Theme: Capacity development

CIMMYT training courses play a critical role in helping international researchers meet national food security and resource conservation goals. By sharing knowledge to build communities of agricultural knowledge in less developed countries, CIMMYT empowers researchers to aid farmers. In turn, these farmers help ensure sustainable food security. In contrast to formal academic training in plant breeding and agronomy, CIMMYT training activities are hands-on and highly specialized. Trainees from Africa, Asia and Latin America benefit from the data assembled and handled in a global research program. Alumni of CIMMYT courses often become a significant force for agricultural change in their countries.

Quality assurance and control ensure delivery of high quality maize seed to farmers

Written by on May 31, 2017. Posted in News.

The quality assurance and control workshop was held from May 17-19, 2017. Photo: CIMMYT — The quality assurance and control workshop was held from May 17 to 19, 2017. Photo: CIMMYT

NAIROBI, Kenya (CIMMYT)- Representatives from across the maize production and breeding sectors in eastern and southern Africa gathered to discuss how maize seed systems in Africa can be strengthened through quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) measures.

The workshop conducted by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Nairobi, Kenya, from May 17 to 19, 2017, explored CIMMYT’s efforts to strengthen maize seed systems in Africa, with an emphasis on critical QA and QC basics such as maintaining parental inbred lines, maintaining seed free from pathogens, pests and implementing molecular marker based seed testing to achieve the highest seed quality at minimal cost.

QA and control are processes used to measure the quality of products, ensuring they meet consumer expectations. High quality seeds are genetically and physically pure, properly mature, free from insect-pests and pathogens, uniform in size, have high germination potential, optimum moisture content, viable and vigorous.

QA and QC also helps establish trait based purity, particularly in nutrient-enriched maize varieties such as quality protein maize and Provitamin A-enriched maize. Trait based purity ensures that the product delivered by breeders to seed companies and the product delivered by seed companies to farmers contain the required nutritional quality.

“The concept and effect of seed quality is a simple, yet hugely impactful one that cannot be ignored,” said Mosisa Worku, seed systems specialist at CIMMYT. “Production and supply of poor quality products means businesses collapse and farmer productivity plummets, often leading to food insecurity and compromised livelihoods when food shortages occur.”

B.M. Prasanna, director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program, stressed the need to adopt more modern and cost effective methods of analyzing the genetic purity and identity of breeders’ material. Thousands of inbred lines are available to maize breeders at any given time, so effectively distinguishing them on the basis of phenotypes alone is impossible.

“While the importance of phenotypic analysis in QA and QC cannot be undervalued, molecular markers which are robust and environmentally insensitive are more effective in determining genetic purity and identity of parental inbred lines and hybrid seed lots at a relatively low cost,” Prasanna said, explaining that the cost of genotyping is now significantly lower than growing and evaluating a row of sample seed in the field.

The workshop was designed for scientific and technical personnel involved in maize breeding, seed production and seed certification from both public and private sector institutes in eastern and southern Africa. A total of 38 participants learned about theoretical and practical sessions covering topics such as the importance of QA and QC for maize seed value chains, advanced QA and QC tools in maize breeding and commercial seed production, QA and QC of nutritional quality traits in seed and grain, molecular data analyses and interpretation for QA and QC and MLN-free commercial seed production.

The training program also included a field visit to maize research station at Kiboko, and the maize doubled-haploid facility at the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization to evaluate maize inbred lines and hybrids planted for genetic purity demonstrations. Participants also visited the maize lab at the Biosciences eastern and central Africa – International Livestock Research Institute Hub to gain practical experience on the application of molecular markers, data analyses and interpretation of results.

Capacity building efforts like the workshop help ensure national seed certification agencies and that seed companies have the necessary skills to conduct molecular marker-based seed testing and phenotypic based methods for QA and QC in commercial maize seed value chains to build Africa’s seed systems.

Tanzanian start-up rises to profitable maize business

Written by on May 29, 2017. Posted in News.

AgriSeed Director Ambonesigwe Mbwaga visits AgriSeed's production farm in Mbozi, southern Tanzania. This field features AgriSeed H12, the first hybrid the company sold. Photo: K. Kaimenyi/CIMMYT — AgriSeed Director Ambonesigwe Mbwaga visits AgriSeed’s production farm in Mbozi, southern Tanzania. This field features AgriSeed H12, the first hybrid the company sold. Photo: K. Kaimenyi/CIMMYT

MBEYA, Tanzania (CIMMYT) – To achieve its objective of sustainably increasing the availability of new drought tolerant maize varieties in eastern and southern Africa, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) supports seed company partners in enhancing their capacity to produce foundation and certified seed.

AgriSeed began as a small seed company in Tanzania in 2010, producing seed using donor grants to get established, and selling seed through a government subsidy program. When the program closed in 2013, collapse of the business was a real threat. However, in 2015 AgriSeed received its first grant from the CIMMYT-led Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Seed Scaling (DTMASS) project to produce early generation seed of a new hybrid called WE2112, and are now on their way to sustainability.

“When the African Agricultural Technology Foundation announced licensing of this variety, we jumped at the opportunity,” said Ambonesigwe Mbwaga, Director of AgriSeed. “We wanted something we could call our own, since all our other products are public and can be produced by another company.”

WE2112, marketed as AgriSeed H12, is the first hybrid sold by the company, with CIMMYT supporting the transition from open pollinated varieties to improved hybrids. Profitable sales of improved maize varieties are key to sustained and scaled production by the private sector to ensure access in the long run. Being among the few seed companies producing this particular hybrid gives AgriSeed an edge in the market.

“With AgriSeed, we started from scratch: increasing the parents, increasing the inbred lines, single crosses, and so on,” said James Gethi, maize breeder and DTMASS technical lead for Tanzania. “My main excitement this year is to see the product of that support coming to fruition. They now have a certified crop, from zero, and have something to sell.”

According to Mbwaga, the product is “flying off the shelves.” While only three tons of AgriSeed H12 were produced and sold in 2016, AgriSeed expects this figure to rise to over 50 tons in 2017 due to increased production capacity, and the huge demand created from the minimal sales. Also of note is the AgriSeed H12 packaging, whose smallest pack is five kilograms, much larger than the one and two kilogram bags often sold of new products to smallholder farmers. This is a strong indicator of demand and confidence in the product, since it costs more to purchase the bigger bag.

To promote sales, the company has set up over 100 demonstration plots for 2017 with DTMASS support, most of them in the southern Tanzania towns of Mbeya, Mbozi and Mlonge. Unlike the traditional highway setups, AgriSeed is concentrating demos along roads in villages, increasing access to farmers away from major roads. This aims to boost sales but also helps the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the project’s funder, reach its Feed the Future goals to reach remote smallholder farmers.

Through technical and financial support and capacity building initiatives, DTMASS works closely with AgriSeed and other partners in eastern and southern Africa to bring affordable, improved maize seed to 2.5 million people. With funding from the USAID, DTMASS aims to meet demand and improve access to good-quality maize through production of improved drought-tolerant, stress-resilient, and high yielding maize varieties for smallholder farmers.

