Theme: Climate adaptation and mitigation

Climate change threatens to reduce global crop production, and poor people in tropical environments will be hit the hardest. More than 90% of CIMMYT’s 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.

Mobilizing gene bank biodiversity in the fight against climate change

Written by on January 11, 2016. Posted in Features. 1 Comment on Mobilizing gene bank biodiversity in the fight against climate change

Ancestors of modern wheat (R) in comparison with an ear of modern cultivated wheat (L). Photo: Thomas Lumpkin/CIMMYT.

In a world where the population is expected to reach 9 billion by the year 2050, grain production must increase to meet rising demand. This is especially true for bread wheat, which provides one-fifth of the total calories consumed by the world’s population. However, climate change threatens to derail global food security, as instances of extreme weather events and high temperatures reduce agricultural productivity and are increasing faster than agriculture can naturally adapt, leaving our future ability to feed the global population uncertain. How can we ensure crop production and food security for generations to come?

In order to continue feeding the planet, it is imperative that we identify crop varieties that display adaptive and quality traits such as drought and heat stress tolerance that will allow them to survive and flourish despite environmental stresses. For this reason, a recent study by Sehgal et al., “Exploring and mobilizing the gene bank biodiversity for wheat improvement,” was conducted to characterize wheat seed samples in the CIMMYT germplasm bank to identify useful variations for use in wheat breeding.

The study analyzed the genetic diversity of 1,423 bread wheat seed samples that represent major wheat production environments around the world, particularly regions that experience significant heat and drought. The tested samples included synthetic wheat varieties, which are novel bread wheat varieties created by making crosses between the progenitors of modern bread wheat, durum wheat and wild grassy ancestors; landraces, which are local varieties developed through centuries of farmer selection; and elite lines that have been selectively bred and adapted. The samples were analyzed through genotyping-by-sequencing, a rapid and cost-effective approach that allows for an in-depth, reliable estimate of genetic diversity.

The results of the study suggested that many of the tested landraces and synthetics have untapped, useful genetic variation that could be used to improve modern wheat varieties. When combined with elite wheat germplasm, this genetic variation will increase stress adaptation and quality traits as well as heat and drought tolerance, thus leading to new wheat varieties that can better survive under climate change. The study also found new genetic variation for vernalization, in which flowering is induced by exposure to cold, and for glutenin, a major wheat protein responsible for dough strength and elasticity. Based on the information generated by the study, over 200 of the diverse seed samples tested have been selected for use in breeding, since they contain new specific forms of genes conferring drought and heat stress tolerance. This new genetic diversity will help bread wheat breeding programs around the world create new varieties to feed the world’s growing population in a changing environment.

This research is part of CIMMYT’s ongoing Seeds of Discovery (SeeD) project, which is funded by the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA) through the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture (MasAgro) project, as well as the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (WHEAT). SeeD works to unlock the genetic potential of maize and wheat genetic resources by providing breeders with a toolkit that enables their more targeted use in the development of better varieties that address future challenges, including those from climate change and a growing population.

To read the full study, please click here:

Citation:

Sehgal D, Vikram P, Sansaloni CP, Ortiz C, Pierre CS, Payne T, et al. (2015) Exploring and Mobilizing the Gene Bank Biodiversity for Wheat Improvement. PLoS ONE 10(7): e0132112. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0132112

Related Publications:

Exploiting genetic diversity from landraces in wheat breeding for adaptation to climate change (2015) Lopes, M.S., El-Basyoni, I., Baenziger, P.S., Sukhwinder-Singh, Royo, C., Ozbek, K., Aktas, H., Ozer, E., Ozdemir, F., Manickavelu, A., Ban, T., Vikram, P.

Coping with climate change: the roles of genetic resources for food and agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Climate change’s surprising opportunity for East African maize farmers

Written by on January 8, 2016. Posted in Features. 1 Comment on Climate change’s surprising opportunity for East African maize farmers

By 2050, seasonal temperatures are expected to increase over 2°C in all maize producing regions of eastern Africa. Africa is one of the most vulnerable continents in the world to rising temperatures and rainfall variability due to climate change, with 96% of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) farmers depending on rainfall to water their crops.

While climate change is expected to decrease maize yields in most parts of Africa by a margin of 6-12%, some countries like Ethiopia and Kenya may see overall maize yields increase under climate change, according to CIMMYT climate and crop models.

“Our results suggest that the likely maize yield increase in Ethiopia and Kenya is due to anticipated temperature increases in the highland regions,” says Jill Cairns, maize physiologist at CIMMYT. Current temperatures in this area are too low to produce good yields, so an increase in temperature could positively affect maize farmers’ harvests in the future.

“New maize varieties will be needed to capitalize on these potential yield gains in the highlands,” adds Cairns. Commercial maize varieties currently grown in the East African highlands will not tolerate future higher temperatures. Varieties that are adapted to the region’s future climate coupled with recommended agronomic practices and correct timing for planting will be necessary to increase farmers’ yields.

Maize production overall has been declining in Kenya since 1982, due largely to drought conditions experienced across Africa and lack of varieties that can withstand this stress. CIMMYT estimates that 40% of Africa’s maize growing areas face occasional drought stress, resulting in yield losses of 10-25%. As a result of these climate shocks, Africa yields just two tons per hectare of maize, compared to the world’s average of nearly five tons per hectare.

CIMMYT is currently developing climate and crop models to predict the impact of future climate on maize production, and has also established the world’s largest tropical maize stress screening network under public domain. This network is being used by partners, including national agricultural organizations in SSA, to develop improved varieties that will tolerate current and future climate challenges. Currently being addressed are drought, heat, low soil fertility, insect pests and diseases such as maize lethal necrosis (MLN).

Improved maize hybrids with drought tolerance and nitrogen use efficiency are already on the market across eastern Africa and in the larger SSA region. Significant efforts have been made in recent years to develop heat tolerant and MLN resistant maize varieties in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. These improved varieties yield much more than current commercial varieties and most have stress tolerant traits that help farmers tackle multiple abiotic and biotic stresses.

CIMMYT, with the support of its partners, has developed 57 improved drought tolerant (DT) maize varieties for eastern Africa’s market, each with farmer-favored traits. Over 12 million people have benefited from DT maize varieties across Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Through public and private seed companies, nearly 17,300 tons of certified DT maize seeds have been produced.

“With this work on climate resilient maize, we are playing an important part in making Africa a food-secure continent,” says Stephen Mugo, CIMMYT’s Regional Representative for Africa.

Modeling Africa’s agricultural future

Written by on January 8, 2016. Posted in News.

Workshop participants in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Photo: CIMMYT

Climate change is affecting all sectors, especially climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture. Africa in particular is warming faster than the rest of the world, and by the end of this century, growing season temperatures are predicted to exceed the most extreme seasonal temperatures recorded in the past century. In some African countries, yields from rainfed agriculture could be reduced by up to 50% by 2020.

