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Theme: Innovations

Working with smallholders to understand their needs and build on their knowledge, CIMMYT brings the right seeds and inputs to local markets, raises awareness of more productive cropping practices, and works to bring local mechanization and irrigation services based on conservation agriculture practices. CIMMYT helps scale up farmers’ own innovations, and embraces remote sensing, mobile phones and other information technology. These interventions are gender-inclusive, to ensure equitable impacts for all.

International Conservation Agriculture Forum in Yinchuan

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The International Conservation Agriculture Forum, held at the Ningxia Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences in Yinchuan during 27-31 May, was attended by a significant number of provincial government officials and private sector representatives who joined to discuss national and international partnerships in farming system intensification, mechanization, nutrient-use efficiency, precision agriculture, and training; gain better understanding of what conservation agriculture is; jointly identify needs, priorities, and constraints to broad adoption of conservation agriculture in China; and explore the Cropping Systems Intensification Project for North Asia (CSINA).

Key academic leaders from across China briefed the international participants, including Bruno Gerard, Ivan Ortiz-Monasterio, M.L. Jat, Scott Justice, Dan Jeffers, and Garry Rosewarne from CIMMYT, Wang Guanglin from ACIAR, and Rabi Raisaily, international liaison for Haofeng Machinery. Some key constraints to adoption of conservation agriculture were covered, including the lack of financial, political, and personal incentives; inadequate or unavailable zero-till machinery; inflexible irrigation-water distribution and fixed pricing; narrow approach to research, development, and engineering without linkages to the larger issues of farming and cropping systems; and limited knowledge of rural socioeconomic conditions. Consequently, the participants defined future priorities: a socioeconomic study covering labor, gender, impacts of previous projects, and adoption issues; and mechanization development and plant residue trade-offs and handling, especially of rice/wheat systems.

One of the most important outcomes of the forum was the establishment of new relationships with the China Agricultural University, Nanjing Agricultural University, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Northwest Agricultural and Forestry University, and others. Similarly, invigorating of old partnerships with the Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences is expected to be highly beneficial for future research platform development.

As partnerships with machinery manufacturers are often crucial in driving the uptake of conservation agriculture by creating a push demand for conservation agriculture machinery, the presence of private sector representatives, including the Henan Haofeng Machinery Manufacturing Company (Henan province), Qingdao Peanut Machinery Company (Shandong province), Jingxin Agricultural Machinery (Sichuan province), and the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI), was crucial. The importance of such partnerships has been proven before; for example, the research and development activities of the Qingdao Peanut Machinery Company have seen a considerable advancement of the Chinese Turbo Happy Seeder, which has been downsized through a number of iterations to suit tractors with less than 30 hp. Thanks to this public-private interaction, the forum participants learned about preliminary discussions to prototype the two-wheel tractor Happy Seeder specifically for Africa and joint CIMMYT/ACIAR projects. “We are hopeful that one of the companies present at the forum will take up this opportunity to create demand for conservation agriculture machinery for the small landholder,” said CIMMYT senior cropping systems scientist Allen McHugh.

The forum, jointly organized by the Ningxia Provincial Government Foreign Experts Bureau, Ningxia Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, and CIMMYT, was regarded very successful, as it has advanced CIMMYT’s stakes in future funding requests. “Overall, we have had a very good start toward the development of integrated research platforms in three distinct agro-ecological zones. The next step is to consolidate the outcomes from the forum and commence the iterative process of project development,” McHugh added, summarizing the results of the event.

Allen McHugh reports on conservation agriculture in China

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caunews_-China3The past few weeks have been busy and interesting in China: preparing for the International Conservation Agriculture Forum in Yinchuan and work travels to Beijing, Yangling (Shaanxi province), and Xuchang (Henan province) are a sure way to keep oneself occupied.

Strengthening partnerships in Beijing

I travelled to Beijing during 2-4 May to discuss future cooperation between the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) and the China Agricultural University (CAU) at a meeting with Jan Thomas, USQ vice-chancellor, and K.E. Bingsheng, CAU president, accompanied by the USQ delegation and CAU senior professors. What does this have to do with CIMMYT? Part of my mandate in China is to forge new partnerships, especially with universities seeking to expand internationally. This requires putting on the CIMMYT uniform to demonstrate presence and reinforce linkages with old and new colleagues. As a result, we hope to see a memorandum of understanding and the facilitation of staff and student exchanges between these universities, Ningxia institutions, and CIMMYT.

Water-use efficiency in Yangling

The Northwest Agricultural and Forestry University in Yangling hosted the final review of the ACIAR “More effective water use by rainfed wheat in China and Australia” project led by Tony Condon (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, CSIRO), in which the Ningxia Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences is a partner (led by Yuan Hanmin). The project aims to improve and stabilize farmer returns from growing wheat in dry, rainfed environments in northwest China through development of higher-yielding wheat germplasm that uses water and soil resources more effectively. I spent 6-10 May first hearing about and seeing the extensive breeding work with Australian and Chinese lines, and later discussing the role of conservation agriculture and soil management in breeding with the reviewers and other participants, including Greg Rebetzke from CSIRO. During a Combined China-EU-Australia Workshop on Phenotyping for Abiotic Stress Tolerance and Water-Use Efficiency in Crop Breeding, which followed the review, Richard Richards (CSIRO) presented a very pertinent paper on “Opportunities to improve cereal root systems for greater productivity.” His focus on below-ground processes provides considerable and significant support for conservation agriculture and associated management practices in improving root system functions.

Farm mechanization in Xuchang

The 30th anniversary of the Henan Haofeng Machinery Manufacturing Company in Xuchang, Henan province, provided an excellent opportunity to present conservation agriculture and small machinery requirements for developing countries to 4 academicians, about 10 high level officials from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Agriculture, Henan Provincial Government, and many highly regarded Chinese mechanization scientists and extension workers.

During 16-18 May, the factory hosted two forums, one focused on combination of wheat agricultural machinery and agronomy, and another on scientific innovation and development of Chinese agricultural machinery. Although the language of the forums was Chinese, my presentation in English was understood by the senior people, some of whom later inquired about the new Chinese Turbo Happy Seeder developed by CIMMYT. The discussion on conservation agriculture per se was limited, but I was able to meet many old Chinese friends and strengthen new relationships for CIMMYT and the Global Conservation Agriculture Program.