Q+A: Women in Triticum award provides development opportunities and support networks for women in agriculture

Written by on May 22, 2017. Posted in Features.

CIUDAD OBREGÓN, Mexico (CIMMYT) — Margaret Krause, a doctoral candidate in plant breeding at Cornell University, became interested in science and nature at an early age. She recalls growing and crossing flowers as a teenager, transferring the pollen from one plant to another as she had learned in biology class.

“I had little exposure to agriculture or how food is produced,” explained Krause. “When I began my undergraduate studies at the University of Minnesota in 2009, I was unsure how these interests would eventually translate into a career.”

Fast-forward to 2017, and Krause is serving as the U.S. Borlaug Fellow in Global Security at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in the bread wheat breeding program and is one of five recipients of the 2017 Jeanie Borlaug Laube Women in Triticum (WIT) Early Career Award.

“The goal of the award is to provide professional development opportunities and a support network for these women in the future,” said Maricelis Acevedo of the Delivering Genetic Gains in Wheat Project at Cornell University, while presenting the WIT winners during CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program Visitors’ Week in March.

In addition to Krause, 2017 WIT recipients include Ritika Chowdhary, University of Sydney; Wiezhen Liu, Washington State University; Tine Thach, Aarhus University and Sarrah Ben M’Barek-Ben Romdhane, Biotechnology Center of Borj Cédria, Tunisia.

In the following interview, Krause shares past experiences, her thoughts about the relevance of the award for future generations and her own career direction.

Q: When did you first become interested in agriculture?

A few weeks into my first semester of undergrad, University of Minnesota alumnus and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Norman Borlaug, passed away. Interested in learning more about his contributions, I attended a memorial ceremony on campus. I was inspired by Dr. Borlaug’s work to improve crops around the world and I began to realize that the field of plant breeding combined my interest in science and the natural world with my desire to improve livelihoods and the environment on a global scale.

Around the same time, I was looking for a part-time job on campus and, coincidentally, the wheat breeding lab was hiring an undergraduate laboratory assistant. Despite my lack of experience, I was hired. I got my start in this world assisting graduate students in the lab, greenhouse and field with wheat breeding and genetics experiments and since then I’ve never looked back.

Q: Tell us about the steps that led you here.

I graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2014 with a bachelor’s in applied plant science. As an undergraduate, I researched the genetic mechanisms that govern the plant’s response to fungal diseases in both wheat and barley. I also participated in two summer internships with Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer.

As a doctoral candidate in plant breeding at Cornell, my research interests focus on integrating new phenotyping, genotyping and environmental-sensing techniques to develop new wheat varieties for a range of environmental conditions. I’m currently working with CIMMYT conducting my dissertation research with the Global Wheat Program.

Q: What does receiving the Women in Triticum award mean to you?

It’s an honor to join this international community of women who have also focused their careers around improving livelihoods worldwide by delivering higher-yielding, nutritious and climate-resilient crop varieties. I’m most excited about the opportunity to be joining this network so that we may support one another and learn from each other, as we grow in our careers.

Q: Why is it important to have such a community of women?

There is a plethora of research documenting the importance of including women in the scientific process, but female agricultural scientists continue to face challenges and inequalities when entering the workforce.

Female scientists bring a variety of experiences and viewpoints that may benefit scientific advancement and improve the situation for other women, but studies have shown that they can encounter difficulties in accessing funding, seeking promotions or participating in conferences. Most shocking is that these challenges exist for female scientists in developing and developed countries alike.

Q: What are you currently working on with CIMMYT?

I will be spending a total of two years at CIMMYT, working with the Global Wheat Program to develop new strategies for breeding wheat varieties adapted to different environments. We are interested in integrating advanced genotyping technologies, high-throughput phenotyping techniques and environmental information into prediction models for crop performance. The goal is to more quickly and efficiently develop new, climate-resilient wheat varieties that are tailored to perform well under different environmental conditions.

Currently I’m located at the Campo Experimental Norman E. Borlaug in Ciudad Obregón, Mexico. This past season I worked with CIMMYT’s Bread Wheat Breeding and Wheat Physiology Programs to operate small unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with cameras and sensors in the field. These tools allow us to track each wheat variety’s growth and development throughout the season; the response to stress and the data acquired will be used to improve the efficiency of selection.

Q: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I envision myself pursuing a career in agricultural research with the primary focus being global development. I would love to be involved in collaborative research projects aimed at developing climate resilience in agricultural production, improving the nutritional quality of food systems, or addressing the agricultural needs of marginalized communities.

I also hope to continue mentoring students interested in plant sciences and to become more active in educating broader audiences about agriculture through science communications platforms.

To nominate or apply for the Jeannie Borlaug Laube Women in Triticum Early Career Award fill out the application by October 30, 2017 here.

Sales boost seed sector growth in Nepal

Written by on May 18, 2017. Posted in News.

Sweeping "Aditya," an improved wheat variety, into the floor duct of a seed cleaning machine at Unique Seed Co. Pvt. Ltd near Dhangadhi, Kailali, Nepal. Photo: P. Lowe/CIMMYT — Sweeping “Aditya,” an improved wheat variety, into the floor duct of a seed cleaning machine at Unique Seed Co. Pvt. Ltd near Dhangadhi, Kailali, Nepal. Photo: P. Lowe/CIMMYT

KATHMANDU, Nepal (CIMMYT) – Four Nepalese seed companies are showing signs of significant growth, with seed sales increasing nearly 60 percent since 2014.

About 70 percent of Nepal’s population is employed in the agriculture and forestry sector, accounting for 34 percent of the country’s gross national product. While farmers still face many challenges in accessing new technology, market opportunities and other inputs, Nepal’s seed industry is beginning to grow thanks to new investments in seed company operations and facilities. There are currently 20 locally registered seed companies that provide about 50 % of the nation’s formal seed supply system.

The four companies – New Shreeram, Lumbini Seed Company, GATE Nepal Pvt. Ltd. and Unique – are part of a group of 10 Nepalese companies that have worked with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) through the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) since 2014 to improve their marketing and sales strategies, business development, product range and quality.

This growth is notable in Nepal’s emerging cereal seed industry, which is composed primarily of small- to medium-scale enterprises that often lack business plans, have relatively low operating capital and have limited processing and storage facilities. These companies produce open-pollinated crop varieties, which are then released and registered by Nepal’s National Seed Board.

Half of the companies working with CIMMYT have so far been able to secure financial resources of up to $200,000 each from Nepal’s Ministry of Agricultural Development.

“These additional funds have allowed the seed companies to expand their facilities to include seed storage buildings, processing plants and laboratories,” said Upadhaya. “They have also included newly released iron- and zinc-rich varieties in their product lines.”

Some companies have also introduced innovative incentives for their producers by bearing the transportation costs of seed from the farmers’ fields to the company stores as a way to boost sales, according to Upadhaya.

The Seed Entrepreneurs’ Association of Nepal (SEAN) – the seed companies’ umbrella organization – has increased its membership from 600 in 2014 to 1,000 in 2016, formed three regional chapters and contributed a unified voice to discussions around agricultural policies of interest to the seed industry, said Laxmi Kanta Dhakal, SEAN Chairman.

