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.

Spreading innovation: new partnerships drive change in Odisha

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

The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) has collaborated with Digital Green (DG), the Department of Agriculture (DOA), Government of Odisha, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and Orissa University of Agriculture & Technology (OUAT) for a pilot project integrating information and communication technology (ICT)-based video-led dissemination models in 20 villages of Puri district in Odisha, India.

Farmers watch a video on disease control at a community video screening in Puri district, Odisha. Photo credit: Ashok Rai/CIMMYT

How the pilot works: DG trains and builds the skills of state agents to shoot and create videos with farmers on improved farming practices and then holds screenings for small groups of farmers using small-sized, low-cost, battery-run pico projectors. CSISA provides its technical inputs in video topic selection, content planning and story boarding. During the video screening, state agents keep track of the questions asked and have follow-up meetings with the farmers to check on the adoption of farming practices.

This CSISA–DG initiative has resulted in the production of videos on 10 technical themes reflecting the needs of local farming communities. Topics included the demonstration of new paddy, post-harvest and livestock management technologies and relevant successes by local farmers. So far, six videos on CSISA- promoted technologies have been produced. Ninety-one group screenings were held, with nearly 500 farmers in Puri district attending at least one of the video screenings. “Each video requires good planning, a good script and technical understanding of the subject,” said Sudhir Yadav, IRRI Irrigated Systems Agronomist and the CSISA Odisha Hub Manager.

“We aim at both increasing participation of the community and creating a two-way flow between research and extension,” said Rikin Gandhi, CEO of DG, during a presentation at the Borlaug 100 event organized by CIMMYT.

These videos inspire farmers to learn about and adopt new technologies and management practices. A video on the benefits of chopped straw as fodder in dairy management has helped farmers to enhance milk production, commented Suresh Parida, a farmer from one of the pilot villages. Farmers have also found it easier to identify pests and diseases in their crop after seeing a video of pest and disease management in paddies.

“As the actors in the video are local farmers from the area, it generates trust among the viewers to adopt a demonstrated practice,” said Avinash Upadhaya, Regional Manager of DG for Odisha, at a recent participatory stakeholder’s workshop in Puri. Farmers, mediators from KVK and project coordinators from DOA, CSISA and DG met to discuss the changes that the ICT model has brought and challenges in integrating it with traditional training methods. Ashok Lakra, a village agricultural worker of a pilot village highlighted the advantages of DG’s approach, stating “At a demonstration, we might miss some important information, but these videos deliver the entire package and cover all the points.”

“The best language that the farmer understands is the language of other farmers. This works as a good communication model to help in creating awareness and dissemination of improved technologies,” said Yadav.

Two-wheel tractors to increase smallholder farm power in Ethiopia

Written by on February 19, 2015. Posted in Blogs.

For Ethiopian smallholder farmers who have for millennia used the traditional animal-drawn maresha plow, two-wheel tractors could increase their productivity while reducing labor. They appear better suited to the Highlands of Ethiopia, characterized by small, fragmented farms and hilly terrain, than four-wheel tractors, which are only well-suited for large- and medium-scale farmers who comprise about 10% of the country’s estimated 14.7 million farmers. Two-wheel tractors are also very versatile and can be used for seeding, pumping water, threshing wheat and transporting heavy loads.

Service providers from three Africa RISING program sites being trained in the operation, maintenance, business, financial management and marketing of two-wheel tractors. Photo: Frédéric Baudron/CIMMYT

Although two-wheel tractors and their attachments are relatively cheap (about US $1,400) and easy to maintain, it is evident that most Ethiopian farmers won’t be able to purchase them individually. Still, they could hire the services of dedicated providers trained to use two-wheel tractors. To make mechanization accessible to smallholder farmers, on 1-5 June 2015 CIMMYT and its partners organized a training course for service providers from Debre Birhan, Sinana and Lemo woredas (districts). They were trained in the operation, maintenance, business, financial management and marketing of two-wheel tractors.

