Use of fertilizer nitrogen (N) in farming is essential for food production but also contributes to climate crisis through GHG emissions. Synthetic nitrogen fertilizer accounts for 2.4 percent of global emissions, while its supply chain accounts for 21.5% of the annual direct emissions from agriculture.
One potential solution for developing appropriate N management strategies is yield-scaled nitrous oxide (NâO) emission (YSNE), which has been recognized for its potential to balance food security and mitigate emissions. Improving understanding and use of YSNE under various field conditions is an essential part of widespread adoption of this approach.
Type 1 measures: increasing yields without changing NâO emissions. Type 2 measures: reducing NâO emissions without changing yields. Type 3 measures: both increasing yields and reducing NâO emissions. (Photo: CIMMYT)
A positive relationship between N inputs and YSNE was evidenced in more than 60% of the dataset across all three crops, while a small proportion had an optimum N rate that minimized YSNE. Type of crop, annual mean temperature and soil N content affected the background yield-scale NâO emission with higher soil temperature and N content leading to higher BYSNE. The analyses suggest that YSNE can be reduced by increasing yields, by reducing NâO emissions and both by increasing yields and reducing NâO emissions. The results of this study suggest appropriate N management strategies, yields, and N2O emissions.
âAgriculture systems are sensitive to climate change because they are dependent on stable, long-term conditions to determine productivity, quality and yields,â said Bram Govaerts, Director General of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the conferenceâs keynote speaker. âFarmers are struggling to cope with climate risks and their ability to meet rising global food demands.â
Breeding maize and wheat with traits resistant to the consequences of climate change, such as flooding, drought, and heat, moving growing areas to amenable climates, and promoting soil health and biodiversity were all proposed as solutions to address the challenges highlighted by Govaerts.
Bram Govaerts presents at Cereals and Grains 22. (Photo: MarĂa Itria Ibba/CIMMYT)
One of the biggest challenges facing the world today is how to balance a healthy diet for humans with agricultural production that is good for the environment. At the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), scientists work closely with farmers to achieve these aims and contribute towards food security, as well as improving their livelihoods and nutrition.
Govaerts explored the sensitivity of agricultural systems to the impacts of climate change, which in turn affects farmersâ ability to successfully produce crops and their capacity to meet rising global demand for food. However, agriculture itself is not immune from contributing towards climate change, currently accounting for 24% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The effects of climate change are not the only pressure on agrifood systems, with other system shocks such as COVID-19 and conflict causing disruption to production and yields, prices, and supply chains, said Govaerts. For example, the current Ukraine crisis, which has heavily affected wheat imports and exports, underscores the need for long-term solutions to stabilize global food security. The encroaching cost of living crisis is adding further challenges to an already delicate situation, and hunger is predicted to increase across the Global South.
Investing in solutions
Research and development (R&D) has an essential role to play in addressing this crisis. Evidence shows that for every $1 USD invested in anticipatory action to safeguard lives and livelihoods, up to $7 USD can be saved by avoiding losses in disaster-affected communities. Simply put, proactive investment in agricultural science will save money in the long run by solving problems before they reach critical point.
CIMMYTâs R&D projects focus on extensive research on climate change adaptation and mitigation in maize and wheat-based production systems, helping smallholder farmers adapt to climate shocks and to raise and maintain yields in profitable and sustainable ways, and on capacity building for stakeholders in the development and application of new technologies.
Scientists are also harnessing the power of genebanks and breeding, focusing on safeguarding, characterization, and use of biodiversity to identify characteristics of seeds for genetic gain, adaptation to climate change, and better nutritional quality. This means farmers can access more and better seeds that respond to agrifood needs.
These innovations are only as effective as their level of adoption, which is why CIMMYT works closely with actors at all levels of agrifood systems.
Climate science at work in Africa
Govaerts shared examples of CIMMYTâs climate change adaptation and mitigation work include the introduction of drought-tolerant maize in Zimbabwe, which yielded more than 0.6 t/ha more than previous varieties. This equates to $240 USD more income per hectare, which provides nine monthsâ worth of additional food security at no extra cost.
