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.
A comprehensive gender equity strategy for the NuME project has received approval from both the donor and the project steering committee. The strategy is based on an extensive gender analysis study conducted at the outset of the project and covers four areas: gender-responsive communication and extension, access to inputs, capacity building and gender research.
NuME is a project implemented by CIMMYT in Ethiopia and funded by Canadaâs Department of Foreign Affairs (DFATD), Trade and Development. It is designed to help improve the food and nutritional security of Ethiopiaâs rural population, especially women and children, through the adoption of quality protein maize (QPM) varieties and crop management practices that increase farm productivity.
The strategy was developed during a daylong workshop on 5 March, where 25 participants from all implementing partners and representatives from DFATD took part in brainstorming and action planning. The event also featured a presentation on community conversation where two NGOs (Care-Ethiopia and CHF-Canada) shared their experiences.
CIMMYT pathologist George Mahuku and MLN technician Janet Kimunye examine tassels for pollen production on an infected plant. MLN causes a symptom called âtassel blastâ where the tassels of infected plants do not shed or produce pollen. Photos courtesy of George Mahuku
By George Mahuku and Florence Sipalla/CIMMYT
Germplasm screening at the maize lethal necrosis (MLN) screening facility at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) Naivasha is underway, and CIMMYT pathologist George Mahuku said some inoculated lines are showing levels of resistance.
He described the green islands among the maze of yellow in the fields as a demonstration of the success of the testing protocols being used at the site. âThis is the lifeline for farmers,â he said. âNext we will be incorporating genes from these lines into adapted germplasm and using the Doubled Haploid facility in Kiboko to quickly develop inbred lines with resistance to MLN.âThe deadly maize disease was first identified in Kenya in 2011 and has since been diagnosed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. The MLN screening facility was established in 2013 with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture to serve maize breeding institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa in response to 2014 the emergence of the disease.
CIMMYT pathologist George Mahuku inspecting plants that show tolerance to MLN in Naivasha, Kenya.
âTo date, we have planted more than 19,000 different types of germplasm on 15 hectares,â Mahuku said. âThis germplasm was submitted by both private and public sector partners, including CIMMYT and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).â
All germplasm has been inoculated, Mahuku said, and symptoms are fully visible. Operations at the facility include maintaining pure strains of the viruses that cause MLN, producing inoculum for artificial inoculation, evaluating maize hybrids and inbred lines for response to MLN and building the capacity of stakeholders including scientists, technicians, farmers and extension workers to handle the disease.
The facility also provides employment opportunities for the community, hiring more than 30 people for activities such as weeding, irrigation and disease scoring. Because the facility screens germplasm from different countries, itâs isolated from farmersâ maize plots and certified as a quarantine site. âWe still do not fully understand the variability in virus strains, whether the virus strains in Rwanda, Tanzania or Uganda are the same as the ones in Kenya,â said Mahuku.
After disease evaluations, all plant debris will be disposed of by incineration. The facility has received many visitors from universities, international organizations and public and private institutions. âThere is a lot of interest in learning and knowing the disease,â Mahuku said.
It recently hosted two scientists from Ethiopia who will share the knowledge gained with their colleagues and will conduct surveys to assess whether the disease is in their country. âTo see all this going well is breathtaking,â said CIMMYT technician Janet Kimunye, who is in charge of virus maintenance, inoculum production and inoculations in the field and has been involved in MLN research from the beginning, initially as a consultant to CIMMYT.
âWe have assembled a really good team here; watching them work way into the night and weekend is heartening,â said Mahuku. âEverybody wants a solution to this problem that is threatening their food security.â
One of the greenhouses where artificial inoculum is produced and multiplied for research purposes.
Facts about the Facility:
Area planted: 15 ha
Number of rows: 49,500
Total germplasm: 19,539
Inoculated area: 6.5 ha
Disease expression: 4.5 ha is under disease evaluation as symptoms are expressing well
CIMMYT and Kenyaâs Egerton University have agreed to strengthen their research collaboration, policy formulation and data sharing and to engage more graduate students in data analysis as part of the Adoption Pathways (AP) project. âThis will accelerate the use of data sets to quickly produce products,â said Menale Kassie, CIMMYT socioeconomist, who is also the AP project leader.
Through AP, CIMMYT is partnering with universities in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania to identify the incentives and constraints to farmersâ adoption of new techniques in maize-legume systems. The project is funded by the Australian International Food Security Research Centre (AIFSRC) and managed by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).
