Theme: Nutrition, health and food security

As staple foods, maize and wheat provide vital nutrients and health benefits, making up close to two-thirds of the world’s food energy intake, and contributing 55 to 70 percent of the total calories in the diets of people living in developing countries, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. CIMMYT scientists tackle food insecurity through improved nutrient-rich, high-yielding varieties and sustainable agronomic practices, ensuring that those who most depend on agriculture have enough to make a living and feed their families. The U.N. projects that the global population will increase to more than 9 billion people by 2050, which means that the successes and failures of wheat and maize farmers will continue to have a crucial impact on food security. Findings by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which show heat waves could occur more often and mean global surface temperatures could rise by up to 5 degrees Celsius throughout the century, indicate that increasing yield alone will be insufficient to meet future demand for food.

Achieving widespread food and nutritional security for the world’s poorest people is more complex than simply boosting production. Biofortification of maize and wheat helps increase the vitamins and minerals in these key crops. CIMMYT helps families grow and eat provitamin A enriched maize, zinc-enhanced maize and wheat varieties, and quality protein maize. CIMMYT also works on improving food health and safety, by reducing mycotoxin levels in the global food chain. Mycotoxins are produced by fungi that colonize in food crops, and cause health problems or even death in humans or animals. Worldwide, CIMMYT helps train food processors to reduce fungal contamination in maize, and promotes affordable technologies and training to detect mycotoxins and reduce exposure.

Close up of a quality protein maize cob. (Photo: Alfonso Cortés/CIMMYT)

The missing link between maize seeds and trust

Written by Mary Donovan on August 18, 2020. Posted in Features.

The world population is expected to rise to almost 10 billion by 2050. To feed this number of people, we need to increase food production while using fewer resources. Biofortification, the process of fortifying staple crops with micronutrients, could help to solve this problem.

However, it is not that easy to identify biofortified seeds.

Often, the process of biofortification does not change a seed in a visible way, opening the possibilities for counterfeit products. Farmers cannot verify that the seeds they buy are as advertised. Unsurprisingly, fake seeds are a major obstacle to the adoption of biofortified crops. Similarly, in the process from farm to fork, traceability of biofortified food is equally difficult to achieve.

Picture Aisha, a smallholder farmer in Nigeria. She’s in the market for biofortified maize seeds for her farm. How does she know which seeds to pick, and how can she be sure that they are actually biofortified?

One solution is blockchain technology.

Quality protein maize looks and tastes just like any other maize, but has increased available protein that can stem or reverse protein malnutrition, particularly in children with poor diets. (Photo: Xochiquetzal Fonseca/CIMMYT)

Researchers consult smallholders to test demand for vitamin A-enriched maize in Kenya. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Natalia Palacios, CIMMYT maize nutrition quality specialist, works on breeding maize rich in beta-carotene, a provitamin that is converted to vitamin A within the human body. (Photo: CIMMYT)

What is blockchain?

Blockchain is a shared digital ledger for record keeping, where data is decentralized and allocated to users. Digital information, or blocks, is stored in a public database, or chain.

This technology platform helps in situations of lack of trust. It provides an unhackable, unchangeable and transparent record of events where users place trust in computer code and math, instead of a third party. This code writes the rules of the system and the software is peer-reviewed, so rules and data are resilient against corruption. When new data is added to the database, actors in then network verify and timestamp the data before adding it to the blockchain. After input, no one can change the information. No single entity owns or controls the database, allowing actors to trust in the system without having to trust any other actors.

While often associated with bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology has many other uses in traditional industries, including the potential to transform agri-food systems. The Community of Practice on Socio-economic Data, led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), produced a report detailing the role blockchain can play in agri-food systems and biofortified seeds.

Blockchain for agri-food systems

Agri-food systems consist of complex networks that often mistrust each other. Blockchain technology can enhance transparency, traceability and trust. It could have a significant role to play in closing the yield gap and reducing hunger.

Many transactions done in the agri-food sector have paper records. Even when records are digital, disconnected IT systems create data silos. Blockchain enables stakeholders to control, manage and share their own data, breaking down silos.

For example, blockchain technology can help solve issues of land governance, unclear ownership and tenure by providing an accurate land registration database. It can help with compliance to standards from governments or private organizations. This technology could make financial transactions more efficient, limit corruption, and provide provenance, traceability and recall of products.

Verifying biofortified maize seeds

HarvestPlus conducted a study to understand the barriers to widespread adoption of biofortified seeds. The team interviewed 100 businesses and 250 individuals from farmers to global brands about their experiences with biofortification. Unsurprisingly, they found that a big barrier to adoption is the inability to distinguish biofortified crops from standard ones.

