Climate change threatens to reduce global crop production, and poor people in tropical environments will be hit the hardest. More than 90% of CIMMYTâs work relates to climate change, helping farmers adapt to shocks while producing more food, and reduce emissions where possible. Innovations include new maize and wheat varieties that withstand drought, heat and pests; conservation agriculture; farming methods that save water and reduce the need for fertilizer; climate information services; and index-based insurance for farmers whose crops are damaged by bad weather. CIMMYT is an important contributor to the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security.
Climate change is already happening. Without taking immediate action to deliver innovative research findings to farmers, climate change will be devastating to food security, particularly in the developing world.
Such organizations as CIMMYT are here to help. Over 90 percent of our work is dedicated to overcoming the challenges associated with climate change in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Working with hundreds of partners, CIMMYT develops combined packages of solutions, including developing improved seeds and introducing new practices that allow smallholder farmers to adapt to climate change, mitigating environmental impact, while increasing food production.
Our research and experience working with farmers sends a clear message to policymakers: it is possible to create advanced farming systems in the developing world that meet global challenges, but only with further investment in research and by adopting new approaches on a vast scale.
A CIMMYT staff member at work in the maize active collection in the Wellhausen-Anderson Plant Genetic Resources Center. CIMMYT/Xochiquetzal Fonseca
EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) — A new study from The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) evaluates how elite lines of maize in tropical conditions throughout Latin America perform under abiotic stresses like drought, nitrogen (N) deficiency and combined heat and drought stress.
By 2050, demand for maize is predicted to double in the developing world, and cereal production will need to greatly rise to meet this demand. However, drought and N deficiency are common detrimental factors towards achieving this goal throughout the developing world. The development of new maize germplasm able to tolerate these stresses is crucial if productivity in maize-based farming systems is to be sustained or increased in tropical lowlands in Latin America and elsewhere.
The authors found that only a few lines were tolerant across these conditions, which re-emphasizes the need to separately screen germplasm under each abiotic stress to improve tolerance. Based on high best linear unbiased predicted general combining ability, they found it will be possible to develop hybrids tolerant to multiple abiotic stresses without incurring any yield penalty under non-stressed conditions using these inbred lines. These elite lines can immediately be used in tropical breeding programs in Mexico, Central and South America, and sub-Saharan Africa to improve tolerance to abiotic stress to ensure food security in a changing climate.
Read more about the study âIdentification of Tropical Maize Germplasm with Tolerance to Drought, Nitrogen Deficiency, and Combined Heat and Drought Stressesâ here and check out other new publications from CIMMYT staff below.
AlphaSim : software for breeding program simulation. 2016. Faux, A.M.; Gorjanc, G.; Gaynor, C.; Battagin, M.; Edwards, S.M.; Wilson, D.L.; Hearne, S.; Gonen, S.; Hickey, J.M. The Plant Genome 9 (3) : 1-14.
Conservation agriculture-based wheat production better copes with extreme climate events than conventional tillage-based systems: a case of untimely excess rainfall in Haryana, India. 2016. Aryal, J.P.; Sapkota, T.B.; Stirling, C.; Jat, M.L.; Jat, H.S.; Munmun Rai; Mittal, S.; Jhabar Mal Sutaliya. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment  233 : 325-335.
Grain yield performance and flowering synchrony of CIMMYTâs tropical maize (Zea mays L.) parental inbred lines and single crosses. 2016. Worku, M.; Makumbi, D.; Beyene, Y.; Das, B;. Mugo, S.N.; Pixley, K.V.; Banziger, M.; Owino, F.; Olsen, M.; Asea, G.; Prasanna, B.M. Euphytica 211 (3) : 395-409.
Growing the service economy for sustainable wheat intensification in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains: lessons from custom hiring services for zero-tillage. 2016. Keil, A.; Dâsouza, A.; McDonald, A. Food Security 8 (5) : 1011-1028.
Wheat landraces currently grown in Turkey : distribution, diversity, and use. 2016. Morgounov, A.I.; Keser, M.; Kan, M.; Kucukcongar, M.; Ozdemir, F.; Gummadov, N.; Muminjanov, H.; Zuev, E.; Qualset, C. Crop Science 56 (6) : 3112-3124.
First report of sugar beet nematode, Heterodera schachtii Schmidt, 1871 (Nemata: Heteroderidae) in sugar beet growing areas of Sanliurfa, Turkey. 2016. Jiang-Kuan Cui; Erginbas-Orakci, G.; Huan Peng; Wen-Kun Huang; Shiming Liu; Fen Qiao; Elekcioglu, I.H.; Imren, M.; Dababat, A.A.; De-Liang Peng. Turkish Journal of Entomology 40 (3) : 303-314.
Identification of tropical maize germplasm with tolerance to drought, nitrogen deficiency, and combined heat and drought stresses. 2016. Trachsel, S.; Leyva, M.; Lopez, M.; Suarez, E.A.; Mendoza, A.; Gomez, N.; Sierra-Macias, M.; Burgueño, J.; San Vicente, F.M. Crop Science 56 : 1-15.
Performance and sensitivity of the DSSAT crop growth model in simulating maize yield under conservation agriculture. 2016. Corbeels, M.; Chirat, G.; Messad, S.; Thierfelder, C. European Journal of Agronomy 76 : 41-53.
The bacterial community structure and dynamics of carbon and nitrogen when maize (Zea mays L.) and its neutral detergent fibre were added to soil from Zimbabwe with contrasting management practices. 2016. Cruz-BarrĂłn, M. de la.; Cruz-Mendoza, A.; NavarroâNoya, Y.E.; Ruiz-Valdiviezo, V.M.; Ortiz-Gutierrez, D.; Ramirez Villanueva, D.A.; Luna Guido, M.; Thierfelder, C.; Wall, P.C.; Verhulst, N.; Govaerts, B.; Dendooven, L. Microbial Ecology. Online First.
Genetic diversity and molecular characterization of puroindoline genes (Pina-D1 and Pinb-D1) in bread wheat landraces from Andalusia (Southern Spain). 2016. Ayala, M.; Guzman, C.; Peña-Bautista, R.J.; Alvarez, J.B. Journal of Cereal Science 71 : 61-65.
HARARE, Zimbabwe (CIMMYT) â âRain patterns have changed tremendously,â says Dyless Kasawala, a smallholder farmer in Kasungu district, Malawi. âItâs different from the old days when you would be sure of a great harvest after the rains.â
For more than three decades now, life has not been easy for Kasawala and thousands of other smallholder farmers in this harsh, dry environment. Kasawalaâs story is common throughout eastern and southern Africa. Observations by smallholder farmers confirm scientific evidence that shows climate change is occurring at an alarming rate, and could leave 50 million people in the region hungry by 2050.