CIMMYT and Egerton University have pledged to strengthen their collaboration through capacity building, research, policy advocacy and data sharing, especially through the Adoption Pathways project. Photos: Florence Sipalla
The enhanced collaboration between CIMMYT and Egerton was discussed at a meeting held at the CIMMYT-Nairobi office on 24 April and attended by Professor James Tuitoek, vice chancellor at Egerton; Professor Gideon Obare, the AP national coordinator in Kenya and a lecturer at the university; and Mary Mathenge, director of the Tegemeo Institute of Public Policy and Development, a policy think tank of Egerton University based in Nairobi.
Senior staff from Tegemeo, which specializes in agricultural policy formulation backed by data, will supervise the graduate students in collaboration with CIMMYT, Tuitoek said. The two institutions train young economists pursuing postgraduate degrees, and research on maize is a major component of their socioeconomic studies. âAlmost 50 percent of Tegemeoâs research has been on maize policy,â said Mathenge. âIt is often difficult to showcase the value of economic research to policymakers because it is an intangible product â it is not like a new seed variety, for example,â said Kassie. Despite that challenge, Kassie is confident that the partnership with Tegemeo will be mutually beneficial. âIf we work with Tegemeo, who already have established ways of packaging research outcomes from economics studies, then we can have a far greater impact from the work we do.â
Dr. Thomas A. Lumpkin, CIMMYT director general, welcomed members of the CGIAR Fund Council to the El BatĂĄn campus on 9 May by promising them âa taste of the new CIMMYT.â
The Fund Council, a representative body of donors and other stakeholders, is the decision-making body of the CGIAR Fund. Its first onsite meeting of 2014 was held 7-8 May in Mexico City, hosted by Mexico’s SAGARPA, and many of the members visited the El BatĂĄn campus the following day for a series of presentations and tours that gave them a first-hand look at CIMMYTâs work. Lumpkin opened the day with an overview of CIMMYTâs unique history and its value to the international community, reminding the council members that in some developing countries, up to 90 percent of wheat and maize crops are from CIMMYT-derived seeds.
Photo: NicolĂĄs Crossa
He also outlined some of the challenges and achievements in the regions where CIMMYT operates:
Africa
The continent is spending US $18 billion per year on wheat imports, Lumpkin said, but it is capable of growing enough wheat to meet all its demand with the right farming methods, training and policy environment. High temperatures and droughts brought on by climate fluctuations pose a severe problem, as do epidemics of new diseases. However, the quick response to the appearance of maize lethal necrosis (MLN) provides a model for responding to future diseases âthanks to generous funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and ingenious work by CIMMYT scientists, we were able to begin releasing MLN-resistant germplasm in just two years.
Americas
MasAgro is an exciting initiative that has already posted impressive gains in Mexicoâs national effort to increase grain production and reduce hunger. In the past year, CIMMYT has reorganized the program to align with the Mexican governmentâs National Crusade Against Hunger (Cruzada Nacional Contra el Hambre). In addition to ongoing work in Colombia, recent visits by government representatives of Bolivia and Ecuador mean that CIMMYTâs work in Latin America may expand.
South Asia
Constraints to germplasm exchange are a major challenge in the region, and the impact of climate change, population growth and water shortages is most acute here. CIMMYTâs expertise can help farmers make the necessary shift from water-intensive rice to cotton and maize. The Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) is a bright spot in the region, already hosting field days that draw thousands of farmers. Lumpkin then shared some of the recent successes of the CRPs. From MAIZE, he singled out the Striga weed management program; the increase in maize seed fortified with essential nutrients; and small farm mechanization, with a particular focus on developing equipment that women farmers can comfortably use. Highlights from the WHEAT program include the adoption of zero-tillage in Kazakhstan and the wheat boom in Ethiopia, where yields have doubled in a decade.
Photo: Xochiquetzal Fonseca
From there, Lumpkin moved on to the future of CIMMYT, which will continue to undergo rapid growth and change. Exciting new programs and technologies will shape the way we fulfill our mission:
BISA
Launched in 2011 in collaboration with the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), the institute now has full UN privileges and is working to improve the regionâs agricultural practices. An example of the way BISA is helping Indian farmers is a technique that allows them to seed wheat into standing cotton, saving them a month of growing time. The president of Pakistan has agreed to co-fund the institute in his country, Lumpkin said, and the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan will fund new facilities and a farm.
International Wheat Yield Project (IWYP)
CIMMYT is part of a new international consortium that seeks to improve wheat yield by 50 percent within 20 years. The type of project that IWYP may fund is an effort to increase the photosynthetic efficiency of wheat from 1 percent to 1.5 percent. While the amount of change may seem insignificant, such a breakthrough would have enormous impact, allowing farmers to grow more wheat on the same amount of land using no more water, fertilizer or labor. Seed funding by MasAgro helped begin the funding pledges, which are currently at US $50 million.