Nebraska Declaration on Conservation Agriculture signed

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8623227856_28319de0bf_zAfter months of discussions and debates on the scientific evidence regarding conservation agriculture for small-scale, resource-poor farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, a group of 40 scientists reached a consensus on the goals of conservation agriculture and the research necessary to reach these goals. The discussions leading to the signing of the Nebraska Declaration on Conservation Agriculture on 5 June 2013 began during a scientific workshop on “Conservation agriculture: What role in meeting CGIAR system-level outcomes?” organized by the CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership Council (ISPC) at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, USA, during 15-18 October 2012. Several CIMMYT scientists contributed to the Lincoln workshop and the subsequent draft of the convention. “Not every participant agreed to sign. It went too far for some conservation agriculture purists and not far enough for others. This is usually the case when a consensus between 50 scientists and experts is sought,” said Bruno Gerard, director of CIMMYT’s Global Conservation Agriculture Program (GCAP), pointing to an interesting read in that respect, ‘Conservation agriculture and smallholder farming in Africa: The heretics’ view’ by Giller et al. (2009).

According to the Declaration, most efforts to date in developing countries have promoted conservation agriculture as a package of three practices: minimum disturbance of soil, retention of sufficient crop residue, and diversified cropping patterns. However, the situation on the ground shows limits of this strict definition, as there is little evidence of conservation agriculture wide adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, but there is some evidence of adoption of one or two of the components. To play a significant role in low-productivity, resource-poor agricultural systems, broader efforts going beyond a focus on the package of the three main practices are necessary. Emphasis needs to be placed on diagnostic agronomy and participatory on-farm research to identify the constraints faced by farmers and to guide farmers in finding solutions to them. As there is a range of sound agronomic, economic, and/or social reasons for choosing not to adopt the three-component conservation agriculture package, it is necessary to systematically assess the suitability and viability of management options and practices while considering farmers’ objectives and constraints, the Declaration stresses.

Rigorous and coordinated research is needed to assess and better understand the process of adoption of conservation agriculture. Unless the farmers’ reasons for choosing to adopt or not to adopt a certain practice are known, a wider adoption of conservation agriculture practices is unlikely.

“I think the declaration is useful as conservation agriculture principles should be seen as a way to sustainable intensification and not an end by itself,” commented Gerard. “The declaration fits well with the present efforts of GCAP and the Socioeconomics Program to put conservation agriculture in a broader context, and to better understand adoptability and constraints to adoption, which are agroecology-, site-, and farm-specific. Furthermore, it stretches the importance of systems research to integrate field level agronomy work within a multi-scale and multi-disciplinary framework.”

Promoting resilient diversification options through maize and climate smart practices in India

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“Declining water table, deteriorating soil health, labor shortages, increasing energy prices, and more frequent climate extremes are among the major long-term threats to food security in India,” stated ML Jat, CIMMYT senior cropping systems agronomist, at the Stakeholders’ Consultation on Promoting Resilient Diversification Options through Maize and Climate Smart Practices on 20 May 2013 in Karnal, Haryana, India.

India5
About 300 stakeholders from a range of public and private organizations attended the consultation, including representatives from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI), Directorate of Wheat Research (DWR), Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, the Indian Maize Development Association (IMDA), the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI), the Haryana Agricultural University (HAU), and the State Department of Agriculture, Government of India. After a welcome speech by DK Sharma, CSSRI director, RS Paroda, chairman of the Haryana Farmers Commission at the Government of Haryana and the chief guest of the function, explained the reasons behind the meeting, stressing the criticality of the current situation. “On one hand, we are facing many problems threatening our agricultural system,” he said, “on the other, we are exploring the possibilities of a second Green Revolution for sustainable food and nutritional security in India.” This cannot be achieved without multistakeholder partnerships, as the tasks are numerous: “We need to combine new technologies with active and strategic partnerships, establish an environment in which farmers can easily access markets, and create new business models to make agriculture more attractive to the youth and to women.”

JS Sandhu, agriculture commissioner at the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, and the event’s guest of honor, commented on climate extremes which caused a decline in food production during 2012- 13. He stressed the importance of technologies helping with adaptation to and mitigation of climate change effects, such as zero tillage, direct seeded rice, or tools like GreenSeeker, but also the need to diversify rice with maize and other economically competitive and more water efficient crops in the north-western part of India. “Maize is the queen of cereals,” added Alok K Sikka, the event’s chair and deputy director general of the Natural Resource Management at ICAR, “but there has been a 66% decline in maize growing areas in Haryana since the Green Revolution in 1966.” To achieve long-term sustainable ecological intensification of farming systems, Sikka added, conservation agriculture is crucial. Accordingly, several new research initiatives have begun at ICAR focusing on natural resource management. “Partnerships and synergies with advanced research institutes like CIMMYT, CRPs MAIZE, WHEAT, and Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), and other research-for-development organizations are critical for impact at scale,” concluded Sikka.

As part of the consultation, panel discussions were held on resilient diversification options through maize (chaired by Sain Dass, IMDA president) and on promoting climate smart practices (chaired by Indu Sharma, DWR director); the discussions were followed by a plenary session chaired by DP Singh (Natural Resource Management expert, Haryana Farmers Commission). The panel discussions reiterated what was said during the presentations and added several new areas of focus, for example the use of information and communication technologies and knowledge networks to provide farmers with real time access to information in an easy-to-understand form.

The event was jointly organized under the aegis of CRPs CCAFS and WHEAT by CIMMYT in collaboration with CSSRI, ICAR, Haryana Farmers Commission, HAU, State Department of Agriculture, Government of Haryana, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India and Farmer Cooperatives of Climate Smart Villages.

Giving power to African farmers: learning from the Indian experience

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Bhopal-096From 29 April to 10 May, 16 agricultural engineers, agronomists, machinery importers, and machinery manufacturers from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe took part in a study tour in India organized by CIMMYT, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), and the Australian International Food Security Centre (AIFSC). The tour was organized as part of the “Farm Mechanization and Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Intensification” (FACASI) project to identify opportunities for exchange of technologies and expertise between India and Africa and strengthen South-South collaborations in the area of farm mechanization. The project is funded by AIFSC and managed by ACIAR.

India is the world’s largest producer of pulses, and the second largest producer of wheat, rice, potatoes, and groundnuts. But would India’s agricultural performance be that high if the number of tractors in the country was divided by six and the number of draught animals by three? Such a reduction in farm power would bring Indian agriculture close to the current situation of Kenya and Tanzania. In India, most agricultural operations are mechanized, including planting, harvesting, threshing, shelling, and transportation to the market; in Africa, these are generally accomplished manually. Bringing African agriculture closer to the situation in India is the goal of the FACASI project. This tour was designed as the first step in the construction of an enduring trilateral partnership between Africa, India, and Australia, consolidated by CIMMYT, to facilitate exchange of research and development results in the area of farm mechanization.

