As the calendar turns to October 16, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) celebrates World Food Day. This year’s theme is “Grow, Nourish, Sustain. Together.”
The COVID-19 global health crisis has been a time to reflect on things we truly cherish and our most basic needs. These uncertain times have made many of us rekindle our appreciation for a thing that some take for granted and many go without: food.
Food is the essence of life and the bedrock of our cultures and communities. Preserving access to safe and nutritious food is and will continue to be an essential part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for poor and vulnerable communities, who are hit hardest by the pandemic and resulting economic shocks.
In a moment like this, it is more important than ever to recognize the need to support farmers and workers throughout the food system, who make sure that food makes its way from farm to fork.
Sustainable food systems
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), over 2 billion people do not have regular access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food. The global population is expected to reach almost 10 billion by 2050.
Our future food systems need to provide affordable and healthy diets for all, and decent livelihoods for food system workers, while preserving natural resources and biodiversity and tackling challenges such as climate change.
Countries, the private sector and civil society need to make sure that our food systems grow a variety of food to nourish a growing population and sustain the planet, together.
This year, for World Food Day, we bring you three stories about CIMMYT’s work to produce nutritious food in a sustainable way.
Cereals offer greater health and nutrition benefits than commonly acknowledged, despite often being considered ‘nutrient-poor’, say scientists. Read more.
Breaking Ground: Isaiah Nyagumbo advances climate-smart technologies to improve smallholder farming systems
Systems agronomist transforms farmers’ livelihoods through improved crop performance and soil health, promoting sustainable techniques that mitigate climate change effects. Read more.
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By 2050, the world’s population could grow to 9.7 billion, food demand is expected to increase by 50% and global demand for grains such as maize, rice and wheat could increase by 70%. How can we meet the food and nutrition demands of a rising population, without negative environmental and social consequences?
Sustainable intensification is an approach using innovations to increase productivity on existing agricultural land with positive environmental and social impacts. Both words, “sustainable” and “intensification,” carry equal weight.
CIMMYT conducts research on sustainable intensification to identify ways farmers can increase production of crops per unit of land, conserve or enhance important ecosystem services and improve resilience to shocks and stresses, especially those due to climate change and climate variability.
For example, CIMMYT’s research on sustainable intensification in India has helped shape policies that increase farmer income while reducing pollution and land degradation.
What is the scope of sustainable intensification?
Sustainable intensification takes into consideration impact on overall farm productivity, profitability, stability, production and market risks, resilience, as well as the interests and capacity of individual farmers to adopt innovations. It is not limited to environmental concerns, but also includes social and economic criteria such as improving livelihoods, equity and social capital.
Certain methods and principles are needed to achieve the goals of sustainable intensification. In collaboration with farmers and other change actors, CIMMYT carries out research-for-development projects to test and scale a range of technologies and approaches that contribute to these results. The research focuses on combined resource use efficiencies of crop production inputs: land, plant nutrients, labor and water.
One example is conservation agriculture, the combination of crop diversification, minimal soil movement and permanent soil cover. International scientific analysis has found that conservation agriculture can, in many places with different characteristics, play a crucial role towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Crop and system modeling, geographic information systems, remote sensing, scale-appropriate mechanization and socioeconomic modeling are some of the approaches that contribute to the design and evaluation of sustainable intensification alternatives in current farming systems.
Figure: Multi-criteria sustainability assessment of alternative (sustainable intensification) and reference systems in the Western Highlands of Guatemala.
What are some more examples?
Several interventions by CIMMYT aim at safeguarding biodiversity and protecting — in some cases increasing — ecosystem services crucial for small-scale farmers’ livelihoods and the health of all. Others have studied the impact of landscapes on dietary diversity and nutrition. Yet others have developed appropriate small-scale machines, allowing farmers to save time, costs and labor associated with agriculture to increase yields, halt the expansion of the agricultural frontier and invest in new opportunities.
How is sustainable intensification different from ecological intensification, agroecological intensification or climate-smart agriculture?
