Tag: Philippines

Researchers set new climate services strategy in Bangladesh

Written by on September 20, 2017. Posted in News.

CSRD workshop participants. Photo: M. Asaduzzaman/CIMMYT

DHAKA, Bangladesh (CIMMYT) – Scientists from across South and Southeast Asia launched a new agenda earlier this week to boost community involvement in developing climate information and extension messaging services across the region.

“Key to climate services is emphasis on the service,” said Timothy Krupnik, a systems agronomist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and South Asia project leader for Climate Services for Resilient Development (CSRD).

Researchers know how the region’s farmers will be affected by climate change thanks to the development of climate models and other analyses, but there still is a lack of a strong support system that allows farmers to practically use this information.

“We must be able to rapidly extend information to farmers and others who require climate information to inform their decision making, and to assure that research outputs are translated in an easy to understand way that communicates to farmers, extension workers and policy makers,” said Krupnik. “Equally important is feedback from farmers on the quality of climate services so they can be adapted and improved over time.”

The researchers, who gathered in Dhaka, Bangladesh for a three-day workshop from September 17-19, 2017, evaluated how climate and agricultural extension advisories are currently produced and conveyed, and identified opportunities on how to improve these services for farming communities across Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

“CSRD’s activities are relevant to the U.S. government’s commitment to building resilience of smallholder farmers and to ensure increased production, as well bolster country resilience,” said David Westerling, acting economic growth office director and Feed the Future team leader for the United States Agency for International Development’s mission in Bangladesh. “That is why we are behind this effort.”

During the workshop, delegates assessed different ways to incorporate seasonal climate forecasts into farmer decision making, using several African countries as examples. For example, participants learned how to simply but effectively depict probabilistic forecasts in graphs to farmers during a group work discussion.

There were also experience sharing sessions on information and communication technology (ICT) in agricultural climate services. Giriraj Amarnath, researcher at the International Water Management Institute, Ishwor Malla, service director for ICT at Agri Private Limited and Md. Nadirruzzaman, assistant professor at the Independent University, Bangladesh indicated that ICT can be a cost-effective approach to transfer information to farmers who can, in turn, improve crop productivity using climate information shared their observation and experiences.

While ICT can serve as an important tool, participants emphasized the need for more face-to-face extension and interaction with farming communities to build trust in forecasts that would otherwise not be fully understood by downloading a mobile application or receiving an SMS message.

An analysis to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for climate services in each country and across countries was completed to examine how participants can collaborate in south-south exchanges to support ongoing work in agricultural climate services.

On the last day of the workshop, climate index-based agricultural insurance was also discussed, after which participants proposed new institutional arrangements to improve agricultural climate information flow to farmers in each of their countries.

Elisabeth Simelton, climate change scientist at the World Agroforestry Centre in Vietnam and project manager at the Consortium Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS), said the workshop provided an interesting platform where scientists and climate service providers from different countries were able to meet and exchange their experiences and ideas through interactive formats, so that everybody can take something new and useful back to their respective countries.

The Climate Services for Resilient Development (CSRD) is a global partnership that connects climate science, data streams, decision support tools, and training to decision-makers in developing countries.The workshop was sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development on behalf of CSRD and is collaboratively organized by CIMMYT and CSRD through the SERVIR Support Team. This work was also implemented as part of the CGIAR Research Program on CCAFS. Read more about the workshop, participants and sponsors here.

At this year’s UN Climate Talks, CIMMYT is highlighting innovations in wheat and maize that can help farmers overcome climate change. Follow @CIMMYT on Twitter and Facebook for the latest updates.

Opportunity: integrating gender in crop research today!

Written by on February 23, 2015. Posted in Features.

CIMMYT Gender Specialist Lone Badstue attended a CGIAR Gender Network meeting in the Philippines during 19-23 January. Participants discussed CGIAR’s progress and results in gender research, along with plans for collective, cross-program activities that contribute to CGIAR innovation.

Q: How do you think we can inspire project leaders, farmers, scientists, and others to view gender as an integral part of CGIAR projects?

A: When you want to introduce something different and new, you’re going to have varying levels of acceptance and pushback. Integrating gender is a change process, and it isn’t something that happens fast.

Ultimately we want to help as many people as we can, everyone agrees on that. We should bring forward our gender agenda as something that will help us reach that common goal, with the end benefit being worth the change and investment. This is why evidence is so important – if there’s anything researchers and scientists respect it’s evidence, and that is why gender researchers from 12 different CGIAR Research Programs (CRP) have embarked on a global study of gender norms to increase the development impact of research programs.