During his opening speech, S. Ayyapan, ICAR director general, stressed the importance of farm mechanization for agricultural intensification, pointed at the commonalities between the circumstances of Indian and African smallholders, and invited the group to develop concrete country-specific proposals regarding possible partnerships with India. The participants then spent five days at the Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering (CIAE) in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh state, where they were exposed to various low-cost gender-friendly technologies for post-harvest operations and weeding; sowing, fertilizing, spraying, and harvesting technologies adapted to animal traction; two-wheel and four-wheel tractors; as well as conservation agriculture based technologies. Through calibration exercises and other field activities, participants gained hands-on experience with these machines. The group also visited the Central Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute in Budni.

The second part of the study tour took place in the states of Punjab and Haryana, where the group interacted with scientists from the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) and the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA), and was exposed to various Indian innovations including laser land levelers operated by two-wheel tractors, relay direct seeders, multi-crop planters, crop threshers, and rotary weeders. They also participated in a discussion session organized by a farmer cooperative society at Noorpur-Bet focusing on institutional innovations encouraging farmer access to mechanization, and interacted intensively with Indian agribusinesses such as National Agro-Industry, Dashmesh Mechanical Engineering, Amar Agro Industries, and All India Machinery Manufacturers Association.

The study tour was concluded by a visit of the Central Soil and Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI) in Karnal to observe the role of conservation agriculture in reclaiming degraded land, and a visit to the Indian Wheat Research Centre in Karnal.

The lessons learnt in India will be put in practice in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe through the FACASI project. The study tour has generated several ideas for the development of new machines by African engineers and created contacts between Indian manufacturers and African machinery importers which may materialize into business opportunities.

High up and hyperspectral

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The aircraft operated near CIMMYT station in Ciudad Obregon ready for hyperspectral imagery collection.
The aircraft operated near CIMMYT station in Ciudad Obregon ready for hyperspectral imagery collection.

Last week CIMMYT obtained a new hyperspectral camera and thus significantly expanded its remote sensing capabilities. Pablo J. Zarco-Tejada, director of QuantaLab remote sensing laboratory, Instituto de Agricultura Sostenible (IAS), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones CientĂ­ficas (CSIC), CĂłrdoba, Spain, and his team spent 13-17 May 2013 at the Campo Experimental Norman E. Borlaug (CENEB) in Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, installing the new camera on the remote sensing platform they delivered during their last visit in February 2013.

Zarco-Tejada and his team also trained a pilot and CIMMYT staff on the use of the hyperspectral remote sensing equipment, which was obtained through a capacity building project between CIMMYT’s Global Conservation Agriculture Program and QuantaLab-IAS-CSIC, funded by MAIZE and WHEAT CRPs under Strategic Initiative 3.

Hyperspectral flight line acquired near the CIMMYT station at Obregon acquired at 40 cm resolution on 15 May 2013 (left). Areas with dense vegetation and trees orchards shown in red (top inserts). The graph shows the full hyperspectral signatures extracted from the imagery from healthy and stressed vegetation pixels, and from a soil target after radiometric calibration and atmospheric correction methods are conducted in the laboratory at CIMMYT.
Hyperspectral flight line acquired near the CIMMYT station at Obregon acquired at 40 cm resolution on 15 May 2013 (left). Areas with dense vegetation and trees orchards shown in red (top inserts). The graph shows the full hyperspectral signatures extracted from the imagery from healthy and stressed vegetation pixels, and from a soil target after radiometric calibration and atmospheric correction methods are conducted in the laboratory at CIMMYT.

Hyperspectral technology uses the most advanced remote sensing cameras that are sensitive to the visible and near infrared spectral regions. This allows for acquisition of hundreds of images at once, each of them covering a different and narrow spectral region in a continuous mode. While multispectral cameras widely used for crop monitoring through remote sensing methods can acquire only five or six spectral bands at once, the new hyperspectral imager owned and operated by CIMMYT obtains 250 spectral bands at the same time, covering the entire electromagnetic spectrum between the visible and the near infrared regions. This opens up tremendous new and powerful avenues for research on early crop stress detection, physiological assessment, conservation agriculture, plant breeding, disease detection, etc.

The thermal, multispectral, and hyperspectral cameras are installed on the same aircraft which allows researchers to obtain both thermal and multi/hyperspectral images concurrently. With resolutions ranging between 20 and 50 centimeters, it is possible to target single experimental plots as well as within-field spatial variability in commercial fields. The cameras acquire 250 bands of 6.4-nanometer width in the 400-885 nanometer region, scanning swaths of 500 meters at 30-50 centimeter pixel resolution.

This makes it possible to calculate several new spectral indices related to photosynthetic pigments, such as chlorophyll content, carotenoids, xanthophylls, and anthocyanins, as well as measure physiological and structural indicators, which can be used to map nitrogen status and derive nitrogen recommendations to improve wheat quality. Most importantly, the new hyperspectral imager allows for early detection of stress using narrow-band indices related to light-use efficiency, as well as for quantifying chlorophyll fluorescence emissions by the plant, which is the focus of current cutting-edge international research on canopy photosynthesis. This has proved to be a better physiological indicator than other traditional vegetation indices.

The hyperspectral camera was tested over an area near CENEB and is now fully operational for phenotyping and physiological and agronomic research. Image processing methods and hyperspectral analysis procedures were used for signature extraction from the imagery and observation of the spectral differences between healthy and stressed vegetation pixels.

Members of CIMMYT, IAS-CSIC (Spain) and the aircraft crew during the flight tests conducted to test the new hyperspectral camera.
Members of CIMMYT, IAS-CSIC (Spain) and the aircraft crew during the flight tests conducted to test the new hyperspectral camera.

Configuration of the new hyperspectral camera for different operation modes and the identification of successful remote sensing indices will continue through research collaboration between CIMMYT and QuantaLab-IASCSIC. The algorithms and state-of-the-art methods for the processing of the imagery, as well as field instrumentation required for the flights, are now available at CENEB. The same instruments are planned to be used during the upcoming cropping season in El BatĂĄn and Toluca.

Swiss Ambassador visits CIMMYT-Harare

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Physiologist Jill Cairns talks about climate change with the Swiss Ambassador.
Physiologist Jill Cairns talks about climate
change with the Swiss Ambassador.