Technology
Lumpkin singled out several technologies in use or in the pipeline that will increase yields and help mitigate the effects of climate change, water shortages and disease epidemics: ⢠Doubled haploid maize inducer lines developed for the tropics.
⢠Use of helicopter- and blimp-mounted drone sensors to take quick, accurate measurements in the fields.
⢠The GreenSeeker system, which is already saving participating Mexican farmers US $100/hectare.
⢠Hybrid wheat â The quest for hybrid wheat varieties is so important to the world food supply that big companies have teamed up with CIMMYT to achieve that goal while still looking out for the developing world.
The past and future changes at CIMMYT can perhaps best be summarized by the evolving attitude toward our gene bank, which houses more than 175,000 accessions and is the largest in the world. In the past, Lumpkin said, the gene bank was regarded as a museum. But today, as through projects like Seeds of Discovery, CIMMYT scientists carefully analyze the small variations among the accessions, aware that those might lead to big discoveries. âThe gene bank,â Lumpkin said, âis not a museum.â
By Arun Joshi, Ravi Singh, R. Valluru and Uttam Kumar/CIMMYT
Wheat researchers in India learned about CIMMYTâs newest advanced wheat lines during field days this spring at each of the locations of the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) âJabalpur, Pusa-Bihar and Ladowal-Ludhiana. The events were designed to link Indian wheat breeders and pathologists with a new Feed the Future-USAID project that uses genomic selection to rapidly develop climate-resilient wheat varieties for South Asia.
Demonstration of the use of IRT at BISA Jabalpur. Photos: Arun Joshi
At each event, participants saw the advanced wheat lines planted at the BISA locations as part of the USAID project and learned how they are different from the present CIMMYT lines distributed across India and around the world. In fact, these lines will become part of CIMMYT trials and nurseries in the next crop cycle. The participants selected the best wheat lines according to the requirements of their breeding program, and each participating center will be given enough seed from those lines to develop replicated trials in the coming cycle.
The field days were organized by CIMMYT in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Researchâs (ICAR) Directorate of Wheat Research (DWR). More than 70 wheat breeders and pathologists  from 22 wheat research centers in India, including ICAR institutes and universities, attended. Dr. Indu Sharma, DWR director, took a very active role in the events, encouraging wheat centers from India to participate. Four GWP scientists from CIMMYT âRavi Singh, Arun Joshi, Ravi Valluru and Uttam Kumarâ also played important roles. The events were facilitated by CIMMYT colleagues based at BISA locations, notably H.S. Sidhu, Raj Kumar Jat and Nikhil Singh. Other field day activities included:
⢠Characterizing various lines based on their morpho-physiological traits and resistance to diseases, such as yellow rust at Ladowal-Ludhiana and spot blotch at Pusa-Bihar.
The BISA-Jabalpur field is one site for the genomic selection project.
⢠Training in the use of infrared thermometers to measure canopy temperature in wheat plots.
⢠Visits to other trials and facilities at BISA locations.
⢠An interactive session where participants could ask questions and exchange views on the genomic selection project and other activities in the region.
The USAID project, which is a partnership of Kansas State University, Cornell University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and CIMMYT, will use genomic selection in the new wheat lines to track genetic variances for heat tolerance, with a goal of reducing the breeding cycle in the future. The genomic data collected will be used to manage the genetic diversity and the retention of favorable alleles in the population, safeguarding prospects for long-term genetic gains.
CIMMYT-Pakistan, in collaboration with the Wheat Research Institute (WRI), Faisalabad, conducted a hands-on training workshop on the use of sensor-based technologies for physiological breeding at the Ayub Agriculture Research Institute, Faisalabad, and the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad. Nearly 40 agronomists, breeders and physiologists representing 11 national research institutes participated in the training.
A field demonstration shows the correct use of the GreenSeeker⢠at NARC, Islamabad. Photo: Awais Yaqub
The workshop was planned to train professionals on the use of sensor-based equipments to improve physiological breeding efforts at Pakistanâs national breeding programs. Sensor-based technologies are useful in understanding plant response to various climate clues. Alistair Pask, from CIMMYTâs wheat physiology group, shared his knowledge of and experiences with wheat physiology and its implementation in plant breeding, especially under stress conditions. Lectures included information on wheat physiology, data recording, data handling and data interpretation in breeding approaches. Equipment including infrared thermometers for measuring canopy temperature, chlorophyll meters for measuring chlorophyll content and the GreenSeeker⢠sensor used for normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) measurements were demonstrated. CIMMYT also provided small pocket-sized GreenSeeker⢠sensors to the WRI and the NARC Wheat Program.