The service model being tested by CIMMYT and its partners has been adopted in Bangladesh, where a single two-wheel tractor can service up to 30 farmers. The initiative to disseminate two-wheel tractors in the Highlands of Ethiopia is supported by the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Africa Research in Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation (Africa RISING) program. After the course, trainees returned to their respective areas equipped with two-wheel tractors and various attachments, to start providing seeding, transport and water pumping services to local farmers.

Since the Growth and Transformation Plan was established by the Government of Ethiopia in 2011, tremendous progress has been made in the agricultural sector. Farmers now have access to better seeds and adequate quantities of fertilizer. Yields have increased dramatically, and improved connections between farmers and markets mean higher incomes for farmers and more food available for consumers in both rural and urban areas.

Sustaining such an increase in agricultural output, however, will require a proportionate increase in farm power. In response, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency developed a draft national mechanization strategy in 2014, with the goal of increasing the farm power available to Ethiopian farmers 10-fold by 2025.

CIMMYT formally welcomes four local workshops to the machinery and equipment innovation group

Written by on February 17, 2015. Posted in News.

In 2014, the work of The Machinery and Equipment Innovation Group began activities after signing of four contracts with four Mexican workshops. The local entrepreneurs will partner with the Farmer component of the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture program that CIMMYT develops in collaboration with Mexico’s Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA). This platform aims to establish a space for technological collaboration where CIMMYT and small and medium local manufacturers will improve or refine prototypes, and develop new ones to respond to the needs of Mexican farmers more effectively.

This objective will be met by transferring technology, giving access to existing machinery and equipment prototypes for improvement, and by offering technical support for the development of new models to the small and medium local workshops that join The Machinery and Equipment Innovation Group. The new Platform will operate across the country with the support of MasAgro’s hubs.

This innovation platform will develop multipurpose and multi-cropping machinery and equipment to reduce tillage, the cost of adopting the new technology, fuel consumption and manual labor.

MasAgro widens research platforms and innovation networks in Mexico

Written by on February 13, 2015. Posted in News.

In 2014, the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture (MasAgro) program expanded its rural development and innovation networks to 10 Mexican regions through 50 research platforms and 233 demonstration modules of MasAgro technologies and sustainable agronomic practices.

The project developed by the Mexican Secretary of Agriculture (SAGARPA) and CIMMYT provides a framework that can be replicated to take advantage of research and innovation achievements and which secures returns on investments.

In 2014, SAGARPA invested nearly US $40 million in its partnership with CIMMYT to offer better opportunities to Mexican farmers. Six thousand Mexican farmers participated in over 170 training events across the country. MasAgro also offered more than 40 workshops on the adoption of different technologies and conservation agriculture practices to more than 1,300 farmers actively engaged in the program.

These workshops are adapted to the capacity building needs detected through hubs and cover subjects that include adoption of improved maize, wheat and barley varieties, fertilization diagnosis tools, precision machinery, access to new markets and postharvest technologies.

MasAgro also develops basic maize seed and pre-commercial hybrids. So far the program has delivered more than 15 tons of basic seed to Mexican seed companies. Once multiplied and marketed, this seed will be enough to sow two million hectares.

Bram Govaerts, MasAgro leader, explained that in 2014 the initiative established 21 postharvest trials across Chiapas, the State of Mexico, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Oaxaca and Tlaxcala. These trials were designed to offer local solutions to farmers, including accessible options to store harvested grain and to prevent losses that in some cases can exceed 30 percent of their annual harvest.

He added that MasAgro adapts machinery to the needs of the communities where the program operates and operates and develops multiuse-multicrop implements to reduce production and storage costs for farmers. Last year four “smart” machinery protoypes were developed.

“MasAgro works with farmers who have one or two hectares of land, where they can im-prove their efficiency by using manual seeder-fertilizers, but also with farmers who own larger plots who need precision technology to estimate optimal nitrogen fertilizer doses,” Govaerts explained.

In addition, MasAgro successfully developed 44 integral fertility research protocols to improve soil quality in different production zones, in line with the United Nations Organiza-tion for Food and Agriculture (FAO) Year of Soil for 2015.

The program uses remote sensors to estimate exact doses of nitrogen fertilizer for maize and wheat on some 8,000 hectares throughout Mexico.

