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Tag: impact assessment

Partnership approach to maize development praised in new study

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Publications.

Using data from 1995-2015, an empirical study from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), led by Vijesh Krishna, CIMMYT Lead Adoption – Impact Economist, has estimated the economic benefits of new varieties in 18 major maize-producing countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Kevin Pixley, Deputy Director General for Research (Breeding and Genetics), a.i., and Director of the Genetic Resources Program, said, “This was not easy due to the challenges of gathering and analyzing complex data, but it’s a very important milestone for CIMMYT. Peer review in a highly respected journal is a gold standard that gives external critique and endorsement to the impact assessment methods used and estimates reported for CIMMYT and IITA’s work with partners in Africa.”

Around 60 percent of the 1,345 maize varieties released in this twenty-year period had a known CGIAR parentage.

Approximately 34 percent of the total maize area in 2015 was cultivated with CGIAR-related maize varieties from 1995 onwards, equivalent to 9.5 million hectares (ha); 13 percent of the maize area was under CGIAR-related varieties released before 1995.

The new maize varieties hold an economic benefit for the region, with an estimated value of US $1.1-1.6 billion in 2015 equally attributed to CGIAR, public-sector national research and extension programs, and private sector partners. With maximum annual investment in CGIAR maize breeding sitting at US $30 million, the estimated benefit-cost ratio for investment was between 12:1-17:1, depending on the underlying assumptions.

“This paper is a valuable contribution to literature on impact assessment, highlighting the real challenges and approaches to quantify impact of work that is a collaboration among many,” continued Pixley. “Both the methodologies and impact estimates will be valuable to researchers and funders of plant breeding programs.”

Read the study: Impact of CGIAR maize germplasm in Sub-Saharan Africa

Cover photo: Farmer Chana Filimoni harvesting maize in his field in Chakwawa village, Salima District, Malawi. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)

Sarah Wairimu Kariuki

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Sarah Kariuki is a markets and value chains specialist at CIMMYT in Kenya. Her research is mainly on cereal seed systems, specifically the demand for newer and improved varieties. Her other lines of work include research on how food markets can be made more efficient and assessment of consumer demand for higher-quality and safer foods. She holds a PhD in Development Economics from Wageningen University in the Netherlands.

Md. Saiful Islam

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Saiful Islam is a Research Coordinator and Cropping Systems Agronomist with the Innovation Science for Agroecosystems and Food Systems in Asia research theme in CIMMYT’s Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program in Bangladesh.

Currently, he has experiments run by local collaborators at over 50 farmers’ fields in the north-west region of Bangladesh. Capacity development with researchers, extension agents, and farmers is an important part of the team’s work. He and their team share results through publications, ranging from scientific articles to extension leaflets, and scale recommendations for farmers through the innovation networks.

Islam works closely with farmers, farmer organizations, national and international non-governmental organizations, and agricultural research and development institutions to help rural people with food and nutritional security for a given community.

Md. Shariful Islam

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Md. Shariful Islam is a Machinery Development officer in the Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program in Bangladesh.

He has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the IUBAT-International University of Business Agriculture and Technology and more than ten years of experience as a mechanical engineer across different industries in Bangladesh. Islam has worked as a senior assistance manager at PEB Steel Alliance Ltd. (PEBSAL) as a mechanical engineer at Quazi Enterprises Limited (QEL) and at Dhaka Tobacco Industries.

Md Fazlul Karim

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Md. Fazlul Karim is a machinery development officer with CIMMYT’s Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) Program in Bangladesh. He completed an undergraduate and masters degree at Bangladesh Agricultural University in agricultural engineering and technology, with a major in farm power and machinery.

After that, Karim worked as an agricultural engineer under the Government of Bangladesh Enhancement of Crop Production through Improved On-Farm Water Management Technologies project, working in the Department of Agricultural Extension.

In addition, Karim has experience in conducting training for farmers at the Farmers Field School, organizing field days for machinery (including combine harvesters, reapers, rice transplanters and bed planters), supervising and monitoring project works, and providing technical support to beneficiaries.

Md. Rokonnuzzaman Rokon

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Md. Rokonnuzzaman Rokon is a machinery development officer with CIMMYT’s Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program in Bangladesh. He graduated from Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University in 2014 with a degree in agricultural engineering, before completing a masters in irrigation and water management at Bangladesh Agricultural University.

After finishing his masters, Rokon joined Solargao Ltd as an assistant engineer to a solar irrigation project, before becoming a lecturer at the Government Shahid Akbar Ali Science and Technology College. He joined CIMMYT in 2022.

A. N. M. Arifur Rahman

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A. N. M. Arifur Rahman is a machinery development officer with CIMMYT’s Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program in Bangladesh. He is currently working within the agricultural machinery and light engineering sector and is proud to be a member of the CIMMYT family.