Q: Speaking of the CGIAR Global Study on Gender, could you discuss the goals and outcomes?

A: This study will provide real life examples of processes on the ground.

The information will really help CGIAR Research Programs to hone their impact pathways — models of how projects see themselves achieving impact — because right now those pathways involve many theoretical assumptions. We want to show the value of qualitative research and how this complements quantitative research and reveals processes that the latter can’t. We’ll also learn how these processes matter in diverse locations and circumstances worldwide.

Q: The characteristics of a proposal where gender is mainstreamed were also discussed to see how they can make an integral part of project rsearch and activities. What would a gender-mainstreamed research proposal look like?

A: A gender mainstreamed, or gender responsive research proposal, reflects explicitly on the characteristics of its target beneficiaries and addresses their concerns and experiences as an integral dimension in the research design. This means knowing the context and ensuring that research outputs address the needs of the different groups you want to serve. To help scientists and research teams think about how to begin to address these issues when designing a new proposal, the CIMMYT gender unit has developed a brief guidebook.

Q: What are some overall conclusions that came out of the CGIAR Gender Network meeting?

A: We have a moment of opportunity. The meeting allowed us to share our experiences, identify key tools to promote gender mainstreaming (gender mainstreaming is a globally accepted approach to achieving gender equality) in CRP research and establish a collective vision of our gender research. We need to leverage this momentum and focus on the goal of establishing a solid evidence-base for gender research, thus integrating a gender-framework in all CGAR projects where it is relevant.

Nutritionally-enhanced maize reaching Filipino farmers and families

Written by on July 20, 2012. Posted in Features.

Agricultural extension agents are getting seed of quality protein maize to the mountainous areas in the Philippines and encouraging smallholder farmers in its use. Widespread use of this nutritionally-enhanced maize can potentially help reduce rice dependency, improve child nutrition, and supply grain for inner city school meal programs.

Maize is not the first crop that comes to mind when one thinks about the Philippines, where rice paddies dominate the landscape. But a traveler to the nation’s mountainous regions will increasingly find maize crops there. Through public sector maize breeders and extension officers, upland farmers are beginning to sow the seed of an improved quality protein maize (QPM) variety. QPM looks, grows, and tastes like normal maize but contains higher levels of two essential amino acids, lysine and tryptophan, for protein synthesis in humans and farm animals like pigs and poultry. Nutritional studies in Ethiopia have already demonstrated that QPM consumption can reduce or prevent stunted growth in young children whose diets are heavy in maize.

Where small is not always good, quality counts

geraldine-delphino The Philippine uplands are home to the poorest farmers and minority groups, for whom arable land is scarce and hunger a constant threat. The average family includes at least five children, and must survive on a farm homestead of only one hectare. Antonio Rodriguez is a 46-year-old farmer in Jose V. Dayao village outside of Naga City. He struggles to put food on the table for a family that includes
six children. “We own half a hectare of land and rent an additional two hectares,” he explains, “but it is not enough to support our family.” In a nearby village, farmer Geraldine Delphino and her husband must feed themselves and their five children from little more than half a hectare of land. “My husband and I are both farmers,” says Delphino. “He often works as a laborer on other farms. We sell whenever we have a surplus and buy white maize when we can.”

wilma-hurtada Wilma Hurtada, Food Science Professor at the University of the Philippines, Los Baños, has studied QPM and nutrition in children. “For families with limited land, limited resources, and a large family, the quality of the food they grow is very important,” she says.

Reaching farmers in the marginal areas
As in many developing countries, in the Philippines yellow-grained maize is grown mostly by large-scale commercial farmers for animal feed and non-food uses. White-grained maize is produced by smallholders and used for human foods, particularly in maize-dependent upland areas, according to Art Salazar, Principal Maize Breeder at the Institute for Plant Breeding (IPB), Los Baños. “It’s difficult to reach farmers with improved white maize cultivars,” says Salazar. “They live in the marginal areas, on the outskirts of economic activity.”

