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.

3rd International Wheat Yield Consortium Workshop: Latest news in wheat research

Written by on March 19, 2013. Posted in News.

DSCN0994 Over 100 stakeholders, scientists, and students from 28 countries were welcomed in Obregon, Mexico, by John Snape, CIMMYT Board of Trustees member, as he opened the 3rd International Workshop of the Wheat Yield Consortium (WYC). The meeting sponsored by SAGARPA (through MasAgro) was held at the Campo Experimental Norman E. Borlaug (CENEB) near Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico, during 5-7 March 2013.

Following the welcoming speech, Vicky Jackson (BBSRC) updated stakeholders on the current status of the new Wheat Yield Network (WYN) that supercedes the WYC with a plan to expand the funding basis and research agenda. CIMMYT wheat physiologist Matthew Reynolds then provided an overview of the current wheat yield situation: “Although production has increased steadily, the price of wheat continues to increase at a considerably faster rate.” WYN is an international network of scientists working together to address these issues. As wheat productivity will be crucial for food security in the future, WYN aims to achieve a 50% increase in genetic yield potential of wheat within 20-25 years through (1) increasing crop biomass by improving photosynthetic capacity, (2) optimizing partitioning to maximize agronomic yield, and (3) incorporating improved yield potential traits into elite breeding lines adapted to wheat agro-ecosystems worldwide. “We are establishing a balanced research portfolio with a strong output oriented agenda to provide solutions for wheat farmers and consumers throughout the developing world,” said Reynolds.

DSCN0370 The first day was dedicated to over 20 presentations covering all three major research areas. Chaired by Bill Davies (Lancaster University), the session on crop biomass improvement covered topics such as optimizing leaf and canopy photosynthesis and photosynthetic potential of spikes. Gemma Molero (CIMMYT) pointed out that while the importance of spike photosynthesis has been recognized for 50 years, no breeding programs has yet tried to systematically improve this trait. This session was followed by presentations on partitioning optimization chaired by Martin Parry (Rothamsted Research), and the day was concluded with updates on breeding for yield potential and research support platforms which was chaired by Bill Daniel Calderini (Universidad Austral de Chile).

The following day participants had the opportunity to visit the Mexican Phenotyping Platform (MEXPLAT) located at CENEB for a field day and presentations on wheat yield potential and wheat yield and stress adaptation. There they had the chance to see CIMMYT’s first blimp, which was launched during last year’s workshop, and observe the new airborne remote sensing platform AscTec Falcon 8 in action, as well as other tools used by CIMMYT PhD students and physiologists in their research. “For me all the presentations were interesting,” said Yosra Ellemsi, agronomist and CIMMYT conservation agriculture program trainee from Tunisia, showing that the workshop did not target only physiologists. “I was particularly interested in the presentation of Sean Thompson who used the ground penetrating radar as a phenotyping tool for roots. This tool is fascinating firstly because it allows for nondestructive ground penetration, and secondly because it could help breeders to phenotype and select optimal root biomass in breeding populations.” At the end of the program, Davies thanked Reynolds and his team for organizing the workshop and for their work to achieve the goals of WYC: “We believed in this when we first started talking about it and you have moved it forward. This workshop is a great opportunity to discuss the latest developments in the field as you always get to talk to very interesting scientists.

Resource-conserving practices for smallholder farmers in Africa

Written by on March 14, 2013. Posted in News.

“Today Embu farmers are reaping benefits associated with conservation agriculture, where SIMLESA started activities in 2010,” said Charles Wanjau, District Agricultural Officer, Embu East. “We hope that through CASFESA, the benefits that accrued from the SIMLESA project will spread to many more farmers in Embu and beyond for improved food security.”

Wanjau was referring to the project “Conservation Agriculture and Smallholder Farmers in Eastern and Southern Africa,” that begun in June 2012 in Ethiopia and January 2013 in Kenya, with EU-IFAD funding for a period of two and half years. The project will leverage institutional innovations and policies for sustainable intensification and food security in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Malawi, and demonstrate conservation agriculture as a sustainable and profitable farming practice in randomly selected villages. The effort is also meant to assess the effects of markets and institutions on adoption and impacts, through baseline and impact studies in both treatment and counterfactual (control) villages. In Kenya, activities are under way in 15 villages mainly in Embu-West and Embu-East Districts to establish researcher/farmer managed demonstration plots on the farms of two volunteer farmers per village. The demo plots are planted with farmer’s preferred maize and bean varieties using locally recommended seed rates and fertility inputs.