Sustainable intensification, ecological intensification and agroecological intensification strive for the same general goal to feed an increasing population without negative environmental and social consequences, but they place emphasis on different aspects.
Ecological intensification focuses on ecological processes in the agroecosystem. Agroecological intensification emphasizes a systems approach and strongly considers social and cultural perspectives.
Climate-smart agriculture and sustainable intensification are complementary, but climate-smart agriculture focuses on climate stress, adaptation and mitigation.
Sustainable intensification can be achieved with a range of methods, including these concepts. It is one strategy among many for global food system transformation.
What is the history of CIMMYT’s research on sustainable intensification?
In the 1960s, the Green Revolution brought high-yielding crops to some regions of Latin America and South Asia, allegedly saving millions from starvation. Yet the Green Revolution had unintended environmental and social consequences. Critics of the Green Revolution argued these cropping techniques were highly dependent on external inputs, fossil fuels and agrochemicals, causing environmental damage through overuse of fertilizers and water, and contributing to soil degradation.
In the 1980s, CIMMYT scientists began placing stronger emphasis on environmental and social aspects — such as conserving soil and water, and ensuring social inclusion of marginalized groups — recognizing their importance to sustain the intensification of crops in South Asia. It was understood that sustainability includes improving the livelihoods of rural people who depend on these natural resources, in addition to better resource management. CIMMYT began to take these considerations to the core of its work.
Farmers Maliamu Joni and Ruth Andrea harvest cobs of drought-tolerant maize in Mbeya, Tanzania. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)
Are these practices successful?
Sustainable intensification can boost yields, increase farmers’ profits and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions can be achieved by increasing nitrogen use efficiency, which also reduces groundwater pollution.
Research from CIMMYT’s SIMLESA project has shown that conservation agriculture-based sustainable intensification practices led to a 60-90% increase in water infiltration and a 10-50% increase in maize yields in Malawi. In Ethiopia, crop incomes nearly doubled with crop diversification, reduced tillage and improved varieties, compared to using only one of these practices.
According to research from Stanford University, agricultural intensification has avoided emissions of up to 161 gigatons of carbon from 1961 to 2005. CIMMYT research shows that India could cut nearly 18% of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions through sustainable intensification practices that reduce fertilizer consumption, improve water management and eliminate residue burning. Zero-tillage wheat can cut farm-related greenhouse gas emissions by more than 75% in India and is 10-20% more profitable on average than burning rice straw and sowing wheat using conventional tillage.
A CIMMYT study in Science shows that thousands of wheat farmers in northern India could increase their profits if they stop burning their rice straw residue and adopt no-till practices, which could also cut farm-related greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 78% and lower air pollution. This research and related work to promote no-till Happy Seeders led to a 2018 policy from the government of India to stop farmers from burning residue, including a $166 million subsidy to promote mechanization to manage crop residues within fields.
In light of this evidence, CIMMYT continues to work with stakeholders all along the value chain — from farmers to national agricultural research organizations and companies — to promote and scale the adoption of practices leading to sustainable intensification.
Cover photo: Irrigated fields under conservation agriculture at CIMMYT’s CENEB experiment station near Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, northern Mexico. (Photo: CIMMYT)
Most small farmers in sub-Saharan Africa rely on rain-fed agriculture to sufficiently feed their families. However, they are increasingly confronted with climate-induced challenges which hinder crop production and yields.
In recent years, evidence of variable rainfall patterns, higher temperatures, depleted soil quality and infestations of destructive pests like fall armyworm cause imbalances in the wider ecosystem and present a bleak outlook for farmers.
Addressing these diverse challenges requires a unique skill set that is found in the role of systems agronomist.
Isaiah Nyagumbo joined the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in 2010 as a Cropping Systems Agronomist. Working with the Sustainable Intensification program, Nyagumbo has committed his efforts to developing conservation agriculture technologies for small farming systems.
“A unique characteristic of systems agronomists,” Nyagumbo explains, “is the need to holistically understand and address the diverse challenges faced by farming households, and their agro-ecological and socio-economic environment. They need to have a decent understanding of the facets that make technology development happen on the ground.”