As a result of these new technologies and investments, seed sold by these companies increased significantly and reached marginal areas of the country through new development networks and private sector traders.

New contractual agreements have since been signed between seed companies, informal groups and cooperatives for the production of seed. As outlined in Nepal’s Agricultural Development Strategy (2015-2025), these initiatives will help promote inclusive growth and an effective seed sector in Nepal.

CIMMYT launched the CSISA in 2009 to promote durable change at scale in South Asia’s cereal-based cropping systems. CIMMYT operates rural “innovation hubs” in Bangladesh, India and Nepal to increase the adoption of various resource-conserving and climate-resilient technologies, and to improve farmer access to market information and enterprise development. Learn more about CSISA’s impact here.

Scaling up research for impact

Written by on April 27, 2017. Posted in Features.

By scaling up, development practitioners take successful interventions and expand, adapt and sustain them in different ways over time for greater development impact. Photo: CIMMYT/P. Lowe — Bringing a scaling perspective to research projects as early as possible helps keep a focus on what the project actually can and aims to achieve. Photo: CIMMYT/P. Lowe

EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) – Agricultural innovations, like climate-resilient crops, sustainable land use practices and farm mechanization options, can go a long way toward achieving several U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.

But ensuring research reaches a significant amount of farmers to have widespread impact is challenging.

Projects, programs and policies can often be like small pebbles thrown into a big pond. They are limited in scope, time bound and therefore might fail to have long lasting impact. Through well thought scaling up strategies, development practitioners expect to implement successful interventions and expand, adapt and sustain them in different ways over time for greater developmental impact.

“To have our knowledge and technologies positively impact the livelihoods of large numbers of farmers in maize and wheat based systems is what matters most,” said Bruno Gérard, director of the Sustainable Intensification Program at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).

Understanding the needs and demands of our stakeholders is crucial in the design and implementation of a research portfolio, he added.

As part of a German Development Cooperation (GIZ) effort to aid the scaling up of agricultural innovations, Lennart Woltering recently joined CIMMYT’s Sustainable Intensification Program. With previous experience working in development in Africa and South Asia, Woltering will play a key role in linking CIMMYT’s research to specific development needs, increasing its relevance and impact.

There is no blue-print for scaling, it depends on the institutional and socio-economic environments, which are very diverse in the various regions where CIMMYT works, said Gérard. He hopes Woltering’s experience with both development and research organizations will further contribute to link the right technical innovations with the people who need them.

Bringing a scaling perspective to research projects as early as possible helps keep a focus on what the project actually can and aims to achieve, Woltering said. Understanding what the drivers are that make widespread adoption happen is critical.

“We do this by making sure scaling processes are an integral part of innovation systems. It is important to understand how conducive environments for scaling can be facilitated and how far we can realistically go,” he added.

Woltering will work to provide a coherent approach to scaling that can be used across the program’s projects, said Gérard.

To see real impact from research, initiatives must move beyond the boundaries of a single organization, Woltering said. New forms of collaboration across different sectors and the opening of new communication channels to share lessons of success when scaling should emerge.

Woltering will develop scaling strategies to facilitate the adoption of sustainable intensification options such as conservation agriculture and water/nutrient efficient practices, and contribute to enhance CIMMYT’s partnerships with public and private sectors.

Previously, Woltering worked as a civil engineer focusing on water management with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics in Africa (ICRISAT), then later moved on to work for a consulting development firm in Germany. His experience will allow him to better articulate development needs with CIMMYT’s research, increasing the relevance and impact of the organization’s work.

Woltering is one of five experts working at CIMMYT as part of the GIZ sponsored CIM Integrated Experts program. The CIM program aims to strategically place managers and technical experts in public and private organizations in the developing world to pass on their professional knowledge and contribute to capacity building.

Q+A: Agricultural mechanization fuels opportunity for youth in rural Africa

Written by on April 26, 2017. Posted in News.

Farmers test out agricultural mechanization tools in Zimbabwe as part of CIMMYT's — Farmers test out agricultural mechanization tools in Zimbabwe as part of CIMMYT’s Farm Mechanization and Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Intensification project. Photo: CIMMYT/ Frédéric Baudron

EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) – Small-scale agricultural mechanization is showing signs it has the potential to fuel rural employment for youth in sub-Saharan Africa, according to researchers at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).

Across Africa, youth are struggling with high unemployment and working poverty, the International Labor Organization records. However, increased adoption of agricultural mechanization – especially machines that are small, affordable and easy to maintain such as two-wheel tractors – is stimulating jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities for African youth, said Frédéric Baudron, senior systems agronomist at CIMMYT.

“Small-scale mechanization is more equitable than other forms of mechanization as even the poorest and most vulnerable have access to it,” he said.

Youth, along with women, are typically subject to labor intensive farm activities causing them to shun agriculture. But with mechanization improving productivity while reducing drudgery, youth are seeing economic opportunity in agribusiness, on rural farms and as service providers, said Rabe Yahaya, a CIM/GIZ integrated expert specialized in mechanization for sustainable agriculture intensification.

As a result, new jobs along the value chain from mechanics to spare parts providers have been created, he added.

Relatively cheap and easy to operate two-wheel tractors can be used for many different applications. On-farm, the tractors are used to speed up crop establishment while conserving soils through reduced tillage and precision fertilizer application. They allow farmers to tap into surface water for irrigation as well as aid shelling grain to reduce the time taken to get to market. The machinery has also been used to start rural commercial hire and transport services.

Beyene Abebe from Ethiopia, is one youth gaining economic opportunity as a mechanization service provider. Photo: CIMMYT/ Frédéric Baudron

24-year-old Beyene Abebe from Ethiopia is one youth benefiting from mechanization. Through CIMMYT managed training, Abebe has developed the skills needed to become a mechanization service provider. He now provides transportation services for an average of 200 households annually and ploughing services for 40 farmers in his village using two-wheel tractors. With the income from his service, Abebe can cover his family’s expenses and he bought farmland with his savings.

National government support for training and innovation is key to bolster agricultural mechanization throughout Africa, said Baudron. By creating a conductive business environment to attract private sector actors, governments can grease the wheels to scale out success.

Both Yahaya and Baudron shared some insights on the opportunities agricultural mechanization can provide rural communities in the following interview.

Q: Why is it important that agricultural research for development targets youth in rural areas?

RY: A growing population and diet change is increasing food demand in Africa, however, the amount of arable land is decreasing. This affects rural areas, where agriculture remains the main source of income and livelihood. Agriculture in the way it is currently practiced in rural areas is no longer attractive to the new generation of youth as it is labor intensive, rudimentary, risky, unproductive and does not support a good livelihood.

In addition, only 2 percent of Africa’s youth are undertaking agricultural curriculum at the university level. Despite young Africans being more literate than their parents, they suffer from increased unemployment. Agriculture could be the solution in tackling youth unemployment in rural areas, therefore providing peace, stability and food security.

FB: Youth unemployment is growing. Agriculture is perceived as a sector that can absorb much of this unemployment, particularly when combined with entrepreneurship.