Andrew Chavangi demonstrates the use of a seed counter.
Amini Mataka, a research officer for CIMMYTâs Southern Africa Regional Office in Zimbabwe, was one of many Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) scientists and technicians who experienced difficulty using data generation and processing equipment.
But after attending the âTowards Quality Data through Effective and Efficient Use of Equipment in WEMAâ training course held in Nairobi, Kenya, on 15-22 March, this is no longer the case. âI can now confidently and competently use the Motorola Scanner, make it compatible with computers and use Fieldbook to analyze data and prepare nurseries and trials,â Mataka said.
According to Stephen Mugo, CIMMYT Global Maize Program principal scientist and CIMMYT-WEMA team leader, these difficulties encouraged WEMA to train 28 scientists and technicians from CIMMYT and national agricultural research systems from the five WEMA countries â Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. The training provided participants with skills in the preparation of nurseries and trial design and seed preparation using Fieldbook; the printing of seed packet and field labels in Fieldbook; the basics of data collection using equipment and data analysis using appropriate software; and the use and care of computers, printers, seed counters, threshers and data collection equipment.
Patrick Chomba demonstrates how the bulk sheller operates. Photo: Wandera Ojanji
Caroline Thatelo, senior research technician for the Agricultural Research Council-South Africa, learned how to use Fieldbook, a tool developed by CIMMYT maize breeders for managing experiments and data analysis using the open-source data analysis software âR.â âWe had problems using Fieldbook when we started,â Thatelo said. âBut the practical demonstrations we have gone through have now made me perfect in the use of Fieldbook. I can now create an inventory, a seed increase nursery, a nursery to form single crosses, a stock list, consolidate inventories, generate trials and analyze data for single- and multi-location sites using Fieldbook.â
To some, like Gabriel Ambani, senior technician at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI)-Kakamega, Kenya, the training was an eye-opener. âBefore this training, I had no hands-on experience on the use of most of the equipment we were trained on, particularly the Motorola Scanner, label printers and bulk sheller,â he said. âI now have increased competence and am looking forward to applying my gained knowledge and skills to effectively use the equipment.â
Caroline Thatelo receives her certificate of completion from Sylvester Oikeh.
Sylvester Oikeh, WEMA project manager, called on the participants to put their new skills into use. âI want to see improvements in data collection and analysis. Do not be afraid to use the equipment and Fieldbook,â he said. âYou are bound to make mistakes. But through the mistakes, you will figure out the right way to operate the equipment and use Fieldbook. You will get it right after several attempts.â
Several CIMMYT scientists and technicians helped organize and facilitate the workshop, including breeders Stephen Mugo and Yoseph Beyene; technicians Andrew Chavangi, John Gakunga and Collins Juma; and Joel Mbithi, CIMMYT-Kiboko farm manager. WEMA Phase II is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development-Feed the Future initiative and the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.
Identifying the socioeconomic constraints farmers face in adopting a technology is central to ensuring they adopt it sustainably. This is the work that the Pathways to Sustainable Intensification in Eastern and Southern Africa (Adoption Pathways) project is doing in collaboration with partners from national universities and agriculture research systems in Africa and Europe.
Adoption Pathways partners met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 10-12 April to review activities to date and to plan for 2014. The four-year project is funded by the Australian International Food Security Research Centre (AIFSRC) and managed by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). Project partners from seven institutions collaborating on the project in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania attended the meeting.
Participants included policymakers and vice-chancellors from universities as well as donor representatives â John Dixon, ACIAR principal adviser for research/cropping systems and economics and Liz Ogutu, ACIAR regional manager for Africa. Fentahun Mengistu, director general of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), officially opened the meeting and described the project as one that represents a unique cross-country research and development effort.
âAfrica is at the tipping point,â said Dixon, adding that six of the worldâs top 10 fastest growing countries are in Africa. Dixon identified food, economic growth and sustainable intensification as keys to tapping global opportunities. âSustainable intensification of maize and legumes will increase resources productivity and reduce production risk,â he said.
Understanding what drives farmers to take up different sustainable intensification practices (SIPs) â such as zero/minimum tillage, maize-legume intercropping, maize-legume rotations, new maize and legume varieties and using chemical fertilizer â is important. The project has developed several policy briefs based on research to share its outputs with a wider audience. âDonât just push policymakers but push them with evidence,â said Wilfred Mwangi, CIMMYTâs regional representative for Africa. Mwangi emphasized the need for policy dialogue and more capacity building.