CIMMYT technician Herbert Chipara inspects maize devastated by drought in Mutoko district, Zimbabwe. CIMMYT/P. Lowe
From 1900 to 2013, droughts killed close to one million people in Africa, with economic damages of about $3 billion affecting over 360 million people. Such droughts are a clear sign of the high yield variability that impedes escape from poverty and hunger for millions of Africans. Climate change could also result in a 40 percent increase in the number of malnourished people in sub-Saharan Africa by 2050, according to the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa.
Sub-Saharan Africa must become resilient to climate change effects like variable and severe drought and rainfall to ensure future food security. Practicing sustainable farming techniques can help small-scale farmers adapt to these challenges.
Across the world, more farmers are beginning to practice sustainable intensification (SI), which offers the potential to simultaneously adapt farming systems to climate change, sustainably manage land, soil, nutrient and water resources, improve food and nutrition security, and ultimately reduce rural poverty.
In practice, SI involves such conservation agriculture (CA) practices as minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover and the use of crop rotation to simultaneously maintain and boost yields, increase profits and protect the environment. It contributes to improved soil function and quality, which can improve resilience to climate variability. The cropping systems CIMMYT promotes can be labelled as climate-resilient, according to the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Husband and wife farmers Elphas Chinyanga (right) and Rita Gatsi tend their conservation agriculture demonstration plot in Pindukai village, Shamva district, Zimbabwe. CIMMYT/P. Lowe
âWe received little rain this year, but weâll still have enough food,â says Kasawala, who is participating in a project led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), which aims to increase farm-level food security and productivity through SI.
Kasawala was one of the first farmers to practice sustainable intensification in her district in 2010. She has managed to improve soil fertility in her fields, increase her maize yield and improve her household food security.
âFarmers have a number of technological options, but ultimately they have to make informed decisions on which technologies to adopt,â said Eric Craswell, co-chair of CIMMYTâs Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) project steering committee. Such farmers as Kasawala who practice CA through SIMLESA participate in on-farm trials, which compare CA to conventional farming practices, test different levels of herbicide use and maize-legume crop rotations.
Maize farmers participating in SIMLESA are increasing yields and profits through sustainable intensification by increasing rotating and intercropping their maize with legumes. Above, smallholder farmer Lughano Mwangonde and sustainable intensification farmer in her conservation agriculture demonstration plot in Balaka district, Malawi. CIMMYT/J. Siamachira
According to SIMLESAâs project leader Mulugetta Mekuria, there is evidence that shows new drought-tolerant maize varieties when coupled with SI bring even greater benefits to farmers. For example, combining elite drought-tolerant maize with direct seeding systems can improve the performance of maize by more than 80 percent. Now, nearly 650 maize and legume varieties, approved by farmers and selected by over 40 local seed companies, are being commercially distributed in the five SIMLESA countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania).
Zero tillage â a CA practice that directly sows seeds into unplowed soil and the residues of previous crops â has helped farmers cut planting time in half, allowing them to engage in other economic activities.
âSustainable intensification is the only option to feed the extra two billion people by 2050, when resources are limited,â said John Dixon, principal advisor/research and program manager for the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)âs Cropping Systems and Economics program. ââNow is the time to scale-up by taking our research to farmers through extension, non-governmental organizations and farmersâ associations.â
Through 2018, CIMMYT will focus on bringing sustainable intensification to even more farmers throughout eastern and southern Africa. Collaborative work with farmers, extension agencies, non-governmental organizations, universities and agribusiness is expected to improve maize and legume productivity by 30 percent and reduce expected yield risk by 30 percent in about 650,000 rural households over a period of 10 years.
CIMMYTâs Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) project is funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) with strong collaboration from National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) and a wide range of private, university, public sector and non-governmental organizations. It aims at increasing farm-level food security and productivity in the context of climate risk and change.
Neal Gutterson, vice president of research at DuPont Pioneer, delivers a presentation on Crispr-Cas at CIMMYT’s 50th anniversary conference. CIMMYT/Sam Storr
MEXICO CITY (CIMMYT) — From the field to the laboratory, new technology plays a major part in the international effort to develop seeds and cropping systems that will help achieve food security, but scientific innovations should be advanced in tandem with nutritional goals, training and public opinion, said delegates attending a 50th anniversary conference in Mexico City hosted by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).
The challenges are enormous. Already at least 900 million people do not get enough food to eat, global population is expected to increase by 2 billion by 2050 and scientists are battling the threat of climate change, which causes erratic weather patterns and global warming, projecting that for each 1 degree Celsius increase in global mean temperature, wheat yields may decline by 6 percent.
Even brief periods of high temperature stress could negatively affect healthy seed development and ultimately cereal yields, said CIMMYT wheat physiologist Matthew Reynolds, speaking on the sidelines of the conference.
âSome models estimate that by the end of the 21st Century, a current 1-in-20 year hottest day will become a 1-in-10 year event, or even occur annually or biannually in many regions,â said Reynolds whose work involves exploring wheat genetic resources for new sources of heat and drought tolerance. âCereal production is increasing worldwide but current rates of yield growth are not sufficient to satisfy future demand, even without climate change factored in, so we have to expect the worst to avoid the risk of widespread famine.â
Reynolds is working with wheat physiologist Gemma Molero to develop high yield potential, heat and drought resistant plant ideotypes. Molero has designed a tool to assess wheat spike photosynthesis and its impact on grain filling, until now an overlooked aspect of how yields can be increased. She is working with Bayer Crop Science to identify new possibilities for wheat breeding.
Global demand for cereals is expected to reach 3 billion tons by 2050, an increase of 940 million tons from yields produced between 2005 and 2007, with the greatest demand coming from developing countries. The demand shift will lead to significant price increases of more than 50 percent for maize and 25 to 50 percent for other crops even without climate change. If climate change is factored into the equation prices could increase 60 to 97 percent by 2050.
Although controversial, genetically modified (GM) crops constitute one option for increasing yields and have not been proven to be dangerous to eat, said Matin Qaim, professor of international food economics and rural development at the University of Gottingen in Germany, during a presentation. In the developing world, they help farmers to gain yields 20 percent higher than conventionally bred crops and earn almost 70 percent more income, according to Qaim.
âFarmers in developing countries benefit more from genetically modified crops than farmers elsewhere because they suffer more from pests and diseases,â Qaim said. âThey also benefit more because most GM technologies are not patented, which means the seeds are cheaper than in developed countries.â
Neal Gutterson, vice president of research and development at DuPont Pioneer and a member of CIMMYTâs board of trustees, described the aims of a new collaboration the company has agreed with CIMMYT to develop crops capable of fighting devastating Maize Lethal Necrosis disease in Africa using CRISPR-Cas, an approach that allows precise âeditingâ of genes.
âCRISPR-Cas advanced plant breeding technology is a more efficient and targeted plant-breeding technology,â Gutterson said. âIt enables the development of customized agriculture solutions to the real challenges farmers around the world face in growing healthy plants.â
Jose Falck-Zepeda, senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute, said that while innovative technology is vital, success will be attained by tackling development initiatives from a broad âwhole systemsâ approach. Currently, science in the food system is built around narrow principles and objectives, he said. Focusing on gender and other equity issues are the starting point for technological change.