Predicting the impact climate change will have on Africa’s agriculture is vital to implementing effective adaptation and mitigation plans aimed at maintaining food security and nutrition. Ensuring decision makers and researchers are trained in the best modeling tools available will play a key role in making this happen, which is why CIMMYT held its second training workshop on “Crop Modeling under Uncertain Climate,” from 7-11 December 2015 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The workshop exposed 15 participants to the challenges of climate change and variability in Africa and trained them to apply models that quantify the biophysical and socioeconomic impacts of climate change and variability on crop production. Trainees also assessed different adaptation options.

“The training was extremely important because these tools are very useful to understand the risks associated with agriculture in Africa,” said Ibrahima Diédhiou of Université de Thiès, Senegal.

Trainees collaborating in group work during training. Photo: Kindie Tesfaye/CIMMYT

Training topics included the role of crop models in addressing climate change’s impact on agriculture, an introduction to the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer and the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator cropping system models, modeling climate variability and change, uncertainty and risk in agriculture and an introduction to linking crop model outputs to household-level economic models using the General Algebraic Modeling System.

“It is clear to me how and where I can use the tools in my work. Now the challenge is to bring in more crop varieties, particularly wheat, into the models,” stated Brian Isabirye, Leader of the Sustainable Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition Theme at the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA), Uganda.

Gideon Kruseman and Kindie Tesfaye Fantaye award course completion certificates to participants. Photo: CIMMYT

The workshop was held as part of CIMMYT’s collaboration with the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions and Markets (PIM) and the Global Futures and Strategic Foresight (GFSF) project, both led by the International Food Policy Research Institute. Participants came from ASARECA, the West and Central Africa Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF) and national research institutes and universities from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda.

A farmer in his barren field in Sewena, Ethiopia. (Photo: Kyle Degraw/Save the Children)

Is the next food crisis coming? Are we ready to respond?

Written by on January 3, 2016. Posted in Director General's corner. 1 Comment on Is the next food crisis coming? Are we ready to respond?

One of the strongest El Niños on record is underway, threatening millions of agricultural livelihoods – and lives.

At least ten million people in the developing world are facing hunger due to droughts and erratic rainfall as global temperatures reach new records coupled with the onset of a powerful El Niño – the climate phenomenon that develops in the tropical Pacific and brings extreme weather across the world. Warmer than usual waters in the Pacific have made this year’s El Niño a contender for the strongest on record, currently held by the 1997 El Niño, which caused over $35 billion in global economic losses and claimed an estimated 23,000 lives. These extreme El Niños are twice as likely to occur due to climate change, according to a letter published in Nature magazine by researchers at McGill University, Montreal, Canada, and the University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.

Who is most at risk?

Watch this video to learn more about El Niño's impact on weather globally. (Source: World Meteorological Organization) — Watch this video to learn more about El Niño’s impact on weather globally. (Source: World Meteorological Organization)

Nearly 40 million people will be in need of emergency food assistance this year – a 30 percent increase over previous estimates – due in large part to added stress from El Niño, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

This El Niño has resulted in severe drought throughout Central America, the Caribbean and Ethiopia, and is predicted to lead to flooding in the Horn of Africa and drought in southern Africa in the coming months. It has also disrupted the Indian monsoon and led to drier conditions in Southeast Asia and Indonesia, which has resulted in devastating wildfires across the country.

The El Niño phenomenon is often followed by a transition to La Niña, another driver of global weather patterns. If this were to happen again, it would mean more severe drought in the eastern Horn of Africa, and hurt crops like sugar, palm oil, and rice in Asia.

Responding to and mitigating El Niño’s effects

A shop attendant displays drought-tolerant seed at the Dryland Seed Company shop in Machakos, Kenya. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Ensuring farmers are equipped with climate resilient varieties that can withstand extreme stresses such as drought or waterlogging is an essential measure to counteract the side effects of El Niño. For example, after planting a drought tolerant maize variety developed by CIMMYT, farmers in Tanzania produced nearly 50 percent more grain than they normally would under the same conditions using other commercial varieties. In South Asia, CIMMYT has developed maize varieties that are tolerant to waterlogging and provide a safety net in years with heavy rains or flooding.

Equipping farmers with good agronomic practices and tools to reap the benefits of these crops is equally important. Ensuring farmers adjust planting times is critical for crops to adapt to changing weather patterns, while smart water management practices such as no-till farming can help raise wheat yields while reducing water and fuel costs. Precision land levelers – machines that level fields so water flows evenly into soil, rather than running off or collecting in uneven land – have enabled farmers in South Asia to save up to 30 percent more water, use less fertilizer and produce more grain yield.

Crop-index insurance is another tool that can serve as both a preventive and responsive measure to support smallholders during natural disasters. It allows farmers to purchase coverage based on an index that is correlated with those losses, such as average yield losses over a larger area or a well-defined climate risk – like drought – that significantly influences crop yields. If implemented correctly, index insurance can build resilience for smallholder farmers not only by ensuring a payout in the event of climate shocks like those caused by El Niño, but also by giving farmers the incentive to invest in new technology and inputs, such as seed.

So – are we prepared for this storm? Since 2003, nearly one-quarter of all damage and losses from climate-related disasters have occurred in the agricultural sector in developing countries. While global food security will likely not suffer another shock like that of 2007-08, primarily because global stocks of maize, wheat and rice are so large, natural disasters resulting from El Niño combined with climate change are playing out into unchartered territory, posing a real threat to people’s lives and livelihoods.

This isn’t the time to be complacent. We need to take preventive measures, and long-term investments in agricultural research will help us be prepared for future shocks and ensure crops and livelihoods can withstand more frequent natural disasters.

Shedding light on a hot topic, and what the future holds

Written by on December 22, 2015. Posted in Features.

Maize is the most widely cultivated crop in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and one of the few crops that have profound effects on the livelihoods of millions of people there.

To illustrate the point, sample these critical thresholds beyond and around the halfway mark:

more than half the cereal acreage is devoted to maize production in more than half of the SSA countries; and,
maize accounts for nearly half of the calories and protein intake in eastern and southern Africa, and for one-fifth of calories and protein intake in West Africa.

With the SSA population likely to double by 2050, maize production is facing a formidable challenge from biophysical and socioeconomic limitations. Climate change will further compound the crisis in maize production, undermining food security and poverty reduction in the region.

Although climate change is a global phenomenon, its impacts vary depending on region and season. In order to formulate appropriate adaptation options and to assure timely responses, we first need a better understanding of the potential impacts of climate change on maize yield and production at different spatial and temporal scales.

To help fill this gap for SSA, a forthcoming article in the International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management entitled Maize systems under climate change in sub-Saharan Africa: potential impacts on production and food security (early edition available online) assesses the baseline impact of climate change in a business-as-usual scenario. The study indicates that maize production and food security in most parts of SSA are likely to be severely crippled by climate change, although the projected impacts will vary across countries and regions.

Facts and figures from the study:

These results highlight the need for greater investment in maize research, particularly on developing maize varieties that tolerate both drought and heat in order to minimize or offset the inevitable impacts of climate change on maize production in sub-Saharan Africa and reduce food insecurity in the continent.

CIMMYT team wins CCAFS recognition

Written by on December 22, 2015. Posted in News.