The project has helped train 18 early-career economists in research design and implementation. An additional 120 people have gained practical experience in conducting surveys through their participation as enumerators or supervisors. Mengistu said the project has âplanted seeds for impactâ because different countries can benefit from the regional approach to tackling development challenges.
Photo: Semu Yemane/EIAR
Referencing a policy brief on the SIPs adopted by farmers in Ethiopia, he noted that farmers who implemented a suite of multiple agronomic practices were able to double or even triple their income from maize. Menale Kassie, the Adoption Pathways project leader, shared some of the projectâs key achievements, which include establishing panel data, analysis to determine gaps in technology adoption through a gender lens, impact analysis and risk assessment. âWe need policy dialogue, followed by policy advocacy,â Kassie said. âWe would be happy if our products are used by our partners.â
Policymakers, including top university administrators, pledged their support for policy advocacy. âWe will help support this project through linkages with policymakers and the Ministry of Agriculture,â said James Tuitoek, professor and vice-chancellor at Egerton University in Kenya. Angelo Macuacua, professor and vice-chancellor at Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique, thanked the project for inviting the vice-chancellors to participate in the meeting.
âIt helps us understand, in detail, the work the researchers are doing,â he said. Other vice-chancellors at the meeting were Professor Phiri Kanyama and Professor Gerald Monela from Malawiâs Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (formerly known as Bunda College) and Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania.
The importance of monitoring and evaluation in project implementation was emphasized by AIFSRCâs Ogutu. âResults from this project will not only help farmers, there is potential on a larger scale,â she said. The meeting provided partners an opportunity to closely interact, share their research results and plan for the next phase of activities.
By Pankaj Singh, H.S. Sidhu and Parvinder Singh/CIMMYT
It was a memorable day for Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) staff when Alok Sikka, deputy director general of natural resource management for the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, visited the BISA research station at Ludhiana.
Visitors at the long-term conservation agriculture trials. Photo: Mandeep Singh
H.S. Sidhu, senior research engineer, and Pankaj Singh, BISA farm manager, welcomed Sikka and described farm development activities. The guests visited the genomic selection trial, a five-year project started in November 2013 that is funded by USAID-Feed the Future, Cornell University and Kansas State University. CIMMYTâs Ravi Valluru described efforts to rapidly develop climate-resilient wheat varieties for South Asia using genomic selection. Through this approach, researchers can predict the best wheat lines, even at the early seedling stages.
The early prediction of important traits and wheat lines can be used to accelerate breeding, leading to the rapid identification and release of high-yielding, heat-tolerant candidate wheat varieties for South Asia with annual genetic gains superior to those obtained through conventional breeding. Later, the visitors saw international nurseries, wheat hybrid trials and the long term conservation agriculture (CA) trial being conducted on the farm. M.L. Jat emphasized that depleted freshwater resources due to rising demand from an increasing population is a serious concern. There is a need for alternative cropping systems with high yields, low irrigation water requirements and high water productivity compared to rice-wheat systems.
Visitors listen to discussion on mechanization.
Sidhu pointed out that relay cropping of wheat in standing cotton is beneficial for farmers. Some progressive farmers are ready to start the relay cropping of wheat in standing cotton, after visiting the long-term CA trial. Jat and Parvinder Singh described trials started in 2013 to test different cultivars with different establishment environments and in different ecologies.
The same trial is being conducted at the three BISA farms, located in different ecologies with six common and four regional varieties. Early results show the need to focus on site-specific recommendations, instead of blanket recommendations for an entire region. Sidhu and Jat described the objectives of the precision water management trial supported by the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia project (CSISA) that started in spring 2013. The trials showed impressive results and continued with a maize-maize-pea rotation. Jat said farmers are interested in spring maize due to its high yield potential, but the crop requires more water.
Technology is needed to save water while retaining yields. Finally, Sidhu described second generation CA machinery and emphasized that it can be useful for small landholders.
By Katharine MacMahon/ Media Manager, Shamba Shape Up
As the new season of Shamba Shape Up, Kenyaâs hit TV series, gets under way, CIMMYT and the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) have been meeting farmers across the region to discuss exciting new developments to grow higher-yielding, disease-resistant maize.
Courtesy of Shamba Shape Up
Shamba Shape Up, the popular farming TV show, is aired twice weekly in both English and Swahili to over 10 million viewers across the eastern Africa. The show covers a wide range of topics from rainwater harvesting to certified seeds ⌠and anything in between! On 14 April, the Shamba Shape Up team, along with a host of experts, visited famers Robert and Grace on their shamba (Swahili for “farm”) in Siaya County.