Therefore, it is crucial to have a system to verify biofortified seeds. HarvestPlus collaborated with The Fork to investigate solutions.

One solution is a public blockchain. The result could look like this: Aisha, our smallholder farmer in Nigeria wants to buy biofortified maize seeds for her farm. At the store, she takes a phone out of her pocket and scans a QR code on a bag to see a trustworthy account of the seeds’ journey to that bag. Satisfied with the account, she brings verified biofortified maize seeds home, improving nutrition of her family and community.

Contingent on farmers having access to smartphones, this situation could be possible. However, blockchain technology will not solve everything, and it is important we test and study these solutions while considering other challenges, such as access to technology and human behavior.

The Community of Practice on Socio-economic Data report, Blockchain for Food, gives principles of digital development of blockchain. It is crucial to understand the existing ecosystem, design for scale, build for sustainability and design the technology with the user. These are crucial points to consider when developing blockchain solutions for agri-food systems.

As the global food system is beginning to transition towards more transparency, circularity and customization, blockchain technology could play a major role in how this shift evolves. A new testing and learning platform for digital trust and transparency technologies in agri-food systems, including blockchain technology, was launched in February 2020. The platform will build capacity of the potential of this technology and ensure that it is usable and inclusive.

Read the report:
Blockchain for Food: Making Sense of Technology and the Impact on Biofortified Seeds.

Cover photo: Close up of a quality protein maize cob. (Photo: Alfonso Cortés/CIMMYT)

Agency unveils seed resistant to disease

Written by Mary Donovan on August 16, 2020. Posted in In the media.

For more than a decade, Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease (MLND) has ravaged crops causing farmers to incur huge losses and threatening food security.

Kenya Seed Company (KSC) researchers through partnerships have developed a superior maize variety that can withstand the disease.

Heat and drought watch out. One-of-a-kind network launched in Berlin

Written by Mary Donovan on August 6, 2020. Posted in In the media.

Wheat crop losses due to heat and drought affect food availability and increase the costs for billions of consumers around the world. The Alliance for Wheat Adaptation to Heat and Drought (AHEAD) is an international network that hosts initiatives and projects dedicated to addressing scientific gaps and builds synergies to support the development of new wheat varieties that are resilient to heat and drought.

Plan to improve wheat output under works

Written by Mary Donovan on August 6, 2020. Posted in In the media.

CIMMYT Country Representative in Pakistan Dr Muhammad Imtiaz briefed National Food Security Minister Fakhr Imam on the potential strategy to increase use of high-yielding, climate resilient and rust-resistant seed varieties; closing the yield gap by timely sowing and optimal use thereby formulating and applying the right policy; and ensuring good support price in place.

Read more here: https://www.dawn.com/news/1572865

Cultivation of outdated wheat varieties causing 50pc yield gap, minister told

Written by Mary Donovan on August 5, 2020. Posted in In the media.

CIMMYT country representative Muhammad Imtiaz briefed National Food Security and Research Minister Syed Fakhar Imam on the Wheat Productivity Enhancement Programme (WPEP) and Agricultural Innovation Programme for Pakistan (AIP) and how these interventions had a positive impact on the country’s productivity.

AGG project to ramp up genetic gains in maize for better livelihoods

Written by Mary Donovan on July 31, 2020. Posted in In the media.

A new project, Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat for Improved Livelihoods (AGG), seeks to achieve these results by speeding up genetic gains in maize and wheat breeding to deliver improved, stress resilient, nutritious seed to smallholders in 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and four in South Asia. The 5-year AGG project is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The maize component of the project brings together diverse partners, including the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) as co-implementers; national agricultural research systems (NARS); and small and medium-sized (SME) seed companies.

New project to ramp up genetic gains in maize for better livelihoods

Written by Mary Donovan on July 30, 2020. Posted in In the media.

Norah Kayugi holds a bunch of Striga weeds she has uprooted on a farm she works as a casual laborer in Siaya. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Work to develop high yielding Striga tolerant maize seed is bearing fruit

Written by Alison Doody on July 30, 2020. Posted in Features.

Striga, an invasive parasitic weed with purple-colored flowers, looks striking and harmless. But, beyond that mark of beauty, is a nutrient-sucking monster that stunts crops such as maize and sorghum, leaving affected farmers counting losses.