In my view, an important issue when tackling issues of sustainable development as opposed to simply ‘development,’ is the issue of equity. We must ensure that the largest amount of people benefit from our interventions. Rural youth represent a large proportion of the vulnerable households in the areas where we work, because they lack capital and other resources, similar to women-headed households.

Q: How is mechanization creating new rural opportunities for youth and women?

RY: In many societies, youth and women are unequally disadvantaged and perform the most labor intensive agricultural activities such as plowing, sowing, weeding, harvesting, shelling, water pumping, threshing and transportation with very rudimentary implements using human and animal power. Therefore, increasing the use of engine power in agriculture will free youth and women from production drudgery discrepancies and most importantly increase farm productivity and consequently improve income generation if an organized value chain exists with a strong private sector involvement.

FB: Mechanization creates rural employment. It creates work for service provider jobs and it also stimulates other businesses along the mechanization value chains. Once demand for mechanization is established, employment opportunities grow for mechanics, fuel providers, savings and loans associations, spare part dealers, etc.

Q: What lessons are there to aid youth to be successful mechanization service providers?

RY: Training in mechanical, agronomic and business skills. Again training and constant follow up is key in order not only to produce successful youth mechanization service provider, but to ensure their continued success. In addition, infrastructure, aftersales — service and spare parts dealerships and financial schemes, promote the adoption of mechanization and support the development of value chain markets are crucial to success.

And remember whatever the technology may be, the farmer has to be able to earn money from it, otherwise they will not use it!

FB: Youth also tend to be better at managing modern technologies. We found consistently, in all countries where we work, that being a successful service provider is highly correlated to be a member of the youth. However, other factors are also important such as being entrepreneurial, educated, able to contribute to the cost of the machinery, and preferably having an experience in similar businesses and particularly in mechanics

Working with CIMMYT’s Farm Mechanization and Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Intensification (FACASI) project, researchers have sought to promote the delivery and adoption of small-scale machines to make farming practices – including planting, harvesting, water pumping, shelling and transporting – more productive and sustainable in eastern and southern Africa. Funded by the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research, FACASI offers support throughout the supply chain, from importers to manufacturers, service providers and extension workers to ensure mechanization reaches farmers.

CIMMYT’s mechanization team has ongoing collaboration with GIZ/BMZ green innovation center in Ethiopia and works in Namibia with GIZ to provide knowledge, expertise and capacity building on conservation agriculture.

Further information:

Rural21 features CIMMYT mechanization experts

Mechanization for smallholder farmers fact sheet

India celebrates women in climate smart agriculture

Written by on April 3, 2017. Posted in News.

In celebration of International Women’s Day, 150 women from villages across Haryana and Bihar, India joined to celebrate the adoption of climate-smart agriculture in their communities. Photo: Kailash C Kalvaniya/ CIMMYT — In celebration of International Women’s Day, 150 women from villages across Haryana and Bihar, India joined to celebrate the adoption of climate-smart agriculture in their communities. Photo: Kailash C. Kalvaniya/ CIMMYT

NEW DELHI (CIMMYT) – If women were given the same access to land, seed and other resources as men, they could increase yields on their farm up to 30 percent, reducing the number of hungry people in the world by 150 million. However, large gender disparities in agriculture continue to make it difficult for rural women to access resources and make their own farming decisions.

In response, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) began initiatives to empower rural women such as campaigns to eliminate residue burning, build partnerships with local organizations and more.

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) addresses the interlinked challenges of food security and climate change by sustainably increasing agricultural productivity, building resilience in food-production systems and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture.

In celebration of International Women’s Day, two events promoting the adoption of CSA technologies and practices among women farmers – like the GreenSeeker sensor, zero tillage farming and others – were organized in the states of Bihar and Haryana, India, representing contrasting agro-ecological and socio-economic regions.

“Linking with CIMMYT-CCAFS, I’ve learned advanced farming techniques, which support better agriculture with increased productivity and profits,” said Ms. Suman, a young farmer from Bastara village in Karnal, India. Suman’s success with climate-smart agriculture inspired women from other villages to begin practicing sustainable farming as well. Photo: CIMMYT

In Bihar, the event was held in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna and the Borlaug Institute for South Asia and was attended by 80 women farmers from climate smart villages (CSVs), areas that integrate CSA technologies and practices into village development plans, using local knowledge and expertise and supported by local institutions, to help communities adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change.

Usha Singh, professor of home science at Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agriculture University, Bihar, highlighted the role of women in Bihar’s agriculture sector and their contribution to sustainable food production, nutrition and livelihoods. Singh shared home remedies to overcome malnutrition among children and women in rural areas by using their farm produce to prepare balanced diet. R.K. Asthana, animal husbandry scientist with the agricultural extension center Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) in Biroli, emphasized the important role training activities for livestock management can have in improving the socioeconomic status of women in the area.

In Haryana, the event was organized at a climate smart village in Bastara, Karnal in collaboration with the ICAR-Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, which was attended by over 70 women farmers from across several villages. Women shared their experiences under CSVs, discussed ways to increase productivity and profitability, and raise awareness among other women farmers in the area.

HS Jat, CIMMYT senior scientist in Karnal, provided an overview of CIMMYT-CCAFS activities in Haryana and emphasized strengthening and formalizing women groups to enhance knowledge and increase access to resources. CIMMYT event organizers and assistant research associates Munmun Rai and Deepak Bijarniya, and assistant research scientist JM Sutaliya, collectively emphasized the positive impact of CSA interventions in India, which have built farmer resilience to climate change while increasing their productivity and incomes. Deepa Chandra and DK Gosain, program coordinators for National Dairy Research Institute’s KVK in Haryana, also spoke at the event.

For further information:

Women in agriculture step together for change

New Publications: Successful agricultural interventions require social shifts, not just technological

Written by on March 23, 2017. Posted in Publications.

Wheat harvest in Juchitepec, Estado de México. Photo: P.Lowe/CIMMYT

MEXICO CITY (CIMMYT) – Traditionally, agricultural research organizations measured impact by the number of technologies developed, with less attention given to whether or not these technologies were adopted by farmers and the impact they had in communities.

Today organizations must clearly demonstrate impact in farmers’ fields. Research and extension approaches based on agricultural innovation systems, or networks of organizations within an economic system that are directly involved in the creation, diffusion and use of scientific and technological knowledge, as well as the organizations responsible for the coordination and support of these processes.

This shift represents a new focus on innovation as a social process, as opposed to a research-driven process of technology transfer.

Despite growing interest in agricultural innovation system, little is still known about the most effective ways to operationalize these systems, especially within short and medium timeframes, according to researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in a new paper “Agricultural research organisations’ role in the emergence of agricultural innovation systems.”

The study claims that external input is often needed to generate an agricultural innovation system, and that network brokers – actors like NGOs and others, who catalyze collective action by enhancing farmers’ access to information and technical assistance – play a crucial role.

The authors conclude that while scientific research is an important component of the development of an agricultural innovation system, it is not enough; more emphasis has to be directed at extension and education of different actors to achieve a genuine paradigm shift in agricultural innovation.