In Malawi, drought-tolerant maize varieties planted under conservation agriculture yielded 66% more than non-tolerant varieties planted under conventional tillage. Farmers harvested more maize while spending on average 35-45 fewer days working in the field.
There is also an increase in popularity for stress-tolerant wheat varieties in Ethiopia, such as Dandaâa, Kakaba, Kingbird and Pavon 76.
Scientists have also combined tropical fall armyworm (FAW)-resistant maize germplasm, from Mexico, with elite stress resilient germplasm developed in sub-Saharan Africa to successfully breed three FAW-tolerant elite maize hybrids. This is addressing the serious threat of FAW to maize production in eastern and southern Africa.
Transformation through partnership working
Following an Integrated Agrifood Systems Approach (IASA) has given CIMMYT significant edge by building effective partnerships with the public and private sector. Collaboration on responsible sourcing with Kelloggâs and Grupo Bimbo, as well as a new three-year partnership with Deutsche Gesellschaft fĂŒr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Grupo Modelo to encourage water-conserving farming practices, will contribute to a one-system approach.
More than 18 million farmers worldwide benefit through CIMMYTâs improved maize and wheat system farming practices. With so much at stake for the entire world, CIMMYT has no plans to stop now.
The paired challenges of population growth and climate change have put smallholder farmers in Zambia in a squeeze. In the Southern Province, the center of agricultural production for the nation, smallholder dairy farmers struggle to increase their production of fodder to commercially viable levels in the face of a long dry season that climate change is intensifying.
Smallholder farmers looking to support their families, enhance the local food supply, and sustain economic growth in their areas are at a distinct disadvantage because agriculture in Zambia is dominated by massive commercial operations with plentiful capital, large tracts of land, and expensive machinery, with most of their output marked for export.
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is partnering with the German development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft fĂŒr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the University of Hohenheim to identify key barriers and sustainable pathways to smallholder farmer success through a mechanization working group. This work is being carried out through the global initiative One World No Hunger, which launched Green Innovation Centers for the Agriculture and Food Sector (GIC) in 15 member countries in 2014.
âMechanization is a critical aspect of responding to these problems and the core business of the GIC is to develop knowledge,â said Chimuka Mulowa, a GIC cooperative development advisor based in Choma, Zambia. âOur efforts provide training to smallholder farmers with a focus on adaptive mechanization as a critical ingredient in a holistic approach. Projects in the past have purchased equipment, but we integrate knowledge with existing infrastructure.â
Smallholder homestead with irrigation and fencing to protect developed pasture, Namwala, Southern Province, Zambia. (Photo: Vuyo Maphango)
In Zambia, the GIC works with 22 cooperatives to reach 10,000 small-scale farmers with training sessions on fencing land to grow grass, climate smart breeding, irrigation, and more. The GIC has reached their training goal, but implementation of new practices has been more difficult, with only about half the farmers adopting what they have learned so far.
To better understand the challenges smallholder farmers face in Zambia, Mulowa and the GIC partnered with researcher Vuyo Maphango, who was completing his masterâs degree in agricultural economics at the University of Hohenheim under the supervision of Lennart Woltering, a senior scientist at CIMMYT. Woltering developed a tool called Scaling Scan which analyzes barriers to growth for successful innovations in the pilot stage and brings focus to key ingredients for expansion.
Mulowa and Maphango used Scaling Scan to assess the progress of the GIC efforts in Zambia. As they expected, for smallholder farmers trying to get into commercial fodder production, financing was a challenge. At $35,000 USD for a machinery like hay balers used once per year, it can take a farmer up to a decade to recoup such an investment. But Scaling Scan also identified surprising challenges, such as a lack of collaboration and uneven dissemination of knowledge and skills.