The arm that strengthens MasAgro is its conservation agriculture agronomy technicians certified by CIMMYT. Finally, by late 2014, MasAgro-Móvil information service had more than 2,700 users who receive weather and agronomic recommendations from technical experts.

CSISA hosts regional cross-learning event on sustainable intensification

Written by on February 10, 2015. Posted in News.

Irmgard Hoeschle-Zeledon, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) from Africa RISING speaks at the event.

Developing a global ‘community of practice’ for sustainable intensification (SI) and the need to define indicators for measuring SI activities were highlighted at the cross-learning SI event hosted by Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) on 28 January in New Delhi, India.

A group of 50 participants from USAID, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Africa RISING, USAID’s Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab, the Innovation Lab for Small-scale Irrigation, CIMMYT, the International Food Policy Research Institute, International Livestock Research Institute and International Rice Research Institute attended the event and shared perspectives on SI in African and South Asian contexts.

Applying principles of SI in mixed crop-livestock systems is key to achieving better food security and improved livelihoods, while minimizing negative impacts on the environment. The full-day program looked at the approaches taken by SI projects of CSISA and Africa RISING, collaborative research opportunities by the Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab and the Innovation Lab for Small-scale Irrigation and the perspectives of donors who fund SI projects.

Andrew McDonald, CSISA Project Leader, outlines South Asia agricultural systems and the CSISA initiative.

“We need broad systems programs to make impacts truly happen,” said Thomas Lumpkin, Director General, CIMMYT, talking about CSISA’s cropping systems approach at the start of the event. He added, “We should get more value chains involved and look at regional and global levels to extract maximum value from our R4D projects.” Andrew McDonald, CSISA Project Leader, talked about the history and context of CSISA, highlighting its 10-year vision of success that aims to significantly increase the incomes and staple crop productivity of 6 million farm families by 2018.

Christian Witt, Senior Program Officer at BMGF, gave a brief overview of the Foundation’s global and regional strategies in SI, which highlighted significant investments in digital soil mapping in Africa and work with CIMMYT to merge soil data with agronomic research. “We are also enhancing communication within farming communities through informal methods. A good example is our partnership with Digital Green,” he added.

Christian Witt, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, talks about emerging agricultural R4D priorities at the foundation.

The event provided CSISA an opportunity to discuss its current status in India and Bangladesh and to outline the potential future direction of CSISA as a regional initiative, now that CSISA Phase II is being renewed. A series of presentations also outlined the project’s progress and emerging priorities in strategic agronomic, livestock, socio-economic and policy research and rice and wheat breeding.

Following the event, a group of 13 representatives accompanied members of CSISA’s leadership team on a tour of CSISA sites in Bihar and Odisha over the course of a week in January and February. The tour was designed to enable cross-learning among the flagship SI investments of USAID.

Seed Company Management in Africa

Written by on February 10, 2015. Posted in News.

We are happy to announce the online publication of the French and Portuguese translations (Gestion des entreprises semencières en Afrique and Gestão da Indústria de Sementes em África) of a book on seed company management authored by John MacRobert, former CIMMYT researcher and seed systems expert, and first published in English and Spanish.

Given the growing importance of the seed sector around the world, MacRobert shares decades of experience in maize seed production and management in Africa. These books are practical guides for emerging seed companies that want to explore new markets.

Pakistan wheat farmers call for quality seed of the right varieties

Written by Mike Listman on February 10, 2015. Posted in Features.

A Pakistani farmer carries seed of a new wheat variety for on-farm testing. Photo: Anju Joshi/CIMMYT

Lack of good seed of appropriate varieties is holding back harvests of smallholder wheat farmers in rugged, rain-fed areas of Punjab, Pakistan, said a group of farmers to some 50 representatives of seed companies, input dealers, and research, extension and development organizations, at a workshop in Chakwal, Punjab, on 18 September 2014.