Read the full study here and check out other recent publications from CIMMYT staff below.

Agricultural research organisations’ role in the emergence of agricultural innovation systems. 2017. Hellin, J.; Camacho Villa, T.C. Development in Practice 27 (1) ; 111-115.
Evaluation of the APSIM model in cropping systems of Asia. 2017. Gaydon, D.S.; Singh, B.; Wang, E.; Poulton, P.L.; Ahmad, B.; Ahmed, F.; Akhter, S.; Ali, I.; Amarasingha, R.; Chaki, A.K.; Chen, C.; Choudhury, B.U.; Darai, R.; Das, A.; Hochman, Z.; Horan, H.; Hosang, E.Y.; Vijaya Kumar, P.; Khan, A.S.M.M.R.; Laing, A.M.; Liu, L.; Malaviachichi, M.A.P.W.K.; Mohapatra, K.P.; Muttaleb, M.A.; Power, B.; Radanielson, A.M.; Rai, G.S.; Rashid, M.H.; Rathanayake, W.M.U.K.; Sarker, M.M.R.; Sena, D.R.; Shamim, M.; Subash, N.; Suriadi, A.; Suriyagoda, L.D.B.; Wang, G.; Wang, J.; Yadav, R.K.; Roth, C.H. Field Crops Research 204 : 52-75.
Forward genetics by sequencing EMS variation induced inbred lines. 2017. Addo-Quaye, C.; Buescher, E.; Best, N.; Chaikam, V.; Baxter, I.; Dilkes, B.P. G3 7 (2) : 413-425.
Genetic analysis and mapping of adult plant resistance loci to leaf rust in durum wheat cultivar Bairds. 2017. Caixia Lan; Basnet, B.R.; Singh, R.P.; Huerta-Espino, J.; Herrera-Foessel, S.; Yong Ren; Randhawa, M.S. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 130 (3) : 609–619.
Genotype by trait biplot analysis to study associations and profiles of Ethiopian white lupin (Lupinus albus) landraces. 2017. Atnaf, M.; Kassahun Tesfaye; Kifle Dagne; Dagne Wegary Gissa. Australian Journal of Crop Science 11 (1) : 55-62.
Application of remote sensing to identify adult plant resistance loci to stripe rust in two bread wheat mapping populations. 2016. Pretorius, Z.A.; Caixia Lan; Prins, R.; Knight, V.; McLaren, N.W.; Singh, R.P.; Bender, C.; Kloppers, F.J. Precision Agriculture. Online First.
Genomic prediction models for grain yield of spring bread wheat in diverse agro-ecological zones. 2016. Saint Pierre, C.; Burgueño, J.; Crossa, J.; Fuentes Dávila, G.; Figueroa López, P.; Solís Moya, E.; Ireta Moreno, J.; Hernández Muela, V.M.; Zamora Villa, V.; Vikram, P.; Mathews, K.; Sansaloni, C.P.; Sehgal, D.; Jarquín, D.; Wenzl, P.; Sukhwinder-Singh. Nature Scientific reports 6 : 27312.
Genomic prediction using phenotypes from pedigreed lines with no marker data. 2016. Ashraf, B.; Edriss, V.; Akdemir, D.; Autrique, E.; Bonnett, D.G.; Crossa, J.; Janss, L.; Singh, R.P.; Jannink, J.L. Crop Science 56 (3) : 957-964.
Identification of genomic associations for adult plant resistance in the background of popular South Asian wheat cultivar, PBW343. 2016. Huihui Li; Sukhwinder-Singh; Bhavani, S.; Singh, R.P.; Sehgal, D.; Basnet, B.R.; Vikram, P.; Burgueño, J.; Huerta-Espino, J. Frontiers in Plant Science 7 (1674) : 1-18.
Mapping of spot blotch disease resistance using NDVI as a substitute to visual observation in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). 2016. Suneel Kumar; Roder, M.S.; Singh, R.P.; Kumar, S.; Ramesh Chand; Joshi, A.K.; Kumar, U. Molecular Breeding 36 (95) : 1-11.

Breaking Ground: Akhter Ali helps transform agriculture sector in Pakistan

Written by on March 9, 2017. Posted in Features.

Breaking Ground is a regular series featuring staff at CIMMYT

EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) – Akhter Ali always knew he wanted to have an impact on the livelihoods of farmers in Pakistan.

“I come from a farmer family – the poverty and inequality of rural communities always disturbed me,” said Ali, who was born in Multan district, Pakistan. “I knew from a young age I wanted to do something to help my community and the rural poor throughout my country.”

Ali, an agricultural economist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), is working to sustainably increase agricultural productivity and incomes for farmers through the Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP), an initiative funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development to build up the country’s agriculture sector through the development and dissemination of new agriculture technologies.

“Agriculture supports nearly half of Pakistan’s population – more than two thirds for those living in rural areas – and accounts for over 20 percent of Pakistan’s gross domestic product” Ali said. “Strengthening this sector by connecting and addressing the needs of different actors in rural markets is key to poverty reduction and achieving food security.”

Despite the significant role of agriculture to the economy, the sector has only grown 2.8 percent in recent years due to weak market structures, resource depletion and other challenges. Ali, along with other researchers, is analyzing how maize and wheat farmers can access the best seed, technology and practices to sustainably increase crop yields across the country.

“If we want to boost farmer livelihoods, we need to change how farmers work by ensuring they know how to sustainably manage their land, water and other resources,” Ali said. “We then need to ensure that the markets in which these farmers operate are stable so that they have easier access to agricultural inputs like seed.”

Ali’s research over the past four years at CIMMYT has focused on making these goals a reality, from conducting comprehensive surveys, which are expected to help develop the durum wheat market in Pakistan, to adoption and impact studies of such sustainable technology as zero tillage machines and precision land levelers, now used by thousands of farmers throughout Pakistan.

“There are 80,000 farmers – 20 percent of which are women, whose numbers are growing – working with AIP who have adopted these new, sustainable technologies,” said Ali. In the future, Ali hopes to see his work continue to be used as a tool by policy makers, extension workers and others.

“We still face challenges with farmer access to seed, from engaging women to market constraints, so it’s critical we create policies that facilitate sustainable development in rural communities,” Ali said.

Shifting trends in Pakistan from urbanization to climate change will make it even more necessary to understand how rural communities operate in the coming years, he said, adding that policies supporting its development will be key to feeding the country and alleviating rural poverty.

Scientists in Afghanistan set new program to raise wheat harvests

Written by on February 17, 2017. Posted in News.

KABUL (CIMMYT) – Inadequate access to new disease-resistant varieties and short supplies of certified seed are holding back wheat output and contributing to rising food insecurity in Afghanistan, according to more than 50 national and international wheat experts.

Wheat scientists and policymakers discussed challenges to the country’s most-produced crop during a two-day meeting at Agricultural Research Institute of Afghanistan (ARIA) headquarters in Kabul, as part of the 5^th Annual Wheat Researchers’ Workshop in November 2016. They took stock of constraints to the 2017 winter wheat crop, including dry autumn weather and rapidly-evolving strains of the deadly wheat disease known as yellow rust.