On 29 April, CIMMYT had a double reason to celebrate, picking up the award for “Best gender paper” and “Best science paper” (along with Bioversity), at the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) Science Conference in Copenhagen. The conference was part of a series of CCAFS meetings held from 29 April – 02 May, and was attended by various CIMMYT staff.

The best gender paper, titled ‘Adoption of Agricultural Technologies in Kenya: How Does Gender Matter?’ and co-authored by Simon Wagura Ndiritu, Menale Kassie and Bekele Shiferaw, highlighted the differences between technologies adopted on female- and male-managed farm plots in Kenya. They found that whilst there were gender differences in the adoption of technologies such as the use of animal manure, soil and water conservation, other differences in the use of chemical fertilizers and improved seed may stem from the varying levels of access to resources for men and women, rather than gender itself. “This recognition inspires me to put more effort to produce more quality research that will bring excellent distinction to CIMMYT and myself,” said Kassie, while Ndiritu said “it is an encouragement to a young scientist,” adding that he is looking forward to having the paper published.

The winning science paper, ‘Assessing the vulnerability of traditional maize seed systems in Mexico to climate change’, was authored by David Hodson (FAO), and Mauricio Bellon (Bioversity) and Jonathan Hellin from CIMMYT. With climate change models predicting significant impacts in Mexico and Central America, particularly during the maize growing season (May – October), the paper assessed the capacity of traditional maize seed systems to provide farmers with appropriate genetic material, under the anticipated agro-ecological conditions. Their results indicated that whilst most farmers will have easy access to appropriate seed in the future, those in the highlands will be more vulnerable to climate change and are likely to have to source seed from outside their traditional supplies, entailing significant additional costs and changes to the traditional supply chain.

To share the good news, the Socioeconomics program hosted a get-together with the team in Nairobi, Kenya. During the cake cutting ceremony, the best gender paper award was dedicated to women farmers from Embu and Kakamega in Kenya’s Eastern and Western Provinces, where the data was collected. The Nairobi team also took the opportunity to initiate monthly seminars in order to share research findings hosted by the Global Maize Program and the Socioeconomics program and promote regular interaction among the team. The program directors, Bekele Shiferaw and B. M. Prasanna nominated Dan Makumbi, Hugo De Groote, Sika Gbegbelegbe, Fred Kanampiu, and Sarah Kibera, to form the organizing committee for the seminars.

Wheat scientists eye USDA $3.4 million in new funds to boost yields

Written by on December 21, 2015. Posted in News. 67 Comments on Wheat scientists eye USDA $3.4 million in new funds to boost yields

CIMMYT wheat physiologist Matthew Reynolds describes the technology used for conducting research into heat and drought resilient wheat varieties in Ciudad Obregon in Mexico's northern state of Sonora in March 2015. CIMMYT/Julie Mollins — CIMMYT wheat physiologist Matthew Reynolds describes the technology used for conducting research into heat and drought resilient wheat varieties in Ciudad Obregon in Mexico’s northern state of Sonora in March 2015. CIMMYT/Julie Mollins

EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) – Scientists involved in a major global initiative aimed at increasing wheat yields as much as 60 percent by 2050 got a recent boost when the U.S. government announced $3.4 million in new research funds.

Researchers affiliated with the International Wheat Yield Partnership (IWYP), focused on developing new high-yielding varieties of wheat to meet demand that will be generated by a projected 33 percent increase in population growth from 7.3 billion people today to 9.5 billion by 2050, will be eligible to apply for the grant money.

“This opens up new opportunities for scientists in the United States to provide invaluable input to the overall project of increasing yields, improving our potential to tackle this vital work to achieve global food security,” said Matthew Reynolds, wheat physiologist at the Mexico-based International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), one of the founding members of IWYP.

Awards for the new funds announced last Monday by Tom Vilsack, the U.S. agriculture secretary, will be made available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI).

“Wheat is one of the world’s most important staple crops, providing a significant amount of daily calories and protein throughout the world,” Vilsack said.

“By 2050, the demand for wheat as part of a reliable, affordable, and nutritious diet will grow alongside the world population, and continued wheat research will play an important role in ensuring its continued availability.”

IWYP, which targets partner investments of up to $100 million, supports the G20 Wheat Initiative in its efforts to enhance the genetic component of wheat yield and develop new wheat varieties adaptable to different geographical regions and environments.

CLIMATE RISKS

Wheat yields face threats from global warming. Findings in a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) state that it is very likely that heat waves will occur more often and last longer throughout the 21st century and rainfall will be more unpredictable.

Mean surface temperatures could potentially rise by between 2 to 5 degrees Celsius or more, the report said.

“Wheat currently provides 20 percent of calories and protein consumed worldwide and current models show that a 2 degree increase in temperature would lead to 20 percent reduction in wheat yield and that a 6 degree increase would lead to a 60 percent reduction,” Reynolds said.

“If we have a 40 percent yield reduction due to climate change, the risks to food security will be increased because wheat production has to increase by 60 percent just to keep up with population projections.”

In addition to CIMMYT, IWYP members include Britain’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Mexico’s Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Grains Research and Development Corporation of Australia (GRDC), the Department of Biotechnology of India (DBT), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) in France and the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA) in Switzerland.

Applications are due May 3, 2016 and more information is available via the NIFA-IWYP request for applications.

Balancing economy and ecology: agriculture vs. nature

Written by on December 17, 2015. Posted in Blogs.

Natural enemies of stem borer – a major maize pest in southern Ethiopia – are more abundant in landscapes with more trees and forest patches. In this picture, Yodit Kebede, Ph.D. researcher co-supervised by Wageningen University and CIMMYT, checks insects in a yellow-pan trap. Photo: Frédéric Baudron

“The prosperous still have a strong carbon footprint. And, the world’s billions at the bottom of the development ladder are seeking space to grow,” said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his opening speech at the COP21 climate talks in Paris, where world leaders recently gathered to come to an agreement that will slow and eventually stop global emissions of greenhouse gases that threaten the survivability of our planet.

Modi and other leaders have called for climate solutions that reconcile the right of developing countries to grow and environmental protection. If implemented correctly, a solution exists in the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), essentially “blueprints” for what post-2020 climate actions each country intends to take based on past contributions, future development needs, and opportunities to exploit alternative energies to fossil fuels. This allows the developing world to balance the need to grow while moving to clean energy by soliciting support through climate finance and other measures from developed countries.

Reconciliation of the right to develop and environmental protection must move beyond global dialogue, and be put into practice in every community struggling with the effects of environmental degradation and poverty.

Seventy percent of the “billions at the bottom” Modi refers to live in rural areas. A majority of these people suffer from land degradation – the long-term loss of an ecosystem’s services – due to climate change in combination with unsustainable crop and livestock management practices.

“Agriculture undermines the very resources it depends on,” says Frédéric Baudron, CIMMYT Systems Agronomist. “A new paradigm is needed to sustainably achieve global food security.” Baudron is a lead author of the chapter “Response Options Across the Landscape” in the recently released global assessment report “Forests, Trees and Landscapes for Food Security and Nutrition.”