“Ninety-five percent of farmers in Pothwar, a semi-arid region of bare and broken terrain, use farm-saved seed of obsolete varieties, invariably with limited use of modern agricultural technologies and inputs, resulting in poor crop establishment and low yields,” said Krishna Dev Joshi, CIMMYT wheat improvement specialist based in Pakistan. “Their yields average only 0.6 tons per hectare, whereas progressive farmers in irrigated areas get ten times that much.”

Joshi said only three varieties cover 83 percent of the region’s wheat area and the same cultivars have been used for an average of 24 years. “One of these, C591, is a variety that was recommended in 1934 and is still grown on about 14 percent of the region’s nearly 0.6 million hectares of wheat area.”

According to Akhlaq Hussain, ex-Director General, Pakistan Department of Federal Seed Certification and Registration, one problem is that, despite their low yields, the older varieties have many traits that the farmers like. For example, they give stable yields under low inputs and harsh growing conditions and provide the preferred flavor and long-lasting good texture in chapattis.

Muhammad Tariq, Director of the Barani Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Chakwal, Punjab, said there are few producers or suppliers of suitable, quality seed, fertilizer or other farm inputs for such marginal areas. They may be considered unattractive markets, but more than 70 percent of Pakistani wheat farmers are smallholders, cultivating between one and five hectares of land, according to Tariq.

Such farmers harvest on average only 1.5 tons per hectare and urgently need better seed and technology to raise their yields, said Joshi. “Farmers at the workshop complained they could not get access to high-yielding varieties of their choice,” he explained. “They also criticized the long time — typically three years — required to obtain seed of new varieties, once the varieties are officially released.”

Given this need and the lack of legitimate suppliers, fraudulent seed dealers and middlemen often market inferior or false products. “Last year I bought a bag of seed labelled ‘Galaxy,’ a new, high-yielding variety,” said Haji Muhammad Aslam Ochallee, a farmer from Khushab District, “but the seed inside was of an entirely different variety.”

Some seed dealers may mix seed or sell grain in bags labelled ‘certified seed’ at low prices to lure smallholders, and big landlords may sell cheap seed illegally to neighbors, said Qaiser Rasheed, Managing Director of the company Robert Cotton Association. “All these practices cheat farmers, distort markets and erode farmers’ trust in the formal seed sector,” Rasheed observed.

Pothwar’s problems reflect Pakistan’s overall food security challenge, according to Joshi. “A 2014 bulletin by the World Food Program shows that more than 27 million people in Pakistan are highly-to-severely food insecure,” he said. “The big concern is that most smallholders and vulnerable people live in districts that will need special attention to improve food security.”

Activating the Wheat Seed Value Chain

As a part of the Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP) for Pakistan, a project funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), CIMMYT is working with the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), BARI in Punjab, seed companies and farmers to close gaps in the wheat seed value chain for rain-fed Punjab.

Workshop participants cited the need for better communication and coordination of research and extension agencies with commercial input suppliers sector and, especially, better marketing of new wheat varieties to farmers. “If stakeholders don’t integrate and coordinate, small-scale farmers will remain deprived of modern technologies and innovations, such as wheat varieties that resist new and virulent disease strains,” said Joshi.

“If stakeholders don’t integrate and coordinate, small-scale farmers will remain deprived of modern technologies and innovations, such as wheat varieties that resist new and virulent disease strains”

– Krishna Dev Joshi

CIMMYT Wheat Improvement Specialist

Farmers recommended establishing village committees to choose and access seed of new varieties and help foster truth in labeling. They particularly called for strict punishment for those selling fake seed.

For their part, seed companies said the lack of reliable irrigation or storage facilities hinders seed production in Pothwar. “Because of this, seed must be transported over long distances, raising costs, which in turn discourages buyers and cuts profits,” said one company representative.

The workshop forged an agreement to allow private seed companies to produce pre-basic and basic seed, supervised by concerned breeders and with support from Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department, to speed the marketing of new varieties. One result was that Robert Cotton Association has received pre-basic and basic seeds of two wheat varieties, Chakwal50 and Dharabi11, originally developed and released by BARI, which will provide technical backstopping.