The first CASFESA stakeholder workshop in Kenya was held at Embu on 22 February 2013 and attended by 30 farmers hosting demo plots, 16 officers (mostly frontline extension agents) from the Ministry of Agriculture, and scientists from CIMMYT and the Kenyan Agricultural Research Institute (KARI). Other participants included the Kenyan Equity Bank, Kilimo Salama and Organic Africa representatives, providing farming credits insurance and inputs, respectively. The workshop included updates on project objectives and work plans, along with planning for the next year.

CIMMYT agronomist Fred Kanampiu presented on the fine points of conservation agriculture, followed by KARI-Embu agronomist, Alfred Micheni, who shared the KARI-SIMLESA experiences and take-aways for the CASFESA work plan. CIMMYT socioeconomist Moti Jaleta gave an in-depth talk on project objectives, meth odologies, selected sites, and plans for coming months.

Subsequent workshop discussions centered on demonstration planting details: between row and within row seed spacings, crop varieties to be sown, and land preparation. In-depth observations were drawn from farmers and the extension providers’ experiences. Also discussed were the Ministry of Agriculture recommendations, which encourage tillage, and when to inter-crop maize and beans. The varied labor roles of women and men came up in conversations, with the conclusion that women typically do the bulk of planting, weeding, and harvesting. There was an on-station demonstration of conservation agriculture practices— particularly ridge planting for maize—under the supervision of Kanampiu and Micheni. This was important because all (farmers and extension providers) needed to see a successful case before embarking on establishment of proposed demos based on furrows and tillage conservation tillage practice. The workshop ended with some notable positives, such as an agreement among stakeholders regarding planting procedures and periods, as well as great enthusiasm among farmers.

CASFESA-stakeholkders-planning-meeting_Embu_Kenya

‘One cannot eat tobacco!’ SIMLEZA field tour in eastern Zambia

Written by on February 23, 2013. Posted in News.

DSCN0425 In rural areas surrounding Chipata in eastern Zambia, tobacco, cotton, and maize seem to dominate the agricultural landscape. If you look closer, you will also see smaller fields with groundnuts, cowpeas, soybeans, and sunflowers. But there is yet another dimension of diversity: the different growth stages and (inadequate) fertilization levels of the crops have resulted in a patchwork of yellow to deep green fields of many sizes and shapes, with various degrees of weed infestation. In this smallholder farming area with an average annual rainfall of more than 1,000 mm, it is neither easy to stay ahead of the weeds on all fields, nor to buy enough fertilizer for a healthy crop.

The SIMLEZA (Sustainable Intensification of Maize- Legume Systems Eastern Province of Zambia) project implemented by CIMMYT and partners seeks to address production and sustainability constraints through on-farm testing and demonstration of improved maize and legume varieties (soybeans and cowpeas) and agronomic practices that build on conservation agriculture (CA) principles. CA addresses the high labor demand of local agriculture. It can drastically reduce smallholder farmers’ workload at the beginning of the season, replacing hand-made ridge-and-furrows with direct seeding on the flat with a pointed stick (dibble-stick) and herbicide use for weed control. As a SIMLEZA demonstration farmer, who had been given the tool and herbicides for testing, exclaimed: “[up until now] I have been punishing myself!”

The second major issue – the need for higher fertilizer inputs – is more difficult to resolve. Zambia’s fertilizer subsidy program has increased fertilizer access for poor rural households, but the scheme provides only two bags at reduced prices and is thus insufficient to cover farmers’ total land area. SIMLEZA’s focus on improving intercropping and crop rotation with legumes seeks to decrease farmers’ reliance on cash-demanding fertilizers. Nitrogen fixed by legumes benefits the following year’s crop on that plot and reduces the need for expensive mineral fertilizers. But farmers will have to increase their land areas dedicated to legumes, if this is to really work at farm scale. The good news is that a short group discussion in the Khokwe community revealed farmers’ interest in doing just that.