Like the INDCs, landscape approaches may offer a compromise to achieve food production, natural resource conservation, and livelihood security goals, according to the report’s chapter. “Landscape configurations exist not only to minimize tradeoffs between conservation and food security and nutrition, but also to create synergies between these two goals,” argue Baudron and his fellow authors.

“Cultivated fields are not green deserts but may be part of the habitat of several species of importance for conservation,” says Baudron. “In many human-dominated ecosystems, some species can be dependent on agricultural practices such as extensive grazing in Europe or shifting cultivation in tropical forests. Conversely, biodiversity may contribute to crop and livestock productivity through the ecosystem services it provides, such as pollination or pest control.”

According to recent research conducted by CIMMYT and its partners in southern Ethiopia, diets of rural families living in diverse landscapes where trees are retained tend to be more diverse than diets of rural families living in simplified landscapes dominated by annual crops. Photo: Frédéric Baudron

“Ongoing research conducted by CIMMYT and its partners in southern Ethiopia’s maize- and wheat-based farming systems suggests that maintaining trees and forest patches in production landscapes is not only good for the environment and biodiversity, but contributes to the maintenance of farming system productivity and resilience,” according to Baudron. “Farms embedded in diverse landscape mosaics also produce much more diverse and nutritious food.”

Landscape approaches are also closely associated with the concept of food sovereignty, which promotes the right of people to define their own food production and consumption at the local, national, and global level. Community level engagement with local food and agricultural systems also creates an ideal setting to engage communities for more sustainable management of food and agricultural systems.

“Ultimately, this is about acknowledging diversity as a fundamental property in the design of more sustainable farming systems,” says Baudron. “The question is: what configurations are optimal in different contexts? Answering this question will require a much higher level of partnership between conservation organizations and agricultural agencies.”

Precision levelers are climate-smart machines equipped with laser-guided drag buckets to level fields so water flows evenly into soil, rather than running off or collecting in uneven land. This allows much more efficient water use and saves energy through reduced irrigation pumping, compared to traditional land leveling which uses animal-powered scrapers and boards or tractors. It also facilitates uniformity in seed placement and reduces the loss of fertilizer from runoff, raising yields. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Agriculture can help the world meet climate change emission targets

Written by on December 11, 2015. Posted in Director General's corner.

As world leaders meet in Paris this week to agree on greenhouse gas emission targets, we in the field of agricultural research have a powerful contribution to make, by producing both robust estimates of the possible effects of climate change on food security, and realistic assessments of the options available or that could be developed to reduce agriculture’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.

Agriculture is estimated to be responsible for about a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions, and this share is increasing most rapidly in many developing countries; it may even increase as fossil fuels become scarcer and phased out in other sectors.

The solution being put forward today is climate-smart agriculture (CSA), which involves three components: adaptation, mitigation, and increased productivity. Adaptation is essential to cope with the impacts that cannot be avoided and to maintain and increase the global food supply in the face of resource constraints; mitigation can lessen but not prevent future climate changes.

Though CSA has been held up as an answer to the challenges presented by climate change, some would argue that it is no more than a set of agricultural best practices. Indeed, this is what lies at the heart of the approach.

In addition to making agriculture more efficient and resilient, the overall purpose remains to sustainably increase farm productivity and profitability for farmers. This is why over the last few years we have begun talking about the ‘triple win’ of CSA: enhanced food security, adaptation, and mitigation. But those who dismiss CSA as mere best practice ignore the value of seeing through the climate change lens, and guiding research to respond to expected future challenges.

To begin with, crop performance simulation and modeling, in combination with experimentation, has an important role to play in developing CSA strategies for future climates.

In a publication titled “Adapting maize production to climate change in sub-Saharan Africa,” several CIMMYT scientists concluded that temperatures in sub-Saharan Africa will likely rise by 2.1°C by 2050 based on 19 climate change projections. This is anticipated to have an extreme impact for farmers in many environments. Because it takes a long time to develop and then deploy adaptation strategies on a large scale, they warned, there can be no delay in our work.

This explains why CIMMYT is taking the initiative in this area, seeking support to develop advanced international breeding platforms to address the difficulty of developing drought-tolerant wheat, or bringing massive quantities of drought- and heat-tolerant maize to farmers through private sector partners in Africa and Asia.

Our insights into the causes and impacts of climate change lead us to important research questions. For example, how can farmers adopt practices that reduce the greenhouse gas footprint of agriculture while improving yield and resilience?

Colleagues at CIMMYT have challenged the idea that the practice of no-till agriculture (which does not disturb the soil and allows organic matter to accumulate) contributes significantly to carbon sequestration. I think it is important that we, as scientists, explore the truth and be realistic about where opportunities for mitigation in agriculture lie, despite our desire to present major solutions. It is also important to take action where we can have the greatest impact, for example by improving the efficiency of nitrogen fertilizer use.

Nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture have a climate change potential almost 300 times greater than carbon dioxide, and account for about 7% of the total greenhouse gas emissions of China. Improved nutrient management could reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of 325 Mt of carbon dioxide in 2030. Overall, supply-side efficiency measures could reduce total agricultural emissions by 30%.

Some practices, such as laser land leveling, fall into both the adaptation and mitigation categories. Preparing the land in this way increases yields while reducing irrigation costs, the amount of water used, nutrients leached into the environment, and emissions from diesel-powered irrigation pumps.

Findings such as this offer real hope of reducing the severity of climate change in the future, and help us build a case for more investment in critical areas of agricultural research.

For climate-smart agriculture, the challenge of feeding more people and reducing emissions and environmental impact is not a contradiction but a synergy. We are improving our ability to predict the challenges of climate change, and proving that it is possible to greatly reduce agricultural emissions and contribute to global emission goals.

To face challenges such as climate change, we need high quality multi-disciplinary science combined with approaches to address problems at the complex systems level. Since my involvement in early large-scale studies, such as Modeling the Impact of Climate Change on Rice Production in Asia (CABI/IRRI, 1993), I am pleased to see that so much progress has been made in this regard and encouraged that our research is contributing to greater awareness of this vital issue and solutions to address it.

Gender bias may limit uptake of climate-smart farm practices, study shows

Written by on December 8, 2015. Posted in News. 67 Comments on Gender bias may limit uptake of climate-smart farm practices, study shows

A smallholder farmer in Embu, Kenya prepares a maize plot for planting. CIMMYT/file

EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) — Farmer education programs that fail to address traditional gender roles may sideline women, limiting their use of conservation agriculture techniques, which can boost their ability to adapt to climate change, a new research paper states.

Conservation agriculture involves 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.

Although some scientists believe that such techniques have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon sequestration, which can help mitigate the impact of global warming, it is important to note that the potential benefits of certain aspects of conservation agriculture — particularly not tilling the soil — have been overstated, write the authors of the study from the International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT) and the Research Program on Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).

Titled “Gender and conservation agriculture in east and southern Africa: towards a research agenda,” the paper discusses the lack of research conducted into interactions between conservation agriculture use and gender. It proposes a research agenda that will better understand how African farming systems remain strongly stratified by gender.

Despite an increase of women smallholder farmers throughout sub-Saharan Africa – one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change worldwide – agricultural service suppliers and policymakers remain “locked into the conceptual norm of the primary farmer as male,” said co-author Clare Stirling, a senior scientist in the Sustainable Intensification Program at CIMMYT.

