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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.

Secretary Villalobos (right) and Hans Braun, Program Director for CIMMYT's Global Wheat Program, stand for a photograph in a wheat field at the experimental station in Obregón. (Photo: Ernesto Blancarte)

Mexican Secretary of Agriculture joins new partners and longtime collaborators in Obregon

Written by Courtney Brantley on . Posted in News.

Secretary Villalobos (center) tours the wheat fields at the experimental station in Obregón with CIMMYT scientists. (Photo: Ernesto Blancarte)
Secretary Villalobos (center) tours the wheat fields at the experimental station in Obregón with CIMMYT scientists. (Photo: Ernesto Blancarte)

“The dream has become a reality.” These words by Victor Manuel Villalobos Arambula, Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development of Mexico, summed up the sentiment felt among the attendees at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) Global Wheat Program Visitors’ Week in Ciudad Obregon, Sonora.

In support of the contributions to global and local agricultural programs, Villalobos spoke at the week’s field day, or “Dia de Campo,” in front of more than 200 CIMMYT staff and visitors hailing from more than 40 countries on March 20, 2019.

Villalobos recognized the immense work ahead in the realm of food security, but was optimistic that young scientists could carry on the legacy of Norman Borlaug by using the tools and lessons that he left behind. “It is important to multiply our efforts to be able to address and fulfill this tremendous demand on agriculture that we will face in the near future,” he stated.

The annual tour at the Campo Experimental Norman E. Borlaug allows the global wheat community to see new wheat varieties, learn about latest research findings, and hold meetings and discussions to collaborate on future research priorities.

Given the diversity of attendees and CIMMYT’s partnerships, it is no surprise that there were several high-level visits to the field day.

A high-level delegation from India, including Balwinder Singh Sidhu, commissioner of agriculture for the state of Punjab, AK Singh, deputy director general for agricultural extension at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and AS Panwar, director of ICAR’s Indian Institute of Farming Systems Research, joined the tour and presentations. All are longtime CIMMYT collaborators on efforts to scale up and disseminate sustainable intensification and climate smart farming practices.

Panwar, who is working with CIMMYT and partners to develop typologies of Indian farming systems to more effectively promote climate smart practices, was particularly interested in the latest progress in biofortification.

“One of the main objectives of farming systems is to meet nutrition of the farming family. And these biofortified varieties can be integrated into farming systems,” he said.

Secretary Villalobos (right) and Hans Braun, Program Director for CIMMYT's Global Wheat Program, stand for a photograph in a wheat field at the experimental station in Obregón. (Photo: Ernesto Blancarte)
Secretary Villalobos (right) and Hans Braun, Program Director for CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program, stand for a photograph in a wheat field at the experimental station in Obregón. (Photo: Ernesto Blancarte)

In addition, a delegation from Tunisia, including dignitaries from Tunisia’s National Institute of Field Crops (INGC), signed a memorandum of understanding with CIMMYT officials to promote cooperation in research and development through exchange visits, consultations and joint studies in areas of mutual interest such as the diversification of production systems. INGC, which conducts research and development, training and dissemination of innovation in field crops, is already a strong partner in the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat’s Precision Phenotyping Platform for Wheat Septoria leaf blight.

At the close of the field day, CIMMYT wheat scientist Carolina Rivera was honored as one of the six recipients of the annual Jeanie Borlaug Laube Women in Triticum (WIT) Early Career Award. The award offers professional development opportunities for women working in wheat.   “Collectively, these scientists are emerging as leaders across the wheat community,” said Maricelis Acevedo, Associate Director for Science for Cornell University’s Delivering Genetic Gain in Wheat Project, who announced Rivera’s award.

CGIAR Research Program on Wheat and Global Wheat Program Director Hans Braun also took the opportunity to honor and thank three departing CIMMYT wheat scientists. Alexey Morgounov, Carlos Guzman and Mohammad Reza Jalal Kamali received Yaquis, or statues of a Yaqui Indian. The figure of the Yaqui Indian is a Sonoran symbol of beauty and the gifts of the natural world, and the highest recognition given by the Global Wheat Program.

The overarching thread that ran though the Visitor’s Week was that all were in attendance because of their desire to benefit the greater good through wheat science. As retired INIFAP director and Global Wheat Program Yaqui awardee Antonio Gándara said, recalling his parents’ guiding words, “Siempre, si puedes, hacer algo por los demas,  porque es la mejor forma de hacer algo por ti. [Always, if you can, do something for others, because it’s the best way to do something for yourself].”