Robert and Grace were having problems with their maize crop, as the field was being plagued by striga problems. Striga, otherwise known as Kiongo or Witch Weed, can cause devastation to a maize crop by attaching itself to the cropâs roots and feeding off it for water and nutrients until the crop dies. In western Kenya, over 300,000 hectares of maize are poisoned by striga weed. Gospel Omanga from AATF discussed the importance of stopping the striga weed in its tracks before it kills his whole crop with Robert. Gospel suggested planting IR maize in Robertâs fields as a way of ending his striga weed problems.
Photo courtesy of Shamba Shape Up
IR maize is a new type of seed that is immune to striga and kills off the pest at the same time. The IR maize seeds are covered in herbicide which kills both the striga that tries to attach the plant and other striga seeds (one striga plant can deposit over 50,000 seeds at once) in the nearby soil. IR maize and its herbicides are so effective that after eight seasons of use, striga can be banished from a field. Gospel tells the farmers that using IR maize is the most effective solution to the striga weed; more so than pulling them out as Robert had been doing in the past.
To learn more about striga weed and IR maize, please watch the episode, and all the other Shamba Shape Up episodes online at www.shambashapeup.com. To get an informational leaflet from the episode, please SMS your name, address & CIMMYT, MAIZE, IR MAIZE, STRIGA to 30606 (Kenya only) and Shamba Shape Up will post it to you for free!
CIMMYT and the Department of Agriculture Research, Punjab, held a one-day training for agriculture extension workers in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, to share information, promote collaboration and encourage the dissemination of technologies from the USAID-Feed the Future funded Agriculture Innovation Program (AIP).
Held at the Regional Agriculture Research Institute (RARI) on 10 March, the training was attended by 28 workers from the Department of Agriculture Extension, Punjab, and 22 students from the University College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB). Ghulam Hussain, director of RARI, lauded CIMMYT and USAID efforts in strengthening agriculture research in the country, especially in southern Punjab.
Researchers, extension workers and students learn in the field. Photos: Ahsan Irshad
RARIâs Manzoor Hussain highlighted the instituteâs efforts to develop wheat varieties for southern Punjab. He also emphasized the collaboration between research and agriculture extension. Imtiaz Hussain, CIMMYT cropping system agronomist, briefed the participants about AIP activities and shared conservation agronomy experience in Pakistanâs different cropping systems. Muhammad Akhter, from the Agronomic Research Station (ARS), Bahawalpur, presented on relay cropping of wheat in standing cotton. This technique allows farmers to plant wheat on time without land preparation and save on cultivation costs. Liaqat Ali explained the method of ridge planting for wheat, which involves land preparation, shallow tillage with cultivators and the use of ridgers to make ridges and furrows. Ridge planting can help farmers achieve 10 percent higher wheat grain yields and 30 to 40 percent savings in water over traditional techniques.
Tanveer Ahmed, executive director of Agriculture Extension, Bahawalpur, praised the collaboration between agriculture extension and research for technology transfer to farmers. After the seminar, participants visited field trials and demonstrations at RARI and ARS, Bahawalpur. Field demonstrations included information about salient characteristics of wheat varieties including Fareed-06, Maraj-08 and Aas-11, performance of wheat varieties in early and late planting, the balanced use of nutrients for wheat crops, relay cropping of wheat in standing cotton on flat and beds and ridge planting of wheat. During the field visit, researchers explained the methodologies of field technologies and answered questions. Participants from the extension department said these activities should be continued in the future to improve links between research and extension.
By Walter Mupangwa and Christian Thierfelder/CIMMYT
The quiet Khokwe village in the Chanje Central Block in Chipata district, Zambia, was buzzing with activity on 2 April when six traditional chiefs visited the Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Systems for the Eastern Province of Zambia-Africa Rising (SIMLEZA-Africa Rising) project.
Traditional leaders in African societies hold deep-rooted power in the communities, make important decisions on land use and distribution and guide villagers in times of change and uncertainty. Smallholder farmers in the Eastern Province face high labor costs and low labor availability and are confronted with the negative effects of climate variability, which require climate-resilient, low-cost alternatives to improve farm productivity. Conservation agriculture (CA)- based management practices, combined with drought-tolerant maize varieties, as suggested by SIMLEZA-Africa Rising, can reduce production costs and improve resource-use efficiency, productivity and profitability. Farmers from communities surrounding Khokwe warmly welcomed the six chiefs drawn from Chewa- and Tumbuka-speaking tribes of eastern Zambia.
CIMMYTâs Walter Mupangwa explains how the animal-drawn direct seeder works while Duncan Tembo of Agro-Chemicals shows the chiefs the different herbicides and pesticides available to farmers.