“The ability of women-led households, or male-headed households with women as primary farmers, to adopt conservation agriculture may be compromised if government policies, extension systems and other actors continue to design interventions and target information and training around the conceptual norm of the male-headed household,” Stirling said, adding that a gender-sensitive approach should become part of mainstream research.

“Overall, normative conceptualizations of ‘farmers’ can result in inappropriate targeting and ineffective messaging,” she said.

There is almost no understanding of how gender relations in smallholder agriculture – particularly with regard to decision-making over technology adoption, roles and responsibilities for specific farm tasks – may influence the likelihood of adopting conservation agriculture techniques, the paper states.

The costs and benefits of conservation agriculture adoption to women themselves — in terms of income, labor deployment, contributions to food and nutrition security and relative decision making power at household and community level, remain largely unknown.

In sub-Saharan Africa, about 30 percent of the population is undernourished, and the area has the highest projections for population growth by 2050, the paper states, adding that a projected 2 degree temperature increase related to global warming is likely to be accompanied by reduced rainfall and increased variability of weather patterns.

These factors will put pressure on agricultural systems that are largely small scale, low input, rain fed and already struggling to feed the population, according to the report. Cereal yields in the region are low and stagnant, averaging 1.3 tons per hectare, compared with 3 tons per hectare in the developing world overall.

Women and men typically take on distinctive, sex-segregated roles, responsibilities and tasks in agricultural production systems. While men and women may have different rights and responsibilities for different crops and livestock products, women are typically responsible for household tasks and caring roles.

“Women more than men are involved in a zero sum game, a closed system in which time or energy devoted to any new effort must be diverted from another activity,” the report states. Access to land, which in many sub-Saharan African countries is managed under customary law, or a patchwork of statutory and customary laws – is also complex and under-researched in terms of understanding the associations between gender, decisions about land management and the willingness of farmers to engage in conservation agriculture or indeed any new intervention that involves a delay in returns, according to the paper.

Study reveals challenges in southern Africa’s soil carbon uptake

Written by on November 23, 2015. Posted in Features. 1 Comment on Study reveals challenges in southern Africa’s soil carbon uptake

Cheesman in a direct-seeded maize-soybean rotation in Chavakadzi village, Shamva District, Zimbabwe. Photo: Christian Thierfelder

A new study led by ETH Zürich graduate Stephanie Cheesman, along with CIMMYT senior agronomist Christian Thierfelder, Neal S. Eash from the University of Tennessee, Girma Tesfahun Kassie, ICARDA, and Emmanuel Frossard, professor at ETH Zürich, found limited increase in carbon sequestration under conservation agriculture (CA) after up to seven years of practice. In this interview, Cheesman tells us why carbon sequestration is such a complex issue in Southern Africa and what this study reveals about how it can improve.

Q: Why is increasing soil carbon important?

A: Besides the hype about sequestering carbon to contribute to climate change mitigation, carbon is an integral part of soil organic matter (also referred to as “humus”), which is possibly the most well-known fertility component of a soil. Soil carbon has strong influence on soil structure, water infiltration, as well as the capacity of the soil to retain water and nutrients that are required for plant growth. Degraded soil has only a little soil carbon and, hence, low fertility and nutrient- (and water) holding capacity.

Q: What were you hoping this study would reveal?

A: Although the study trials had been running for only seven years, I was hoping to show a clearer trend towards an increase in soil carbon under CA as compared to conventional practices (CP) in Southern Africa. We were surprised that, in most cases, the carbon under CA was at the same level as the conventional control treatment, with a few exceptions. Nevertheless, this is one of a very few studies where soil carbon stocks in CA systems have been analyzed across a wide range of Southern African agroecologies. I am now very happy to share this data with the wider research community.

Q: What factors limit carbon sequestration in Southern Africa?

A: There are a range of factors that limit carbon sequestration. Our findings suggest low productivity to be one of the main bottlenecks. Farmers have to decide if they should feed the crop residues to the soil or to their livestock. The long dry season from May to November and high temperatures further increase the mineralization of soil carbon, which can be twice as much as in temperate regions. Another factor that may limit carbon sequestration is the limited use of other strategies such as the integration of legumes or agroforestry species as intercrops in maize-based systems.

CA practitioners and Cheesman conduct bulk density sampling in Zidyana, Malawi, August 2011. Photo: Sign Phiri

Q: Given the findings of this study, how can we increase soil carbon in Southern Africa in the future? Is conservation agriculture necessarily the answer?

A: Unfortunately, our study lacks initial carbon stock measurements, as this was tested on a very large set of on-farm trials and we never had enough financial resources to continuously test this from the onset. We could compare the difference between CA and CP but not how carbon stocks changed over time in the respective systems. Although some of the trial sites were up to seven years old, this is a comparably short time to increase the level of carbon in such environments. From other long-term studies (mainly in the Americas), we know that tillage-based agricultural systems decrease carbon stocks. Thus, I would say that a system like CA where tillage is reduced and residues are “fed” to the soil will more likely maintain soil carbon and maybe gradually increase it in the longer term. Tillage-based agricultural systems also have much higher soil erosion loads which further decreases carbon, so CA is definitely an answer to reduce soil degradation.

CIMMYT’s mission is to “sustainably” increase the productivity of maize- and wheat-based systems to reduce poverty and hunger. By combining improved varieties with sustainable intensification practices, CIMMYT does its best to give smallholder farmers options to improve their productivity and livelihoods. Feeding the soil with residues is one strategy to maintain or gradually increase soil carbon but we should not forget the immediate needs of farmers.

Reviewing progress and impacts of two core maize projects as they wind up work in sub-Saharan Africa

Written by on November 23, 2015. Posted in Features. 1 Comment on Reviewing progress and impacts of two core maize projects as they wind up work in sub-Saharan Africa

Joseph Mulei on his farm in Machakos County, Kenya, where he planted several drought tolerant hybrid maize varieties including Drought Tego and Sawa (DSL H103). Photo: Brenda Wawa/CIMMYT.

About 100 partners from diverse institutions including CIMMYT, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), national agricultural research systems (NARS), the private sector, and donors gathered recently at a joint meeting of the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) and Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS) projects held in Addis Ababa on 14–17 September 2015. The participants came from 15 African countries, plus India, New Zealand, and USA.

This first joint meeting, opened by Fentahun Mengistu, Director General of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, marked the end of the two projects, which will officially complete their work in December 2015 across 14 target countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The meeting reviewed the progress made in Africa through the projects over the last 5 and 8 years, respectively.

The two projects released 200 unique improved maize hybrids and open-pollinated varieties (OPVs) with drought tolerance (DT) and nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE), which are traits favored by smallholder farmers. These varieties – some which combine both traits– not only yield much more under moderate or severe drought stress, but also utilize more efficiently the small amounts of fertilizers most farmers can afford to apply to their maize.

Speaking on the importance of maize breeding work in Africa, B.M. Prasanna, Director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program and the CGIAR Research Program on MAIZE, said, “Solutions to the world’s food challenges need the benefit of improved maize varieties that yield well for farmers both in ‘good’ and ‘bad’ years, withstanding the crippling effects of climatic changes and other stresses.”