Participants in the Field Day 2019 at the experimental station in Obregón stand for a group photo. (Photo: Ernesto Blancarte)
Participants in the Field Day 2019 at the experimental station in Obregón stand for a group photo. (Photo: Ernesto Blancarte)

Cobs & Spikes podcast: Striving for higher quality, more nutritious maize

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on . Posted in Podcasts.

While increasing yields will be necessary to feed the 9.8 billion people expected by 2050, Natalia Palacios — head of the maize nutritional quality laboratory at CIMMYT — says that’s only part of the challenge. She argues we must also strive for higher-quality, more nutritious crops. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, over 800 million people are considered undernourished. That’s about one out of every nine people in the world. Find out how Palacios’ research helps CIMMYT and its partners close the gap and support better health and nutrition.

For more information on Palacios’ research linking provitamin A orange maize and reduced aflatoxin contamination, read the publication here.

Rómulo González’s daughter holds a corncob. (Photo: Sarah Caroline Mueller)

Fighting hidden hunger with agricultural innovation

Written by Mary Donovan on . Posted in Features.

Maize provides 15-16 percent of total calorie intake in Asia, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa, while wheat provides 18 percent of our total available calories. Hidden hunger occurs when these calories don’t provide the essential micronutrients, such as iron, zinc and vitamin A, needed for healthy growth and prevention of diseases.

On World Health Day, we are sharing five stories showing how the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is combating hidden hunger and how agricultural research and innovation leads to healthier families, improved livelihoods and a healthier planet.

Climate change impact and adaptation for wheat protein

Often, work on climate change adaptation in agriculture focuses on productivity instead of nutrition of crops. If nutritional implications of climate change are not addressed, there will be devastating consequences on the health and livelihoods of marginalized people who depend on wheat as a source of protein.

A new study examines why wheat grain protein concentration is often overlooked in relation to improving global crop production in the face of climate change challenges and concludes that not all climate change adaptations have positive impacts on human nutrition.

An improved wheat variety grows in the field in Islamabad, Pakistan. (Photo: A. Yaqub/CIMMYT)
An improved wheat variety grows in the field in Islamabad, Pakistan. (Photo: A. Yaqub/CIMMYT)

Nutritious vitamin A orange maize boosts health and livelihoods in Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe, child malnutrition peaked above international thresholds for emergency response. Vitamin A deficiency is the leading cause of preventable blindness in children and can increase risk of measles, diarrhea and respiratory infections. However, biofortification of maize is a sustainable solution to improve health and nutrition in the region.

CIMMYT and Harvest Plus worked together to breed maize with higher amounts of nutritious vitamin A and are working with farmers, seed companies, food processors and millers to make this maize part of the food system in Zimbabwe.

Orange maize conventionally bred to contain high amounts of vitamin A is fighting child malnutrition in Zimbabwe. (Photo: Matthew O'Leary/ CIMMYT)
Orange maize conventionally bred to contain high amounts of vitamin A is fighting child malnutrition in Zimbabwe. (Photo: Matthew O’Leary/ CIMMYT)

Pakistan wheat seed makeover: More productive, resilient varieties for thousands of farmers

In Pakistan, CIMMYT is working to develop and spread better wheat production systems, by replacing outdated, disease susceptible seeds with new varieties. These new varieties also come with a health benefit — zinc.

According to a 2011 nutrition survey, 39 percent of children in Pakistan and 48 percent of pregnant women suffer from zinc deficiency, leading to child stunting rates of more than 40 percent and high infant mortality. These new seeds will increase the nutrition content of wheat, Pakistan’s number-one food crop, as well as resist diseases such as wheat rust.

The road to better food security and nutrition seems straighter for farmer Munsif Ullah and his family, with seed of a high-yielding, zinc-enhanced wheat variety. (Photo: Ansaar Ahmad/CIMMYT)
El camino hacia una mejor seguridad alimentaria y nutrición parece esclarecerse para el agricultor Munsif Ullah y su familia, con semillas de una variedad de trigo de alto rendimiento con zinc. (Foto: Ansaar Ahmad/CIMMYT)
Munfiat, a farmer from Nowshera district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, is happy to sow and share seed of the high-yielding, disease resistant Faisalabad-08 wheat variety. (Photo: Ansaar Ahmad/CIMMYT)
Munfiat, un agricultor del distrito de Nowshera, provincia de Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistán, está feliz de sembrar y compartir semillas de la variedad de trigo de alto rendimiento y resistente a las enfermedades Faisalabad-08. (Foto: Ansaar Ahmad/CIMMYT)

Better together: Partnership around zinc maize improves nutrition in Guatemala

Over 46 percent of children under five in Guatemala suffer from chronic malnutrition. More than 40 percent of the country’s rural population is deficient in zinc, an essential micronutrient that plays a crucial role in pre-natal and post-natal development and is key to maintaining a healthy immune system.