Witchweed thrives in poor soils with low rainfall conditions. It is prevalent in farming systems with poor crop management practices and in communities where farmers use minimal or no fertilizer. Once maize begins germinating in Striga-prevalent soil, it stimulates Striga seeds to germinate. Striga then attaches to the roots of the host plant, sapping nutrients from the plant, leading to stunting. The potential yield loss can reach up to 100%. Some farmers attempt to uproot it once they notice it germinating alongside their maize plantation, but this is often too late because damage is done as soon as the parasite attaches to the maize roots. When mature, the weed deposits tens of thousands of tiny seeds into the soil. This makes it very difficult for farmers to get rid of it.

To tackle this challenge, farmers need to apply inorganic fertilizer, which is not always affordable, or animal manure to enrich the soil before planting. They are also advised by researchers and extensionists to practice crop rotation or intercropping with legumes such as beans, soybean or groundnuts that restrict Striga’s germination. In the Assessment of Management Options on Striga Infestation and Maize Grain Yield in Kenya, for example, researchers recommend that Striga control measures include a combination of herbicide-resistant or maize varieties with native genetic resistance intercropped with legumes.

Nevertheless, while a few control measures have been moderately successful, the problem still persists, especially in western Kenya, eastern Uganda and lake zone of Tanzania, where farmers have frequently voiced their frustrations at the ubiquity of this invasive weed.

“While crop rotation with crops such as soybean or beans may break the cycle of Striga, its seed can stay in the soil and remain viable for up to 10 years,” says Dan Makumbi, a maize breeder with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), who is leading research efforts against the witchweed.

A sorghum field infested with Striga in Siaya County. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Norah Kayugi on a Striga-infested farm in Siaya County. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Norah Kayugi holds a bunch of Striga weeds she has uprooted on a farm she works as a casual laborer in Siaya. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

A blow to optimal yield potential

Maize is a staple crop that is predominantly cultivated by smallholder farmers in western Kenya and the lake region. It is an important source of food security and livelihoods of millions of people in the region, but constraints such as Striga prevent farmers from obtaining the crop’s ideal potential.

“The yield loss would have been adequate to cover my family’s food requirements for a year,” Naliaka said. “From two farming seasons, I could harvest a sufficient quantity of maize and sell some surplus to pay my children’s school fees. With the Striga menace, all that is but a dream.”

Just like Naliaka, Norah Kayugi, a 40-year-old widowed mother of six children from Siaya County in Kenya, has seen her maize production fall to less than 8 bags of 90kgs per acre. In normal circumstances, they would obtain at least 16 bags of maize per acre. The significant yield loss sets back many affected households in a big way, as they experience food shortage only a few months after harvest. Some divert their reduced incomes for food purchases, possibly leaving other priorities such as health and education of their children unattended.

Kayugi, who has been a farmer since 1997, now takes on casual jobs to supplement her farming in order to support her family, being the sole breadwinner following her husband’s demise years ago. “I plant vegetables, beans and maize to sustain my family. My one-acre farm yields about 10 bags of 90ks each. But I know for sure that were it not for this weed, the yield potential could reach 30 bags of 90kgs each per acre.”

A young, yet-to-flower Striga weed at the CIMMYT-KALRO Kibos Research Station in Kisumu. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Standing up to multiple farming stresses

These smallholders, like their counterparts elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa, already face other farming challenges, including climate change-induced droughts, pests such as the fall armyworm, diseases like maize lethal necrosis (MLN), and declining soil fertility, among others. While CIMMYT has registered breakthroughs in developing maize varieties that tolerate such stresses, on-going efforts against Striga are also taking shape, challenges notwithstanding.

The development and deployment of the imazapyr-resistant (IR) maize has been one such instance of effective Striga control. With this method, herbicide-resistant maize seeds are coated with herbicide. The seed germinates and absorbs some of the herbicide used to coat it. The germinating maize stimulates Striga to germinate and as it attaches to the maize root, it is killed before it can cause any damage. Despite its effectiveness, sustaining this technology presented a major challenge to seed companies.

“It was costly for seed companies, as they needed to establish and sustain the operation of separate seed treatment units dedicated to production of the herbicide-coated maize seed. Once you establish a line to dress the seed with the chemical, you cannot use it to treat any other seeds as the chemical will destroy them,” said Makumbi.

Seed companies — like NASECO in Uganda, Kenya Seed Company in Kenya, Western Seed Company and FreshCo in Kenya, and Meru Agro in Tanzania — obtained financial and technical support from a partnership initiative coordinated by African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) and backed by CIMMYT to scale commercialisation of StrigAway^TM maize in East Africa. The initiative was funded by USAID’s Feed the Future Partnering for Innovation program through Fintrac and it supported the seed companies to establish seed treatment facilities to handle herbicide resistant maize. This allowed each of the companies to have a fully dedicated facility for herbicide resistant maize seed processing. “Right now, herbicide resistant maize hybrid seed is available on the market in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda,” Makumbi said.