When asked what the best crops for making money are, cotton and tobacco appeared to be the least popular. The simple explanation for the apparent contradiction between the large area dedicated to tobacco and farmers’ dislike of it was: “One cannot eat tobacco!” While legumes such as groundnuts, common beans, and soya topped the list of favorite cash crops, the volumes traded are small and do not reach the urban market of Chipata. In Chipata, farmers complain, buyers are few and prices low, despite the export demand for legumes. Thus, dedicating land to tobacco is the result of late payments to farmers and decreasing prices of legumes in the past years. Increasing smallholder farmers’ legume production and simultaneously linking them to more distant and profitable markets is one of the major challenges in the years to come.

In Malawi, a stone’s throw away, this shift towards increased legume production is already happening. The agricultural landscape has far less tobacco than before, as legumes such as soybeans and groundnuts are increasingly replacing it. Dwindling prices for tobacco and free provision of seeds by government have undoubtedly stimulated poor farmers’ uptake of these legumes and boosted volumes traded. Together with its partners, Total LandCare, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, and the Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI), SIMLEZA aims to contribute to a similar productivity-enhancing change in the agricultural landscape of Zambia.

Carlos Slim, Bill Gates and Mexican dignitaries visit CIMMYT to inaugurate Biosciences Complex

Written by on February 19, 2013. Posted in Features.

On 13 February 2013, CIMMYT inaugurated a new US$ 25 million research complex at its headquarters in El Batán. The new advanced bioscience research facilities, 45 kilometers (20 miles) from Mexico City, marked its grand opening to a crowd of more than 100 invited guests.

The event was attended by Bill Gates, Carlos Slim, Lic. Enrique Martínez y Martínez, Mexican Secretary of Agriculture and leader of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA), and Dr. Eruviel Ávila Villegas, Governor of the State of Mexico.

The new bioscience complex will allow researchers to speed the development of valuable seed, by way of more precise characterization of its genetic traits, such as heat and drought tolerance, disease and pest resistance, and seed health, as well as the nutritional and industrial quality of the grain. CIMMYT was the cradle of the Green Revolution 60 years ago. By providing cutting-edge facilities and an enhanced research capacity, this alliance will significantly improve farm productivity.

“We are enthusiastic about this alliance,” said Bill Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Bringing together the collective experience of our respective organizations, we can promote innovation to transform the lives of farmers in Mexico and around the world. Investing in agricultural development is one of the most effective investments we can make. It allows farming communities to become self-sufficient and prosperous by growing and selling more of what they produce.”

Carlos Slim added: “This alliance to promote research and development by CIMMYT, with the collaboration of national and international scientists dedicated to improved seed and generating more efficient techniques, is a step toward making this knowledge available to farmers everywhere, particularly small- and intermediate-scale farmers, as well as promoting economic growth, employment, and food self-sufficiency and exports from this sector.”

Both the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Carlos Slim Foundation have been generous supporters of CIMMYT’s mission. The buildings inaugurated today are the result of the Carlos Slim Foundation’s investment in CIMMYT. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation partners with CIMMYT in projects to fight hunger around the world. The impact of the commitment made today by both foundations will be felt beyond Mexico’s borders.

“We will see the introduction of modern and more sustainable farming practices,” said CIMMYT Director General Thomas A. Lumpkin. “These include precision and conservation agriculture, backed by intelligent mobile phone services in farmers’ fields and digital tools in labs that will open our access to the full genetic diversity of maize and wheat to benefit the world’s poorest farming communities.”

Speaking at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Mr. Gates spoke of the importance of CIMMYT’s role in agricultural research and development: “When you ask where the best work is done for poor farmers, the answer is here, at CIMMYT.”

Ribbon-cutting ceremony: Sara Boettiger, Chair, CIMMYT Board of Trustees; Eruviel Ávila, Governor of the State of Mexico; Bill Gates, President of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Lic. Enrique Martínez, Secretary of SAGARPA; Carlos Slim, President of the Carlos Slim Foundation; and Thomas Lumpkin, CIMMYT Director General.

Carlos Slim, Bill Gates and Mexican dignitaries visit CIMMYT to inaugurate Bioscience facilities

Written by on February 15, 2013. Posted in News.

Today, CIMMYT inaugurated a new US$ 25 million research complex at its headquarters in El Batan. The new advanced bioscience research facilities, 45 kilometers (20 miles) from Mexico City, marked its grand opening to a crowd of more than 100 invited guests.

February 13, 2013

CNN video (Spanish)

One size doesn’t fit all: training on farm household typology

Written by on February 1, 2013. Posted in News.