“Old wheat varieties are falling prey to new races of rust,” said Qudrat Soofizada, director for Adaptive Research at ARIA, pointing out that the country’s 2016 wheat harvest had remained below 5 million tons for the second year in a row, after a record harvest of more than 5.3 million tons in 2014.

The workshop was attended by 51 participants belonging to several ARIA research stations and experts from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and World Bank’s Afghanistan Agriculture Input Project (AAIP).

Afghanistan has been importing around 2.5 million tons of cereal grain — mainly wheat — in the last two years, with most of that coming from Kazakhstan and Pakistan, according to recent reports from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

“Most wheat farmers save grain from prior harvests and use that as seed, rather than sowing certified seed of newer, high-yielding and disease resistant varieties,” said Rajiv Sharma, CIMMYT senior scientist and representative at the center’s office in Afghanistan. “This is holding back the country’s wheat productivity potential.”

Sharma explained that CIMMYT has been supporting efforts of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) to boost supplies of certified seed of improved varieties and of critical inputs like fertilizer.

“CIMMYT has worked with Afghanistan wheat scientists for decades and more than 90 percent of the country’s certified wheat varieties contain genetic contributions from our global breeding efforts,” Sharma explained.

Since 2012, the center has organised more than 1,700 wheat variety demonstrations on farmers’ fields and trained over 1,000 farmers. CIMMYT scientists are also conducting field and DNA analyses of Afghan wheats, which will allow faster and more effective breeding.

The FAO reports showed that the government, FAO and diverse non-governmental organizations had distributed some 10,000 tons of certified seed of improved wheat varieties for the current planting season. With that amount of seed farmers can sow around 67,000 hectares, but this is only some 3 percent of the country’s approximately 2.5 million-hectare wheat area.

“We have been informing the National Seed Board about older varieties that are susceptible to the rusts,” said Ghiasudin Ghanizada, head of wheat pathology at MAIL/ARIA, Kabul, adding that efforts were being made to take such varieties out of the seed supply chain.

After discussions, Ghanizada and MAIL/ARIA associates M. Hashim Azmatyar and Abdul Latif Rasekh presented the technical program for breeding, pathology and agronomy activities to end 2016 and start off 2017.

Zubair Omid, hub coordinator, CIMMYT-Afghanistan, presented results of wheat farmer field demonstrations, informing that grain yields in the demonstrations ranged from 2.8 to 7.6 tons per hectare.

T.S. Pakbin, former director of ARIA, inaugurated the meeting and highlighted CIMMYT contributions to Afghanistan’s wheat improvement work. M.Q. Obaidi, director of ARIA, thanked participants for traveling long distances to attend, despite security concerns. Nabi Hashimi, research officer, CIMMYT-Afghanistan, welcomed participants on behalf of CIMMYT and wished them good luck for the 2016-17 season.

Wheat breeding trial results were presented by Zamarai Ahmadzada from Darulaman Research Station, Kabul; Aziz Osmani from Urad Khan Research Station, Herat; Shakib Attaye from Shisham Bagh Research Station, Nangarhar; Abdul Manan from Bolan Research Station, Helmand; Said Bahram from Central Farm, Kunduz; Najibullah Jahid from Kohkaran Research Station, Kandahar; and Sarwar Aryan from Mulla Ghulam Research Station, Bamyan.

Agronomy results from the research stations of Badakhshan, Herat, Kabul, Kunduz, Helmand and Bamyan were also presented and summarized by Abdul Latif Rasikh, head of Wheat Agronomy, ARIA headquarters, Badam Bagh, Kabul

Surveillance training to control wheat blast in Bangladesh

Written by on February 14, 2017. Posted in News.

Bleached spikes infected with wheat blast hold shriveled grain, if any. Photo: E. Duveiller/CIMMYT

DINAJPUR, Bangladesh (CIMMYT) — Responding to a 2016 outbreak of the deadly and little-understood crop disease “wheat blast” in Bangladesh, 40 wheat pathologists, breeders and agronomists from Bangladesh, India and Nepal have gathered to hone their skills through surveillance exercises in farmers’ fields and molecular analysis of the causal fungus in laboratories of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) at Gazipur.

Entitled “Taking action to mitigate the threat of wheat blast in South Asia: Disease surveillance and monitoring skills training,” the 13-day program was launched on 4 February at BARI’s Wheat Research Center (WRC), Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI), Dinajpur, in collaboration with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the CGIAR research program on wheat, the Delivering Genetic Gain in Wheat (DGGW) project led by Cornell University, and Kansas State University (KSU).

The 2016 Bangladesh outbreak was the first time wheat blast has appeared in South Asia. The disease struck 15,000 hectares in 7 southwestern and southern districts of Bangladesh, with crop losses averaging 25-30 percent and reaching 100 percent in some cases.

In response the Bangladesh Ministry of Agriculture formed a task force through the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) to help develop and distribute resistant cultivars and pursue integrated agronomic control measures. A factsheet distributed to wheat farmers is raising awareness about the disease and particularly its identification and management.

Caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae pathotype Triticum (MoT) and first discovered in Paraná State, Brazil, in the mid-1980s, wheat blast constitutes a major constraint to wheat production in South America. The sudden appearance of a highly virulent MoT strain in Bangladesh presents a serious threat for food and income security in South Asia, home to 300 million undernourished people and whose inhabitants consume over 100 million tons of wheat each year.

Experts from CIMMYT, Cornell University and Kansas State University, along with scientists from BARI and Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), are serving as instructors and facilitators.

“This training will increase the capacity of Bangladesh and neighboring country scientists, thereby strengthening research on wheat blast and monitoring disease through intensive surveillance,” said the Additional Secretary (Research), Ministry of Agriculture Md. Fazle Wahid Khondaker, chief guest in the inaugural session. Arun K. Joshi, CIMMYT-India country representative, T.P. Tiwari, CIMMYT-Bangladesh country representative, Prof. Dr. Bahadur Meah from BAU, Mymensingh, and Additional Director, Department of Agricultural Extension, and Md. Julfikar Haider were present as special guests. Dr. N.C.D. Barma, WRC, BARI chaired the session, and BARI Director General Dr. Abul Kalam Azad took part.

The training program is funded by BARI, CIMMYT, DGGW, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through the CIMMYT-led Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) and CSISA- Mechanization projects, as well as the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). The DGGW project is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) through UK Aid.

Participants with guests during training inauguration. Photo: S. Khan/CIMMYT

USAID makes special visit to CIMMYT activities in Bangladesh

Written by on February 10, 2017. Posted in News.

Timothy Krupnik (right) explains the use and benefits of the Power Tiller Operated Seeder to USAID Deputy Administrator Gary Lindon (far left). Photo: Md. Aktarul Islam/CIMMYT-Bangladesh

JESSORE, Bangladesh (CIMMYT) — USAID’s Deputy Administrator Gary Lindon visited Bangladesh in November 2016 to learn how the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) engages with partners to help smallholder farmers uptake sustainable agriculture practices, as well as to observe the private sector’s role in producing farm machinery that is faster, more environmentally friendly and affordable for smallholder farmers.