CIMMYT field technician Carolyne Adhiambo at a maize field experiment showing promise of Striga tolerance or resistance the Kibos Research station in Kisumu. (Photo: Joshua Masinde/CIMMYT)

Native hope

In the past few years, Makumbi and his team, in collaboration with the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), have redirected their efforts towards breeding for native genetic resistance to Striga. This means developing seeds which are naturally resistant to Striga, reducing the need for herbicides. The early indication is that there are several parental lines showing potential to tolerate or resist Striga, and these are being used to develop hybrids. The hybrids, which offer multiple benefits for farmers, are under wide scale testing in Kenya.

“In our tests, we are not only looking at Striga resistance alone but also other important traits such as good yield under optimal conditions, drought stress and low soil fertility, resistance to major foliar diseases including gray leaf spot, Turcicum leaf blight, maize streak virus and ear rots,” Makumbi noted.

As these breeding efforts continue, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The hope of farmers taking back full control of their maize farms from Striga’s “bewitching ways” in the near future remains alive.

Wheat fields at the Campo Experimental Norman E. Borlaug (CENEB) near Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, Mexico. (Photo: M. Ellis/CIMMYT)

“Better, faster, equitable, sustainable” – wheat research community partners join to kick off new breeding project

Written by Marcia MacNeil on July 29, 2020. Posted in News. 1 Comment on “Better, faster, equitable, sustainable” – wheat research community partners join to kick off new breeding project

More than 100 scientists, crop breeders, researchers, and representatives from funding and national government agencies gathered virtually to initiate the wheat component of a groundbreaking and ambitious collaborative new crop breeding project led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).

The new project, Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat for Improved Livelihoods, or AGG, brings together partners in the global science community and in national agricultural research and extension systems to accelerate the development of higher-yielding varieties of maize and wheat — two of the world’s most important staple crops.

Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), the project specifically focuses on supporting smallholder farmers in low- and middle-income countries. The international team uses innovative methods — such as rapid cycling and molecular breeding approaches — that improve breeding efficiency and precision to produce varieties that are climate-resilient, pest and disease resistant and highly nutritious, targeted to farmers’ specific needs.

The wheat component of AGG builds on breeding and variety adoption work that has its roots with Norman Borlaug’s Nobel Prize winning work developing high yielding and disease resistance dwarf wheat more than 50 years ago. Most recently, AGG builds on Delivering Genetic Gain in Wheat (DGGW), a 4-year project led by Cornell University, which ends this year.

“AGG challenges us to build on this foundation and make it better, faster, equitable and sustainable,” said CIMMYT Interim Deputy Director for Research Kevin Pixley.

At the virtual gathering on July 17, donors and partner representatives from target countries in South Asia joined CIMMYT scientists to describe both the technical objectives of the project and its overall significance.

“This program is probably the world’s single most impactful plant breeding program. Its products are used throughout the world on many millions of hectares,” said Gary Atlin from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “The AGG project moves this work even farther, with an emphasis on constant technological improvement and an explicit focus on improved capacity and poverty alleviation.”

Alan Tollervey from DFID spoke about the significance of the project in demonstrating the relevance and impact of wheat research.

“The AGG project helps build a case for funding wheat research based on wheat’s future,” he said.

Nora Lapitan from the USAID Bureau for Resilience and Food Security listed the high expectations AGG brings: increased genetic gains, variety replacement, optimal breeding approaches, and strong collaboration with national agricultural research systems in partner countries.

India’s farmers feed millions of people. (Photo: Dakshinamurthy Vedachalam)

Reconnecting with trusted partners

The virtual meeting allowed agricultural scientists and wheat breeding experts from AGG target countries in South Asia, many of whom have been working collaboratively with CIMMYT for years, to reconnect and learn how the AGG project both challenges them to a new level of collaboration and supports their national wheat production ambitions.

“With wheat blast and wheat rust problems evolving in Bangladesh, we welcome the partnership with international partners, especially CIMMYT and the funders to help us overcome these challenges,” said Director General of the Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute Md. Israil Hossain.

Director of the Indian Institute for Wheat and Barley Research Gyanendra P. Singh praised CIMMYT’s role in developing better wheat varieties for farmers in India.

“Most of the recent varieties which have been developed and released by India are recommended for cultivation on over 20 million hectares. They are not only stress tolerant and high yielding but also fortified with nutritional qualities. I appreciate CIMMYT’s support on this,” he said.

Executive Director of the National Agricultural Research Council of Nepal Deepak K. Bhandari said he was impressed with the variety of activities of the project, which would be integral to the development of Nepal’s wheat program.