âThere was a lot of progress coming out of the Scaling Scan process,â Maphango said. âGrowing the cooperatives of farmers is a critical GIC focus now, and this helps with the finance issues as well. Where farmers canât afford to buy or develop high-quality seed, they can come together, share which seeds are working best for them, and help each other adopt best practices. Staying close as a cooperative also gives farmers stronger bargaining power with the ability to pool together finances.â
More affordable equipment will also help. Smaller, less expensive choppers and chuff cutters ($1500-2000 USD) are already available for silage production, but there is not a well-established tradition of employing silage production in Zambia, and farmers there have struggled to adopt it. Similar machines are making their way onto the market for fodder production and will require farmers to develop a new set of technical skills.
Mulowa and Maphango are also rethinking approaches to training. As an incentive, non-government organizations (NGOs) often pay participants for their time when they attend training sessions, but government ministries canât sustain this practice beyond the end of a project due to lack of funding. For a deeper level of skill and knowledge development, GIC wants to help farmers see the benefit of training as providing its own incentiveâcontinuing professional education will pay off, both in terms of better agricultural and business practices, and better financial outcomes. The key to this transition is results. When farmers see their yield improving because of skills and practices they developed in training, they will be hungry for more.
Success, for Zambian smallholders, is a door that is opening slowly but surely. âEarly adopters are making progress,â Maphango said. âSome are growing their own grass, others are fencing their land and developing irrigation.â As these practices take root, and farmers share victories with cooperative members; the value of ongoing training becomes clear, and the door may open further for others to walk through.
Cover photo: Hay bales on a commercial farm, Chisamba, Central Province, Zambia. (Photo: Vuyo Maphango)
To mitigate their amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, companies and individuals have access to international voluntary carbon offset markets, which are trading systems that financially compensate credit producer participants for offsetting the amount of carbon emitted. An innovative new initiative from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR) is working to establish carbon markets among smallholder farmers in India, with the goal of reducing GHG emissions, encouraging climate smart farming practices through financial incentives.
In India, agriculture is one of the biggest sources of GHG emissions â between 14 and 21 percent of all GHGs are attributable to agricultural activities, which derive from the use of farm machinery, rice cultivation, fertilizer use, and other activities. Emissions from agriculture are increasing drastically due to synthetic fertilizers and enteric fermentation from livestock.
Within CIMMYTâs farmer-centered approach, participants in voluntary carbon markets will improve their own financial viability in two ways â through adopting sustainable practices and through receipt of payments from carbon markets. The approach will also employ regenerative interventions such as direct dry seeding of rice, minimal tillage, crop diversification, use of biofertilizers, and perennial cropping all while contributing to an overall reduction in GHG emissions.
âWorking with ICAR to engage smallholder farmers with high-quality carbon offsets allows the farmers to offset their unavoidable emissions,â said Vijesh Krishna, senior CIMMYT scientist. âThis program promotes inclusiveness because this newly created income is distributed among participating farmers, thereby improving their income.â
These regenerative agriculture interventions will increase and retain soilâs carbon content, water permeability and retention, resulting in cropsâ ability to withstand drought, flooding, and temperature stresses. Only a small percentage of farmers currently implement these methods in India.
CIMMYT and ICAR researchers estimate that widespread adoption of these practices, combined with upgraded technologies, has the potential to return the carbon levels in agricultural soils from an average of 0.5 percent back to 1.5 percent. At present, the agricultural soils of India are poor with respect to soil organic carbon.
Carbon markets for smallholders
About 2,000 small holder farmers of Punjab, Haryana, and parts of Maharashtra, all in India, are enrolled in the project through individual partnership agreements. Once farmers implement regenerative agricultural methods, they will be eligible to receive payments for carbon credits generated for 10 to 20 years, conditional upon continuing to use climate-smart practices.
âWe believe these efforts can be expanded to other regions of India, and other countries,â said Sieg Snapp, CIMMYTâs Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program director. âHelping farmers and reducing GHG emissions at the same time is the way forward in dealing the crisis of climate change.â
Farms are geo-tagged and monitored using remote sensing for regenerative farming practices, and soil carbon content will be measured at the beginning and end of the crop cycle. Those that produce rice and wheat with a lower carbon footprint will be identified, so their produce gets purchase and price preferences from those who want to promote lower carbon agriculture.