CIMMYTâs Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) project serves as an example of the whole systems approach, said Denis Kyetere, executive director of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation. Through WEMA, maize varieties are being developed using conventional breeding and biotechnology by CIMMYT, Monsanto and national research programs in Africa.
Seed from the program will ultimately be marketed royalty-free to smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa through African seed companies, making the benefits of the technology available to everyone, Kyetere said, adding that public-private partnerships are key. A new, knowledge-based global food system focused on ensuring equity is a must, he said.
âThe use of the public-private-partnership model in technology development and deployment along the entire product value chain is a game-changer in enhancing food security and for poverty reduction in Africa,â Kyetere said, adding that partners must share both responsibilities and risks to achieve a common goal.
Julie Miller Jones, professor emeritus of nutrition at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota, criticized authors and media personalities advocating wheat-free diets for the majority of population who do not suffer from celiac disease or wheat allergies. She also emphasized the essential role of grains in a healthy diet, and the health benefits of whole grain in particular.
âWe have to stop picking on diets, the problem is us. We are eating too many calories,â she urged delegates.
Going âgluten-freeâ has become a big money maker for the food industry. Sales have soared 63 percent since 2012, with almost 4,600 “gluten-free” products introduced in 2014, according to the January 2015 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.
Catherine Bertini, 2003 World Food Prize laureate and former head of the U.N. World Food Programme, strongly advocated that nutrition should be given a leading role in the breeding process. âLet food be medicine,â said Bertini, who is currently a professor at Syracuse University.
âAgricultural producers have to be change-makers,â Montiel Ibarra said. âWe need to break with resistance to change.â
Achieving change requires effective communication, including coverage of complex scientific concepts, but fact-based arguments are seldom enough, said Tamar Haspel, a food columnist for the Washington Post newspaper.
âWe seek sources of information that share our values and confirm our views,â Haspel said. âWe find innovative ways to reject âfactsâ we disagree with — if facts are not persuasive, how do we communicate about science?â
Reporting by Bianca Beks, Jennifer Johnson, Mike Listman, Katie Lutz, Matthew O’Leary, Katelyn Roett and Sam Storr.
African Conservation Tillage Network CEO Saidi Mkomwa
EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) â Regional and national support for conservation agriculture is key to achieving widespread sustainable production intensification, said Saidi Mkomwa, CEO of the African Conservation Tillage Network (ACT).
Increased uptake of conservation agriculture, soil management practices involving minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover and crop rotations used to boost sustainable agriculture and add to its profitability, will benefit from coordinated promotion through regional bodies and national governments, said Mkomwa, who will speak at a conference to mark the 50th anniversary of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) on Wednesday.
CIMMYT research and programs supporting conservation agriculture’s greater sustainable productivity have helped organizations, governments and their institutions expand efforts, but to have real impact against challenges climate change and reduced resources increased high-level action is needed, he said.
Mkomwa will take part in a panel discussion titled, âThe contribution farming systems research in scaling improved management practices and technical innovationsâ during the CIMMYT 50th anniversary conference in Mexico.
He shares his opinions on agricultural development in the following interview.
Q: What do you hope to contribute to the CIMMYT conference?
To congratulate CIMMYT on their 50 years of unique contributions such as their contribution to the Green Revolution, which pulled millions of people out of hunger. This is also an opportunity to remind CIMMYT of their former wheat breeder and father of the Green Revolution Borlaugsâ 1970âs prophecy, that a second Green Revolution will be necessary in 20 to 30 years, to make the bounty everlasting. The next Green Revolution challenged also by climate change, is being compelled to focus on the new food frontiers â smallholder rainfed agriculture in the semi-arid regions, which are also home to the millions of the hungry and the poor. CIMMYT is already researching and empowering farmers (particularly in Southern Africa) to adapt and adopt conservation agriculture as means to achieving sustainable production intensification. What could add value to this effort is more effective and higher level leadership and coordination of such activities which can empower the African Unionâs Africa’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and national governments to support and invest in relatively low cost conservation agriculture for sustainable intensification.
Q: What is significant about CIMMYT: What role has CIMMYT played in your area of work?
CIMMYT has expertise and experience in plant breeding and promoting best performing crop cultivars as well as in research on conservation agriculture systems and practices that is capable of intensifying farming without degrading natural resources. CIMMYTâs research on conservation agriculture has helped to generate reliable scientific evidence and technologies in support of conservation agriculture as the best option for sustainable production intensification by smallholder farmers in Africa. This work has helped many governments and their institutions and other organizations in Africa, including ACT, to expand their effort to introduce and spread conservation agriculture.
Q: What are the key challenges the world faces into the future?
The conventional tillage agriculture has become unfit for meeting future food security sustainably and is increasingly being replaced with conservation conservation because of its greater productivity, profitability, efficiency, resilience and regenerative qualities. Availability and efficient utilization of production inputs â with specific focus on water, fertilizers and fuel â which were essential in the Green Revolution, become crucial as supplies dwindle and costs escalate. Their manufacture or use in conventional tillage agriculture further contributes to GHG emissions but can be minimized by adopting conservation agriculture systems as widely as possible across Africa and beyond.
Key challenges that are faced globally include the need to adopt conservation agriculture in response to sub-optimal yield plateau and profit margins prevailing in most countries; loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, soil degradation and erosion; loss of efficiency and resilience; and greater need for research, education and extension systems to overcome inadequate level of staff and farmer capacity.
Margaret holds a tiny ear of SC513 maize (R), the most popular commercial variety in southern Africa, and an improved ear of CZH13208 (L), a new CIMMYT drought-tolerant hybrid. Margaret’s grandmother participated in an on-farm trial with scientist Peter Setimela in Murewa district, 75 kilometers northeast of Zimbabwe’s capital Harare. CIMMYT/Jill Cairns
EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) â Bigger and healthier maize is helping to counter the effects of severe drought caused by the warming effects of an El Nino weather system that has swept across southern Africa making more than 30 million people in the region dependent on food aid.
New varieties of the most important staple food crop in southern Africa, developed by scientists at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), not only flourish in drought, but can produce bumper crops in ideal growing conditions.
âWeâre targeting low-yield commercial hybrid maize varieties that smallholder farmers have relied on for more than 20 years in areas where farming is a struggle even in the good years,â said Peter Setimela, a maize seed system specialist based at CIMMYT in Harare, Zimbabwe. âAnother major challenge is making farmers aware of these new high-yielding, drought-tolerant varieties and giving them the confidence to switch.â
Developing the varieties can take about six or seven years, said Setimela. âFrom there, you have to start promoting them.â
CIMMYT scientists demonstrate the competitive results of maize trial plantings to seed companies and non-governmental organizations throughout the region, which then sell the seed to smallholders. One of the many benefits of the drought tolerant hybrid and openâpollinated varieties, which can be recycled over several seasons, is that they also reduce what farmers spend on fertilizer and other costly inputs.
The Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa project started in the mid-1990s, led by Marianne BĂ€nziger, now CIMMYTâs deputy director general.
Martin Kropff, CIMMYTâs director general, was on hand in Harare at the 50th anniversary celebrations of the organization, when some of the new varieties were launched.
âWe can make a real dent in hunger with this maize, which offers a wholesome alternative to the old, scrawny commercial hybrid varieties,â Kropff said at 50th anniversary celebrations at CIMMYT headquarters near Mexico City. âOnce farmers see the economic and nutritional benefits of CIMMYT drought-tolerant maize, they never look back.â
Maize makes up 30 to 50 percent of low-income household expenditures in eastern and southern Africa.
Julie Borlaug (R) stands with her mother, Jeannie Laube Borlaug, beside a statue of her grandfather Norman Borlaug at the Mexico headquarters of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in El Batan. CIMMYT/Marcelo Ortiz
EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) â Encouraging youth willing to become âhunger fightersâ to take up the challenges of farming despite erratic weather caused by climate change, drought, dwindling water supplies and nutrient-depleted soil, is key to future food security, said Julie Borlaug, associate director for external relations at the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture at Texas A&M University.
These hunger fighters must embrace technological innovation, creativity, bold ideas  and collaborate across all disciplines, while also effectively engaging smallholder farmers and private and public sectors to come up with sustainable solutions, Borlaug said, adding that the average age of a farmer in the United States and Africa is well over 50 years.
Julie Borlaug, the granddaughter of 1970 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Norman Borlaug, a former key wheat breeder at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) known internationally as the father of the Green Revolution, will address delegates at the CIMMYT 50th anniversary conference on September 27, 2016 with a speech titled, âCIMMYTâs future as a Borlaug legacy.â
After 50 years, CIMMYT remains relevant in the fight for food security and an important part of the Borlaug legacy, Borlaug said, adding that technological innovation is needed to address agriculture and the challenge of climate change.
âSince the seven years of his passing, I know my grandfather would be pleased by the leadership team and all at CIMMYT. As hunger fighters and the next generation, they have made CIMMYT their institution and continue to advocate strongly for improvement in science and technology to feed the world,â she said.
Her grandfather, who started work on wheat improvement in the mid-1940s in Mexico, where CIMMYT is headquartered near Mexico City, led efforts to develop semi-dwarf wheat varieties in the mid-20th century that helped save more than 1 billion lives in Pakistan, India and other areas of the developing world. In his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Norman Borlaug paid tribute to the âarmy of hunger fightersâ with whom he had worked.
Borlaug shared some views on CIMMYT and the future of agriculture in the following interview.
Q: What are the key challenges the world faces into the future?
In my opinion, the entire agricultural community should focus on addressing three major challenges: the first is climate change and erratic weather patterns. Droughts and a decline of limited natural resources such as water and soil are of major consequence to agricultural productivity. The second major challenge is the societal resistance to new technologies and innovation. And the third major challenge we are facing is how to engage the next generation to work in the agricultural sector.
To address the first challenge, we must have biotechnology and technological innovation across the board to address issues that will stem from climate change. The utilization of drought, heat and saline tolerant crops, informatics, and other innovations will be a necessity. Technology will be part of the integrated solution that creates better farming systems, more nutritious foods and addresses all the issues that come with climate change and sustainability.
It is important to understand the societal resistance to new technologies and innovation. I understand their skepticisms and confusion. It is important to note that when speaking to these critics, we keep in mind the campaigns that have been mounted against our industry and have spread fear and inaccurate information that the public has accepted as fact. In my opinion, the agricultural industry has to improve in explaining to the public why modern agriculture is so important to our future and why the opposition to it cannot be permitted to deprive millions of people of its promise.
Q:Â What is significant about CIMMYT: What role has CIMMYT played in your area of work?
CIMMYT is both personally and professionally significant to me. Personally, I have grown up knowing how deeply invested, protective and grateful my grandfather was to the role CIMMYT played in his career, the Green Revolution and as a leader in international maize and wheat research. CIMMYT was not just a place in which my grandfather was employed but part of his family. All who met, worked with my grandfather or had the opportunity to have an early morning CIMMYT breakfast with him, remember the deep interest he had in their careers and research as well as his often too candid assessment of their current & future work. His passion for CIMMYT never faded and in the end of his life his return âhomeâ to his Yaqui Valley wheat fields in Sonora, Mexico, gave him hope for the future of CIMMYT, the CGIAR system as a whole and international research and development in agriculture.
Professionally for me, CIMMYT has helped me learn more about my grandfather professionally but it has also broadened my depth and knowledge of maize and wheat research as well as the importance for the CG system. At the Borlaug Institute at Texas A&M, we work in international agriculture development and have had the opportunity to partner with CIMMYT on many occasions. I promised my grandfather that I would help to bring all the Borlaug Legacy Institutions together to work collaboratively and not competitively as we once had. CIMMYT was the first Borlaug legacy institution to join us in working collectively towards my grandfather legacy to end hunger and poverty.
New innovations will improve farming productivity said DuPont Pioneer President Paul Schickler. Photo: CIMMYT/ Peter Lowe
EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) â Data and predictive analytics can help seeds reach their full yield by providing farmers with information and management advice, said DuPont Pioneer President Paul Schickler.
Although seed varieties possess greater genetic potential than ever before, farmers are failing to achieve maximum yield because they lack the knowledge to farm certain varieties of maize and wheat in certain locations, said Schickler who will speak at a conference to mark the 50th anniversary of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) next week.
To help farmers bridge this gap, Schickler said DuPont Pioneer has abandoned learning best practices from field trials and now uses data modelling. Simulating combinations of seeds and  unique farming practices enables smoother delivery of better information and management advice, he said.
Targeted genome editing using engineered nucleases innovations, such as Clustered, Regularly Interspaced, Short Palindromic Repeat (CRISPR) technology, are also driving DuPont Pioneerâs seed development to improve the productivity of climate- and disease-resistant crops, said Schickler.
He will deliver a talk during a session titled, âThe critical role of innovation in agricultureâ on Sept. 28 at the CIMMYT 50th anniversary conference which will be held from Sept. 27 to 29, 2016 in Mexico City.
He shared some views on agricultural innovation in the following interview.
Q: What is significant about CIMMYT?
Thereâs no denying it â we have all benefitted from CIMMYTâs scientific research and heart for innovation. Since its beginnings, CIMMYT has played a revolutionary role in global agriculture â fostering maize and wheat productivity while improving rural livelihoods and boosting farmer productivity. And, they have excelled at bringing a collaborative focus to agriculture.
As I reflect on the past 50 years of CIMMYT, I also think of one of the worldâs great humanitarians and innovators â former Global Wheat Program director and Nobel laureate Noman Borlaug. Through science, he has been credited with saving 1 billion people from starvation.
At DuPont Pioneer, we have a strong appreciation for the contributions of Borlaug and CIMMYT. We have collaborated throughout its 50-year history and we look forward to 50 more.