Nyao traditional dancers known as âGule Wankuluâ and Ngoni dancers also joined the farmers in welcoming and entertaining the chiefs, who were accompanied by two representatives from the Ministry of Chiefs Affairs, village headmen, councilors and officers from the District Agricultural Coordinatorâs Office (DACO). They were invited by the SIMLEZA-Africa Rising project team with representatives from CIMMYT, community agricultural committees, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAL), the National Agricultural Information Service (NAIS), Total LandCare (TLC) and the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI). SIMLEZA-Africa Rising is funded by USAID-Feed the Future. The chiefs visited trial sites in Khokwe, including a maize regional on-farm trial.
Farmers are directly involved in selecting the best maize varieties from the 20 that are being tested, which was emphasized in explaining participatory varietal selection. Most crops appeared stressed by drought, as the area had not received any rain for one month. ââThese varieties are really drought-tolerant,ââ remarked Chief Magodi as participants left the maize regional on-farm trial to visit a maize mother-baby trial, where 12 drought-tolerant maize varieties are being tested. At the CA trial, the chiefs studied maize crops planted under zero tillage in rotation or intercropped with cowpeas.
The chiefs observed that maize in the ridge and furrow system was severely moisture-stressed while maize on the CA plots was still green and growing well. ââI never knew that there are such activities happening in our district,ââ exclaimed Chief Misholo from the Chiparamba block in Chipata district, adding that the visit was an âeye-openerâ for him.
Chiefs wearing yellow and white SIMLEZA-Africa Rising T-shirts and caps visit a conservation agriculture field during a tour of SIMLEZA-Africa Rising project. Photos: Walter Mupangwa
CIMMYTâs Walter Mupangwa highlighted environmentally-friendly products used on CA fields and the procedures farmers should follow when using herbicides. for weed control. Next to the CA field, new animal traction seeding equipment was showcased, including the animal traction direct seeder, Magoye ripper tines and a hand-held no-till planter. An agro-dealer from ATS Agro-Chemicals, part of the SIMLEZA-Africa Rising innovation network, displayed the herbicides and pesticides available for smallholder farmers in the region. Farmers were keen on interacting with the traditional leaders on farming-related issues. Main discussion points included the need to improve market links and information flow for soybean and maize crops.
Chief Mbanâgombe encouraged farmers to diversify the crops they grow in the face of low prices for maize. The chiefs strongly advocated for SIMLEZA-Africa Rising to set up trials in their areas to help disseminate technology to more farming households within their jurisdiction. The chiefsâ visit is a major breakthrough for the SIMLEZA-Africa Rising project. The support of traditional leaders is a main driver of change toward more sustainable intensification.
Regular training sessions are a key component of capacity building for partners CIMMYT works with in breeding and seed systems. On 24-27 March, 28 maize technicians, including 10 women, participated in a week-long training program at the Natural Resources Development College (NRDC) in Lusaka, Zambia. A joint seed systems, breeding and seed business development team from the CIMMYT-Southern Africa Regional Office in Harare and staff from the Zambia Research Institute (ZARI) conducted the training.
CIMMYT breeder Cosmos Magorokosho explains pollination to participants at the Zambian Agricultural Research Institute in Lusaka. Photo: Peter Setimela
The participants were drawn from selected seed companies and various government units in the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA). The course was supported by two CIMMYT projects, Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) and Sustainable Intensification of Maize- Legume Systems for the Eastern Province of Zambia (SIMLEZA), in collaboration with ZARI. The training gave the participants insights into key processes in germplasm development using conventional and molecular tools, variety testing and release, seed production and seed business development. Emphasis was given to new phenotyping tools, the importance of trial uniformity and good agronomic management. Course organizers include Kambamba Mwansa, Zambian maize coordinator, and Franscico Miti from ZARI, the MoA and CIMMYTâs Peter Setimela, Cosmos Magorokosho, Kennedy Lweya, Zaman-Allah Mainassara and Obert Randi.
A recent summit in India provided a platform for various stakeholders along the maize value chain to discuss maize trade, technological gaps, industrial utilization, post-harvest management, risk management, marketing and scaling up of maize value chains through public-private partnerships (PPP).
âRoad Map for Sustainable Growth and Developing Value Chainâ was the title of the India Maize 2014 Summit held on 20-21 March in New Delhi. The summit was organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX). Participants included representatives from private input companies, millers, the poultry industry, the starch industry, service providers, national and international research institutions, policy makers, embassies and farmers from across India. A. Didar Singh, secretary general of FICCI, said there has been a âquiet revolutionâ happening in Indian agriculture with the emergence of the export market and an evolving private sector, particularly in maize, during the last several years.