Since adopting a one-size-fits-all approach in technology generation and dissemination is unlikely to bring positive results, it is necessary to understand what intervention works for whom, where, and how in order for a program to be successful. Developing farm household typologies to target technology with respect to farmers’ endowments and environmental setting is one of the key components of the SIMLESA (Sustainable Intensification of Maize and Legume Cropping Systems in Southern and Eastern Africa) initiative. To identify farm household typologies from baseline surveys carried out in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique, the initiative organized a two-week workshop between November and December 2012 at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. The event was attended by economists from the five SIMLESA countries and organized by Daniel Rodriguez, leader of Queensland Australia component of the SIMLESA project.

The first week consisted of lectures by experts in household typologies and household modeling in developing countries, econometric modeling of adoption and impact (facilitated by Menale Kassie of CIMMYT and John Asfau of the University of Queensland), household survey data mining, and the use of survey data to parameterize household models. The participants then prepared and delivered brief presentations covering the objectives, research questions, and hypotheses of the key publications distributed among them; methods and main results; and implications of the publications to their own work.

Reflecting their respective survey datasets, the workshop participants then developed a methodology to identify farm household typologies and, subsequently, a new tool using the free R statistical software. The tool was distributed to each of the participants. The utilized approach not only automates the process, but also ensures that the same methodology is applied to each country’s survey dataset, thereby enabling an easier comparison of the results. The workshop was concluded by a short presentation from each participant outlining their findings.
The feedback on the workshop was very positive: many participants intend to instruct their colleagues in their home countries on the techniques they learned to use during the workshop. The Australian SIMLESA team will continue to provide support on the use of R, as well as access to the script to identify household typologies.
typology

Secretary of Agriculture backs CIMMYT’s initiative for sustainable crop intensification in Bangladesh

Written by on January 29, 2013. Posted in News.

bangladesh15 Bangladesh has a mosaic of distinct agricultural seasons, potentially allowing farmers to cultivate two and sometimes three crops on the same field. However, in the impoverished region of Southern Bangladesh, only 50% of farmers currently grow more than one rainy season rice crop per year, a situation highly problematic for the world’s most densely populated country, where agricultural land is shrinking by 1% per year as urbanization accelerates.

The main limitations to increased cropping intensity are the procurement of irrigation during the dry season, the high cost of agricultural labor, and delays in rice harvesting that set back timely planting of the subsequent dry season wheat, maize, or legume crop. As population, and thus future cereals demand, grows, overcoming these constraints is becoming an increasingly pressing issue. For these reasons, CIMMYT works closely with public and private sector partners, local agricultural service providers, and farmers to encourage efficient agricultural mechanization, irrigation, and conservation agriculture (CA).

To raise awareness of CIMMYT’s work on sustainable crop intensification in Southern Bangladesh, CIMMYT-Bangladesh, in association with International Development Enterprises (iDE), hosted a field day in Kramji Char, Barisal, on 17 January 2013. The visit showcased activities of the EU-funded Agriculture, Nutrition and Extension Project (ANEP), as well as the USAID-funded Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia in Bangladesh (CSISA). CIMMYT was honored by the presence of a number of high-level public and private sector dignitaries, including Monzur Hossain (Ministry of Agriculture Secretary), Paul Sabatine (USAID-Bangladesh deputy mission director), Nazmul Islam (Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation chairman), Wais Kabir (Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council executive chairman), Krishibid Mukul Chandra Roy (Department of Agricultural Extension director general), Ahsan Khan Chowdhury (PRAN-RFL Group deputy managing director), and Anar Khalilov (USAID-Bangladesh senior food security advisor).

CIMMYT’s work in Kramji Char and much of Southern Bangladesh focuses on the sustainable provision of low-cost, fuel-efficient surface water irrigation using Axial Flow Pump (AFP) technologies, which can provide up to 46% more water per drop of diesel fuel consumed by diesel pumping. CIMMYT also popularizes the use of agricultural machineries with CA such as seeder-fertilizer drills, bed planters, and reapers that can be attached to two-wheel hand tractors. These implements enable more efficient planting and irrigation water use, while reducing labor requirements and saving farmers costs. Working with iDE, CIMMYT is developing business models for private sector and local machinery service provider partners to ensure farmers’ access to CA services at low-cost. At the completion of the field day, the Secretary of Agriculture concluded that “the demonstration of these machineries opens the door to increased crop productivity and farmers’ income.”