The Ambassador of Switzerland to Angola, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, Luciano Lavizzari, accompanied by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) Food Security program officer for Zimbabwe Mkhululi Ngwenya, visited the CIMMYT Regional office for Southern Africa in Harare, Zimbabwe, on 23 April 2013. The CIMMYT-Harare staff provided a tour around the facilities and briefed them on CIMMYT’s work on food security geared towards finding solutions to challenges faced by farmers.

In the beginning of the visit, CIMMYT physiologist Jill Cairns discussed the issue of climate change. “As a result of climate change, the seasons are going to be much shorter,” explained Cairns, adding that in a region with the lowest maize yields globally, a lot more effort is required to deploy germplasm and farming systems adapted to respond to constraints in the region. Cairns discussed the work done by CIMMYT scientists in countering stresses such as low nitrogen, drought, and heat stress along the maize breeding pipeline from population development, pedigree breeding, to regional and on-farm trials in over 100 diverse locations. She also covered the phenotyping tools used in the research work and highlighted research gains in maize yields, many of which result from highly drought-tolerant maize lines and improved efficiencies of maize breeding pipeline in Eastern and Southern Africa.

John MacRobert, seed systems specialist, highlighted the importance of harmonizing seed systems in the region. “Some countries, like Zimbabwe, have very well developed seed sectors, while others are largely informal,” MacRobert said, stressing the negative consequences this may have on farmers. He then explained the importance of on-farm trials in incorporating farmer preferences such as grain texture in breeding work, using the example of SDC-funded New Seed Initiative for Maize in Southern Africa (NSIMA), a project whose acronym is fashioned after a popular maize staple dish in Zambia and Malawi known as nsima: “NSIMA targets a subset of smallholder farmers who consume the maize that they grow.” MacRobert also highlighted collaboration with other SDC projects whose seed systems encourage community-based seed companies targeting smallholder farmers.

Next on the agenda was conservation agriculture covered by agronomist Christian Thierfelder. “It is crucial to link improved varieties with the best management practices to ensure the sustainability of the cropping system,” stressed Thierfelder who then went on to demonstrate a range of sowing equipment from a stick to animal traction planters used in conservation agriculture.

Seed systems specialist Peter Setimela explains the importance of regional on-farm trials to the Swiss Ambassador Luciano Lavizzari (middle) and SDC Food Security program officer for Zimbabwe Mkhululi Ngwenya.
Seed systems specialist Peter Setimela explains the importance of regional on-farm trials to the Swiss Ambassador Luciano Lavizzari (middle) and SDC Food Security program officer for Zimbabwe Mkhululi Ngwenya.

Socioeconomist Girma T. Kassie turned attention to the consequences of lack of funding for smallholder farmers. For example, lack of funding programs to help the smallholder farmers acquire equipment limits uptake of improved planting practices. “Research on the impact of improved technologies aimed at improving livelihoods of smallholder farmers can help identify the gaps in technology transfer,” he added. Afterwards, the visitors toured CIMMYT trials where they observed the discussed technologies in the field.

CIMMYT has had a long-standing relationship with Switzerland through SDC, which currently funds several CIMMYT projects geared towards improving food security of smallholder farmers in East and Southern Africa. The projects, focusing on post-harvest losses reduction, conservation agriculture, and improved seed systems, include the Effective Grain Storage Project (EGSP), Seeds and Markets Project (SAMP), Harmonized Seed Security Project (HaSSP), and NSIMA. In addition, the SDC funds the ‘SDC-Junior Professional Officer’ supporting agronomist Stephanie Cheesman at the Global Conservation Agriculture Program team. CIMMYT highly appreciates the continued support from the Swiss government through SDC.

Conservation agriculture in Central Asia: A bumpy road to food security?

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ACConservation agriculture methods enable producers to sustainably intensify production, improve soil health, and minimize or avoid negative externalities. However, these practices have not yet taken off in most Central Asian countries. The FAO Sub-Regional Office for Central Asia, in cooperation with CIMMYT, ICARDA, and the national counterparts, conducted a study on the status of conservation agriculture in Central Asia to develop policy recommendations for its promotion. The document titled “Conservation Agriculture in Central Asia: Status, Policy, Institutional Support, and Strategic Framework for its Promotion” presents the existing opportunities for adoption and uptake of conservation agriculture techniques, as well as the conditions that need to be taken into account in designing and promoting policy and institutional support strategies for its up-scaling.

The challenges facing the dissemination and adoption of conservation agriculture practices in the region include development of enabling government policies and institutional environment to mainstream conservation agriculture, changing the farmers’ tillage mind-set, training to operate conservation agriculture equipment, and availability and accessibility of suitable implements. However, the authors believe that there is a great potential to revitalize the withered economies of Central Asian countries via improved productivity and higher total output through conservation agriculture based agricultural development. Kazakhstan, the only country that has actively embraced conservation agriculture, provides great evidence for such claims. With the support of CIMMYT, FAO, ICARDA, the World Bank, the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan, and other international organizations and donors, Kazakhstan began adoption of conservation agriculture practices in 2000; by 2012 there were 2 million hectares —13% of the country’s wheat growing area— under conservation agriculture. According to the FAO Investment Center mission to Kazakhstan, the adoption of zero tillage and conservation agriculture had raised domestic wheat production by almost 2 million tons, which equals some US$ 0.58 billion more income over 2010-12, enough grain to satisfy the annual cereal requirements of almost 5 million people, and the sequestering of about 1.8 million additional tons of CO2 per year. CIMMYT’s work in Kazakhstan demonstrates that the challenges facing Central Asia regarding conservation agriculture can be overcome. “The main achievement of CIMMYT in Kazakhstan has been the changing of the minds of farmers and scientists,” observes Bayan Alimgazinova, head of the Crop Production Department of KazAgroInnovation. Auyezkhan K. Darinov, president-chairman of the Republic Public Union of Farmers of Kazakhstan adds: “Kazakhstan is now the most experienced in conservation agriculture in Central Asia.” Hopefully, the practices and experience will spread to other Central Asian countries seeking to ensure food security.

For the full FAO report: Conservation Agriculture in Central Asia: Status, Policy, Institutional Support, and Strategic Framework for its Promotion.

For more information on conservation agriculture in Kazakhstan: Water-saving techniques salvage wheat in drought-stricken Kazakhstan.

Agricultural Innovation Systems: what do they mean to the work we do?