Digital agronomy tools and satellite imagery analysis to measure and verify soil carbon offsets and on-farm GHG emission levels are essential for scaling small farmer-centered carbon projects. The veracity, transparency, and traceability of each carbon offset have direct implications for its credibility and actual market value. CIMMYT will contribute towards a Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) platform to expand climate action country-wide.
So far, CIMMYT and ICAR researchers estimate that the enrolled smallholder famers have sequestered between four and five tons of carbon dioxide. After independent third-party auditors verify the data, farmers will be paid based on the amount of GHG reduction, with the first carbon offset payments expected to be issued in 2023.
Cover photo: A green maize seedling emerges from the soil (Photo: Wasim Iftikar/CIMMYT)
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) Director General, Bram Govaerts, participated in a panel discussion on applied maize science to sustainably feed the world as part of the International Maize Congress on October 19-20, 2022 in Argentina.Â
The congress was organized by the governments of CĂłrdoba and of the Central Region provinces of Argentina, together with the Argentine Maize and Sorghum Association (MAIZAR) and the CĂłrdoba Grain Exchange.Â
Other panelists for the session included representatives from Argentina’s National Agricultural Technology Institute (INTA), the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), and the National University of Mar del Plata.Â
In his presentation, Govaerts highlighted CIMMYTâs scientific efforts to improve the resilience of grain-based systems and produce sufficient, nutritious, and sustainable diets. He also shared CIMMYTâs determination to adopt a collaborative and future-proof approach to research, factoring in climate change to support effective decision-making processes for food producers and to meet demand for innovations and technologies.Â
Jubilant farmers after buying seed during day two of a fair in Masvingo District, Zimbabwe. (Photo: Tawanda Hove/CIMMYT)
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center is working with its partners to support farmers in Zimbabwe embrace conservation agriculture and improved seed varieties to achieve more successful harvests in areas affected by climate change.
The R4 Rural Resilience and ZAMBUKO initiatives aim to help farmers through a number of activities. These include demonstrations of seed and conservation agriculture, field days and seed fairs, which look to develop farmersâ awareness about improved seed and novel varieties.
The fairs highlighted the importance of good seed practices and the benefits of improved varieties to both farmers and seed companies, who attended the events.
The initiative, which is run in collaboration with the Department of Specialist Services (DRSS), the Agricultural Advisory and Rural Development Services (ARDAS) and the World Food Program (WFP), with financial support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), helps those in the industry see the advantages of improved varieties over old ones, which may have been on the market for more than 20 years.
âIt is now very critical for farmers from all walks of life to abandon old varieties which they have grown for decades and adopt the recently released varieties that offer some solutions to the new challenges,” said James Gethi, a seed systems scientist with CIMMYT. âThere has been massive investment in research that has specifically focused on addressing the adversity of climate change and variability it brings, such as prolonged dry spells, heat stress, and new diseases that have emerged. As such, it is beneficial to the farmer to shift to the latest varieties as they suit the environmental context better compared to the older varieties.”
In recent years, Zimbabwe has experienced erratic rainfall and severe heatwaves during summer months, which is a key period for the growth of crops. This has led to low yields in various parts of the country, but the situation could improve through the combination of improved agronomy and varieties presented by seed and seed distribution companies who attended the fairs.
âTogether with CIMMYT and other partners, we have invested in developing varieties that will help us achieve our annual food security goals,â added Busiso Mavankeni, head of the Crop Breeding Institute (CBI), which is housed within DRSS. âAs such, farmers not adopting these new varieties contribute towards a huge waste of beneficial and relevant scientific research. Whilst it is not the farmersâ fault why they havenât adopted them, we need to take deliberate steps to ensure farmers are aware of these varieties. That is the only way we can stimulate their adoption.â
Private sector partner poses with a happy farmer, who has procured drought tolerant seed. (Photo: Tawanda Hove/CIMMYT)
Improving seed management
One of the projectâs core aims is to promote positive seed management practices to both farmer and seed companies. In fact, these seed companies have a key role to play in supporting farmers with this knowledge. Understanding how to store crops in optimal conditions, for example, can lead to a more successful harvest.