The field day was jointly organized by CIMMYT’s Timothy J. Krupnik, Yusuf Ali, Samina Yasmin, TP Tiwari, and Andrew McDonald. The event’s success would not have been possible without the valuable coordination and contribution of CIMMYT’s iDE partners, notably Rajiv Pardhan (Bangladesh country director), Nurul Amin (operations manager), Afzal Hossain Bhuiyan (business development specialist), and Richard Rose (ANEP Project Manager).

Haryana Chief Minister: conservation agriculture is the way of future farming

Written by on January 22, 2013. Posted in News.

Chief-Minister-discussing-CA-in-field Thanks to high-yielding cultivars of wheat and rice, development of irrigation infrastructure, the work of innovative farmers, and the state’s support for improved technologies, the Indian state of Haryana has been a major contributor to the national food basket. However, the unsustainable monotonous rice-wheat cropping system increasingly threatens food security in the country. On 22 December 2012, a seminar on “Prosperity through diversification in agriculture” was jointly organized by the Haryana Farmers Commission, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Government of Haryana’s (GoH) Department of Agriculture, CIMMYT, Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Right Authority (PPV&FRA), and Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (LLRUVAS) in Karnal, India, to discuss the challenges presented by ground water resources depletion, soil health deterioration, energy and labor cost volatility, and climate change, as well as options for sustainable farming.

The seminar was inaugurated by Haryana Farmers Commission chairman RS Paroda, and the inaugural function was attended by Roshan Lal (GoH Secretary of Agriculture), AK Singh (GoH director general for agriculture), KD Kokate (ICAR Agricultural Extension deputy director general), AK Srivastava (NDRI director), Indu Sharma (Directorate of Wheat Research director), and DK Sharma (Central Soil Salinity Research Institute director, Karnal). The seminar was chaired by ICAR Agricultural Extension deputy director general KML Pathak.

ML Jat, CIMMYT’s senior cropping systems agronomist, presented on the current farming issues of Haryana and potential solutions with special emphasis on crop diversification through crop systems management practices based on conservation agriculture (CA) principles. “The results of a large number of participatory field experimentations across the state suggest that CA-based cropping system management practices do not only help to produce more with less water, energy, labor, and cost,” highlighted Jat, “but also restore natural resources and adapt and mitigate climate change effects.” He added that in many rice-wheat areas of Haryana, where water table depletion is a serious concern, maize-wheat-mungbean rotation with CA-based management saves 75-80% of irrigation water. AK Srivastava (NDRI) and AK Saini (horticulture additional director), respectively, discussed potential livestock and horticultural diversification options. After the presentations, nearly 20 farmers shared their experiences on crop, livestock, and horticultural diversification using new technologies and approaches. RS Paroda summarized the deliberations made during the seminar and highlighted the need for diversification in crops and cropping systems, as well as production and management technologies, horticultural crops, and livestock. While reiterating the issues of water, labor, and energy shortages, and emerging climate change challenges, he outlined the possible technological options and necessary policy support for scaling up and scaling out these technologies. Real time access to information at farmers’ doorsteps and connecting farmers to markets is a key to success, Paroda added. He also mentioned that Haryana is the only state in the country with its own agricultural policy for convergence and synergy of programs, schemes, and investments aiming to achieve farmers’ prosperity while conserving the natural resources and rich biodiversity through complementarity and value added services.

On 23 December 2012, the seminar participants joined over 7,000 farmers, extension agents, and government and ICAR officials to celebrate the National Farmers Day. The attendees were addressed by Bhoopendra Singh Hooda, Chief Minister of Haryana. Prior to the event, Hooda, S Ayyappan (ICAR director general), and RS Paroda visited a CA field trial managed by NDRI and CIMMYT, where Jat explained the benefits of CA-based management practices and CA machinery. S Ayyappan emphasized the need for location specific diversification options including all components of farming, such as field crops, horticultural crops, livestock, and fisheries, in a holistic manner. He also stressed shrinking farm profitability as an issue of concern which should be addressed by developing technologies and strategies to increase productivity and reduce cost of production. To adopt modern farm technologies, Ayyappan concluded, it is necessary to bring youth to agriculture.