DTMA efforts to commercialize DT varieties have enabled 43 million people to access and benefit from these varieties. This, coupled with efforts to promote the new improved DT varieties by small- and medium-scale seed companies, has been instrumental in DTMA’s success. As John McMurdy, from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), said, “It is very important to create awareness of these improved varieties, particularly the fact that they are excellent even during normal rains. Farmers need to know these key characteristics so they can appreciate and benefit from the seed. I am glad that the next phase of CIMMYT’s work is geared towards reaching out to farmers; this is essential in maize work.”

Influencing policies to support the adoption of improved varieties within partner institutions

Eliamani Saitati, a farmer in Olkolili village in northern Tanzania, shows her harvest from HB513, a variety that is both nitrogen-use efficient and drought tolerant. Photo: Brenda Wawa/CIMMYT

Both DTMA and IMAS targeted policy makers within partner institutions to facilitate adoption of new improved varieties. A policy issue highlighted at the meeting was replacing old and obsolete varieties with the new improved varieties, viewed as critical for adapting to climate change and improving smallholders’ livelihoods.

Meeting participants were divided into two groups and visited major maize seed companies in Ethiopia, where they observed the performance of various DT varieties and learned about ongoing variety replacement. The sites visited included Ethio VegFru Company, Ano Agro Industry, Meki-Batu Cooperative Seed Company, Shalo Farm, and Bako Agricultural Research Centre, which is Ethiopia’s national center of excellence for maize research. At the Centre, they were hosted by, among others, Tolera Keno, who is EIAR’s National Maize Research Coordinator.

An old variety, BH660, which has been on the market for the last quarter century, is now gradually being replaced by BH661, an improved DT hybrid. According to Fekadu Berhane, Production Manager at Ethio VegFru Company, farmers were most concerned about BH660’s late maturity of about 160 days. “Their numerous complaints obviously led to a drastic decline in the market,” explained Fekadu. “The switch to BH661 has taken two years. In 2015, we produced and distributed 60 tons of BH661 seed in the west, south, and southwest of the Oromia Region, and farmers are getting a minimum of 8 tons per hectare.”

Ano Agro Industry began operating Ethiopia’s first private seed-producing commercial farm 23 years ago. Significantly, some of their early maize hybrids from that time are still in production. “We are partnering with CIMMYT to replace these old hybrids and demonstrate new varieties, including BH546 and BH547, which are both drought tolerant,” explained Tesfaye Kumsa, Managing Director at Ano Agro Industry. “We have now started producing basic seed. We also educate farmers on management of improved varieties, since management alone accounts for the greatest proportion of yield– sometimes by a factor of up to three or four times in terms of yield obtained.”

Continuous dialogue with policy makers at the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services (KEPHIS) bore fruit in 2014, when Kenya’s Variety Release Committee included performance in low-nitrogen soil as a special trait for maize variety release. This reaffirms the high premium KEPHIS accords to performance in poor soils, setting the pace for other regulatory bodies in SSA to recognize and address the challenge.

In addition, close collaboration with partners and donors, in particular USAID and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), enabled IMAS to make concrete headway in addressing the maize lethal necrosis (MLN) disease that has rapidly emerged as a major threat to maize farming in East Africa since 2011. The IMAS project rapidly identified diverse sources of MLN tolerance in its germplasm base and, currently, MLN-tolerant maize is being widely disseminated across East Africa, while newly identified sources of tolerance are being shared with other CIMMYT-Africa breeding projects. Gary Atlin, from BMGF, observed that “In the four years since MLN was discovered, we now have hybrids that have significantly better tolerance to MLN. IMAS is credited with a rapid response to MLN, which has affected breeding work in the region.”

To bring improved DT and NUE seeds to the farmers, collaboration with seed companies and NARS has been an important pillar of DTMA and IMAS work. Abebe Menkir, DTMA project leader at IITA, attributed this strength to “a clearly defined product development plan and harnessing the strengths of the right partners to deliver varieties and hybrids.”

In 2014 alone, production of certified DT and NUE maize seed across 14 target countries was 54,000 metric tons for the benefit of 40.2 million people. Production of these seeds was spearheaded by small- and medium-scale companies that accessed the improved seeds free of charge.

The adoption and uptake of these varieties varies from one country to another. Depending on the type of variety – hybrid or OPV – the adoption rate for DT maize ranges from 18 to 80%, with hybrids getting adopted much faster because of their yield advantage, estimated at 49% compared to improved OPVs currently on the market.

Participants in the joint DTMA and IMAS meeting held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Photo: CIMMYT

Farmers in countries such as Nigeria and Malawi are leading in the adoption of DT maize varieties, largely because of favorable government policies that have made access to the improved varieties much easier and more affordable. These farmers have reported higher yields from the DT varieties compared to non-DT varieties.

The next step for CIMMYT and its partners is to increase adoption of improved DT and NUE varieties and replace the old, obsolete, climate-vulnerable varieties with multiple stress tolerant improved maize varieties to effectively face current and emerging challenges.

Plans for this are already being implemented through various initiatives, including the project Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Seed Scaling (DTMASS). DTMASS will work closely with seed companies to produce 12,000 metric tons of certified DT seed in the next three years. The aim is to ensure seed availability to smallholders at affordable prices, and to sustain seed demand among these farmers.

Starting in 2016, IMAS conventional NUE breeding will begin a new phase by fusing with DTMA in a proposed new project dubbed “Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa.” This project aims to develop improved multiple-stress-tolerant varieties that can effectively face current and emerging challenges.

Given the increased threat of climate change and other stresses to African agriculture, collaborative efforts among major maize projects in Africa will be prioritized by CIMMYT in the coming years. This joint meeting paved the way for collaboration, as it included – for the first time – other maize projects such as Water Efficient Maize for Africa, SIMLESA and TAMASA to identify and create synergies with DTMA and IMAS in the next phase. These projects will continue to draw from one key resource – improved maize varieties, some which have been developed jointly– to maximize impact for Africa’s smallholder farmers.

XXI Latin American Maize Meeting

Written by on November 13, 2015. Posted in News. 1 Comment on XXI Latin American Maize Meeting

Bolivia’s National Agricultural, Livestock and Forestry Innovation Institute (INIAF) and the CIMMYT-Colombia office organized the XXI Latin American Maize Meeting (XXIRLM) held in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, on 29-31 October 2015.

The meeting was organized within the agricultural innovation framework around four themes: genetic resources and biotechnology, genetic improvement, special and biofortified maize, and climate change and sustainable agricultural intensification. An expert gave a lecture on each one of the themes, followed by presentations by representatives of the participating institutions, which were reinforced by previously selected posters.

Bolivia has 11 million inhabitants and is self-sufficient in maize, producing 1.1 million tons on 430,000 ha each year. However, maize production could increase sustainably through the use of technologies such as improved seed and adequate crop management practices, including crop rotations (for example, with soybean on the 1.2 million ha sown to this crop). The goal of the XXIRLM was to discuss these and other subjects.