The diversification of cropping patterns in Punjab and Haryana to promote maize in these states was reviewed by Ashok Gulati, chair professor for agriculture at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, during his keynote address. He said the maize sector in India currently depends on the poultry and export sector and is therefore vulnerable if demand from those sectors weakens. He emphasized policy should support quality protein maize (QPM) as an ingredient for poultry feed but also for human consumption. Adel Yusupov, regional director for the U.S. Grain Council in South and Southeast Asia, highlighted Southeast Asiaâs prospects for becoming a major importer of maize. Indiaâs advantage in targeting those emerging markets due to its proximity and lower pricing was highlighted by Rajiv Yadav, vice president of the Nobel Group. He noted nonetheless that Indian maize exports are constrained by unreliable production, lack of quality produce, high levels of moisture and aflatoxins, logistics and warehousing facilities.
Christian BĂśeber presents at the India Maize Summit 2014. Photo: Subash S.P./CIMMYT
Maize production and productivity are stagnant because farmers have been slow to adopt new technologies such as hybrids, said Sain Dass, president of the Indian Maize Development Association, adding that the main hurdle in the adoption of hybrids is the lack of seed. Christian BĂśeber, CIMMYT agricultural and market economist, presented information about CIMMYTâs maize research activities in India, including the Abiotic Stress Tolerant Maize for Asia project (ATMA) and the Heat Stress Tolerant Maize for Asia project (HTMA). He also reflected on the diverse uses of maize and the challenges faced by maize production systems in the country, including the commercial seed supply gap. Success stories in India involving PPPs were discussed.
O.P. Yadav, director of the Directorate of Maize Research of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, highlighted the need to improve maize productivity in India through PPPs and by working through the proper national channels for seed development and deployment. Shipla Divekar Nirula, director of corporate affairs and strategy for Monsanto, presented her perspective on scaling up maize value chains through PPPs and referred to the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) project as an example for successful PPPs in developing and deploying improved maize varieties. She emphasized that for a partnership to be effective, it is important to clearly define the purpose, platforms and principles of working together. A viable platform should include crop diversification, infrastructure provision, knowledge sharing, a viable extension network and growth policies.
By Meenakshi Singh, Raj Kumar Jat and Raj Gupta/CIMMYT
A recent field day in Bihar, India, showed farmers have confidence in conservation agriculture and donât need agri-input subsidies but rather easy access to quality inputs and fair compensation for their produce.
During a field day on 12 March, about 100 farmers shared their experiences regarding zero tillage and its benefits and travelled through seven villages to see the performance of zero-till crops. The non-governmental organization (NGO) GUVVS is developing alternate options for rural improvement and has been working in several areas of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal since 2011. Indiaâs Eastern Gangetic Plains are characterized by fragmented land holdings and resource-poor farmers who consistently face drought or floods. These conditions and the suboptimal crop management practices make agriculture risky.
Farmers in Bhagalpur, a district in Bihar near the Ganges River, face a variety of challenges. Low areas flood during the rainy season while rice in the uplands and midlands suffer from a lack of surface and ground water. Winter crops are sown late, resulting in low productivity. Excess soil moisture during winter crop seeding, terminal heat stresses in late-planting wheat, weeds and low-quality seed are some of the main issues hindering agriculture in the region.
Raj Kumar Jat explains weed management in maize to farmers. Photo: CIMMYT
With maize and wheat seed and other support from CIMMYT, Meenakshi Singh, GUVVS coordinator, has introduced new rice, wheat and pigeon pea cultivars with heat tolerance, water-logging tolerance and other adaptations. GUVVS also introduced resourceconserving zero till technology and new seeds through the seed production chain. Seed is provided to farmers in seven villages. Farmers get 20 to 30 kilograms of free seed from the NGO. They then repay the same amount of seed at harvest and sell what remains to fellow farmers. The NGO redistributes the collected seed to other farmers. GUVVS also provides new certified planting material for fruit tree crops at one-third of the cost for use by resource-poor farmers.
During the field day, farmer Bhola Yadav said zero-till technology has taken root in his village and is being practiced on more than 1,000 acres. The farmer-to-farmer distribution of quality seed has reached 500 farmers in the seven villages of Bhagalpur. Along with new seeds, they are promoting zero till for rice, wheat, maize, pigeon pea, pearl millet, chickpea and lentils. Zero tillage helped them in the early planting of the crops.
Raj Gupta, team leader for the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) Research Station Development, praised the farmersâ efforts and answered questions about conservation agriculture. Raj Kumar Jat, BISA cropping systems agronomist, responded to questions related to weed management and fertilizer use.