âIt is essential for both the farmers and local agro dealers to know how to manage seed before sale and planting,â Gethi added. âFor example, rarely do farmers check the expiry date of seed when they buy them from an agro dealer. Secondly, when the seed needs to be stored, it is essential for it not to be stored close to heat sources or to be unnecessarily exposed to the sun for prolonged periods. This compromises its germination potential. Furthermore, it is crucial for farmers to only buy seed from registered and reputable agro dealers.â
These important messages were relayed to farmer throughout the projectâs demos and field days, which led up to the seed fairs.
In addition to purchasing seeds, farmers had the opportunity to learn about new developments and build relationships in the private sector by attending the fairs.
âWith these seed fairs, we have not only brought this multitude of seed and machinery companies to your doorstep so that you easily access good seeds, but so that you can also talk and understand what new products are on offer,â explained Christian Thierfelder, principal cropping systems agronomist, innovation science leader for Africa within CIMMYT. âFor this coming season, we do not want to see you growing ancient varieties but would want to see you purchase new products which perform better than the old ones.â
ARDAS agricultural extension officer Canaan Jakata was also encouraged by the success of the projectâs activities and is looking forward to seeing the farmers who attended the seed fairs enjoy a successful yield during the upcoming summer season. âI am very keen on assessing the performance of farmers in my ward who bought these improved varieties at the seed fairs as compared to neighboring wards in the district which did not. Regardless of how the season turns out, I expect superior performance from my farmers,” said Jakata.
The Fast Tracking Climate Solutions from CGIAR Germplasm Banks project, led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), is expanding the use of common bean and maize biodiversity, held in trust for humanity in the genebanks of CGIAR, to develop the raw ingredients of new climate-smart crop varieties for small-scale farmers in the Northern Triangle: Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
Aligned with, and building upon the Mining Useful Alleles for Climate Change Adaptation from CGIAR Genebanks project, this project aims to identify common bean accessions in genebanks that contain alleles, or gene variations, responsible for characteristics such as heat, drought or salt tolerance, and to facilitate their use in breeding climate-resilient crop varieties. Additionally, within the maize work, the project focuses on transferring valuable novel genetic variation identified from landraces under the aligned project into breeding materials suitable for variety development in the Northern Triangle.
Through this project, breeders will learn how to use genebank materials more effectively and efficiently to develop climate-smart versions of important food crops.
Building on ten years of support to CIMMYT from the Mexican government, CGIAR Trust Fund contributors, the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, and the ongoing Mining Useful Alleles for Climate Change Adaptation from CGIAR Genebanks project, this project combines the use of cutting-edge technologies and approaches, high-performance computing, GIS mapping, and new plant breeding methods to identify and use accessions with high value for climate-adaptive breeding of varieties needed by farmers and consumers.
Objectives:
Support faster and more cost-effective discovery and deployment of climate-adaptive alleles from the worldâs germplasm collections.
Test integrated approaches for the rapid and cost-effective discovery and deployment of climate-adaptive alleles.
Using data from 2,279 farm households in Ethiopia, the results show a significant gap due to the observable and unobservable different characteristics of households headed by men and women. For example, women are less likely to adopt climate change adaptation measures due to their workload in household chores. However, evidence suggests that when the gender gap shrinks, climate change adaptation can be improved in female-headed households by almost 19%.
The study determined that policies must tackle unobservable characteristics in order to address the gender gap. Short-term projects and long-term gender-informed policies are essential in creating equitable opportunities for all.
This crucial work will support developing countries to achieve targets set by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and farming householdsâ susceptibility to the risks of climate change.