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DSC_7906On daily basis, we interact with farmers, extension workers, researchers, seed companies, government officials, and many others. Our work would not be possible without these actors, many of whom focus on bringing new products, new processes, new policies, and new forms of organization into economic use. In their attempts to bring about change in agriculture, these multiple stakeholders are all part of what may be seen as agricultural innovation systems (AIS). However, CIMMYT’s engagement with AIS and its role within innovation platforms was not discussed more closely until recently. To review CIMMYT’s role and current approach to the AIS framework, summarize what has been done, and touch upon future plans, CRP MAIZE, the Global Conservation Agriculture Program (GCAP), and the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) organized a workshop on “Agricultural Innovation Systems: what does it mean to the work we do?” The day-long event took place at CIMMYT-El Batán on 11 April 2013; it was attended by over 30 participants from several CIMMYT departments, programs, and regional offices, and facilitated by Remco Mur and Mariana Wongtschowski from KIT.

What led to this cooperation between KIT and CRP MAIZE? When presented with the challenges of CRP MAIZE, such as lifting 10 million people out of extreme poverty in 10 years, David Watson, CRP MAIZE program manager, realized that innovations systems and innovation platforms are often seen as key in achieving these high-aiming goals. “I looked on the ground, but there was no explicit agricultural innovation expertise,” Watson said, explaining why CRP MAIZE contacted KIT to take stock of innovation platform structures and operation processes in CRP MAIZE projects, and suggest ways to strengthen the AIS approach and multi-stakeholder interaction structures.

Wongtschowski presented some of the KIT report findings. Addressing the strong technology focus of CIMMYT, she stressed that innovation is not only about developing technology, but also about setting up mechanisms that would put the technology into practice. “Innovation emerges from interaction,” Wongtschowski added, casting more light on the potential role of CIMMYT, “and while researchers may play a role, their role isn’t the most important one.” Jens Andersson, CIMMYT innovation systems scientist based in Zimbabwe, provided a reflection on the KIT report focusing on the implications of adopting an AIS framework for CIMMYT’s organization of research and its partnerships. “At CIMMYT, we look at innovation platforms as a means to reach impact at scale, or as a vehicle for technology transfer,” he said; but, as the report states, feedback loops from farmers and other stakeholders back to the researchers are often missing. At the same time, innovation platforms play a key role in articulating demand for research within the AIS framework. Yet, as Andersson pointed out, there are a number of problematic assumptions about how stakeholders interact within such platforms. For example, it is generally assumed that once an innovation platform has been established, stakeholders can voice their demands. “We have to be wary of those who talk very little,” Andersson said, alluding to the often silent majority of women farmers in meetings. “They might talk little because they can’t express their ideas,” he explained, pointing to the continued role of research in identifying demand. Then he followed with a photograph from first-year on-farm trial plots under conventional ridgeand- tillage and conservation agriculture in southern Africa. Against all expectation, the maize on the conservation agriculture plot was significantly taller than the conventionally grown maize, despite the same fertilizer regime and the absence of soil cover and nitrogen-mineralizing soil tillage in the conservation agriculture treatment. Behind this mystery lies another assumption about stakeholder participation: are farmers participating in researchers’ field trials because of their keen interest in a technology package, or do they have other reasons? In this case, the trialhosting farmer ‘helped’ the researcher by deliberately planting the conventional treatment late so that the researcher’s treatment would look better. The farmer sought to secure the farm inputs supplied to him also for next season. In this area, farmers’ biggest struggle is to source expensive inputs, notably fertilizer, and the input-supported trials of the researcher provided an opportunity. Farmer participation was thus motivated by a constraint beyond the field scale. “If we don’t research and understand how the wider system works, we can’t effectively introduce new technologies,” Andersson concluded his argument for a system-oriented research.

The workshop’s morning section was wrapped up with a group discussion on the changes necessary for successful innovation. Participants discussed and presented their ideas on what could be improved in our daily work regarding AIS. One question recurred several times during the lively discussions: is it our role to always be the facilitator within innovation platforms, or should this role be carried out by farmers’ associations or other actors?

The afternoon session was devoted to presentations by Bram Govaerts, leader of the Take it to the Farmer component of MasAgro, and Michael Misiko, GCAP innovation specialist, who focused on innovation platforms and their components within Take it to the Farmer and SIMLESA, respectively. While providing an overview of Take it to the Farmer, Govaerts stressed the importance, complexity, and history of farmer organizations as parts of agricultural innovation systems, reiterating Andersson’s previous statement on the importance of understanding the system. Misiko focused on the forms of and need for innovation platforms within SIMLESA. The foundations of SIMLESA lie on integration and partnerships of systems and institutions, sustainable innovation, and impact. However, the organizations operating within SIMLESA are often poorly clustered, sometimes completely detached from the commodities with which they work. According to Misiko, the next step towards further efficiency of the project is a higher level of integration of institutions within SIMLESA’s innovation platform systems.

Bruno Gerard, GCAP director, and Watson, concluded the workshop with reflections on AIS and their roles. “Innovation platforms and innovation approaches should not be taken as the next silver bullet to achieve impact scale,” said Gerard. “They are a mean rather than an end. They are critical for better understanding of social processes within farming systems and for putting technical innovations in context as they can provide important missing knowledge for researchers, farmers, and other actors, including the private sector, in a co-learning fashion.” Gerard pointed out some of the drawbacks as well; innovation platforms and approaches are often resource-intensive and difficult to scale out and scale up due to their context-specificity. “But they can generate valuable, more generic lessons on adoption, adoptability, and the way forward,” he added. “As researchers we have to be careful to intervene more as a catalyst and honest broker and not be too central in order to achieve positive long-term changes. We have to think of a good exit strategy from the beginning. At GCAP, innovations approaches are one piece of the puzzle within our systems research framework and impact pathways,” Gerard concluded.DSC_0004

SIMLESA progressing and gearing up for Phase II

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IMG_0883Over 200 researchers, policy makers, donors, seed companies, and NGO representatives from Africa and Australia gathered in Chimoio, Mozambique, during 17-23 March 2013 for the third SIMLESA (Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa) annual regional planning and review meeting to discuss the project’s progress and achievements, share lessons learned throughout the last three years, and deliberate over better ways to design and implement future activities in the SIMLESA target (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique) and spillover countries (Botswana, Uganda, South Sudan, and Zambia).

“SIMLESA had attained a ‘steady flight path’ and is on track to deliver significant impacts,” noted Derek Byerlee, Program Steering Committee (PSC) co-chair, and the Mid-Term Review (MTR) conducted last year supports his words: “The MTR Team has reviewed progress by objectives and the overall execution of the Program, and finds that in general it has made very good progress in its first two years.” Bekele Shiferaw, Program Management Committee chair, then highlighted MTR’s recommendations, including the following: SIMLESA should take concrete steps to overcome current socio-economic research capacity constraints in national agricultural research systems and in the areas of value chains, informal analyses, business management, participatory agronomy, and breeding research; focus on ‘smart’ sequences for testing conservation agriculture technologies with farmers resulting in step-wise adoption; and create representative and effective innovation platforms with clear roles, structures, and functions.