In his address, the Chief Minister emphasized replacement of rice with maize and soybean in some areas, direct seeding of rice, zero tillage, ending residue burning, usage of Happy Seeder, introduction of short-duration legumes like mungbean, bed planting and intercropping in sugarcane system, laser leveling, micro-irrigation, balanced plant-nutrient management, adoption of high value crops, and protected cultivation in the peri-urban interface. To promote these technologies, he announced doubling of subsidies on laser leveler, zero till planter, happy seeder, multi-crop planter, raised bed planter, and reaper. Hooda appreciated the progress of the CA action plan in the state and awarded 19 Haryana farmers, including 5 CA and climate smart farmers in Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) villages, for their innovative efforts in technology adaptation and scaling-out.

Climate Change and Agriculture: Building Resilience

Written by on January 7, 2013. Posted in Features.

This article is cross-posted from the Feed the Future blog. Feed the Future is the United States Government’s global hunger and food security initiative. It supports country-driven approaches to address the root causes of hunger and poverty and forge long-term solutions to chronic food insecurity and undernutrition. Drawing upon resources and expertise of agencies across the U.S. Government, this Presidential Initiative is helping countries transform their own agriculture sectors to sustainably grow enough food to feed their people.

Feed the Future strategies for food security are designed not only to accelerate agriculture-led growth and reduce undernutrition, but also to encourage sustainable and equitable management of land, water, fisheries, and other resources. Feed the Future Intern Christopher Chapman asked CIMMYT’s conservation agriculture expert Bruno Gerard (pictured left) how climate change relates to agricultural development.

Calls to adopt SIMLESA approach in project implementation across Tanzania

Written by on December 18, 2012. Posted in News.

“The Ministry, and specifically the Directorate of Research and Development, immensely commends SIMLESA’s participatory approach and would like to recommend it to other research and development partners both at national and international levels. By any means, this approach won’t ignore or omit farmer participation in variety dissemination, as was the case in the past. This participation exactly addresses the value chain approach that has been over emphasized by the Agricultural Sector Development Program that we are implementing in our country,” stated Fidelis Myaka (director of Research and Development, Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives, Tanzania) in a speech read on his behalf by Ruth B. Madulu, Agricultural Research Institute (ARI)-Mikocheni at the recently concluded Tanzania SIMLESA 2012 Progress Review and 2013 Planning Meeting in Arusha.

Connecting people for sustainable agriculture

Written by on December 13, 2012. Posted in Features.

In Central Mexico, Conservation Agriculture, a more sustainable way of farming, has evolved from being a handful of researchers and a few innovative farmers working off of an idea to a full-fledged network, a system of support and dissemination since its beginnings in 2010. But there are no roots in the historically poor and, at times, politically volatile, Southern States; states that could greatly benefit from a farming system saving labor while ensuring higher productivity. To change this, CIMMYT decided to implement the Conservation Agriculture system in the state of Chiapas with hopes that if things go well, it can act as a gateway to the region.

My first experience with the technology dates back to June 2010, when Bram Govaerts, the head of CIMMYT’s Conservation Agriculture program in Mexico, picked me up outside of a bakery in Mexico City at five in the morning, so we could leave before traffic, some of the worst in the world, became too unruly. We arrived to the first field around seven and were met by a farmer’s eyes underneath a straw hat. At his side was a dog, which did not stray more than a few feet from the farmer, as he explained how rotating his crops had helped cut back on fertilizer use. Thoughtful crop rotation, an important part of Conservation Agriculture, can restore what the previous plant depletes, and thus helps cut down not only on fertilizer use, but also other chemicals, like herbicides, because weeds have more trouble surviving across the change from one crop to another.

Our next visit was to an idyllic field that seemed as if it had been untouched in the last 100 years, except for what looked like raised rows, known in Conservation Agriculture as “beds.” When you till too much, a lot of important nutrients are left loose and exposed to be washed away by rain or picked up by wind. Using special machinery to move the soil less and create these beds helps hold onto what makes soil, well, soil.

Fifty minutes later, we parked next to a crosshatch fence where a farmer waited with his family. A granddaughter held a rabbit that upon introduction hopped out of her hands and onto dried maize stalks, known as residues in Conservation Agriculture, covering the field. Leaving behind residues, which are really just part of what is grown, like stalks and stems, helps hold in moisture and protect old soil before decomposing into new soil. We traveled for thirty minutes more and met another farmer. One more hour and the next. And so on until we, dirt under our fingernails, arrived back in Mexico City just after midnight.

Two years later, what continues to resonate are the conversations with Bram. I see now that as we drove from unpaved road to stretched highway I heard his vision for what the young program would become in Mexico. A vision that today is a reality, spreading from Central Mexico to other Mexican states.