Q: How does your area of specialization address challenges facing agriculture?
At DuPont Pioneer, we develop and supply advanced plant genetics and services to farmers to increase agricultural production and feed a growing world population. We collaborate with farmers and organizations, including CIMMYT, in more than 90 countries to apply the best of global science to develop uniquely local solutions. One thing has become abundantly clear â we can only help farmers be successful when we recognize their right to choose the best seeds, agronomic practices and tools for their operations. The ârightâ practices for farmers differ by geography, environment, market situation and more.
As president of DuPont Pioneer, I am immersed in issues pertaining to farmer and agricultural productivity, food and nutrition security, scientific research, product innovation and sustainability. Together with organizations like CIMMYT, we are making advancements in these areas while promoting community development and national security. Efforts to increase global food security may also support a decrease in civil unrest.
Q: What innovation do you see improving agriculture?
Innovation will continue to be critical on a global scale as we consider increasing yields and food production under the constraints of limited arable land, shrinking natural resources, and a growing population. To make sure enough healthy food is available, farmers need seeds that can thrive and are safe for people and the environment.
Every year, seed companies develop products with greater and greater genetic potential. But most customers fail to achieve the maximum yield potential of the seeds they plant. We need to help farmers bridge the gap between a productâs potential yield and its âreal-world,â harvestable yield.
Farmer Krishna Chandra Yadav laser levels land for rice planting in Sirkohiya, Bardiya. Laser leveling is one of many climate-friendly tools that conserves water and helps farmers plant their crops more precisely and efficiently. Photo: P.Lowe/CIMMYT
EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) â In 2015, more than 100 countries pledged to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
However, little technical information about how much mitigation is needed, versus how much we are capable of, is available.
A recent study which CIMMYT scientists and others participated in identifies this gap, stating that plausible agricultural development pathways that mitigate climate change only deliver 21-40% of what we need to limit warming in 2100 to 2 °C, an amount that is already predicted to cause large food security and other risks.
The authors of the study conclude saying that more transformative technical and policy options will be needed, such as methane inhibitors and finance for new practices if we are to limit our warming below 2°C.  In addition, they call for more comprehensive targets for the 2 °C limit to be developed including soil carbon and agriculture-related mitigation options.
They also say that excluding agricultural emissions from mitigation targets and plans will increase the cost of mitigation in other sectors, or reduce the feasibility of meeting the 2 °C limit.
Read the study âReducing emissions from agriculture to meet the 2°C target.â here and check out CIMMYTâs other new publications below:
Effects of tillage and mulch on the growth, yield and irrigation waterproductivity of a dry seeded rice-wheat cropping system innorth-west IndiaNaveen. 2016. Naveen-Gupta; Sudhir-Yadav; Humphreys, E.; Kukal, S.S.; Balwinder-Singh; Eberbach, P.L. Field Crops Research 196 : 219-236.
Evaluation of the effects of mulch on optimum sowing date andirrigation management of zero till wheat in central Punjab, India using APSIM. 2016. Balwinder-Singh; Humphreys, E.; Gaydon, D.S.; Eberbach, P.L. Field Crops Research 197 : 83-96. Griffiths, S.; Bangyou Zheng; Chapman, S.; Reynolds, M.P. Crop Science 56 : 1-11
High-temperature adult-plant resistance to stripe rust in facultative winter wheat.2016. Akin, B.; Xian Ming Chen; Morgunov, A.; Nusret Zencirci; Anmin WanD; Meinan Wang. Crop and Pasture Science. Online First.
Identification of Earliness Per Se Flowering Time Locus in Spring Wheat through a Genome-Wide Association Study. 2016. Sukumaran, S.; Lopes, M.S.; Dreisigacker, S.; Dixon, L.E.; Meluleki Zikhali.
Reducing emissions from agriculture to meet the 2 °C target. 2016. Wollenberg, E.; Richards, M.; Smith, P.; HavlĂk, P.; Obersteiner, M.; Tubiello, F.N.; Herold, M.; Gerber, P.; Carter, S.; Reisinger, A.; Vuuren, D.P. van; Dickie, A.; Neufeldt, H.; Sander, B.O.; Wassmann, R.; Sommer, R.; Amonette, J. E.; Falcucci, A.; Herrero, M.; Opio, C.; Roman-Cuesta, R.M.; Stehfest, E.; Westhoek, H.; Ortiz-Monasterio, I.; Sapkota, T.B.; Rufino, M.C.; Thornton, P.; Verchot, L.; West, P.C.; Soussana, J.F.; Baedeker, T.; Sadler, M.; Vermeulen, S.; Campbell, B.M. Global Change Biology. Online First.
Want to learn more about CIMMYT’s activities in Pakistan? Check out our news feed here. Photo: CIMMYT
EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) — A new paper by scientists from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) highlight important risks to farmersâ yields in Pakistan due to climate change and call for current climate adaptation policies across South Asia to be revised in response.
Rice and wheat are the principal calorie sources for over a billion people in South Asia. Both of these crops are extremely sensitive to climate and agronomic management conditions under which they are grown.
Which is why climate change â projected to increase heat stress and variability across the region â is a huge threat to farmers growing these crops.
And while the influence of climatic conditions on crop growth have been widely studied, empirical evidence of the link between climate variability and yield risk in farmersâ fields is comparatively scarce.
Using data from 240 farm households, the paper âClimate variability and yield risk in South Asiaâs riceâwheat systems: emerging evidence from Pakistanâ responds to this gap and isolates the effects of agronomic management from climatic variability on rice and wheat yield risks in eight of Pakistanâs twelve agroecological zones. The authorsâ results highlight important risks to farmersâ ability to obtain reliable yield levels for both crops, finding season-long and terminal heat stress have a negative effect on rice and wheat yields, with heat being particularly damaging to wheat.
The study also finds farmers have limited capacity to adapt to respond to climactic changes within a crop season, concluding that current climate change adaptation policies must be reviewed to increase resilience for Pakistanâs and South Asiaâs cereal farmers, suggesting avenues for investment in improved crop research and development programs.
Read more about this study and more recent publications from CIMMYT researchers, below:
A direct comparison of remote sensing approaches for high-throughput phenotyping in plant breeding. 2016. Tattaris, M.; Reynolds, M.P.; Chapman, S. Frontiers in Plant Science 7: 113
Baseline simulation for global wheat production with CIMMYT mega-environment specific cultivars. 2016. Gbegbelegbe, S.D.; Cammarano, D.; Asseng, S.; Robertson, R.; Chung, U.; Adam, M.; Abdalla, O.; Payne, T.S.; Reynolds, M.P.; Sonder, K.; Shiferaw, B.; Nelson, G. Field Crops Research. Online First.
Climate variability and yield risk in South Asiaâs riceâwheat systems: emerging evidence from Pakistan. 2016. Muhammad Arshad; Amjath-Babu, T.S.; Krupnik, T.J.; Aravindakshan, S.; Abbas, A.; Kachele, H.; Muller, K. Paddy Water Environment. Online First.