Johnny Cordero, Vice Minister of Rural Development and Lands, opened the meeting, which was attended by Carlos Osinaga, INIAF Director General, and Tito Claure, Coordinator of INIAF’s Maize Program. Juan Rissi, IICA representative in Bolivia, gave the first talk and said that in this age of productivity and competition, innovation is at the core of the agricultural sector’s tasks. Countries should therefore significantly increase their investment in research and development, strengthen the INIAs, and develop regional integration mechanisms to include INIAs, universities, research centers, the private sector, and farmer associations.

In the area of genetic resources, Terrance Molnar, CIMMYT, said that CIMMYT holds the world’s largest collection of maize genetic resources, with more than 27,000 accessions, whose potential is currently being assessed through the Seeds of Discovery project with the aim of providing genetic resources, knowledge, and tools that maize networks can use to accelerate the development of improved varieties that tolerate climate change and contribute to food security and sustainability. Four key objectives now being targeted are: drought tolerance, resistance to tar spot (Phyllachora maydis), resistance to maize lethal necrosis, and developing blue maize germplasm. Álvaro Otondo, INIAF Bolivia, mentioned that the area comprising northwestern Argentina and southwestern Bolivia has been proposed as a possible center of origin of maize based on ceramic artifacts found there that date from 7500-6200 BC.

Researchers at La Molina University evaluated 335 highland maize accessions from Peru’s central highlands and classified them into 22 races. The criteria that best differentiated these accessions were related to the crop’s vegetative stage and yield components. Researchers at CIF Pairumani, Bolivia, talked about the valuable experience they’ve had educating young students on genetic resource conservation using storytelling and the game of dominoes.

Ricardo Sevilla from La Molina University, Peru, proposed forming bulks of maize races using native germplasm and, when necessary, introductions. These bulks are later improved using recurrent selection to increase the frequency of favorable alleles of genes conferring adaptive traits, which are usually present in low numbers in native varieties. Selection gains of 5-10% have been achieved using this approach, depending on the selection criteria and the method used (half sibs, full sibs, self-pollinated families). In the area of biotechnology, researchers from the Universidad Mayor de San Simón and CIF Pairumani indicated they’re using new tools such as molecular markers, genomics, and another culture to develop haploids of some maize populations.

Luis Narro from CIMMYT and Sidney Parentony from EMBRAPA reviewed the history of maize breeding and came to the conclusion that breeding methods should exploit heterosis through the development of simple hybrids whose seed should be accessible to farmers at the right time, in places where they are needed, at a fair price. Hybrid seed use varies greatly in South American countries where double, triple, and simple hybrids are sown. For example, the area sown to hybrid seed covers more than 90% of the maize area in Argentina and Venezuela, 80% in Bolivia, and less than 50% in Colombia.

In Andean countries such as Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru, farmers plant hybrid seed only of tropical maize (called hard yellow maize) (its use is above 80%). As for the Andean highland maize that is sown at altitudes above 2500 masl, the area sown to hybrid maize is zero, since all of the area is sown to open-pollinated varieties.

The convenience of using new technologies such as molecular markers, genomics, and doubled haploids to accelerate breeding progress was discussed. Molecular markers, genomics, and doubled haploids are being implemented in Argentina and Brazil, and doubled haploids are being produced in Chile. Other countries in the region such as Bolivia and Ecuador are interested in these technologies and have working agreements with CIMMYT.

Talks on genetic improvement were given by representatives from Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador, who said that new yellow maize hybrids with at least one CIMMYT parent have been released in their countries. In the case of Andean highland maize, ongoing work in Bolivia aims to increase maize productivity and incorporate resistance to ear rot into “cusco” type maize.

In the area of special and biofortified maize, CIMMYT researchers Félix San Vicente and Aldo Rosales highlighted the importance of maize varieties that are biofortified with provitamin A and high zinc content. They also reported CIMMYT’s progress in developing and releasing germplasm with high zinc, provitamin A, lysine, and tryptophan contents. They stressed the need to avoid grain losses due to poor storage and maintain the quality of products made from biofortified maize until they reach the consumer. High protein quality hybrids have been released in Bolivia and Ecuador in the past two years, and INTA Argentina is studying the nutritional quality of local maize.

In the area of special maize, representatives from Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru presented their work on “purple maize,” a type of maize with high anthocyanin content in the grain, cob, and stalk, whose nutraceutical properties are due to powerful antioxidants that help control obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure, as well as prevent colon cancer and other diseases. Consumption of soft drinks, cookies, and desserts made from this type of maize has increased greatly in countries such as Peru. This type of maize is only grown by smallholder farmers; therefore, linking the purple maize production system to the food industry would be an excellent means of improving the livelihoods of thousands of smallholder farmers who live in the poorest areas where this and other types of special maize are sown.

In the area of climate change and sustainable agricultural intensification, Kai Sonder from CIMMYT described changes in the weather at both the global and regional levels and highlighted the need to develop new varieties that tolerate multiple biotic and abiotic stresses. He also said it is necessary to set up networks that include germplasm evaluation and crop management practices adapted to farmers’ work environments and social conditions and promote sustainable agriculture, including precision agriculture, which means doing the right thing in the right place at the right time. Researchers from INTA Argentina and INIA Peru provided information on conservation agriculture and emphasized pest control, mechanization based on farm size and the type of crop, and recommendations on post-harvest management of maize grain. Argemiro Moreno did a field demonstration of the benefits of using the GreenSeeker to make more efficient use of nitrogen.

During the XXIRLM, replicas of an ear of maize of the “cusco” type were presented to outstanding maize researchers such as Gonzalo Ávila and Tito Claure from Bolivia, and Ricardo Sevilla from Peru. Finally, José Luis Zambrano, INIAP Ecuador, announced that the XXIIRLM will be held next year in Ecuador. The XXRLM was held last year in Lima, Peru.

The meeting was attended by representatives of national and international seed companies, NGOs, local governments, an agricultural bank, Bolivian universities such as Francisco Xavier University in Chuquisaca, Gabriel René Moreno de Santa Cruz University, Universidad Mayor de San Simón in Cochabamba, Peru’s La Molina National Agricultural University, national research centers such as INTA-Argentina, INIAF-Bolivia, EMBRAPA-Brazil, CORPOICA-Colombia, INIAP-Ecuador, INIA-Peru, and international research organizations such as IICA, JAICA from Japan, KOPIA from Korea, CIAT, and CIMMYT.

Supporting sustainable and scalable changes in cereal systems in South Asia

Written by on November 9, 2015. Posted in News.

The rates of growth of staple crop yields in South Asia are insufficient to meet the projected demands in the region. With 40 percent of the world’s poor living in South Asia, the area composed of eastern India, Bangladesh and Nepal has the largest concentration of impoverished and food insecure people worldwide. At the same time, issues of resource degradation, declining labor availability and climate change (frequent droughts and rising temperatures) pose considerable threats to increasing the productivity of farming systems and rural livelihoods. Thirty percent of South Asia’s wheat crop is likely to be lost due to higher temperatures by 2050, experts say.