The IPB took QPM seed from CIMMYT, where this specialty maize was developed, and over four years adapted it to local conditions. A QPM variety was finally released by the National Seed Industry Council in 2008. “Now we have a variety which is high in lysine and tryptophan and which suits the climate of the Philippines and Filipino taste preferences,” says Salazar. “This was all done through conventional breeding and research collaboration with CIMMYT.”

efren-magulama To test and promote the white QPM with farmers and distribute seed, Salazar relies on the extension support of experts from diverse Philippine institutions. One is Efren E. Magulama, a maize breeder at the University of Southern Mindanao. “We work with about 20 farmers in Region XII Province of North Cotabato, Magpet Municipality, to introduce QPM into communities—mostly in the mountainous regions, which are difficult to reach,” says Magulama.

Farmer Marevic Fraile in Magpet Municipality, North Cotabato grows rubber, banana, coffee, and cocoa to sell, but grows maize for food. “We eat maize three times a day with every meal, mostly as grits,” Fraile explains. “We used to grow Tiniguib [a white maize variety popular in the Philippines], but when we switched to QPMour yields improved.”

Studies have shown that on average the QPM developed by the Filipino breeders yields 10% more than traditional white maize varieties. This is particularly important for its adoption by maize-dependent farmers, who are interested first and foremost in higher yields.

Homing in on nutrition
The nutritional advantages of QPM create opportunities to foster demand at some novel points in the food value chain, raising its interest for the farmers and seed producers. Salazar is working with Filipino health officials (in the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Health) and partners like Hurtada to introduce QPM grits into school meal programs in the poorest districts of Metropolitan Manila. “The national average of stunting in children in the Philippines is 29%; also 30% are energy deficient,” says Hurtada. “That’s just the national profile. When you go to the areas we’re targeting, you see a much higher incidence.”

The project aims to work with families whose parents have daily incomes under USD 1.20. “The children receive only about 980 calories a day,” says Hurtada. “They go to school without breakfast. When we ask how often they eat, they tell us one or two times a day.” The goal of the feeding program is to reach 1 million children, starting with 150 schools in Quezon City. “If we can do that, then we can really make a big impact on reducing malnutrition among children and general food security in the Philippines.”

“Instead of food aid, this initiative is developing a market for white maize farmers, improving nutrition for both farmers and school children, and contributing to the growth of the Filipino economy,” explained Salazar.

For more information: Michelle Defreese (m.defreese@cgiar.org)

Art Salazar Interview

art_salazar
Dr. Artemio Salazar is the Principal Maize Breeder at the Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB) in Los Baños, Philippines. He has been working on maize for the past 30 years, developing lines adapted to conditions in the Philippines from the germplasm sourced from indigenous farmers, local partners, and international organizations such as CIMMYT. He is the Deputy Director of the University of the Philippines’ Crop Science cluster in Los Baños.

In a rice-dependent country like the Philippines, how did you decide to become involved with maize breeding?
I completed my BSc in Agricultural Chemistry but soon became fed up of being around chemicals, so I shifted to agronomy. I really enjoyed working outdoors, being in the fresh air. I was approached by the first director of IPB in 1975 to be a part of the first technical staff of the Institute. I completed my PhD at Iowa State University in 1985. Now I realize I made the right choice because maize can and will help address nutritional needs and food insecurity issues in the Philippines.

How do you see maize playing a role in food security in the Philippines?
The Philippines should not be importing rice. 10% of rice importations could easily be filled by maize. If you could convince the equivalent of Filipinos to eat maize or a rice/maize blend, we would not have to import rice. We could eventually become a net exporter of rice. Importing rice does not make a lot of sense when there are maize substitutes. It aggravates social problems. If maize famers are poor, they will flock to the cities or become rebels. That has tremendous social costs. Investing in maize is a way to stem patterns of rural to urban migration.

What role do you see QPM varieties having in the Philippines?
Maize has been here all along for the past five hundred years or so. QPM can be a rally point for people to become interested in maize because it has a more balanced protein quality. If you can stimulate an increased interest in maize through QPM, half the problem would be solved.

You’ve also been involved in developing mills to produce maize grits and maize flour. What role do you see these playing in improving food security?
Crops are grown in the rural areas and they have to be milled. So they bring them down do the lowland areas to process them and bring them back up to the mountainous areas. The mills have to be cheap, efficient, and mobile. These mills (cost) only USD 1,500 and can be used with gasoline instead of electricity. 25 billion pesos of wheat flour are imported every year; that’s USD 500 million. If you substituted 20% of that with corn flour, you could recover the cost of USD 100 million. If you transmitted that to rural farmers, imagine what kind of impact that would have. Plus, the maize still retains its QPM properties, even when milled.