As SIMLESA Phase I is ending next year, participants brainstormed on key issues anticipated in Phase II, concluding that the overall approach should be holistic, flexible in dealing with complex systems, and should aim to devise effective ways to target different group of farmers, as one size does not fit all. Furthermore, it was noted that Phase II should focus on changing the mindset of farmers. “There are so many different technologies bombarding farmers. The real work therefore lies in dealing with the psychological, social, cultural, and environmental factors of the farmer that will determine the adoption of introduced technologies,” noted one of the participating groups during the plenary session. Following the discussion on Phase II, Byerlee shared PSC’s vision: apply a broader approach to system intensification (conservation agriculture elements, soil fertility, pest management, and diversification); be more country specific; create empowering, location-specific, and sustainable innovation platforms; and pay more attention to institutions and policies vis-à-vis technology.

In the words of Inacio Maposse, Agricultural Research Institute of Mozambique (IIAM) director general and PSC member, Phase II is not necessary only because Phase I is ending but also “because we want to add another dimension to the program, and perhaps a different philosophy, one that will lead us to success. And for me, success means to get farmers smile sustainably. Smile because they are better off. For this to happen, we have to design Phase II with heart and wisdom. We need Phase II because we are yet to produce significant adoption and impact on the farming communities.” John Dixon (senior advisor for cropping systems and economics and principal regional coordinator for Africa and South Asia, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research) added another reason for why to continue with SIMLESA: “Where resources are limited, sustainable intensification is the only option to feed the extra two billion people by 2050.”

Mellissa Wood, Australian International Food Security Centre (AIFSC) director, then explained some of the reasons behind the close cooperation between Australia and Africa: “Australia and Africa share many common agricultural challenges, including limiting soils, highly variable climates, pests, and diseases.” Consequently, AIFSC aims to accelerate adoption; bridge the gap between research and development; find new ways to support African agricultural growth through adoption, policy, scale-out, improved market access, diversification, and nutrition.

In her closing remarks, Marianne BĂ€nziger (CIMMYT deputy director general for research and partnerships) called on the Phase II planners to design holistic packages that entail success and ensure SIMLESA provides farmers in the five target countries with diverse opportunities for improving their livelihoods. “Farmers should be able to get incomes not only from maize and legumes but also from other farm enterprises. You should come up with possible and realistic interventions in realistic time frames,” BĂ€nziger concluded.

Throughout the meeting, implementing partners, researchers, and seed companies showcased their achievements and products at the ‘SIMLESA poster village.’ Participants learned about farmers’ perspectives and practices through field visits to Sussudenga maize breeding and exploratory trial sites, participatory variety trials in Vanduzi and Polytechnic Institute of Manica, and conservation agriculture and innovation platforms scaling out sites in Makate.

Farm mechanization & conservation agriculture for sustainable intensification project launched

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If asked “What is the most limiting factor to cereal production in sub-Saharan Africa,” most agronomists would say water, nitrogen, or phosphorus. Could farm power also have a place in this list? From 25 to 30 March 2013, a multidisciplinary group of 40 agronomists, agricultural engineers, economists, anthropologists, and private sector representatives from Kenya, Tanzania, Australia, India, and other countries attended a meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, to officially launch the ‘Farm Mechanization & Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Intensification’ project, supported by the Australian International Food Security Centre (AIFSC) and managed by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). The meeting focused largely on planning for activities that will take place in Kenya and Tanzania, but the project will eventually explore opportunities to accelerate the delivery and adoption of two-wheel tractors (2WTs) based conservation agriculture (CA) and other 2WT-based technologies (transport, shelling, threshing) by smallholders in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. This project will be implemented over the next four years by CIMMYT and its partners.

Why do these issues matter? In many countries, the number of tractors has declined in the past decades (as a result of structural adjustment plans, for example), and so did the number of draught animals in many parts of the continent (due to biomass shortage, droughts, diseases, etc.). As a result, African agriculture increasingly relies on human muscle power. This problem is compounded by labor shortages arising from an ageing population, rural-urban migration, and HIV/ AIDS. Even in areas where rural population is increasing faster than the cultivated area, labor may be in short supply during critical field operations due to competition with more rewarding sectors, such as construction and mining. One consequence of low farm mechanization is high labor drudgery, which disproportionately affects women, as they play a predominant role in weeding, threshing, shelling, and transport by head-loading, and which makes farming unattractive to the youth. Sustainable intensification in sub-Saharan Africa appears unlikely if the issue of inadequate and declining farm power is not addressed. Power supply could be increased through appropriate and equitable mechanization, while power demand could be reduced through power saving technologies such as CA. Synergies can be exploited between these two avenues: for example, the elimination of soil inversion in CA systems reduces power requirements —typically by a factor of two— making the use of lower powered and more affordable tractors such as 2WTs a viable option. 2WTs are already present in Eastern and Southern Africa, albeit in low numbers and seldom used for CA in most countries. Several CA planters adapted for 2WTs have also been developed recently and are now commercially available. These are both manufactured outside (e.g. China, Brazil) and in the region (e.g. in Kenya and Tanzania).

The first set of the project’s activities will aim at identifying likely farmer demand by defining main sources of unmet power demand and labor drudgery. This will help determine the choice of technologies – from the 2WT-based technologies available for CA (seed drilling, strip tillage, ripping, etc.) and non-CA operations (transport, threshing, shelling) – to evaluate on-station and on farm, with participation of farmers and other stakeholders involved in technology transfer. The second set of activities will aim at identifying and testing site-specific unsubsidized business models – utilizing private sector service providers to support market systems – that will enable efficient and equitable delivery of the most promising 2WT-based technologies to a large number of smallholders; technologies affordable to the resource-poor and women-headed households. The project will also examine the institutional and policy constraints and opportunities that may affect the adoption of 2WT-based technologies in the four countries. Finally, it will create awareness on 2WT-based technologies in the sub-region and share knowledge and information with other regions, thanks to the establishment of a permanent knowledge platform hosted by the African Conservation Tillage network.

Far in the South and seeking food security: East Timor farmers adopt improved maize seed

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CIMMYT photo
Buddhi Kunwar, Informal Seed Production Advisor, Seeds of Life Program, MAF-East Timor (third from right wearing a hat and with sunglasses hanging from shirt) with members of Community Seed Production Group at ‘Sele’ maize harvest ceremony.”