Genome wide association mapping of stripe rust resistance in Afghan wheat landraces. 2016. Manickavelu, A.; Joukhadar, R.; Jighly, A.; Caixia Lan; Huerta-Espino, J.; Ahmad Shah Stanikzai; Kilian, A.; Singh, R.P.; Ban, T. Plant Science 252: 222-229.
Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of CIMMYT
EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) â Sustainable agriculture must be adopted globally if natural ecosystems are to be protected as food production increases to feed a projected population of 9.7 billion by 2050, said author and environmentalist Mark Lynas.
An immediate move to transform overall agricultural practices is needed to overcome the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss, said Lynas who will speak at a conference to mark the 50th anniversary of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in September.
A former critic of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) Lynas changed his mind when he said it became clearer to him that there was a scientific consensus that genetic engineering was safe. In his current role at Cornell University, he now advises on public sector biotechnology in developing countries.
Lynas will deliver a presentation during a session entitled âFuture Landscapesâ at the CIMMYT 50th anniversary conference on Sept. 29, 2016.
He shared some views on the future of agriculture in the following interview.
Q: What are the key challenges the world faces?
Well, itâs become something of a cliche now to talk about how we need to double world food supply by 2050 in order to feed the growing human population. Iâm keen to add an environmental perspective to this statement. We need to double world food production but at the same time to shrink the area of cultivated land in order to protect natural ecosystems. With the ongoing crises in climate change and biodiversity loss, we cannot afford to plow up the rain forests or other ecologically valuable areas, so the only viable option is to sustainably intensify existing cultivated areas, hopefully with ârewildingâ of spared lands. Obviously, this is a broad-brush assertion, and there is a lot of geographical complexity and nuance underlying this, that we should not forget.
Q: How does your area of specialization address these challenges? What innovation do you see improving agriculture?
Iâm particularly focused on biotechnology in agriculture, which can help improve sustainability in many ways. Basically, if you can move from chemistry to biology in addressing challenges, from water use to yield to pest control, so much the better for the environment. An example would be the use of the Bt gene, which produces a protein in the plant that is toxic only to the pest itself and harmless to everything else, including us. That’s a much more sustainable option than indiscriminate insecticide sprays that have serious environmental and health impacts. However, because of their total opposition to genetic engineering, anti-GMO campaigners end up defending continued pesticide use, which is a very strange place for supposedly green activists to be. I’ve seen this at first hand in Bangladesh with the campaign against Bt brinjal. Anti-science superstition of this sort can end up being very environmentally damaging.
Q: What outcomes would you like to see from the CIMMYT conference?
CIMMYT experts were co-authors on a recent paper, âReducing emissions from agriculture to meet the 2 °C targetâ in Global Change Biology, that challenged the agriculture sector to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions significantly — by 1 billion tons a year — in order to contribute to meeting the 2 degrees C international climate change target. I thought this was a great initiative and I would love to see more attention given to it by other stakeholders at the CIMMYT conference. I really hope it becomes a talked about target that ends up being matched with real commitments and actions in the field.
Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of CIMMYT.
EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) â Leading nutritionist Julie Miller Jones aims to bust myths about biotechnology
U.S. nutritionist Julie Miller Jones
by educating the general population on the benefits she believes genetically engineered (GE) crops can play in ending extreme hunger and malnutrition.
A shift away from the perception that GE crops are unsafe for the environment and human health is needed if they are to live up to their potential to increase food production and improve nutrition to meet the needs of growing global population, said Miller Jones who will speak at a conference to mark the 50th anniversary of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in September.
A recent report released by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine said there is no substantiated evidence that foods from GE crops are less safe than foods from non-GE crops. Miller Jones said the general public must be educated about how biotechnology can safely improve food crops and contribute to nourishing a global population projected to grow by more than 2 billion by 2050 to more than 9.7 billion.
GE technologies enable the insertion from one species to another of genetic material (DNA) responsible, for example, for the production of vitamin precursors, such as pro-vitamin A carotenoids. Specific genes from maize, daffodil or carrot, placed in a staple grain, can help address vitamin A shortages in many regions, said the nutritionist. Conventional breeding does not have this ability to insert desirable genes from one species to another, and GE technologies can therefore enhance the contribution of plant breeding in addressing significant public health problems, she said.
Miller Jones has followed wheat-breeding developments over the years. She is a big fan of Norman Borlaug, the late CIMMYT wheat breeder and 1970 Nobel Peace Prize laureate known as the Father of the Green Revolution for the high-yielding wheat varieties he produced, which are credited with saving more than a billion lives in the developing world.
Miller Jones is outspoken about the negative consequences of gluten-free diets and has written several research papers that dispel myths generated by claims that the protein found in wheat is unhealthy.
She is a certified nutrition specialist who is also a distinguished scholar and professor emeritus of nutrition of nutrition at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota. Interested in all aspects of nutrition science, she is actively involved in educating consumers against myths about nutrition and food safety. Currently, she is a scientific advisor to a number of groups such as the Healthy Grains Institute and the Grains Food Foundation that promote healthy diets and educates consumers on the benefits the right balance of grain-based foods.
Jones, who will speak during Session Five on âFuture Landscapesâ at the CIMMYT 50th anniversary conference on Sept. 29, 2016, shared some insights on the future of agriculture in the following interview.
Q: What is significant about CIMMYT: What role has CIMMYT played in your area of work?
CIMMYT and Norman Borlaug have always been inspirations to me ever since I began my graduate work at the University of Minnesota nearly 50 years ago. Iâm interested in nutrition and feeding the world, I taught students about the Green Revolution and the achievements of Borlaug and CIMMYT in the world food supply section of my class on current issues throughout my entire academic career.
Q: What are the key challenges the world faces?
Producing enough food and communicating about the risks and benefits of anything we do. Communicating that there are risks to using GE crops, but these are assessed on a case-by-case basis.. What hasnât been communicated effectively, so that the average person can understand and not fear the technology, is the risk of not using GE and other agricultural advancements. Itâs ironic to me that those claiming to be interested in the environment often reject technologies that enable the use of fewer inputs and scarce resources and they do it in the name of the environment. All must communicate this in a non-defensive, clear way.
Q: How does your area of specialization address these challenges?
As a nutritionist and communicator, I want to work with breeders to ensure that nutrients are one of the aspects that are included in breeding programs. Further, I want to work with others to develop effective strategies to explain advancements in agriculture and plant breeding to reduce consumersâ fears and ease their acceptance and adoption.
Caption: Chetana Patil, Joint Director of Agriculture (left), discusses the strength of new heat-tolerant maize hybrids with farmers. Photo: UAS, Raichur
KATHMANDU, Nepal (CIMMYT) — Â Launched by CIMMYT in January 2013 in collaboration of five public sector institutions and three seed companies from four South Asian countries (Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan), the Heat Tolerant Maize for Asia (HTMA) project is a public-private partnership that targets resource-poor maize farmers in South Asia who face weather extremes and climate change effects.
Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the Feed the Future (FTF) initiative, HTMA receives significant contributions from various partner institutions and companies. As a result of meticulously planned research on fast-track development and deployment of heat tolerant maize hybrids in South Asia, within three years the first 18 heat resilient hybrids were licensed to HTMA partners for deployment and scale-out. The projectâs outputs attracted the attention of other players in the region, especially private seed companies, who expressed their interest in becoming a part of HTMA. A total of 12 new partners (five seed companies each from Bangladesh and Pakistan and two from Nepal) formally joined the project. They participated for the first time in the projectâs annual review and planning meeting jointly organized by the Nepal Agricultural Research Program (NARC) and CIMMYT in Kathmandu, Nepal, on 25-26 July 2016.
Executive Director Yamraj Pandey, NARC, Nepal, chaired the inaugural session of the fourth annual review and planning meeting. In his opening remarks, Pandey emphasized the importance of stress resilient maize hybrids for coping with climate change effects and highlighted the remarkable progress HTMA has made in such a short period, giving farmers in stress-prone maize growing Asian environments much-needed heat tolerant hybrids. B.M. Prasanna, Director of CIMMYTâs Global Maize Program and of CRP-MAIZE, gave an overview of the new CGIAR research program on Maize Agri-food Systems, its focus and priorities, and highlighted the importance of stress-resilient maize for improving food security and livelihoods, especially in regions vulnerable to climate change, such as the Asian tropics.
Hailu Tefera, Agricultural Resource Specialist, Bureau for Food Security, USAID, gave an update on the FTF initiative and highlighted its priorities, which include reducing poverty and malnutrition in children in target countries through accelerated inclusive agricultural growth and a high-quality diet. He also informed meeting participants that on 7 July 2016, the US Congress passed the Global Food Security Act (GFSA), which will make FTF into law. Senior CIMMYT maize physiologist and HTMA project leader P.H. Zaidi shared the latest progress made under HTMA including the identification of genomic regions for key heat tolerant traits, development of improved heat tolerant populations using genomic selection, testing of new hybrid combinations, identification of promising hybrids, and the latest capacity development efforts.
At a series of technical sessions, project objective leaders, including Mitch Tuinstra, Purdue University professor, Sudha Nair, CIMMYT molecular maize breeder, and M.T. Vinayan, CIMMYT maize stress specialist for South Asia, presented the latest research results in each objective. HTMA leaders from public and private sector partners presented results of HTMA trials conducted at their locations/countries, and shared a list of top-ranking, best-bet heat-tolerant maize hybrids that will be subjected to large-scale testing and then deployed. They also described efforts aimed at disseminating HTMA hybrids through on-farm demonstrations and farmer-participatory selection of final products.. Most impressive was that each partner has identified a second batch of promising hybrids suitable for their target markets/agro-ecologies.
Caption: HTMA team at 4th annual review and planning meeting during 25-26 July, 2016 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo: UAS, Raichur
The project started a unique initiative aimed at developing hybrids using elite maize lines from Pioneer and HTMA. Kamal Pandey from Pioneer highlighted the performance of CIMMYT x Pioneer hybrids, which revealed the significant heterosis between CIMMYT and Pioneer maize germplasm, and should help identify promising joint hybrids suitable for stress-prone ecologies of South Asia. Zaidi and Tuinstra jointly presented HTMAâs progress on capacity development and provided updates on student research projects, including nine Ph.D. and six M.Sc. students, plus a total of 10 workshops/training courses organized so far on subjects such as precision phenotyping, molecular breeding, data management and seed systems. A total 303 participants have been trained, including researchers from public sector institutions and seed companies in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan.
The meeting was attended by over 50 program leaders, scientists and representatives from collaborating institutions in South Asia, including BARI (Bangladesh), Nepalâs National Maize Research Program (NMRP), Pakistanâs Maize and Millet Research Institute, Bhutanâs national maize program, and two of Indiaâs state agricultural universities. Also in attendance were partner seed companies in the region, including Pioneer Hi-Bred, Kaveri Seeds and Ajeet Seeds (India), and new seed company partners including Sean Seeds and Hariyali Community Seeds (Nepal); Jullundhar Pvt. Ltd., Kanzo Quality Seeds, CKD Seeds & Fertilizers, Hisell Seeds, and Zamindara Seeds (Pakistan); and Lalteer Seeds, Krishibid, BRAC, ACI Ltd., and Supreme Seeds (Bangladesh). International institutions such as Purdue University, USAID and CIMMYT also participated in the event.
The projectâs progress and updates were critically reviewed by the project steering committee (PSC) headed by Prasanna, who expressed great satisfaction with its overall progress and achievements. Speaking for USAID, Hailu Tefera said they are highly impressed with HTMAâs progress and consider it a model public-private partnership. Other PSC members also expressed their satisfaction and agreed that the HTMA team deserves special appreciation for the remarkable progress they have achieved within just four years.
âWith consistently impressive harvests thanks to DT maize varieties, Iâm always assured that my family will have enough food, and I can earn a decent income from selling some grain,” said Piri, a smallholder farmer in Petauke District, Zambia. Photo: CIMMYT/Rodney Lunduka.
NAIROBI, Kenya (CIMMYT) â Drought-related challenges in Africa call for proactive interventions rather than reactive ones. Every so often a drought hits, jolting the development community into action, and leading to the delivery of food aid to millions of people facing starvation â beneficial efforts in the short term, but futile for achieving lasting change.
The need for sustainable strategies that guarantee households remain food secure even when natural disasters strike is widely recognized throughout the international agriculture-for-development community and supported by the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.
CIMMYT plays a significant role in supporting these efforts in Africa by developing drought-tolerant (DT) maize and wheat seeds that give smallholder farmers long-term solutions to recurring drought. Drought-tolerant maize varieties are scaled out through the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Seed Scaling (DTMASS) project.
The drought that has gripped much of southern Africa during the 2015/2016 agricultural season due to a disruptive El Niño went on record as the worst in 50 years, affecting an estimated 40 million people. While Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe declared the drought a national disaster, Zambia managed to meet its national maize production average, thanks largely to smallholder farmers, who plant roughly 51% of the total cultivated land in the country.
As in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, in Zambia rain performance determines crop performance; however, despite the late and erratic rains in 2015-2016, smallholder farmers have reason to smile. This good fortune is evident in Petauke district in Zambiaâs Eastern Province, roughly 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the capital Lusaka, where granaries are packed to the brim thanks to the bountiful maize harvest.
At the recommendation of a fellow farmer, 36-year-old Miriam Piri, a mother of six, started planting a DT maize variety in 2013 under the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa project. Realizing she was getting a bigger yield from the DT variety than a local one, Miriam continued to plant it.