Other action points agreed on at the workshop included the following:

On-farm trials and demonstrations that allow farmers to learn about and choose from new, high-yielding wheat varieties. To address this, AIP-wheat has already launched participatory varietal selection trials in which farmers and researchers jointly evaluate 14 new, high-yielding, disease resistant wheat varieties of diverse genetic backgrounds on the farms of 65 smallholders across Pothwar. In addition, to help farmers assess and improve crop management practices, the project is conducting 20 on-farm, participatory experiments on fertilizer use and 107 trials on pre-soaking seed, a practice that improves germination and crop establishment.
Community-based seed production linked with private companies and supported by proper equipment and training in quality seed production. Achievements to date include seed of 9 new varieties being multiplied directly with 52 Pothwar farmers on more than 42 hectares.
Group. Photo: CIMMYT

Letter from the field

Written by on February 9, 2015. Posted in Features.

World Food Prize Borlaug-Ruan Intern Describes Experience with CIMMYT in Turkey

The prestigious Borlaug-Ruan International Internship provides high school students an all-expenses-paid, eight-week hands-on experience, working with world-renowned scientists and policymakers at leading international research centers.

Adam Willman, a Borlaug-Ruan International Intern from Iowa, USA, spent last summer working for CIMMYT’s Soil Borne Pathogens (SBP) Division in Eskişehir, Turkey, working and studying root lesion nematodes under Dr. Abdelfattah “Amer” Dababat and Dr. Gül Erginbas Orakcı.

Willman said “Everyone I worked with had something different and interesting to teach me. I experienced a wide variety of the work that is ongoing at CIMMYT-Turkey. These experiments focused on the overall goals of reducing food loss from disease and pests that can plague farm fields across the globe.”

Willman’s work also included assisting Elfinesh Shikur Gebremariam from Ankara University with Fusarium fungus, Fateh Toumi from Ghent University and Jiang Kuan Cui from China’s Ministry of Agriculture with cereal cyst nematodes. “I was exposed to both the threat that plant diseases pose to food security and the cutting-edge research to combat this” he added.

Willman also commented on the unique opportunity to experience Turkey’s people and culture, saying “I witnessed the amazing kindness, generosity and hospitality of everyone from the director of the research institute, to CIMMYT researchers and workers, to everyday strangers. I am very thankful for my time and experience at CIMMYT-Turkey.”

In a final message he thanked Dr. Dababat, Dr. Erginbas and all of the workers and researchers at SBP.

“Working with SBP for eight weeks truly changed my life and gave me the perspective on my education that I am still utilizing today. I hope to in the future become a plant pathologist and continue researching the many diseases and pests that affect the crops that we, as a planet, depend on. Global food security is within reach, and the scientists and workers at SBP are helping us obtain this goal,” Willman concluded.

Adam Willman (5th from the left) with the SBP pathogens division, students, visitors and Global Wheat Program Director Dr. Hans Braun during a field day in Eskişehir. This photo was taken in the field of the Transitional Zone Agriculture Research Institute (TZARI) in Eskisehir, Turkey.

The perilous life of aphids fascinates South Asian crop scientists

Written by Mike Listman on January 27, 2015. Posted in News.

The wheat plant protection group attend interactive group meeting at IIWBR, Karnal, India. Photo: CIMMYT

Among the world’s most destructive and hated crop pests, the sap-sucking insects known as aphids are engaged in dramatic evolutionary battles with predators that include wasps whose larvae hatch and pupate in aphid bodies, devouring them from inside.

Rather than a new science fiction/horror film, this scenario is actually the basis for innovative pest control, as described by topic experts at two presentations of their interactive program “Aphids and their biological control on wheat, barley and maize” for wheat scientists in India and Nepal on 24 and 26 November 2014.

“The 34 participants, including 26 in Nepal and 8 in India, heard short lectures on maize and wheat aphids and other insect pests, followed by videos on aphid biology and their biological control,” said Arun Joshi, CIMMYT wheat breeder based in Nepal who helped organize the programs, in conjunction with the Indian Institute of Wheat and Barely Research (IIWBR) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) at Karnal and the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC). “They learned about the special traits of the biological control agents that can be used in South Asia, as well as how to rear and spread them in crop fields, with the idea of training farmers in these skills.”

