew Daudi, announced the beginning of SIMLESA-Malawi. Daudi expressed his gratitude to the Australian Government and ACIAR for their generous financial assistance to SIMLESA, and to CIMMYT and its partners for developing the program document and preparing for the start of field activities.

Two days later, the Governor of Mozambique’s Manica Province, Ana Comuane, officially launched SIMELESA-Mozambique on 14 May in Chimoio, the province’s capital city and where the national maize research program is based. The Governor congratulated all those who assisted with the project’s development and encouraged SIMLESA partners to maintain the partnerships and collaborations fostered by the project, which will help meet the goal of increased productivity. She also extended her gratitude to ACIAR and the Australian government for their financial assistance.

SIMLESA project leader Mulugetta Mekuria, along with CIMMYT and ICRISAT scientists Bekele Shiferaw, Patrick Wall, Mosses Siambi, and Emmanuel Monyo presented project specific objectives and facilitated the subsequent discussions. National agricultural research institutes and private sector partners also outlined the current status and challenges of research in their respective organizations. In both Malawi and Mozambique, partners indicated their commitment to the implementation of the planned project activities. TV and press media in Malawi and Mozambique extensively covered the launch and inception meetings, and related government officials, SIMLESA project leaders, and national coordinators gave interviews.

Five farmer field days focus on rice and maize

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untitledVarious research and extensions workers collaborating with the project “Sustainable Intensification of Rice-Maize Systems in Bangladesh” organized five farmer field days throughout March and April 2010. The events took place in the districts of Comilla, Rangpur, and Rajshahi and attracted over 350 farmers.

During the field days, farmers gathered in front of maize fields with site-specific nitrogen management (SSNM) and conservation agriculture (CA) trials and shared their experiences, both positive and negative, with the researchers and extension workers. At all the project sites, there are CA farmer-participatory adaptive trials and researcher-managed SSNM trials for maize and rice. Some of the key new and improved CA technological options being introduced and promoted through these trials include maize planted under minimum tillage using a powertiller operated seeder (PTOS), strip tillage, zero tillage, fresh beds, and permanent beds. In all trials, farmers’ common practice is compared with CA technologies, and researcher-managed SSNM trials have treatments ranging from zero to reduced levels of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus.

“These field days provided ample opportunities for farmers, stakeholders, and researchers to share their experiences with each other on these new CA technologies being introduced and promoted by the project,” said Jagadish Timsina, IRRI-CIMMYT senior cropping system agronomist and project leader. “Grain yield and cost of production data are being collected from these trials that will allow us to compare the production and profitability of various CA technological options against farmers’ current practice of growing maize.”

untitled2Though the project, which started in November 2008, initially focused on adaptive research in farmers’ fields, it is now starting to emphasize dissemination of improved CA practicies and SSNM technologies to farmers as well. This will be done through training and capacity building with researchers, farmers, extension workers, machinery manufacturers, and service providers.

The project is run jointly by CIMMYT and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) with national partners from governmental and non-governmental organizations. This project was recently featured in The New Nation: Bangladesh’s Independent News Source.

Traveling workshop in Bangladesh unites researchers

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The ACIAR-funded project “Sustainable intensification of rice-maize (R-M) systems in Bangladesh” held a traveling workshop in Bangladesh during 03-08 April. Fifteen researchers attended and traveled to four featured project sites in the Bangladesh districts of Comilla, Gazipur, Rajshahi, and Rangpur.

Participants visited fields at many collaborating institutions, as well as farmers’ fields. The selected visits focused on rice and maize cropping systems sown with conservation agriculture (often in comparison to farmers’ practice) and site-specific nutrient management (SSNM). At each site, they formed three groups to critically evaluate key trials and they often had the opportunity to talk with local farmers.

The workshop took participants to numerous sites and field locations, including several Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) research locations, Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Services (RDRS) trials, and project sites of the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), among others. Participants came from four collaborating organizations: the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), the Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD), BRRI, and RDRS. Jagadish Timsina, IRRI-CIMMYT senior cropping system agronomist and project leader, led and coordinated the workshop.

This workshop was modeled off of a previous rice-wheat consortium for the Indo-Gangetic Plains and a fruitful experience from the ACIAR rice-maize project conducted in October 2009.The course helped established further links among researchers and the Cereal System Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) project.

New collaborative maize and legume project kicks off in Africa

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A collaboration of national agricultural research programs has launched a new project to improve farm-level food security and productivity in eastern and southern Africa. The Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) is a four-year project with various partner institutions. It is led by CIMMYT and funded by the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

At the end of March, the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) hosted a SIMLESA country planning meeting. The goals of the meeting were to plan SIMLESA project activities, develop detailed work plans and budgets, and to identify additional possible partnerships. Abera Deressa, Ethiopia’s state minister of agriculture, opened the meeting and congratulated CIMMYT for being a model for partnerships and for enhancing agricultural research and collaborations in sub-Saharan Africa. He was followed by Adefris Teklewold, director of crops research at EIAR, who welcomed all the participants to the meeting.

Next was a presentation by John Dixon, ACIAR advisor. Dixon gave an overview of the project’s origins; discussed the role of ACIAR and other Australian institutions; and emphasized the importance of integration and innovative systems to achieve real impact and meet SIMLESA objectives. This was followed by an address on CIMMYT’s commitment to SIMLESA and the region, given by Bekele Shiferaw, director of CIMMYT’s Socioeconomics Program.

The meeting continued with SIMLESA program coordinator Mulugetta Mekuria. Mekuria presented a profile of the project and its current status, as well as expected outputs of the planning meeting. Several other participants also gave presentations.

A similar meeting was held during 19-21 February 2010 in Nairobi, Kenya. This was the joint country planning meeting for Kenya and Tanzania, hosted by the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI). More than 35 participants from Kenya, Tanzania, CIMMYT, ICRISAT, and the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) attended the planning workshop.