âI grow DT maize variety PAN53 on roughly two hectares of land, and for the last three years my yields have been impressive,â said Piri. âI was a little anxious about my harvest because of poor rains, but I got the highest yield ever in three years!â
For its ability to thrive in both dry and wet conditions, and in low- to mid-altitude regions, PAN 53 is easily one of the most popular DT varieties in Zambia. In addition to its impressive yields, farmers enjoy the hybridâs flint-type grain, which makes for easier and quicker pounding, and its densely packed cobs, which add up to more grain. PAN 53 is also resistant to leaf blight, gray leaf spot and ear rot.
Every season Piri plants 40 kilograms (90 pounds) of PAN 53, from which she harvested 45 50-kg bags in 2013. This was followed by yields of 35, 50 and 70 bags in 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively.
âGoing forward, I will plant both local and drought-tolerant varieties for my familyâs consumption and sale, respectively. I sell the DT maize exclusively to the government and wholesalers, so I get a fair price. With this income, I can focus on other projects,â Mwanza said. Photo: Kelah Kaimenyi/CIMMYT
PAN 53 is produced and distributed by Pannar, the largest independent seed group in South Africa, and one of the largest seed suppliers in sub-Saharan Africa. Pannar has the third largest market share in Zambia.
According to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, Zambia is expected to substantially exceed national requirements this consumption year given its maize production of 2.87 million metric tons (MT) in 2016, combined with an estimated maize carryover stock of approximately 667,500 MT.
A few doors down from Piri is 66-year-old Piri Mwanza, who also plants DT maize. For Mwanza, planting a DT maize hybrid at the onset of this yearâs drought was a risk he was willing to take. Throughout 44 years as a farmer, he knew only the local maize variety until an agro-dealer convinced him to try something new. He invested $37 to buy 20 kilograms of DT maize seed and fertilizer for his one-hectare farm. Despite poor rains, he harvested 55 bags of maize compared to 40 bags the previous year with the local variety.
âIâm impressed with my harvest, and will continue investing in DT maize even when the season gets better and the rains normalize,â said Mwanza.
Planting drought-tolerant varieties has proven to be a sustainable strategy for improving food security. Continuous efforts by CIMMYTâs DTMASS project to promote the benefits of improved varieties will go a long way toward convincing smallholder farmers to adopt them.
ADDIS ABABA — As Ethiopia struggles with its worst drought in 50 years, farmers pin their hopes on seed delivered through emergency seed projects.
âThe situation last year was so bad that we could only laugh or cry,â said Rameto Tefo, a smallholder farmer from Tsiaroa district in central Ethiopia. âWe were highly affected by the drought and we are now reliant on the assistance of the government and organizations such as CIMMYT. Without the seed provided to us from CIMMYT through the emergency seed project, I would have had to beg from my neighbors or just plant grain and hope that it germinated.â
Rameto Tefo lost his entire harvest to drought last year. Without the maize seed provided through the emergency seed project, he said he would have had to beg his neighbors to provide food for his two wives and eight children. Photo: E.Quilligan/CIMMYT
Tefo would have had a difficult time begging for seed from his neighbors; the drought in this district was so severe that most farmers lost all their harvest. Furthermore, the effects of the strongest El Niño on record continued from 2015 into 2016 and the short belg rains that normally fall during March and April were erratic and scarce. By late April, the ground was once again dry and cracked, but the day before we visited Tsiaroa in early May, torrential rain had washed away roads and flooded houses and fields. No one knew whether this was late belg rains, or the start of the main rainy season, which would normally not occur until June.
In this district alone, 67 villages were affected by drought last year and produced little or no harvest. This meant that farmers were unable to save seed for planting this season, and also lacked the income to purchase seed. According to Bekele Abeyo, CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center) senior wheat breeder/pathologist for sub-Saharan Africa, immediate large-scale support is critical to ensure that the food shortages encountered during 2016 do not balloon into a future crisis for Ethiopia. Abeyo is currently leading the emergency seed project being implemented by CIMMYT in collaboration with the Ethiopian government with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The projectâs primary partner, Ethiopiaâs Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA), is supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Under this project, 50 tons of maize seed are being supplied to Tsiaroa district â enough for each of 4,000 farmers to plant 0.5 ha with improved, drought resistant maize.
In contrast to normal rain patterns, heavy rainfall fell in central Ethiopia in early May, between the usual short (March-April) and main (June-September) rainy seasons. Photo: E.Quilligan/CIMMYT
âWe are optimistic that the high quality maize varieties provided through the emergency seed project will help ensure the future food security of this region,â said Dagne Wegary, CIMMYT maize breeder and maize seed coordinator for the emergency seed project. âThanks to the long-established network of CIMMYT experts, government development agents, and district focal people, we are able to provide a complete package of improved seed and agronomy advice.â
Boti Decheso helps Demetu Edao carry maize seed received through the emergency seed project back to their farms. Photo: E.Quilligan/CIMMYT
Nearby Zewai Dugda district was also severely affected by the drought, and now has more than 20,000 farmers in need of emergency seed assistance. CIMMYT is working alongside the government and other organizations to provide seed to 4,400 farmers under the emergency seed project.
Itâs a complex logistical task to ensure that the correct farmers receive the right amount of seed, but storekeeper Embete Habesha in Zewai Dugda has everything under control. Farmers may request one of four varieties of drought-tolerant maize (three hybrids and one open-pollinated variety). Habesha is responsible for collecting information and fingerprint signatures from the farmers who receive seed. They are optimistic that â with normal growing conditions â they will be able to achieve yields of up to 4.4 tons/hectare.
Demetu Edao was one of the farmers scheduled to receive seed on the day we visited. She has a 1-ha plot in the village of Ubobracha where she grows teff and wheat, in addition to maize, and she uses the income to pay the school fees for her six children. Edao said she is grateful not only for the seed, but also for the assistance and agronomy advice she receives from government development agents and agriculture experts. Her neighbor and fellow farmer, Boti Decheso, joked that while he looks young, he feels old with the pressure of providing for a wife and two young children. Decheso hopes to use this seed to produce a successful harvest and save some seed for next year, while also ensuring his family has enough to eat. Any surplus maize will be sold so that the family can purchase some livestock and diversify its livelihood as a buffer against future financial and environmental shocks.
Through the emergency seed project implemented by CIMMYT, more than 226,000 households will benefit from the provision of maize, wheat, and sorghum seed. âWe hope that this provision of emergency seed will enable Ethiopian smallholder farmers to quickly recover from the devastating drought of 2015,â said Abeyo. âOur unique and strong links with the Ethiopian government, the formal seed sector, farmersâ cooperatives, and partners such as ATA have allowed CIMMYT to quickly respond to farmersâ needs and provide more than 2,700 tons of seed to help ensure Ethiopiaâs future food security.â
In Zewai Dugda, storekeeper Embete Habesha discusses her store records with Tadele Asfaw, CIMMYT-Ethiopia program management officer and member of the Seed Procurement Committee for the emergency seed project funded by USAID. Photo: E.Quilligan/CIMMYT