The main presenter, Prof. Urs Wyss, Institute of Phytopathology, University of Kiel, Germany, has produced over 70 films on insect pest biology and bio-control. Prof. Chandra Prakash Srivastava, Head, Department of Entomology, Banaras Hindu University, India, spoke to both groups about maize and wheat insect pests and their management.

“This is the first program on wheat insect pest management and biological control at IIWBR (former DWR, Karnal) in two decades,” said Dr. Indu Sharma, IIWBR project director. Joshi said that NARC colleagues made similar comments in praise of the program.

The training program was organized in response to mounting evidence of crop damage from aphids in Peninsular and northwestern India and the Terai and Midhills of Nepal. It was conducted at IIWBR, Karnal, through Dr. Indu Sharma and Dr. M.S. Saharan and in Nepal through Dr. Yagya Prasad Giri, Head, Entomology, NARC.

Other institutions represented in India included:

Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and
Technology, Kanpu.
Agriculture Research Station, Niphad, Maharashtra.
Agriculture Research Station, Durgapura, Rajasthan.
Centre of Excellence for Research on Wheat, S.D.
Agriculture University, Vijapur, Gujrat.
Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana.
G.B. Pant Univ. of Agriculture and Technology,
Pantnagar.
Assam Agricultural University, Shillongani, Nagoan.
Uttar Banga Agriculture University, West Bengal.

In Nepal participants came from:

The Department of Entomology, National Agriculture
Research Institute, Khumaltar.
National Wheat Research Program (NWRP),
Bhairahwa.
National Maize Research Program (NMRP), Rampur.

MasAgro offers tortillas made of maize hybrids in highlands workshop

Written by on January 21, 2015. Posted in News.

On 11 November 2014, representatives of Mexico’s highland maize value chain attended a workshop at CIMMYT headquarters in El Batán, Mexico. MasAgro-Maize Network partners, a representative from the milling industry and members of the MasAgro-Farmer team tested hybrid grains from the CIMMYT highlands maize genetic improvement program. Participants also analyzed parent lines of hybrids and measured the grain quality of two CIMMYT hybrids for dough and tortillas.

Natalia Palacios (green hat, right), maize nutrition quality specialist, explained the process for defining grain quality and outlined dough and tortilla industry requirements.

The workshop was organized by Arturo Silva, leader of the MasAgro-Maize component, and Alberto Chassaigne, responsible for CIMMYT seed systems.

Principal researcher José Luis Torres and his colleague Carmen Bretón led a tour of trial plots, where workshop participants could see CIMMYT hybri and synthetic varieties for Mexico’s highlands. Breeding experts explained the origins of each material while participants examined the aspect of ears.

Ubaldo Marcos, CIMMYT maize seed production manager, presented seed production technology for six hybrids, as well as the differences between ear size and female parental seed, which are grown at densities of 65,000 and 75,000 plants per hectare.

Afterwards, there was a demonstration of artisanal nixtamalization to obtain dough from two CIMMYT hybrids. Natalia Palacios, maize nutrition quality specialist, explained grain quality and outlined dough and tortilla industry requirements. Tortillas were then made from the nixtamalized dough. A positive opinion from the representative of the dough industry was much appreciated.

The participants also estimated yields of the white and yellow hybrids evaluated as part of the MasAgro Highlands Network under low nitrogen, rain-fed and irrigated systems and the estimates were compared to real yield values. At the end, workshop participants concluded that MasAgro-Maize takes advantage of the crop’s genetic potential to boost maize yields in the highlands.

Central American Agriculture and Livestock Council signs agreement with CIMMYT

Written by Mike Listman on January 5, 2015. Posted in News.

Julio Calderón and Tom Lumpkin stop for a photo as they tour the CIMMYT campus. Photos: Xochiquetzal Fonseca

The CIMMYT delegation provides a presentation for Calderón. From left to right: Felix San Vicente, Víctor López, Lumpkin, Calderón, Arturo Hinojosa and Isabel Peña.