Major SIMLESA partners include national agricultural research institutes from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique, along with the Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development, and Innovation (QDEEDI), Murdoch University in Australia, ASARECA, ICRISAT, and the Agricultural Research Council of South Africa (ARC).

Global Futures project launched

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The Socioeconomics Program (SEP) is collaborating in a new project aimed to evaluate promising technologies, investment, and policy options for improving agricultural productivity and global food security.

The Global Futures for Agriculture project, launched in early March 2010, is led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and builds upon the already existing economic model IMPACT (International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade). This model has been used in the past for projecting future production, consumption, and trade of key agricultural commodities while taking into account the effects of climate change, water availability, population growth, urbanization, and other major drivers of global change. The Global Futures for Agriculture project improves upon this model by including location-specific biophysical data; current and future technology options; climate risk; and the impact of potential agricultural investments on global food supply and demand, food prices, economic growth, and poverty alleviation.

The SEP will play a major role in assessing the future outlooks for maize and wheat, and will work on improving database information and creating model scenarios for these two crops. Crop and water availability simulation models will also complement modeling of climate change risks on crop yields and production. All will be important for refining and calibrating the IMPACT model.

A new associate scientist to be based in Nairobi, Kenya, will be hired to work with other scientists on this project, and will closely collaborate with CIMMYT breeders, agronomists, and economists to improve the center’s foresight on alternative futures for maize and wheat in terms of improving global food security and system sustainability. Additionally, CIMMYT will work with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the International Center for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF) to set up a High Performance Cluster of computers able to run the IMPACT model in Nairobi.

2010 Science Week: food today, food tomorrow

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CIMMYT-El Batán bustled with activity as nearly 130 scientists stationed in 19 different countries gathered for Science Week 2010. During 20-26 January, participating staff analyzed CIMMYT as an institution, identified program specific issues, and created action plans to improve the efficiency and imapct of the center’s work.

This year’s event featured forward-looking, cross-program discussions and the free exchange of ideas and information, allowing staff to learn more about other areas within CIMMYT. Much emphasis was placed on improving and increasing multi-disciplinary projects, including expanded roles for the Global Conservation Agriculture Program (CAP) and the Socioeconomics Program (SEP).

“I know my own program—the Global Maize Program—very well. But at Science Week you get a lot of perspectives on why and what CIMMYT is doing with wheat, conservation agriculture, and socioeconomics,” said Yoseph Beyene, a maize breeder based in Kenya. “The interaction between groups and the potential for collaboration is very interesting.”

Many staff members remarked on the positive and progressive vibe of the event. “This is the best Science Week in my nine years attending,” said Guillermo Ortíz-Ferrara, Nepal-based cereal breeder. The sentiment was endorsed by socioeconomist Mulugetta Mekuria, who is based in Zimbabwe: “The new scientists are revitalizing CIMMYT, making us more dynamic, and the director general is actively involved, giving a face to management.”

The week began with a general overview of each program, followed by a day of break-out sessions that focused on issues like science and publications, germplasm and platforms, and partnerships activities and impacts. On Friday, leaders delivered presentations on the CGIAR reform process, intellectual property rights, fundraising, the library, and CIMMYT’s website. Over the weekend, nearly 100 persons traveled to the Tlaltizapán Research Station to view drought trials, wheat trials, and to gain a better understanding of CIMMYT’s Mexico-based research stations. The final two days focused on program specific discussions, with an emphasis on program collaboration.

“The cross-program interaction this week was very rich,” said Marianne Bänziger, deputy director general for Research and Partnerships. “It is all of us together that will make a difference.” Director of CAP, Pat Wall, agreed by saying that the cross-program discussions were the highlight of the event.

One of the main goals of the week was to find ways to improve CIMMYT’s science. However, DG Tom Lumpkin reinforced that though quality science is vital for the center, it is a means to an end. “We are not just here to study; we are here to deliver impact,” he said. “Our mission is to serve the poor and the hungry.”

To continue to meet this mission, Lumpkin laid out three initiatives to prepare CIMMYT for the world of 2050. They include a consortium to raise wheat yield potential; the new Seeds of Discovery project; and the proposed Borlaug Institute for South Asia.

“The problems are out there,” Bänziger said. “But so are the solutions.”

Researchers explore new data analysis tools

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Fifteen researchers gathered at the headquarters of the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) in Gazipur, Bangladesh, earlier this month to learn more about data processing. The course, “Statistical analysis of field experimental data using CROPSTAT,” ran from 11- 13 January 2010 as part of the project “Sustainable intensification of rice-maize systems in Bangladesh,” which is funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

CROPSTAT is a data analysis program that uses balanced and unbalanced designs for single and multi-site analysis. None of the participants had used CROPSTAT before, though several had some background knowledge on other statistical software. CIMMYT-IRRI senior scientist and project leader Jagadish Timsina coordinated the course; Shahjan Kabir from BRRI, and Shalimuddin from the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), provided handson training. The project is jointly implemented by CIMMYT and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in collaboration with national partners: BARI, BRRI, the Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD), the Rangpur-Dinajpur Rural Services (RDRS), and the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC). The 15 researchers who attended the training were from the four project sites (Comilla, Gazipur, Rajshahi, and Rangpur) of BARI, BRRI, BARD, and RDRS.

After course completion, participants expressed interest in using CROPSTAT 7.2 to analyze ACIAR project data, and suggested a second, more advanced CROPSTAT course. One of the objectives of this ACIAR-funded, 5-year project (2008-13) is to provide training for researchers, farmers, and extension workers from governmental and nongovernmental organizations. The CROPSTAT training is one example of researcher-geared training.