Before joining CIMMYT, Rahman worked with Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS) Bangladesh under European Union funded projects and with ACI Motors on agricultural machinery, research and development, extension, scaling up mechanization, value chains and market systems.

Rahman is a proud agricultural engineer, graduated from the Bangladesh Agricultural University with a major in farm power and machinery. He has three national publications on agricultural machinery and additional experience in training, climate smart mechanization, people with disabilities, gender, and emergency responses on floods or natural disasters.

K.M. Zasim Uddin

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K.M. Zasim Uddin is an agricultural development officer with CIMMYT’s Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program in Bangladesh. He has a masters in agronomy from Rajshahi University

He is part of projects including the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), Fall Armyworm R4D and Management (FAW), Big data analytics for climate-smart agricultural practices in South Asia (Big Data² CSA), and Climate Services for Resilient Development in South Asia (CSRD). His main responsibilities are research and development on agricultural mechanization for the CSISA Mechanization and Extension Activity (CSISA-MEA). He has participated in versatile training, workshops and conference programs across Asia.

Uddin has worked in different national and international non-government organizations and companies for more than 13 years, including in research and development at Syngenta Bangladesh Limited and on the Borga Chasi Unnayan Program at BRAC. He also worked as an agriculture officer under the Char Livelihood Program, funded by the United Kingdom Department for International Development.

Azahar Ali Miah

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Azahar Ali Miah is a senior monitoring, evaluation and learning officer with CIMMYT’s Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) project in Bangladesh.

Before joining CIMMYT in 2009, he worked with different development organizations, including projects funded by the World Bank, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), the United Kingdom Department for International Development, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). He also has six years’ experience in the Bangladesh Army.

Miah has a strong ability to identify community strengths and weaknesses from field data collections. He is an excellent team builder and motivator with honed communication and analytical thinking skills. He has seven publications in national and international journals, and is an agricultural economist with an MBA.

Michael Euler

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Michael Euler is a CIM-integrated expert and joined CIMMYT in June 2021. As Agriculture and Resource Economist, he analyzes the diffusion and impacts of agricultural innovations on smallholder farms. One focus of his work includes the assessment of opportunities and challenges of the use of DNA fingerprinting for varietal adoption and impact studies.

Before joining CIMMYT, Michael was with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the German Institute for Development Evaluation and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

Michael holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics and a Master of Science in Agricultural Sciences from the university of Gottingen, Germany. Results of his research and evaluation work are published in peer-reviewed academic journals and evaluation reports.

Md. Mizanur Rahman

Md. Mizanur Rahman

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Mizanur Rahman is a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Officer with the Sustainable Agrifood System (SAS) program’s Innovation Sciences in Agroecosystems and Food Systems theme across Asia. His role involves developing and implementing logical and conceptual data flows for analytical processes supporting decision-making at the project and donor level. He has more than 18 years of progressive experience with 12 years in research, monitoring, and evaluation.

Jannatul Ferdous Asha

Written by Leslie Domínguez on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Jannatul Ferdous Asha is a Machinery Development Officer working with CIMMYT’s Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program in Bangladesh. She joined CIMMYT in 2019.

Asha completed an undergraduate degree in agricultural engineering and a masters degree in farm power and machinery at Bangladesh Agricultural University.

Hambulo Ngoma

Written by Leslie Domínguez on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Hambulo Ngoma is a Development Economist with research interests spanning the development-environment nexus. He leads or co-leads socio-economic components of several projects in Southern Africa, mainly in Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. His current research is focused on adoption, scaling, and impact assessment, with special interest in nudging agricultural technology adoption.

He is formerly a Postdoctoral Associate of the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resources Economics of Michigan State University and a Research Fellow and Lead of the Climate Change and Natural Resource Management thematic area at the Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute (IAPRI) in Lusaka, Zambia.

He holds a PhD in Applied Economics from the School of Economics and Business, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, an MSc in Applied and Agricultural Economics from the University of Malawi and a BSc in Agricultural Economics from the University of Zambia.

Gokul P. Paudel

Written by Emma Orchardson on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Gokul P. Paudel is an agricultural economist working with CIMMYT’s Socioeconomics Program, based in Nepal. His research mostly focuses on technology adoption and impact assessment, scale-appropriate mechanization, climate change impacts and adaptations, conservation agriculture, technical efficiency analysis, trade-off analysis, non-market valuation and big data, data mining and advanced machine learning.

Dilli Bahadur K.C.

Written by Emma Orchardson on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Dilli Bahadur K.C. is a project manager with CIMMYT’s Socioeconomics Program, based in Nepal. His work focuses primarily on agricultural project design and implementation, monitoring and evaluation, project impact assessment, agricultural marketing and value chain analysis.