In Texcoco, Mexico, on 03 December, Thomas A. Lumpkin, CIMMYT director general, signed a memorandum of understanding with Julio Calderón, Executive Secretary of the Central American Agriculture and Livestock Council (CAC), for shared work to strengthen the seed sector and to promote seed of improved crop varieties and relevant mechanization for small- and intermediate-scale farmers in the region.

Created in 1991, CAC is part of the Central American Integration System (SICA) established by Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama and helps to link agricultural with other key sectors and agencies, in benefit of farmers and rural inhabitants.

From left to right: Bram Govaerts, Calderón, Lumpkin and San Vicente pause for a photo.

Calderón and Lumpkin sign the memorandum of understanding.

Tottori University students visit CIMMYT

Written by on January 2, 2015. Posted in News.

Masahiro Kishii of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program gives students a tour of the Wellhousen-Anderson Genetic Resources Center. Photos: Xochiquetzal Fonseca

A group of 16 undergraduate students and three professors from the University of Tottori, Japan, visited CIMMYT on 26 November. The visit was the last stop of a three-month study visit to Mexico, which also included visits to the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Sur (UABCS) and the Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste S.C. (CIBNOR).

Jelle Van Loon, leader of smart mechanization for CIMMYT’s conservation agriculture program in Mexico, teaches students about machinery development.

The students began their visit with an overview of CIMMYT from Isabel Peña, Head of Institutional Relations-Latin America, followed by a meeting with Dr. Masahiro Kishii, a Japanese scientist formerly of Tottori University who now works in wheat cytogenetics in CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program. The group was then given a tour of the Wellhousen-Anderson Genetic Resources Center and the labs of the Biosciences Complex.

The day concluded with a visit to the Global Conservation Agriculture Program’s D5 demonstration plot, where the students learned about developments in machinery and post-harvest technology.

Isabel Peña, Head of Institutional Relations-Latin America, welcomes students to CIMMYT.

Pakistan: maize needed for marginal areas

Written by on December 26, 2014. Posted in News.

Farmers in the farthest reaches of Pakistan need access to white- grained maize, according to Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad, chairman of the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC). “There is a good progress in the productivity of yellow maize varieties in the areas of Punjab and KPK provinces,” Ahmad said, “but we need white maize varieties to reach farmers in the marginal areas of KPK, Sindh, Balochistan and Gilgit Baltistan provinces.”

From left to right: Shahid Masood, Md. Imtiaz, Iftikhar Ahmad and AbduRahman Beshir.

Speaking at the first National Maize Workshop-Annual Progress Review of Pakistan, held in Islamabad during 19-20 November, Ahmad also mentioned the importance of public-private partnerships to reduce the cost to farmers of hybrid seed, which is more expensive in Pakistan than elsewhere in South Asia.

There is good progress in the productivity of yellow maize varieties in the areas of Punjab and KPK provinces, but we need white maize varieties to reach farmers in the marginal areas of KPK, Sindh, Balochistan and Gilgit Baltistan provinces.” –Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad Chairman of the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC).

Dr. Beshir explains the traits of yellow maize at NARC, Islamabad.

Jointly organized by PARC and CIMMYT, the workshop was an activity of the Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP) for Pakistan and its 50 participants represented public and private maize research and development institutions, local and multinational seed companies, higher learning institutions, and departments of extension and food processors from all provinces of Pakistan.

Dr. Md. Imtiaz, project leader of AIP, highlighted the role of CIMMYT in enhancing local capacity and requested the full collaboration of national institutions.

During the concluding session, Dr. Shahid Masood, Member of Plant Science and AIP focal person at PARC, mentioned the importance of deploying biofortified and specialty maize, providing farmers with agronomy training, diversifying maize uses and developing and deploying dual purpose maize for food and feed.

Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad, PARC Chairman, addresses participants.

The workshop was followed by a field visit to the National Agricultural Research Center (NARC), where participants saw the performance of AIP-maize varieties and lines from CIMMYT breeding programs in Colombia, Mexico and Zimbabwe.