“This understanding, combined with technical and agronomical skills, allows systems agronomists to innovate around increasing productivity, profitability and efficient farming practices, and to strengthen farmers’ capacity to adapt to evolving challenges, in particular those related to climate change and variability,” Nyagumbo says.
Isaiah Nyagumbo stands next to a field of maize and pigeon pea. Currently, Nyagumbo’s research seeks to better understand the resilience benefits of cereal-legume cropping systems and how different planting configurations can help to improve system productivity. (Photo: CIMMYT)
Gaining expert knowledge
Raised by parents who doubled as teachers and small-scale commercial farmers, Nyagumbo was exposed to the realities of producing crops for food and income while assisting with farming activities at his rural home in Dowa, Rusape, northeastern Zimbabwe. This experience shaped his decision to study for a bachelor’s degree in agriculture specializing in soil science at the University of Zimbabwe and later a master’s degree in soil and water engineering at Silsoe College, Cranfield University, United Kingdom.
Between 1989 and 1994, Nyagumbo worked with public and private sector companies in Zimbabwe researching how to develop conservation tillage systems in the smallholder farming sector, which at the time focused on reducing soil erosion-induced land degradation.
Through participatory technology development and learning, Nyagumbo developed a passion for closely interacting with smallholder farmers from Zimbabwe’s communal areas as it dawned to him that top-down technology transfer approaches had their limits when it comes to scaling technologies. He proceeded to study for his PhD in 1995, focusing on water conservation and groundwater recharge under different tillage technologies.
Upon completion of his PhD, Nyagumbo started lecturing at the University of Zimbabwe in 2001, at the Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering, a route that opened collaborative opportunities with key international partners including CIMMYT.
“This is how I began my engagements with CIMMYT, as a collaborator and jointly implementing on-farm trials on conservation agriculture and later broadening the scope towards climate-smart agriculture technologies,” Nyagumbo recalls.
By the time an opportunity arose to join CIMMYT in 2010, Nyagumbo realized that “it was the right organization for me, moving forward the agenda of sustainability and focusing on improving productivity of smallholder farmers.”
Climate-smart results
Cropping systems agronomist Isaiah Nyagumbo inspects a maize ear at the Chimbadzwa plot in Ward 4, Murewa, Zimbabwe. (Photo: CIMMYT)
Projects such as SIMLESA show results of intensification practices and climate-smart technologies aimed at improving smallholder farming systems in eastern and southern Africa.
“One study showed that when conservation agriculture principles such as minimum tillage, rotation, mulching and intercropping are applied, yield increases ranging from 30-50 percent can be achieved,” Nyagumbo says.
Another recent publication demonstrated that the maize yield superiority of conservation agriculture systems was highest under low-rainfall conditions while high-rainfall conditions depressed these yield advantages.
Furthermore, studies spanning across eastern and southern Africa also showed how drainage characteristics of soils affect the performance of conservation agriculture technologies. “If we have soils that are poorly drained, the yield difference between conventional farming practices and conservation agriculture tends to be depressed, but if the soils are well drained, higher margins of the performance of conservation agriculture are witnessed,” he says.
Currently, Nyagumbo’s research efforts in various countries in eastern and southern Africa seek to better understand the resilience benefits of cereal-legume cropping systems and how different planting configurations can help to improve system productivity.
“Right now, I am focused on understanding better the ‘climate-smartness’ of sustainable intensification technologies.”
In Malawi, Nyagumbo is part of a team evaluating the usefulness of different agronomic practices and indigenous methods to control fall armyworm in maize-based systems. Fall armyworm has been a troublesome pest particularly for maize in the last four or five seasons in eastern and southern Africa, and finding cost effective solutions is important for farmers in the region.
Future efforts are set to focus further on crop-livestock integration and will investigate how newly developed nutrient-dense maize varieties can contribute to improved feed for livestock in arid and semi-arid regions in Zimbabwe.