“Nepal envisions increased wheat productivity from 2.84 to 3.5 tons per hectare within five years. I hope this project will help us to achieve this goal. Fast tracking the replacement of seed to more recent varieties will certainly improve productivity and resilience of the wheat sector,” he said.

The National Wheat Coordinator at the National Agricultural Research Center of Pakistan, Atiq Ur-Rehman, told attendees that his government had recently launched a “mega project” to reduce poverty and hunger and to respond to climate change through sustainable intensification. He noted that the support of AGG would help the country increase its capacity in “vertical production” of wheat through speed breeding. “AGG will help us save 3 to 4 years” in breeding time,” he said.

For CIMMYT Global Wheat Program Director Hans Braun, the gathering was personal as well as professional.

“I have met many of you over the last decades,” he told attendees, mentioning his first CIMMYT trip to see wheat programs in India in 1985. “Together we have achieved a lot — wheat self-sufficiency for South Asia has been secured now for 50 years. This would not be possible without your close collaboration, your trust and your willingness to share germplasm and information, and I hope this will stay. “

Braun pointed out that in this project, many national partners will gain the tools and capacity to implement their own state of the art breeding strategies such as genomic selection.

“We are at the beginning of a new era in breeding,” Braun noted. “We are also initiating a new era of collaboration.”

The wheat component of AGG serves more than 30 million wheat farming households in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Nepal and Pakistan. A separate inception meeting for stakeholders in sub-Saharan Africa is planned for next month.

New publications: Rotation, mulch and zero tillage reduce weeds

Written by Emma Orchardson on July 28, 2020. Posted in Publications.

Despite the many benefits of conservation agriculture, uptake by smallholder farmers remains limited. Alongside the struggle to maintain adequate soil cover and limited opportunities for crop diversification, weed management is a major constraint to the widespread adoption of conservation agriculture.

Although all three components of the practice – zero or minimal tillage, permanent soil cover and crop diversification – can reduce weed populations, the effects of these efforts may only become apparent in the medium to long term. As a result, many smallholders are likely to forgo these in favor of hand weeding, cheap herbicides and tillage – which controls weeds in the short term but also brings weed seeds from the seedbank to the soil surface and creates optimum conditions for germination.

In an effort to evaluate the impact of using conservation agriculture practices for weed management, researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) used data from a long-term trial in the Mexican Highlands to evaluate weed biomass, density and diversity with and without herbicide control.

Results of their study – recently published in Agronomy – show that weed density and biomass were generally much lower in areas where conservation agriculture was practiced, compared to conventional tillage. All three components helped to significantly reduce weed biomass, with an even greater reduction when all three practices were applied together. When herbicides were applied, weed biomass in conservation agriculture was 91% lower in maize and 81% lower in wheat than in conventional tillage.

The authors found that different treatments favored different weed species but did not observe any trend toward increased perennial weeds in conservation agriculture. The data from their study supports claims that if adequate weed control is achieved in the initial years, weed populations in conservation agriculture systems are lower than in conventional tillage ones. Given these weed-controlling effects, the authors posit that these practices are likely to lead to lower herbicide use in the long term – which may be welcome news for smallholders who have reported weed management to be particularly problematic in the initial years after adopting conservation agriculture.

Read the full article in Agronomy: Rotation, Mulch and Zero Tillage Reduce Weeds in a Long‐Term Conservation Agriculture Trial

See more recent publications from CIMMYT researchers:

Paddy in saline water: analysing variety-specific effects of saline water intrusion on the technical efficiency of rice production in Vietnam. 2019. Dam, T.H.T., Amjath Babu, T.S., Zander, P., Muller, K. In: Outlook on Agriculture v. 48 no. 3 page 237-245.
Doubled haploid technology for line development in maize: technical advances and prospects. 2019. Chaikam, V., Molenaar, W., Melchinger, A.E., Prasanna, B.M. In: Theoretical and Applied Genetics v. 132 no. 12 pg. 3227-3243.
Smallholder farmers’ willingness to pay for scale-appropriate farm mechanization: Evidence from the mid-hills of Nepal. 2019. Paudel, G.P., KC, D.B., Rahut, D.B., Khanal, N.P., Justice, S.E., McDonald, A.J. In: Technology in Society v. 59, art. 101196.
Variations in straw fodder quality and grain–Straw relationships in a mapping population of 287 diverse spring wheat lines. 2019. Joshi, A.K., Kumar, U., Vinod Kumar Mishra, Chand, R., Chatrath, R., Naik, R., Suma S. Biradar., Singh, R.P., Neeraj Budhlakoti, Devulapalli, R., Blummel, M. In: Field Crops Research v. 243, art. 107627.
Dynamic biochar effects on nitrogen use efficiency, crop yield and soil nitrous oxide emissions during a tropical wheat-growing season. 2019. Abbruzzini, T.F., Davies, C.A., Toledo, F.H., Pellegrino Cerri, C.E. In: Journal of Environmental Management, v. 252, art. 109638.
The impact of agricultural interventions can be doubled by using satellite data. 2019. Meha Jain, Singh, B., Preeti Rao, Srivastava, A., Poonia, S. P., Blesh, J., Azzari, G., McDonald, A., Lobell, D.B. In: Nature Sustainability v. 2, pg. 931-934.
A wheat chromosome 5AL region confers seedling resistance to both tan spot and Septoria nodorum blotch in two mapping populations. 2019. Wenjing Hua, Xinyao He, Dreisigacker, S., Sansaloni, C.P., Juliana, P., Singh, P.K. In: The Crop Journal v. 7, no. 6, pg. 809-818.
Environmental variables contributing to differential performance of tropical maize hybrids across heat stress environments in South Asia. 2019. Vinayan, M.T., Zaidi, P.H., Seetharam, K., Md Ashraful Alam, Ahmed, S., Koirala, K.B., Arshad, Md., Kuchanur, P.H., Patil, A., Mandal, S.S. In: Australian Journal of Crop Science v. 13, no. 6, page 828-836.
The use of pentaploid crosses for the introgression of Amblyopyrum muticum and D-genome chromosome segments into durum wheat. 2019. Othmeni, M., Grewal, S., Hubbart-Edwards, S., Cai-Yun Yang, Scholefield, D., Ashling, S., Yahyaoui, A.H., Gustafson, P., Singh, P.K., King, I.P., King, J. In: Frontiers in Plant Science v. 10, art. 1110.
Alternate energy sources for lighting among rural households in the Himalayan region of Pakistan: access and impact. 2019. Ali, A., Rahut, D.B., Mottaleb, K.A., Aryal, J.P. In: Energy & Environment v. 30, no. 7, 1291-1312.
Assessing climate adaptation options for cereal-based systems in the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains, South Asia. 2019. Fantaye, K. T., Khatri-Chhetri, A., Aggarwal, P.K, Mequanint, F., Shirsath, P.B., Stirling, C., Jat, M.L., Rahut, D.B., Erenstein, O. In: Journal of Agricultural Science v. 157, no. 3, 189-210.
Doing research and ‘doing gender’ in Ethiopia’s agricultural research system. 2019. Drucza, K.L., Tsegaye, M., Abebe, L. In: Gender, Technology and Development v. 23, no. 1, pg. 55-75.
Exploring high temperature responses of photosynthesis and respiration to improve heat tolerance in wheat. 2019. Posch, B.C., Kariyawasam, B.C., Bramley, H., Coast, O., Richards, R.A., Reynolds, M.P., Trethowan, R.M., Atkin, O.K. In: Journal of Experimental Botany v. 70, no. 19, pg. 5051-5069.
Farming on the fringe: shallow groundwater dynamics and irrigation scheduling for maize and wheat in Bangladesh’s coastal delta. 2019. Schulthess, U., Zia Ahmed, Aravindakshan, S., Rokon, G.M., Alanuzzaman Kurishi, A.S.M., Krupnik, T.J. In: Field Crops Research v. 239, pg. 135-148.
A Bayesian genomic multi-output regressor stacking model for predicting multi-trait multi-environment plant breeding data. 2019. Montesinos-Lopez, O.A., Montesinos-Lopez, A., Crossa, J., Cuevas, J., Montesinos-Lopez, J.C., Salas Gutiérrez, Z., Lillemo, M., Juliana, P., Singh, R.P. In: G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics v. 9, No. 10, pg. 3381-3393.
16. Improving grain yield, stress resilience and quality of bread wheat using large-scale genomics. 2019. Juliana, P., Poland, J.A., Huerta-Espino, J., Shrestha, S., Crossa, J., Crespo-Herrera, L.A., Toledo, F.H., Velu, G., Mondal, S., Kumar, U., Bhavani, S., Singh, P.K., Randhawa, M.S., Xinyao He, Guzman, C., Dreisigacker, S., Rouse, M.N., Yue Jin, Perez-Rodriguez, P., Montesinos-Lopez, O.A., Singh, D., Rahman, M.M., Marza, F., Singh, R.P. In: Nature Genetics v. 51, no. 10, pg. 1530-1539.
Malting barley grain quality and yield response to nitrogen fertilization in the Arsi highlands of Ethiopia. 2019. Kassie, M., Fantaye, K. T. In: Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology v. 22, no. 3, pg. 225-234.
18. Synergistic impacts of agricultural credit and extension on adoption of climate-smart agricultural technologies in southern Africa. 2019. Makate, C., Makate, M., Mutenje, M., Mango, N., Siziba, S. In: Environmental Development v. 32, art. 100458.
An early warning system to predict and mitigate wheat rust diseases in Ethiopia. 2019. Allen, C., Thurston, W., Meyer, M., Nure, E., Bacha, N., Alemayehu, Y., Stutt, R., Safka, D., Craig, A.P., Derso, E., Burgin, L., Millington, S., Hort, M.C., Hodson, D.P., Gilligan, C.A. In: Environmental Research Letters v. 14, no. 11, art. 115004.
20. Understanding the relations between farmers’ seed demand and research methods: the challenge to do better. 2019. Almekinders, C., Beumer, K., Hauser, M., Misiko, M.T., Gatto, M., Nkurumwa, A.O., Erenstein, O. In: Outlook on Agriculture v. 48, no. 1, pg. 16-21.
21. Climate action for food security in South Asia? Analyzing the role of agriculture in nationally determined contributions to the Paris agreement. 2019. Amjath Babu, T.S., Aggarwal, P.K., Vermeulen, S. In: Climate Policy v. 19 no. 3, pg. 283-298.
Future changes and uncertainty in decision-relevant measures of East African climate. 2019. Bornemann, F.J., Rowell, D.P., Evans, B., Lapworth, D.J., Lwiza, K., Macdonald, D.M.J., Marsham, J.H., Fantaye, K. T., Ascott, M.J., Way, C. In: Climatic Change v. 156, no. 3, pg. 365-384.
Women’s time use and implications: for participation in cacao value chains: evidence from VRAEM, Peru. 2019. Armbruster, S., Solomon, J., Blare, T., Donovan, J.A. In: Development in Practice v. 29, no. 7, pg. 827-843.
Estimates of the willingness to pay for locally grown tree fruits in Cusco, Peru. 2019. Blare, T., Donovan, J.A, Pozo, C. del. In: Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems v. 34, no. 1, pg. 50-61.
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New project to ramp up genetic gains in maize for better livelihoods