AbduRahman Beshir, CIMMYT maize improvement and seed systems specialists, said the event helped to define shared objectives for AIP-maize partners and a common goal to work towards and helped CIMMYT to reactivate maize research and development activities in Pakistan. Finally, partners discussed “seed road maps” that describe and illustrate varietal release pathways and seed production targets.

Training to fill gaps in Ethiopia’s maize seed system

Written by on December 23, 2014. Posted in News.

The Nutritious Maize for Ethiopia (NuME) project recently organized a three-day training workshop on quality protein maize (QPM) seed production and quality control, as part of the project’s activities to enhance QPM seed production. There were 26 participants, including 2 women, from seed companies, farmer cooperative unions, the Ministry of Agriculture, seed laboratories, research institutes and universities. The workshop was facilitated by CIMMYT experts working in eastern Africa.

Opening the event, Dr. Dagnachew Beyene, advisor to the State Minister of Agriculture, said the workshop was very timely. “The expansion of the Ethiopian seed system is constrained by a shortage of skilled professionals,” he said.

Heat-tolerant Maize for Asia Showcased at India-US Technology Summit

Developed over two decades of meticulous breeding from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, QPM contains enhanced levels of amino acids used for protein synthesis in humans and farm animals such as pigs and poultry. Nutritional studies have shown that it can improve the nutrition of people whose diets are highly- dependent on maize, especially young children. Major topics covered included maize variety development, maize seed research and field management for QPM seed production, maintenance of QPM inbred parent lines and open-pollinated varieties, as well post-harvest handling techniques for QPM.

The training also dealt at length with creating communication links between seed companies, customers and farmers and planning and developing seed production, marketing and financial strategies to promote of QPM seeds.

Addressing the participants at the conclusion of the training, the Crops Research Director of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), Dr. Asnake Fikre, stated that efforts need to be made to sustain QPM production in Ethiopia, because maize is the most produced cereal and a critical crop for food security in the country.

Asnake also noted that “in the transition to food security in the country, nutritional security is a critical concern and the crop sector in Ethiopia should work hard to sustain the QPM value chain by advocating its nutritional and agronomic benefits and creating demand for the production and use of QPM.” The added that NuME’s important work on QPM needs to be effectively backed up by multi-sectorial engagement and cooperation.

In their feedback, participants said the workshop had been timely, well-organized and valuable. They suggested that future such events include practical sessions and interaction with farmers. Typical remarks included statements that “strengthening of QPM and advocacy issues need to be consistent in promoting QPM until it reaches cutting-edge stage.”

NuME is implemented by CIMMYT in Ethiopia and funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development of Canada (DFATD). It is designed to help improve the food and nutritional security of Ethiopia’s rural population, especially women and children, through the adoption of QPM varieties and crop management practices that increase farm productivity.

Highlights of the 12th Asian Maize Conference

Written by on November 27, 2014. Posted in News.

The 12th Asian Maize Conference and Expert Consultation on “Maize for Food, Feed, Nutrition and Environmental Security” convened in Bangkok, Thailand from 31 October to 1 November 2014.

Organized by the Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI), CIMMYT, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the Thai Department of Agriculture (DoA), the Conference brought together around 350 researchers, policy-makers, service providers, innovative farmers and representatives of various organizations from across the public and private sector.

All photos: APAARI

Maize scientist Dr. Saira Bano from Pakistan is presented an award for best poster by Dr. Hiroyuki Konuma, Assistant Director General of FAO RAP	Dr. B.M. Prasanna, Director of the CIMMYT Global Maize Progam, receives a plaque of appreciation from FAO and APAARI for his contributions to the successful organization of the conference and for strengthening regional maize research and development partnerships.
Dr. Tom Lupkin, CIMMYT Director General, with participants Dr. H.S. Gupta, director general of the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) and Dr. H.S. Sidhu, Senior Research Engineer, CIMMYT India.	Participants and poster presenters from India, S.V. Manjunatha, M.G. Mallikarjuna and S. Hooda Karambir.
Dr. Mulugetta Mekuria, SIMLESA Project Leader, presents on sustainable intensification of maize-based systems.	Dr. Mark Holderness, the Executive Secretary of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), asks a question.