Cover photo: Female farmer harvests green maize in Ethiopia. Women are essential to the agricultural sector, but the gender gap prevents them from embracing climate change adaptation measures. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)
Climate change is an undoubted contributor to the global food crisis. Natural disasters and poor weather is leading to 193 million people facing acute food insecurity.
While food aid is vital, improving food systems and reducing reliance on food imports is the route to a long-term solution. In an article for the Des Moines Register, Cary Fowler, US government food security envoy, details the importance of developing reliable local production and well-functioning markets to support farmers.
The United States government’s Feed the Future initiative is addressing some of these challenges, such as by supporting the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) to develop drought-tolerant maize, which is now planted on 17 million acres in Africa. This variety is making a significant difference to food security.
Heavy summer rains have led to severe floods in Pakistan, affecting over 800,000 hectares of land. Rural areas in the southern coastal provinces have been hardest hit with water levels remaining high throughout the Indus River system. This compounds the existing inequalities in livelihoods and represents significant humanitarian as well as agricultural impacts.
Due to flood damage, the estimated direct crop loss by economists stands at around $2.3 billion. Reports indicate that over 32 million people have been displaced by the flooding and urgent humanitarian needs include access to food, water, shelter, and public health.
No single drop, be it geo-political or climatic, will tip the balance on our global food system. But we must be increasingly aware of the compounding and amplifying effects of each crisis and develop strategies towards more sustainable agri-food systems.
Cover photo: Current areas of cropland and flood-affected crop land in Pakistan. This highlights the significant impacts of the flood waters, particularly on cropland in southern parts of the country. The boundaries shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance.
Bram Govaerts, Director General of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), underscored the need for collaboration to address the challenges of global food shocks, climate change and agricultural trade.
Speaking at a Strengthening AR4D in South Asia workshop on Thursday, September 1, Govaerts highlighted the work of CIMMYT’s Borlaug Institute of South Asia (BISA) project.
âThe collaborative, inclusive approach of BISA (Borlaug Institute for South Asia) is more relevant than ever today. In an era when the challenges of food and nutrition insecurity — exacerbated by climate change, poverty, and inequality — cannot be solved by one sector,â he explained.
As the Russia-Ukraine war continues to degrade global food security, the Australian who leads the global effort on improving wheat production has set out the concrete actions needed by governments and investors to mitigate the food crisis, stabilise supply and transition to greater agrifood system resilience.
Alison Bentley leads the Global Wheat Program at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the renowned research organisation from which more than 90 per cent of the wheat varieties grown in Australia can be traced. She will be addressing the Crawford Fundâs international conference Celebrating Agriculture for Development â Outcomes, Impacts and the Way Ahead this week in Parliament House, Canberra. The conference will also be addressed by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator The Hon, Murray Watt.
âThe broad food security impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war highlight the fragility of the global food supply, but the war is only one of a multitude of problems that we’ll be facing for many years to come. Few will remain unaffected,â said Alison Bentley, who was the lead author in a recently published related article in Nature Food.
âMore than 2.5 billion people worldwide consume wheat-based foods. We need to move beyond defining the problem to implementing practical actions to ensure stable food supply, safeguard the livelihoods of millions of vulnerable people and bring resilience to our global agrifood system, and we will all benefit,â she said.
“The first priority is to mitigate the immediate crisis by boosting wheat production by bundling existing agronomic and breeding improvements and sustainable farming practices, just as Australia and other wealthy countries are doing. This will reduce dependence on imported grain and fertilizer in poorer countries.”
“We have learned since the Green Revolution that this must be done within agro-ecological boundaries, with high-yielding disease-resistant wheat and by mainstreaming capacity for pest and disease monitoring. Importantly, we also need to address climate change, gender disparities, nutrition insufficiency and increase investment in agricultural research,” she concluded.
The Fundâs annual conference will bring together international and Australian specialists to look at the mutual benefit and impacts of investment in global food security and poverty alleviation, and consider the effects of emerging threats including climate change and changing geo-political conditions on agricultural production, food chains and the environment.
Other speakers include international affairs specialist Allan Gyngell, climate change and security specialist Robert Glasser and renowned international economist Phil Pardey.