Written by Mary Donovan on July 28, 2020. Posted in In the media.

New project to ramp up genetic gains in maize for better livelihoods

Written by Alison Doody on July 28, 2020. Posted in News.

Drought tolerant maize route out of poverty for community-based seed producer, Kenya. (Photo: Anne Wangalachi/CIMMYT)

As plant pests and diseases continue to evolve, with stresses like drought and heat intensifying, a major priority for breeders and partners is developing better stress tolerant and higher yielding varieties faster and more cost effectively.

A new project, Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat for Improved Livelihoods (AGG), seeks to achieve these results by speeding up genetic gains in maize and wheat breeding to deliver improved, stress resilient, nutritious seed to smallholders in 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and four in South Asia. The 5-year AGG project is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR).

Ambitious targets

At the inception meeting of the maize component of AGG on July 10, 2020, project leaders, partners and funders lauded the ambitious targets that aim to bolster the resilience and better the livelihoods, food and nutritional security of millions of smallholder farmers in SSA. At least 150,000 metric tons of certified seed is expected to be produced, adopted by 10 million households, planted on 6 million hectares by 2024 and benefiting 64 million people.

“We are developing climate resilient, nutritious, efficient, productive maize varieties for the farming community in sub-Saharan Africa. We will continue to work closely with our partners to develop product profiles, which are centered on the varieties that are really needed,” said CIMMYT Interim Deputy Director for Research Kevin Pixley.

AGG draws a solid foundation from previous projects such as Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA), Improved Maize for Africa Soils (IMAS), Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) and Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA). Several high-yielding maize varieties that tolerate and/or resist diseases such as maize lethal necrosis (MLN), gray leaf spot (GLS), northern corn leaf blight, maize streak virus (MSV), turcicum leaf blight (TLB) and are drought-tolerant (DT), were developed and released to farmers across SSA. Varieties with nutritional traits such as nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and quality protein maize (QPM) were also developed in the preceding initiatives.

Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project monitoring and evaluation takes place in Tanzania. (Photo: Florence Sipalla/CIMMYT)

A matter of “life or death”

“When farmers are confronted by aggressive farming challenges, they want products that address those challenges at the earliest opportunity. Waiting for years could mean the difference between life and death,” remarked David Chikoye, the director of Southern Africa Hub at IITA.