In August, I went to Chiapas to see these efforts. Late Friday night I arrived at the new office, where a storm had knocked out the power. The team and I made plans in the dark as we ate leftover sandwiches from a Conservation Agriculture training course earlier that day. The next morning we spoke with a farmer who adopted the technology after farming traditionally for over three decades, a result of having been inspired by the success of his son. We gave a silo to a farmer interested in a different storage option, and he told us how he had been waiting, how he had always believed in people like us as we explained Conservation Agriculture and MasAgro’s work over a cup of pozol made from maize he had sown.

Talking to the farmers taught me a lot about the importance of continuing to learn when faced with new practices. But what lingers more than the farmers are the people spreading this technology. The methods and benefits of Conservation Agriculture can make no difference without the people connecting to one another to explain them. To convince a farmer to go against tradition, against what most of his neighbors perceive as the right way to farm, and against how his parents grew the same crop. That is the real issue. And the team in Chiapas works to address this issue with a combination of skill and heart that is infectious.

Innovative public-private partnership to scale up conservation agriculture in Bangladesh

Written by on December 13, 2012. Posted in News.

Infroma-photo-BD Developing public-private partnerships (PPPs) to expand conservation agriculture (CA) is one of the main goals of the USAID-funded Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia in Bangladesh (CSISA-BD). A key stakeholder in CSISA-BD, CIMMYT has partnered with International Development Enterprises (iDE) to develop business models to support Solar International, a leader in the agricultural machinery sector in Bangladesh. To kick-start the PPP, Solar International recently imported 54 seeder-fertilizer drills that can be attached to the ubiquitous two-wheel hand tractors found in Bangladesh, and used for the CA strip tillage technique. Using such machinery allows for rapid precision planting of wheat, reduces the turn-around time before the rice harvest, and responds to the problem of growing labor scarcity for planting in Bangladesh. The PPP prioritizes farmer and service provider training in better-bet agronomic practices, optimum use of the seeder-fertilizer drills, and the marketing of agricultural services to small and marginal farmers at reasonable prices.

In November 2012, supported by CIMMYT, Solar International and iDE completed in-depth training and certification of 108 leading agricultural service providers and their machine operators, who had purchased the seeder-fertilizer drill. To make this approach scalable and sustainable, Solar International embedded the cost of training in the market price of the equipment; emphasizing program sustainability by securing a training and funding source after CSISA-BD withdraws. In turn, CSISA-BD supplied a 50% cost-rebate to purchasing service providers upon successful completion of the training course. This PPP was brokered by CIMMYT’s Timothy J. Krupnik, Cropping Systems Agronomist in Bangladesh, Rajiv Pradhan (iDE), and Sohel Khan (Solar International). Trainings were facilitated by representatives of Solar International, Farhad Hossain (CIMMYT Agricultural Development Officer), Scott Justice (CIMMYT Machinery Consultant), and Shafiq Islam (CIMMYT-CSISA Training and Outreach Officer).

Delegation from Bangladesh visits CIMMYT’s conservation agriculture program in India

Written by on November 25, 2012. Posted in News.

141_6903 A delegation from the Government of Bangladesh led by Begum Matia Chowdhury, Minister of Agriculture, and accompanied by Tariq A Karim, High Commissioner of Bangladesh in India, Md Abdul Hamid, Additional Secretary of Agriculture, and Wais Kabir, Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC), visited the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI) in Karnal, India, and CIMMYT’s projects on conservation agriculture (CA) and mechanization in Karnal on 8 November 2012.

ML Jat, CIMMYT’s senior cropping systems agronomist, introduced key activities of projects and CRPs within which CIMMYT cooperates with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), state agricultural universities, the State Department of Agriculture, private sector, and farmers cooperatives in Haryana. These include WHEAT, MAIZE, Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), and Cereal System Initiative South Asia (CSISA). Since the delegation was particularly interested in CA and small-farm mechanization, the visit included field demonstrations of zero tillage wheat, residue management, and recently developed power tiller (2WT) operated laser land leveler for the small holder farmers. According to Kabir, BARC, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), and other institutes in Bangladesh are working closely with CIMMYT to introduce such machinery. Karim and Hamid emphasized the collaboration between national agricultural research institutes in India and Bangladesh, and international institutes such as CIMMYT, benefiting farmers in both countries.