Contact for enquiries
Cathy Reade â Director of Outreach
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All the powerpoints can be found on the website â youâll find them linked to each speakerâs presentation title on the program page.Â
As we respond to this emergency, there is an opportunityâand a needâto strengthen the kind of strategic investments that will make our agrifood systems resilient to tomorrowâs shocks. âWe cannot be running crisis to crisis,â says Bram Govaerts, Director General of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, or CIMMYT, in this weekâs New Security Broadcast. âWe need to look at the underlying elements that are provoking these ripple effects.â
On the episode, ECSP Director Lauren Risi and ECSP Advisor Sharon Burke speak with Govaerts and his colleague Kai Sonder, head of CIMMYTâs Geographic Information System Unit, about how to address the unfolding food crisis as we simultaneously build food system resilience in the medium and long term. Drawing from their newly-published article in Nature Food, Govaerts and Sonder share approaches that governments, civil society, and private actors can take to tackle todayâs wheat supply disruptions and food insecurity. They also share past success stories and lay out key challenges moving forward.
Beyond the immediate humanitarian aid needed to boost food security, Govaerts identifies intensified wheat production and greater investments in local cereals as essential short-term priorities. Medium-term investments should focus on agricultural production that is agroecologically suitable, policies that support the adoption of improved crop varieties, and data analysis to target the vulnerabilities of smallholder farmers. And with long term goals in mind, Govaerts says that we need to ask âhow can we enhance our ecosystem diversity, resolve the gender disparity [in the agricultural sector] and invest in agrifood transformation from efficiency to resilience?â
Both experts emphasize that these approaches arenât meant to be taken incrementally. âWeâre really saying we need to start today, taking actions with an impact on the short, medium, and long term. It would be a mistake to only focus on the short-term actions that need to be taken,â says Govaerts.
Sonder acknowledges that transforming agricultural systems takes timeâand isnât easy. âYou need to invest in breeding systems. You need to build capacity and identify areas where that is easily possible,â he explains. âBringing out a new variety of wheat or maize or other crop takes up to ten years.â
Introducing new farming technologies can also come with challenges, since it requires making sure those technologies can actually be maintained. âYou have to ensure that there are mechanics who can fix [them] quickly, that thereâs a supply chain for spare parts,â observes Sonder. And securing sustained large-scale investment for research or program activities can prove difficult, as was the case for a study CIMMYT did on the potential for wheat in Africa. âThe ministers were very interested,â Sonder says. âBut other crisis come along, and then the funds go somewhere else.â
Despite the hurdles, there are plenty of examples of agrifood interventions with positive impact. For instance, one of CIMMYTâs current areas of work is in developing risk assessment and disease warning systems to allow people to act quickly before a crisis occurs. Sonder describes how his colleagues in Ethiopia had a recent success in identifying a risk of rust epidemic in collaboration with the government and stakeholders on the ground by using weather models. Â The joint effort allowed the government âto procure and to spread fungicides and to be prepared for that crisis,â he says.
Addressing the challenges that underlie world hunger will take both this kind of strategic medium-term action as well as longer-term transformationsâEven as we respond to the current hunger crisis with much-needed short-term efforts, we can also be reshaping our global agricultural systems for a more biodiverse, equitable, and resilient future.
Written by Bea Ciordia on . Posted in Uncategorized.
The Scaling Conservation Agriculture-Based Sustainable Intensification in Ethiopia (SCASI) project aims to improve soil health and sustainably increase the productivity of major crops through widespread adoption of proven Conservation Agriculture-Based Sustainable Intensification practices and technologies, hence increasing the income of Ethiopia’s smallholder farmers and their resilience to climate change and variability.
The Fast Tracking Climate Solutions from CGIAR Germplasm Banks project, led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), is expanding the use of common bean and maize biodiversity, held in trust for humanity in the genebanks of CGIAR, to develop the raw ingredients of new climate-smart crop varieties for small-scale farmers in the Northern Triangle: Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