One example of sustainable, smallholder-friendly machinery being promoted by CIMMYT with national partners is the two-wheeled mechanical reaper, a tool that’s proven to save farmers time and money, and helps them cope with increasing labor scarcity in Bangladesh — a trend that has continued to rise as Bangladesh develops economically and more people leave rural areas for off-farm employment, according to Timothy Krupnik, systems agronomist at CIMMYT.

“Mechanical harvesting also allows farmers to more quickly clear the field and sow the next crop, which has yield advantages for planting crops like wheat,” said Krupnik.

Lindon also met with service providers — entrepreneurial farmers turned businessmen — who have purchased the two-wheeled mechanical reapers and are now offering their harvesting services to smallholder farmers at an affordable fee.

“The local service provision business model is key to unlocking agricultural and entrepreneurial capacity in rural Bangladesh,” said Kevin Robbins, director of programs at International Development Enterprises, one of CIMMYT’s partners in Bangladesh. “We’ve seen just over 1,000 local service providers provide agricultural machinery services to over 40,000 farmers — catalyzing a level of impact that would not have been possible if we had promoted a traditional model where every farmer buys his or her own machine.”

The deputy administrator of USAID and his attaché observe a rice and wheat crop harvester piloted by an entrepreneurial farmer turned businessman. Photo: Md. Aktarul Islam/CIMMYT-Bangladesh

Shafiqul Islam, CIMMYT’s Jessore hub coordinator, also explained that through mechanical harvesting, farmers save $48 per hectare, while service providers earn approximately $31 per hectare.

“In Bangladesh, private sector companies are working hard to promote agricultural machinery that develops the sector,” said Mohammad Jamil, managing director at Metal Pvt. Ltd., a leading private company in Bangladesh that sells reapers. “We want to do more business — the kind of business that changes the lives of farmers through increasing the sales of appropriate agricultural machinery. There’s a strong incentive for us to endorse the adoption of new technologies, which in turn increases food production, boosts farmer income and supports our economy. It’s a win-win business model and a sustainable way to develop our country.”

The team later visited lentil and maize fields that had been seeded directly with seeders, affordable machines that can attach directly to two-wheeled tractors, which are increasingly being used by farmers in Bangladesh. Farmers attending the USAID field visit commented that through the use of two-wheel tractor attachable seeders they can save $60 per hectare by avoiding recurring tillage and manual seeding costs.

“This machine also helps farmers to sow seeds on time, as recommended by agronomists, because direct sowing saves farmers’ 7-10 days compared to full tillage and manual sowing systems,” explained Islam.

CIMMYT launched the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) program in 2009 to promote durable change at scale in South Asia’s cereal-based cropping systems. Through this program, CIMMYT is operating rural “innovation hubs” in Bangladesh, India and Nepal to increase the adoption of various resource-conserving and climate-resilient technologies, and to improve farmer access to market information and enterprise development. Learn more about CSISA’s impact here.

Participatory scaling of climate-smart agriculture

Written by on December 30, 2016. Posted in News.

Introducing climate change in Bihar’s Krishi road map. Photo: CIMMYT-BISA

BIHAR, India (CIMMYT) — Rich endowment of fertile soil, adequate rainfall and sufficient ground water makes agriculture key to the overall development of the economy of the state of Bihar in India. Farm mechanization to enhance cropping intensity, reduce labor requirements and improve farm production efficiency is a vital policy initiative taken by Bihar’s Department of Agriculture to address the shrinking area under cultivation. Although the state government has accorded top priority to agriculture, the action plan (the so-called Krishi road map) it has prepared for the agriculture sector does not include a strategy for climate change mitigation.

Extreme climatic vulnerability keeps Bihar’s agricultural productivity low. It is the only state in the country where drought and flood recurrently occur at the same time. To overcome these adverse conditions, the government of Bihar is trying to re-orient agriculture by enacting diversification policies and other measures such as irrigation, flood control and drainage schemes. It has also been involved in climate-smart agriculture (CSA) work and pilot climate-smart villages (CSVs) undertaken by CIMMYT and the Borlaug Initiative for South Asia (BISA) and other collaborators. Concerns about climate change challenges were shared by Nitish Kumar, Bihar’s chief minister, with CIMMYT Director General Martin Kropff during his recent visit to Bihar. They also discussed local community collaboration with researchers, policymakers and scientists on establishing a strategic approach to scale sustainable intensification based on conservation agriculture.

Throughout 2016, traveling seminars and workshops were organized in CSVs to disseminate knowledge about climate-smart agriculture practices (CSAPs). Highlighted at these events were the benefits of direct-seeded rice, laser land leveling, bed planting, residue management, site-specific nutrient management, the GreenSeeker sensor, zero tillage, crop diversification, intensification with legume incorporation, information & communications technologies and weather forecasting. During a stakeholder consultation in September 2016 led by Vijoy Prakash, Bihar’s Agriculture Production Commissioner, CIMMYT-BISA shared its CSA experiences. Addressing the need to incorporate climate change into the Krishi road map, the Chief Minister and other senior government officials visited the CSA research sites at BISA-Pusa and the CSV pilots in Samastipur District implemented by CCAFS, CIMMYT and BISA. Bihar’s Agriculture Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary also visited 30 CIMMYT-BISA pilot CSVs in Samastipur and Vaishali Districts.

Farmers sharing their experiences with climate-smart practices during a field visit by the Chief Minister of Bihar. Photo: CIMMYT-BISA

The Bihar Agricultural Management and Training Institute (BAMETI) issued a letter to CIMMYT stating that the government of Bihar plans to implement CSA and CSVs in all 38 districts of Bihar. BAMETI is responsible for organizing need-based training programs for the farming community. The Bihar’s Department of Agriculture is also preparing a proposal to introduce CSAPs to improve the resilience of farmers by mainstreaming CSVs in Bihar with technical and strategic support from CIMMYT, BISA and CCAFS in collaboration with Rajendra Agricultural University, Bihar Agricultural University and the ICAR research complex for the eastern region. Based on the success of CSVs, the linkages with CIMMYT will help fulfill Bihar’s innovative Krishi road map. Commending the work done in farmers’ fields and its relevance for addressing climate challenges from a farming systems perspective, Chief Minister Kumar sent a letter to CIMMYT’s DG on the occasion of CIMMYT’s 50^th anniversary.

Since then, several field days, workshops and meetings have been conducted by CIMMYT-BISA in collaboration with other partners to fulfill the Krishi road map. On October 7, 2016, a field day on “Direct-Seeded Rice in Climate-Smart Villages’’ was held at CSV Digmbra with more than 300 farmers, service providers, NGOs, private companies and state agriculture department representatives participating, as well as scientists from Krishi Vikas Kendra University and CIMMYT.

Among the subjects discussed were CSA interventions implemented through innovative partnerships with farmers and farmer cooperatives to build farmers’ resilience to climate change and increase their productivity and incomes, while mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. Samastipur’s district magistrate reported that the government of Bihar is supporting farmers’ adoption of improved technologies by providing them with subsidies for mechanization, irrigation and improved seed. Finally, several progressive farmers shared their experiences with climate-smart practices and encouraged other farmers to adopt them in order to improve their livelihoods.