During the visit, BR Kamboj, CSISA hub manager, demonstrated and explained operation and importance of the new generation of CA planters currently being used in Haryana. At the end of the visit, DK Sharma, director of CSSRI in Karnal, one of the key collaborating institutes on CA, explained the key benefits of CA-based crop management technologies, emphasizing that they not only conserve natural resources and save inputs, but also help in adaptation to and mitigation of climate change effects.

Why invest in wheat research?

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on November 14, 2012. Posted in Videos.

Wheat is the most important food crop worldwide and a principal source of nutrients in some of the poorest countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. But wheat, like all living organisms, is unimaginably complex.

CIMMYT scientist Matthew Reynolds believes that for this reason we need a whole consortium of scientists to improve its yield. This video highlights work that has already been done to increase the productivity of wheat through research in spike photosynthesis, roots and breeding. Because when it comes down to it, crop yields cannot be improved overnight, certainly not sustainably. It takes time and investment, and by planning ahead we are actually trying to preempt a disaster, with research and with partnership.

Climate smart practices and conservation agriculture in India

Written by on November 8, 2012. Posted in News.

Under the aegis of Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), CIMMYT, Rajendra Agricultural University (RAU), and Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) organized a travelling seminar on Climate Smart Practices. The seminar was attended by nearly 100 participants, including 60 farmers from village clusters in the CCAFS grid in Vaishali district of Bihar, scientists and officers from RAU, IARI, IFFCO Foundation, CIMMYT, Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA), Cereal System Initiative South Asia (CSISA), and several private organizations. The aim was to discuss opportunities for climate-smart practices.

ML Jat (CIMMYT senior cropping systems agronomist) started the seminar with a summary of CCAFS activities, target regions, and priorities for Bihar. He stressed the importance of conservation agriculture (CA) for adaptation, mitigation, and risk management in farming practices in the context of emerging climatic extremes and projected effects of global climate change. In locations like Bihar, with typically uncertain weather, cropping system optimization is crucial for climate change adaptation; this optimization can be facilitated through CA-based management practices.

Jat also discussed the involvement of women farmers in decision making, which is critical not only for risk management but also for women’s empowerment, as it allows them to harness their full potential. Women are generally not involved in the decision making process and they often lack access to information, which prevents them from efficient decision making and full involvement in the farm system. Jat then explained some new nutrient management tools and techniques, such as the Nutrient Expert decision support systems for maize and wheat and the hand-held GreenSeeker sensors. Following the presentation, some farmers expressed their interest to learn about the Nutrient Expert tool in order to provide services to other farmers in their villages.

Raj Kumar Jat (CIMMYT cropping system agronomist) and Mukesh Kumar (RAU professor) discussed the key benefits of CA in terms of productivity enhancement, soil health improvement, water efficiency, production cost, and mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. IS Solanki (head of IARI-Pusa) and S Chowdhury (BISA seed specialist) then demonstrated seed production of single-cross maize hybrids with CA-based management practices (permanent beds). Solanki and his team also showed hybrid seed production of rice with complete seed chain (production to processing) and discussed opportunities for horticultural diversification. Solanki emphasized the importance of hybrid seed production directly by farmers to ensure timely availability of quality seed and to generate employment opportunities for farmers. RK Malik (CSISA coordinator for eastern India) shared CSISA experiences on alternate tillage, including direct dry seeded rice, mechanical transplanted rice, zero tillage, and raised bed planting. The farmers then visited a seed processing plant at an IARI station and observed the long-term CA experiment on rice-wheat and rice-maize systems established jointly by CIMMYT and RAU in 2006.

VP Singh (RAU director of research) highlighted the importance of this experiment: “CA-based crop management technologies are the way forward not only for reducing production cost and improving income but also for enhancing climate resilience and long-term sustainability of farming in Bihar.”

The Government of Bihar reflects Singh’s sentiment, as it has given high priority to CA and promised to provide over 5,000 zero-till planters to the farmers in 2012. Singh urged the farmers to adopt other best management practices as well, including timely planting, improved varieties, nutrient, water, and weed management practices for higher productivity and profitability, and efficient use of input to help mitigate GHG emissions.

In the end of the seminar, an interaction session was organized at a BISA farm where participants discussed key lessons and critical issues. The session included a demonstration of mechanized harvesting of maize using small multi-crop combine harvester.