Through five years of on-farm trials supported by the governments of East Timor and Australia using locally-suited crop varieties provided by five centers of the CGIAR-Consortium, small-scale farmers in East Timor learned about and acquired seed of improved varieties of maize and other key food crops, as well as improved cropping practices. The hungry season for the major staple, maize, was significantly reduced among the adopters and, with more recent support from the “Seed of Life” project and East Timor’s Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, farming communities are producing improved maize seed to satisfy local demand.

A mountainous nation at the very end of the 4,200 kilometer-long Indonesian Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, East Timor has poor soils and limited irrigation that barely support farming of its staple crops, maize and rice. It has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, but 80% of East Timor’s working population practices agriculture. The struggles leading up to the country’s independence in 1999 left widespread food insecurity. Rural inhabitants—particularly in the uplands—suffer a several-month-long hungry season, when annual stocks of the staples and of root crops (cassava, sweet potato, taro, arrowroot) run out.

Launched in 2000 with support from the governments of Australia and East Timor, the Seeds of Life initiative organized more than 3,000 on-farm demonstrations in the initial 5 years of the project to raise awareness among farmers about improved varieties and cropping practices for maize, rice, groundnut, sweet potato, and cassava. Through more than 1,000 on-farm trials during 2006-10, East Timor’s Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) found that an improved open-pollinated maize variety “Sele,” derived from CIMMYT breeding programs, yielded nearly 50% more grain on average than traditional varieties. During 2008-11, nearly 28,000 households obtained seed of Sele and by 2010 more than 70% of those families (up from only 58% in 2006-07) were harvesting enough maize grain for their entire year’s food needs. Overall, Seeds of Life’s efforts to identify, multiply, and distribute seed of higher-yielding, more nutritional varieties of the food crops farmers grow have measurably improved the food security and general welfare of participating households.

“A major bottleneck for maize has been the shortage of quality seed of improved varieties,” says Buddhi Kunwar, Informal Seed Production Advisor of MAF who has been working in Seeds of Life. “Despite intensive efforts, the supply of MAF-released Sele seed was only 32 tons in 2011 and 89 tons in 2012, far below the nation’s total maize seed requirement. To address this, we have included community-based seed production as a key part of the Seeds of Life’s most recent phase, which began in 2011 and runs through 2016.”

In community-based seed production, organized groups of farmers operating close to their homes produce, store, and market maize seed, initially with training and other backstopping from MAF or non-government organizations (see the list below). Each group eventually operates on its own, once members gain experience in producing quality seed and marketing or distributing it within the group and their community.

During 2011, more than 700 community-based seed production groups were facilitated by MAF and non-government organizations. Of these, 320 were growing Sele, using 5 kilograms of certified seed they received to sow a 2,000 m2 seed plot. That year 289 groups produced a total of 46 tons of seed, which was stored in airtight steel drums and used to meet the seed requirements of group members and, with the seed left over, for barter or sale.

One problem encountered was grazing animals: these consumed the entire maize seed crops of 31 groups. “During the 2012-13 maize cropping season, MAF and NGO extension officers have selected seed plots that are well protected by fencing in most locations,” says Kunwar, “and a few communities have introduced ‘tara bandu’–a traditional social rule to restrain animals–to protect seed plots.”

In 2012-13 Seeds of Life operates in 11 of East Timor’s 13 districts, including 45 sub-districts and 135 villages. There are 680 community-based seed producer groups supported by MAF extension and another 400 groups supported by non-government organizations. According to Kunwar, Phase 3 of Seeds of Life runs from February 2011 through January 2016 and will support more than 1,000 community seed production groups for subsistence seed production and 50 farmer associations for commercial seed production, covering all 13 districts. The groups produce seed of maize as well as seed of improved varieties of rice and peanuts and cuttings of cassava and sweet potato.

For more information: B.M. Prasanna, Director, Global Maize Program, CIMMYT (b.m.prasanna@cgiar.org), or Buddhi Kunwar, Seeds of Life Program, MAF (buddhi.kunwar@seedsoflifetimor.org)

Australian funding for Seeds of Life comes through the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and ACIAR; it is managed by ACIAR. The Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA) within The University of Western Australia coordinates Australian-funded activities. Adapted lines of food crops for on-farm tests were provided by CIMMYT, IRRI, CIP, ICRISAT, and CIAT. Field work has been led by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF), with facilitation by non-government organizations such as CARE-International, Mercy Corps, Hivos, USC-Canada, World Vision International (WVI), and Catholic Relief Services (CRS).

Jharkhand, India: Social learning on conservation agriculture in smallholder rainfed systems

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Jharkhand-IndiaOn 13 March 2013, a social learning exercise was organized jointly by Birsa Agricultural University (BAU) and CIMMYT under the aegis of an IFAD supported “Sustainable Intensification of Maize-livestock Farming Systems in Hill Areas of South Asia” project. Multi-stakeholders gathered at a conservation agriculture (CA) based platform at a BAU research farm. AK Singh (Government of Jharkhand principal agriculture secretary) graced the event as the chief guest, and MP Pandey (BAU vice-chancellor) chaired the meeting. Other key participants included JS Chaudhary (State Agricultural Management and Extension Training Institute (SAMETI) director), Ranjit Singh (Soil Conservation director, Government of Jharkhand), DK Singh Drone (BAU research director), and other officials, scientists, Jharkhand Government development agents, representatives from BAU, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (district level extension and training centers), NGOs, and private sector, seed-fertilizer dealers, and 62 selected innovative farmers from Ranchi, Gumla, and Khunti districts. All participants joined the event to share their experiences with CA-based crop management technologies in rainfed smallholder systems of Jharkhand.

CIMMYT senior cropping system agronomist ML Jat highlighted the key CA-based crop management technologies currently being developed and adapted under the IFAD project. “These technologies are contributing to sustainable intensification in smallholder rainfed systems of Jharkhand,” explained Jat, as a range of relevant CA machinery was demonstrated to the participants. “CA-based management technologies have shown a tremendous potential for arresting land degradation,” noted Pandey during the field interactions. “Integrating genotypes and management practices is the way towards sustainable intensification of Jharkhand farming, as the cropping intensity in the state is merely 115%,” he added. Watching the demonstrations and hearing about farmers’ experiences, AK Singh was impressed with the CAbased crop management technologies and their relevance to Jharkhand farmers. He appreciated CIMMYT’s efforts in this area and noted that it is necessary to “establish more public-private partnerships to disseminate the technologies for the benefit of their end-users.” He then stated that it would be great to “see the collaborative work between the State Agriculture Department, SAMETI, Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA), and CIMMYT to be replicated in 500 villages of Jharkhand.”