A key focus of AGG is to incorporate gender-intentionality – special attention to the needs of women farmers and consumers – from the traits bred into new varieties, through the communication and technology deployment strategies.

“AGG provides an excellent opportunity to reorient our maize breeding, seed scaling and delivery strategies for greater impact on the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, especially women and the disadvantaged communities that are not well reached so far,” said B.M. Prasanna, director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program and the CGIAR Research Program on Maize. “Our vision is to accelerate genetic gains to 1.5-2 percent annually across different breeding pipelines in the 13 participating countries in SSA and to reach over 10 million households with improved varieties.”

AGG will strengthen the capacity of partners to achieve and sustain accelerated variety replacement — or turnover — and increase genetic gains in farmers’ fields.

Old vs new

Many improved varieties have been released in the past decade. However, the turnover of old and obsolete varieties with new and improved ones is not happening as quickly as anticipated.

“We are producing good products and getting them out, but not at the speed that farmers need. How do we make it possible and profitable for seed companies to quickly introduce new hybrids?” posed Gary Atlin, program officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “We need to move towards a breeding and seed system where we know that we can develop a new product in 4 or 5 years and then get it to the farmers much more quickly. This is a complex problem.”

To enhance AGG’s ability to identify new products that perform well for farmers under their challenging circumstances, on-farm testing will be scaled up significantly.

Guest of honor, Ethiopia’s Minister of State for Agriculture Mandefro Nigussie, lauded CIMMYT’s support in improving the resilience and productivity of maize and wheat in the country. He observed that this has helped improve maize productivity in Ethiopia from around 2 tons/ha to about 4 tons/ha over the past two decades.

“We consider such a huge accomplishment as a combination of efforts in germplasm development and breeding efforts of CIMMYT and the Ethiopian national programs. That partnership will flourish further in this new project,” he said.

WhatsApp, the secret of farmers in Coahuila to continue during the pandemic

Written by Mary Donovan on July 25, 2020. Posted in In the media.

Farmers in Coahuila are embracing technology by using WhatsApp to exchange experiences and access technical information, especially on sustainable farming practices such as ecological pest management.

Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat (AGG)

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on July 24, 2020. Posted in Uncategorized.

Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat (AGG), a project led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), brings together partners in the global science community and in national agricultural research and extension systems to accelerate the development of higher-yielding varieties of maize and wheat — two of the world’s most important staple crops.

Specifically focusing on supporting smallholder farmers in low- and middle-income countries, the project uses innovative methods that improve breeding efficiency and precision to produce varieties that are climate-resilient, pest- and disease-resistant, and highly nutritious, targeted to farmers’ specific needs.

The maize component of the project serves 13 target countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe in eastern and southern Africa; and Benin, Ghana, Mali, and Nigeria in West Africa. The wheat component of the project serves six countries: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan in South Asia; and Ethiopia and Kenya in sub-Saharan Africa.

This project builds on the impact of the Delivering Genetic Gain in Wheat (DGGW) and Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) projects.

Objectives

The project aims to accelerate the development and delivery of more productive, climate-resilient, gender-responsive, market-demanded, and nutritious maize and wheat varieties in support of sustainable agricultural transformation in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

To encourage adoption of new varieties, the project works to improve equitable access, especially by women, to seed and information, as well as capacity building in breeding, disease surveillance, and seed marketing.

Funders

Project funding is provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the United States Agency for International Development and the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research (FFAR).

Key partners

The primary partners for this project are the national agricultural research systems in the project target countries and, for the maize component, the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and small and medium enterprise (SME) seed companies.

Scientific and technical steering committees

We are grateful to our excellent maize and wheat scientific and technical steering committees for their suggestions and thoughtful question on key issues for the success of AGG. Read about the recommendations from the maize steering committee here and the wheat steering committee here.

Year 1 Executive Summary

In its first year of operation, AGG has made great strides in collaboration with our national partners towards the project goals –despite the unprecedented challenges of working through a global pandemic. For specific milestones achieved, we invite you to review our AGG Year 1 Executive Summary and Impact Report (PDF).

Year 2 Executive Summary

AGG has made progress towards all outcomes. Our scientists are implementing substantial modifications to breeding targets and schemes. AGG is also in a continuous improvement process for the partnership modalities, pursuing co-ownership and co-implementation that builds the capacities of all involved. For specific milestones achieved, we invite you to review our AGG Year 2 Executive Summary and Impact Report (PDF).

CIMMYT’s adult plant resistance breeding strategy

Download a summary of CIMMYT’s breeding strategy for adult plant resistance (PDF).

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