Sharing results
Another important aspiration for Nyagumbo is the generation of publications to share the emerging results and experiences gained from his research with partners and the public. Working in collaboration with others, Nyagumbo has published more than 30 articles based on extensive research work.
“Through the data sharing policy promoted by CIMMYT, we have so much data generated across the five SIMLESA project countries which is now available to the public who can download and use it,” Nyagumbo says.
While experiences with COVID-19 have shifted working conditions and restricted travel, Nyagumbo believes “through the use of virtual platforms and ICTs we can still achieve a lot and keep in touch with our partners and farmers in the region.”
Overall, he is interested in impact. “The greatest reward for me is seeing happy and transformed farmers on the ground, and knowing my role is making a difference in farmers’ livelihoods.”
The study identified two key explanations for the oversight. The first is that many cereal crops with varying nutritional qualities are indiscriminately grouped under the broad category of “staples.”
A second problem lies in the fact that cereals are usually considered to be a major source of dietary energy alone. However, reducing nutritional attributes to macro- and micro-nutrients misses other beneficial elements of cereals known as “bioactive food components.” These include carotenoids, flavonoids, and polyphenols, and compounds that comprise dietary fiber.
“Most whole grain cereals provide differing amounts of proteins, fats, minerals and vitamins, in addition to being important sources of dietary energy,” said Jason Donovan, a senior economist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and co-author of the paper published in Food Policy.
“Only relative to other ‘nutrient-rich’ foodstuffs can cereals be described as ‘nutrient-poor’.”
In the paper, entitled Agri-nutrition research: Revisiting the contribution of maize and wheat to human nutrition and health, the authors called on researchers and policymakers to embrace the multiple dietary components of cereals in addressing under- and over-nutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and the growing global problem of non-communicable diseases.
“Through increasing the availability of, and access to, healthy foods derived from cereals, we can better address the growing triple burden of malnutrition that many countries are facing,” said Olaf Erenstein, co-author and director of CIMMYT’s Socioeconomics program.
“To feed the world within planetary boundaries, current intakes of whole grain foods should more than double and address tricky issues like the current over-processing, to make the most of the nutrition potential of maize and wheat.”
While some carbohydrates can create a glycemic response that has negative effects on diabetes and obesity, dietary fiber in cereals comprises carbohydrates that are fermented in the large intestine with largely positive metabolic and health effects.
In addition, the naturally-occurring compounds found in maize and wheat can be enhanced through conventional breeding, genomic selection and bio- and industrial-fortification to offer enriched levels of beneficial components.
For example, scientists at CIMMYT have worked on new maize and wheat varieties with additional levels of vitamin A and zinc to help address some of the nutritional deficiencies found worldwide. Researchers are also improving how cereals are produced, processed, and stored to increase productivity and improve food safety while maintaining their nutritional benefits.
One of challenges in maximizing the nutritional benefit of cereal-based foods in diets is that the processing of grains often causes substantial losses of essential vitamins and minerals. Meanwhile, manufacturing industries create ultra-processed foods that often contain noxious qualities and components, which contribute directly to the significant and increasing global health and economic costs of non-communicable diseases.
“If we are to end hunger by delivering healthy, diverse and nutritional diets in the next decade, we need a broader and more nuanced understanding of the nutritional and health-promoting value of diverse foods, including cereals,” added Nigel Poole, co-author and Professor of International Development at SOAS University, London.
“Cereals and so-called ‘nutrient-rich’ foods are complementary in agri-nutrition, both of which require additional research, resources and attention so that one does not replace the other.”
The International Maize and What Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is the global leader in publicly-funded maize and wheat research and related farming systems. Headquartered near Mexico City, CIMMYT works with hundreds of partners throughout the developing world to sustainably increase the productivity of maize and wheat cropping systems, thus improving global food security and reducing poverty. CIMMYT is a member of the CGIAR System and leads the CGIAR programs on Maize and Wheat and the Excellence in Breeding Platform. The Center receives support from national governments, foundations, development banks and other public and private agencies. For more information visit staging.cimmyt.org
Against the grain: New paper reveals the overlooked health benefits of maize and wheat
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