Jharkhand-India2The project aims to conduct farmer participatory trials to eventually achieve mass adoption in the villages of Jharkhand. As the awareness of the project’s successes increases, so does the demand for CA technology. “Local machine manufacturers are encouraged to come forward to assemble and fabricate CA machines adapted to local farmers’ needs,” AK Singh reassured the participants. Further assurance on efficient dissemination of the knowledge and technology among farmers was provided by Chaudhary: “SAMETI utilizes a strong grassroots network of ATMA at district and block levels.” Recognizing the potential of CIMMYT and its dedication to the case, Chaudhary expressed his wish to work more closely with CIMMYT: “With your expertise, we could more efficiently train district and block levels agricultural official s and extension agents, and thus contribute towards state level extension mechanism enrichment.”

The field day, organized and attended by experts on diverse subjects willing to share their expertise, managed to bring about extensive promotion of CA-based methods.

CIMMYT-India interacts with farmers at IARI Agriculture Science Fair

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Science-Fair1Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela, a farmers’ fair organized by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) annually since 1972, was held during 6-8 March 2013 in New Delhi, India. Every year, agriculture institutes and universities gather at the fair to disseminate their upgraded technology through exhibitions. This year, the focus was on “Agricultural technologies for farmers’ prosperity” and for the very first time IARI invited CGIAR centers, including CIMMYT, to display their technological innovation and experience.

CIMMYT took the opportunity to raise awareness on conservation agriculture technologies and receive feedback from farmers and agricultural scientists. The CIMMYT team consisted of B.R. Kamboj, Dalip Kumar, and Er. Kapil Singla who were accompanied by Anil Bana (Haryana) and supported by scientists and colleagues from CIMMYT-Delhi. They demonstrated conservation agriculture technologies and throughout the three days interacted with thousands of people, mainly farmers (both men and women), researcher, and scientists, but also school children who came to learn from the exhibition.

On inauguration day, Sharad Pawar, Union Minister for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries, Government of India, strongly emphasized the importance and need to develop new farm technologies to ensure food and nutritional security in the country and to enhance farm profitability and overall agricultural development. The visiting farmers showed keen interest in conservation agriculture and asked for conservation agriculture literature published in the local language to be distributed among farmers. According to the farmers, more follow-up sessions with the government’s extension workers are needed for better uptake of new technologies.

Science-Fair2The socioeconomics team of CIMMYT India (Mamta Mehar and Subash Ghimire) also joined the fair to interact with farmers and learn about their perspectives on new technologies and farming-related constraints. Although the farmers came from different states, they mentioned having several common problems: the unavailability of quality seeds and other input on time, weather uncertainty, unpredictability of rainfall, and temperature variability. Farmers from Haryana and Rajasthan also talked about increasing pollution, degrading soil quality, and emergence of new type of insects and pests for which they would like to seek solutions. They were concerned about limited access to knowledge and low awareness on new technologies, especially those that help to manage climate change related risks. The socioeconomics team also learned that farmers are aware that using more than the advised amount of fertilizers and pesticides may harm the soil, but they do so anyways because they are afraid of the appearance of insects, pests, etc. as a result of unforeseen weather changes.

The interactions with farmers were particularly useful, as they motivated the socioeconomics team to ensure the CCAFS project researches coping mechanisms that would allow farmers to manage climate variability risks. CIMMYT-India hopes to go back to Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela next year to gain more valuable knowledge directly from Indian farmers.

Discussing future research and development in Afghanistan

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Afghanistan1For over 10 years, CIMMYT has been working assiduously with the national agriculture research system of Afghanistan to contribute to the war-torn country’s sustainable agricultural growth and research and development. So far, the joint efforts have led to the release of 12 wheat, 4 maize, and 2 barley varieties. As wheat and maize together account for about 84% of cereal acreage and production in Afghanistan, the work continues. During 5-7 March 2013, CIMMYT director general Thomas Lumpkin visited Afghanistan to observe CIMMYT activities and initiate a dialogue on further cooperation.

During a tour of the Kabul-based research station of the Agricultural Research Institute of Afghanistan (ARIA) at Darulaman, station manager Gul Zaman informed Lumpkin that 70-80% of the field experiments carried out at the station were ARIA-CIMMYT wheat trials. Lumpkin observed that the station was in dire need of reconstruction, as it lacked proper infrastructure and all farm machinery was kept outside. Lumpkin also met with Qasem Obaidi (ARIA director), Abdullahjan Ahmadzai (Agricultural Extension and Development director general), Nasrullah Bakhtani (Policy and Planning director general), Haqiqatpal Rabani (Statistics and Marketing director), and S.D. Pakbin (ARIA technical advisor) to assess the needs of Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL). Ahmadzai updated Lumpkin on the current involvement of CIMMYT-Afghanistan in drafting a longterm R&D strategy document for the country. “CIMMYT could also bring in the latest technologies, such as conservation agriculture, precision agriculture, and the use of cell phones for extension services,” commented Lumpkin. Other areas requiring assistance, according to Obaidi, include a gene bank, soil and pathological laboratories, technical support in basic research, capacity building, and R&D for agricultural machinery.

Abdul Ghani Ghuriani, deputy minister for technical affairs at MAIL, then hosted a dinner reception for Lumpkin and representatives from ICARDA, FAO, USDA, USAID, JICA, private seed enterprises, MAIL officials, and other partners. During the lively dinner discussion, the deputy minister suggested that CIMMYT submits a proposal to establish a permanent facility to provide long term R&D support to the national agriculture research system and other stakeholders in the country. Mir Dad Panjsheri, MAIL chief advisor, then highlighted the issue of sustainability of any intervention brought by development agencies, acknowledged the continued support from CIMMYT, and suggested new collaboration areas: “It is important to carry out multi-crop, interdisciplinary research. We would appreciate CIMMYT’s assistance with diversification of the cropping sequence in farmers’ fields, genetic resource conservation, and support of home-grown breeding programs.”

Prior to his departure, Lumpkin held a series of discussions with Kabul-based USAID, USDA, AusAID, and ACIAR officials. Both USAID and AusAID welcomed the idea of a BISA-type facility in Afghanistan, as it could act as a platform for other CG centers, in-country partners, and foreign universities to address Afghanistan’s R&D gaps programmatically and sustainably.Afghanistan2