Engaging youth: beyond the buzzword

Written by on December 20, 2016. Posted in News.

Researchers are seeking to re-engage rural youth who are increasingly abandoning agriculture to work in cities, raising the question who will grow our food in the future? Photo: P.Lowe/CIMMYT

EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) – More than 60 percent of the population in developing countries is below the age of 25, a demographic that is projected to grow. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, the number of young people is expected to triple by 2050.

Despite large numbers of youth, farmers worldwide are an average age of about 60 as young people are being pushed out of their rural homes, due to factors like lack of access to land or credit. This is causing a dangerous trend that could result in a shortage of farmers in the coming decades, just as global food demand is projected to increase 70 percent by 2050.

However, when given the opportunity and access to resources, young men and women often prefer to stay in their rural homes and have proven to be more likely to adopt the new technologies needed to sustainably increase agricultural productivity than older farmers.

In an effort to address this age disparity and encourage young people to get involved in farming, youth in agriculture experts are developing a new framework with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) that aims to help boost interest in research on maize and wheat farming systems.

Youth in agriculture experts from the Institute of Development studies (IDS), the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) and the Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD) visited CIMMYT headquarters near Mexico City to discuss prospects and implications for maize and wheat farming systems – building on efforts to produce a collaborative draft framing paper by IDS with the CGIAR Research Programs MAIZE and WHEAT to help think about how both programs want to engage with youth as part of their research agendas.

Jim Sumberg, agriculturalist and research fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, discusses how we can support youth and build up rural society at large. Photo: G. Renard/CIMMYT

In some situations young people are resorting to occupations other than farming due to lack of land or employment options in rural areas, according to Jim Sumberg, research fellow at IDS and an agriculturalist with over 25 years’ experience working on small-scale farming systems and agricultural research policy.

The response of agricultural research should not just be simply to make youth another target group, Sumberg said.

“We want to develop a more nuanced story, particularly in relation to the interests of MAIZE and WHEAT, and how these align with the interests and capabilities of different groups of young people – men and women, rich and poor, better and less well educated,” Sumberg said.

However, Sumberg cautioned against youth becoming just another box for donors to tick.

“There is a real danger that if we identify young people as a separate target group, as has been done before with women,” Sumberg said. “For each new box you put people in, you are chopping up rural society into separate pieces, as if youth aren’t related to the adults, older people and kids. But in fact everyone is embedded in social relations and networks and are connected to each other.”

What young people do economically, what they’re able to do both in farming and other occupations, has a lot to do with the nature of those relationships.

You need to consider questions like “Does a son or daughter receive land from a father or uncle? Does a wife lend money to her husband to start a business? If you only think in terms of isolate groups, you’re not getting the full picture,” he said.

Sumberg believes that we are early enough in youth involvement in agricultural research that we can avoid the mistake of making them a distinct and separate target. The real challenge is to work our way back to a more holistic image of rural society, which includes understanding the dynamic relationships between individuals and groups in each context in which we operate.

“It’s a great challenge, but the benefits are huge if we can pull this off,” Sumberg said.

The collaborative framing paper on youth for MAIZE and WHEAT will be published in 2017.

Maize seed and training aim to reduce aid dependency in Haiti

Written by on December 6, 2016. Posted in News.

Bags of Hugo seed in storage in Haiti. CIMMYT/Alberto Chassaigne

EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) – Haiti’s farmers are benefiting from improved maize seed as part of a project developed to help kick-start the local seed sector and reduce dependence on international aid and imports.

Half of the Haitian population lives on less than $1.25 a day, and half of their food is imported, leaving them vulnerable to food price rises. Haiti receives $20 million per year in food assistance from U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) collaborations alone. Because of the lack of inputs, fragile infrastructure and soil erosion, most farming is subsistence in nature and kept in check by droughts and seasonal storms.

Until good-quality improved seed is available in Haiti, farmers will struggle to surpass yields of one ton per hectare, and most will settle for much less. “In order to be sustainable, you need seed systems and it needs to be a business,” said Arturo Silva, leader of the Haiti Mayi Plus project, led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) with funding from USAID.

Bringing back Hugo

A very popular quality protein maize variety was introduced to Haiti 10 years ago by CIMMYT researcher Hugo Cordova. Haitian farmers know it as “Hugo,” but after a decade without a functioning system to guarantee that varieties are reproduced with the same genetic characteristics, the seed found in Haitian markets is no longer worthy of the name. Currently, there are only two formally-registered private seed producers in Haiti.

CIMMYT’s first task is to restore Hugo to its former glory by providing four tons of basic seed to be scaled up into commercial seed for use in Haiti. Although Hurricane Matthew destroyed 1.5 tons of this store in October, the project is still on track to surpass targets due to success elsewhere.

Haitian trainees in Mexico. CIMMYT/Alberto Chassaigne

In February 2016, eight people from Haitian seed enterprises, rural development groups and the Ministry of Agriculture travelled to the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, for a training course in seed production.

The training was so successful that, with 30 kilograms of foundation seed provided by CIMMYT, nearly four tons of basic Hugo seed will be produced in Haiti. Additionally, trainees passed on their newly acquired knowledge to around 30 farmers with the potential to become seed producers themselves.

From just over one ton of basic Hugo seed planted it will be possible to produce 140 tons of commercial seed for farmers, enough to plant 7,000 hectares of farmland in the area targeted by the project in southwest Haiti.

The return of Hugo is a quick win as a variety that farmers already know and trust. If farmers in target areas combine the new seed with good planting practices and fertilizer, they should be able to double their yields, at the very least.

Towards maize self-sufficiency in Haiti

An agricultural transformation can only occur as other obstacles facing Haiti are overcome. For now, CIMMYT, building on the work of USAID with its partners, is showing how a local seed sector can quickly be developed.

“We can have an impact in Haiti, but our focus is for this impact to be that they have people well-trained in quality seed production with the criteria of cutting dependency,” said Alberto Chassaigne, CIMMYT specialist in maize seed systems.

CIMMYT is working with local centers for rural development (CRDDs) to determine farmers’ needs, raise awareness of farming practices and identify those with the potential to become seed producers. CIMMYT donated a small seeder to the University of Quisqueya in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, and student trials are underway to investigate how to improve cropping intensity in farmers’ fields.

Hugo maize growing in Haiti. CIMMYT/Alberto Chassaigne

Looking to the future, studies are being conducted in Haiti to produce even better open-pollinated varieties (OPVs) and high-yielding hybrids that will allow an emerging local seed sector to take maize farming in Haiti to another level. The specialized genetics of hybrid maize yield more than OPVs when well fertilized, but must be produced using special protocol. CIMMYT’s partners in Haiti will be instrumental in creating a cultural change among farmers to see the value in paying for better seed and inputs.

“I believe that if we can have an impact in Haiti, with all the challenges it faces, there is no other country in Mesoamerica that can say it can’t be done there too,” said Chassaigne. “I work with very proactive, dedicated people who want to help their country; without them we will not achieve anything.”