What is the role CIMMYT is playing in this initiative?
One thing is for certain, this project is not relying on foreign funds or institutions. This is a Filipino initiative. The germplasm which CIMMYT has been providing is already a big help. Collaboration of this kind can really help host countries. Funds should be sourced from government resources because it is sustainable. Funds should also come from the private sector. Then, it continues on and on. That is sustainable funding.

Creating an impact does not have to be an expensive proposition. If you can develop a technology and the host country can make full use of it, you can have a tremendous impact. When we started this, there was no foreign funding – only local funds in addition to CIMMYT germplasm and collaboration. A little research collaboration like the interaction between CIMMYT and IPB can go a long way.

Using double haploid in maize breeding

Written by on July 6, 2012. Posted in News.

The use of doubled haploids in maize breeding was first proposed more than half a century ago. Today, the in vivo haploid induction technique is routinely used in maize inbred line development, in both the public and the private sector. The DH technology enhances maize breeding in two ways: 1) it reduces the time required to produce completely homozygous inbred lines. Whereas six or more generations of self-pollination are needed to traditionally produce inbreds, DH technology produces inbreds in only two generations; and 2) because the higher genetic variance among DH lines compared to F2 plants, or selfed F3 or F4 families, improves the effectiveness of selection.

DH technology in maize breeding was the theme of a training workshop organized by the University of Hohenheim (UH) and CIMMYT at Stuttgart, Germany, during 11-15 June 2012. The program was organized under the ‘Abiotic stress tolerant maize for Asia’ (ATMA) project funded by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). A total of 21 scientists, including maize breeders and physiologists from Bangladesh, India, Philippines, Vietnam, UH, and CIMMYT attended the weeklong course. Experts on DH technology from UH, CIMMYT, and German seed companies served as resource persons on the course, delivering lectures on various aspects of DH technology in maize breeding. Mornings were devoted to lectures whilst in the afternoons, participants undertook hands-on, practical project in various aspects of DH line development and production.

Day-1 presenters included UH’s Wolfgang Schipprack; Vanessa Prigge, an ex-PhD student of UH and CIMMYT who is currently working as a Potato Breeder in SaKa Pflanzenzucht GbR, and T. Wegenast, Dow AgroSciences. In the afternoon, participants worked on identification of haploid kernels from various DH-induced populations and planted haploid kernels on germination paper for development of seedlings. DH lab members at UH explained and demonstrated the selection of haploid kernels and developing seedlings for colchicine treatment for chromosome doubling.

On the second day, B. Schilling and B. Devezi of the UH-DH lab jointly presented various aspects of management of greenhouses, safety issues, and requirements for running a successful DH program. E. Senger a PhD student at UH, and Vijay Chaikam, CIMMYT, also shared their experiences. During the afternoon, preparation of colchicine solution, preparation of maize seedling for colchicine treatment, application of colchicine treatment, and the transplanting the seedlings in greenhouse were demonstrated to the participants.

Participants also visited the UH-DH research station at Eckartsweier, where Schipprack detailed various field based aspects of DH development including selection of plants for transplanting in field, organized demonstration of mechanized transplanting of D0 plants, management of D0 nursery, and identification of false positives in the nursery. After the D0 nursery, participants visited the DH inducer development and maintenance nursery, D2 nurseries, and the isolation block for production of induction crosses. On the final day of the workshop, UH’s A.E. Melchinger delivered a lecture on the application of marker-based prediction strategies for DH lines and discussed various models and approaches for prediction of DH lines. George Mahuku shared updates on DH line production and development of tropical inducer lines at CIMMYT, and talked about possible models for use of DH technology by national breeding programs in Asia. Participants appreciated the initiatives and efforts of CIMMYT and UH, and discussed various options to get DH technology into their breeding programs.

Avinash Singode, Directorate of Maize Research, Bhagya Rani Banik, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute, and Le Quy Kha, National Maize Research Institute, were very supportive of the course and expressed their sincere thanks to organizers. P.H. Zaidi, Project Coordinator, ATMA, thanks Prof. Melchinger and Schipprack and his team for their time, efforts, and inputs in jointly organizing the workshop, and emphasized the need to follow up on this in the hope that within one year, each participating institution will have access to DH technology in their program, at least through Model-1 (send their most elite population to CIMMYT, and get back DH lines), as suggested by Mahuku.