“These ecologies are regionally important for several reasons,” said Andrew McDonald, Project Leader, Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia, CIMMYT. “First, they have a higher density of rural poverty and food insecurity than any other region. Second, yield gaps for cereal staples are higher here than elsewhere in South Asia – highlighting the significant growth potential in agriculture.”

According to McDonald, there has been some successes due to increased investment and focus on intensification in these areas over the past 10 years. A CIMMYT-led initiative, the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) has contributed to major outcomes such as rapid uptake of early-planted wheat, the use of zero-tillage seed drills and long-duration, high-yielding wheat varieties in eastern India.

CSISA, in close collaboration with national partners, has been working in this region since 2009 to sustainably enhance the productivity of cereal-based cropping systems, as well as to improve the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers.

“Climate-resilient practices are gaining confidence in the areas we are working. More than 500,000 farmers adopted components of the early rice-wheat cropping system in Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh last year,” said R.K. Malik, Senior Agronomist, CIMMYT. “Early sowing can protect the crop from late-season heat damage and increase yields. It’s a non-cash input that even smallholders can benefit from and is one of the most important adaptations to climate change in this region.”

To increase the spread of these innovations and increase farmers’ access to modern farming technologies, CSISA is working to strengthen the network of service providers.

“This region has a large number of smallholder farmers and ownership of machines by smallholders is often not economically viable,” highlighted Malik. “In Indian states of Bihar, Odisha and eastern Uttar Pradesh, CSISA has facilitated more than 2,100 progressive farmers to become local entrepreneurs through relevant skills, information and training during the last three years.”

The U.S. Agency for International Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have recently approved Phase III of CSISA, running from December 2015 to November 2020. Building on the momentum and achievements of Phase I and II, Phase III will work to scale up innovations, strengthen local capacity and expand markets to support the widespread adoption of climate-resilient agricultural technologies in partnership with the national and developmental partners and key private sector actors.

“CSISA has made its mark as a ‘big tent’ initiative that closes gaps between research and delivery, and takes a systems approach that will continue to be leveraged in Phase III through strategic partnerships with national agricultural systems, extension systems and agricultural departments and with civil society and the private sector,” said McDonald.

Implemented jointly with International Rice Research Institute and International Food Policy Research Institute, the main four outcomes of Phase III focus on technology scaling, mainstreaming innovation into national systems, development of research-based products and reforming policies for faster technology adoption.

Photo Feature: Major Impacts of CSISA

Drought-tolerant maize to the rescue as hunger threatens 1.5 million in Zimbabwe

Written by on October 21, 2015. Posted in Features.

Children in a drought-stricken maize field in Gwanda District, southeast of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second largest city. Drought is the most frequently occurring natural hazard in Zimbabwe, made worse by the clear trend, since 1980,of decline in rainfall that the country has received each year. Photo: Desmond Kwande/Practical Action.

According to the World Food Programme (WFP) of the United Nations, nearly 1.5 million (16 percent) of Zimbabwe’s 14 million people are feared to go hungry at the height of the 2015–16 lean season – a 164 percent increase on the previous year (Hunger hits 1.5 million in Zimbabwe as maize production halves-WFP). This is due to a dramatic decrease in maize production. The lean season is the period after harvest when food stocks run low.

Maize is Zimbabwe’s staple. At 742,000 tonnes, production has dropped by 53 percent compared to the 2014–15 season, according to the Southern African Development Community, of which Zimbabwe is a member.

“The situation in Zimbabwe is more extreme than most countries in the region but it is not unique,” WFP spokesperson David Orr told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. An estimated 27 million people in the region are food-insecure as a result of drought and inappropriate farming practices.

Mary Gunge, 45, and her family of six, live in drought-prone Chivi District, Masvingo Province. For the past five years, life has been difficult for Gunge and other smallholder farmers in this harsh, semi-arid environment. “There are no good rains to talk about anymore,” Gunge told visiting journalists recently. The rains in her area were too little, too late. Smallholders need urgent food aid to carry them to the next harvest in May and June next year.

Parts of Zimbabwe are experiencing unpredictable weather. Zimbabwe’s Meteorological Services says the country is experiencing more hot days and fewer cold days.

“We’re no longer sure when to start preparing the land for planting or when to start planting. It’s pretty much gambling with nature,” says Gunge.

Climate change will have a significant impact on southern Africa’s fragile food security, environmental experts have warned. It already costs southern Africa five to 10 percent of its gross domestic product. This implies a loss of between USD 10 and 21 billion annually in a region where nearly half the population is living on less than one dollar a day.

showcasing various maize varieties. CIMMYT-SARO maize breeder Thokozile Ndhlela at this year’s CIMMYT field day. Partners, including the Government of Zimbabwe, witnessed CIMMYT’s work in its efforts to reduce hunger and malnutrition in southern Africa. Photo: Johnson Siamachira/CIMMYT. — Showcasing various maize varieties. CIMMYT-SARO maize breeder Thokozile Ndhlela at this year’s CIMMYT field day. Partners, including the Government of Zimbabwe, witnessed CIMMYT’s work in its efforts to reduce hunger and malnutrition in southern Africa. Photo: Johnson Siamachira/CIMMYT.

To address this all-too-familiar situation, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)’s southern Africa Regional Office (CIMMYT–SARO) and its partners are working to increase the productivity of maize-based farming systems to ensure food and nutritional security, increase household incomes and reduce poverty.

“Using conventional breeding, CIMMYT and partners have produced new varieties which yield 20 to 30 percent more than currently available local varieties under drought and low soil nitrogen,” says Mulugetta Mekuria, CIMMYT–SARO Representative. New maize varieties now account for 26 percent of maize hybrids grown in Zimbabwe.

By the end of this year, CIMMYT will establish a modern quarantine facility (Zimbabwe and CIMMYT to establish Maize Lethal Necrosis Quarantine Facility) to safely import maize breeding materials to southern Africa, and to enable local institutions to proactively breed for resistance against Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLN) disease.

More efficient use of the limited resources that smallholder farmers have is crucial for increasing food security. CIMMYT’s project on Sustainable Intensification of Maize–Legume Based Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) focuses on increasing food production from existing farmland while minimizing pressure on the environment.

SIMLESA has successfully used the principles of conservation agriculture in Malawi and Mozambique.

“Making use of the combined benefits of minimum soil disturbance, crop residue retention and crop rotation, conservation agriculture yields better when compared to conventional agricultural practices after two to five cropping seasons,” said Mekuria, who is also the SIMLESA Project Leader.

Trials in farmers’ fields in Malawi increased yields by 20 to 60 percent. In Zambia and Zimbabwe, yields increased by almost 60 percent using animal traction conservation agriculture. CIMMYT is also providing support to seed companies, including capacity building for technical and entrepreneurial skills, varietal release and registration, seed multiplication and commercialization.

Peter Setimela, CIMMYT–SARO Senior Seed System Specialist, says, “Developing drought-tolerant maize will increasingly become more critical especially now when most countries in the region continue to be affected by drought.”

In the past two years, 28 varieties have been released in southern Africa with greater tolerance to the main stresses in the region. These new varieties are expected to benefit almost 12 million people, helping to enhance food security, increase livelihoods and reduce poverty.