CIMMYT, HarvestPlus and Semilla Nueva are working together to change this, through the development and deployment of the world’s first biofortified zinc-enriched maize. Called Fortaleza 3 by Semilla Nueva, it fights against hidden hunger, containing 6-12ppm more zinc and 2.5 times more quality protein compared to conventional maize varieties.

“With the extra income I’ve gotten since switching to F3, I’ve been paying for my daughter to go to school. Fortaleza F3 not only gave me a good harvest, but also the ability to support my daughter’s education,” said Rómulo González, a farmer from the southern coast of Guatemala.

Rómulo González’s daughter holds a corncob. (Photo: Sarah Caroline Mueller)
Rómulo González’s daughter holds a corncob. (Photo: Sarah Caroline Mueller)

Farmers key to realizing EAT-Lancet report recommendations in Mexico, CIMMYT highlights

The EAT-Lancet Commission Report aims to answer the question: can we feed a future population of 10 billion people a healthy diet within planetary boundaries? It proposes a “planetary health diet” that balances nutrition with sustainable food production.

CIMMYT participated in the report launch in Mexico. “If anybody is able to manage the complex systems that will sustainably yield the volume of nutritious food that the world needs, that’s the farmer,” said Bram Govaerts, Director of Innovative Business Strategies at CIMMYT. “In Mexico, more than 500 thousand farmers already innovate every day and grow maize, wheat and related crops under sustainable intensification practices that CIMMYT and Mexico’s Agriculture Department promote with MasAgro”.

These innovations he mentioned create healthier families and a healthier planet.

CIMMYT's director of innovative business strategies, Bram Govaerts (left), explained that three changes are needed to reduce the environmental impact of food systems in Mexico: innovation in production practices, reduction of food waste, and change of diets. (Photo: CIMMYT)
CIMMYT’s director of innovative business strategies, Bram Govaerts (left), explained that three changes are needed to reduce the environmental impact of food systems in Mexico: innovation in production practices, reduction of food waste, and change of diets. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Maize Lethal Necrosis Diagnostics and Prevention of Seed Transmission

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on . Posted in Uncategorized.

This four-year Maize Lethal Necrosis Diagnostics and Prevention of Seed Transmission project will coordinate regional efforts to strengthen response to the rapid emergence and spread of Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLN).

Coordinated by CIMMYT, it will establish a community of practice among national plant protection organizations in eastern Africa for implementing harmonized MLN diagnostic protocols for detecting MLN-causing viruses and enable commercial seed companies to implement necessary standard operational procedures to produce MLN-free clean seed at various points along the maize seed value chain. It will also step-up MLN surveillance and monitoring in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, three of the major commercial maize seed exporting countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

The MLN project will be implemented in close partnership with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, the African Agricultural Technology Foundation, national plant protection organizations and commercial seed companies in eastern Africa. It will also pool expertise from relevant public- and private-sector partners, regional organizations, and seed trade organizations operating in the region.

Partners:  The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, the African Agricultural Technology Foundation, national plant protection organizations and commercial seed companies in eastern Africa

Improved Maize for Tropical Asia (IMTA)

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on . Posted in Uncategorized.

The Improved Maize for Tropical Asia (IMTA) is employing modern maize breeding techniques to develop and deploy new, climate-resilient maize hybrids, including traits important for identified niche markets across tropical Asia.

Principal Coordinator: B.S. Vivek

Fall Armyworm Response

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Following the recent emergence and rapid spread of the fall armyworm pest in Africa, the Fall Armyworm Response project is bringing together expert partners to develop and disseminate science-based recommendations to manage the pest.

 

Mayi Plus

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on . Posted in Uncategorized.

The Feed the Future Haiti – Mayi Plus project seeks to improve the quality of maize seed supply, test new varieties for local adaptation and support the development of the maize seed industry in Haiti.

Heat Stress Tolerant Maize for Asia (HTMA)

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on . Posted in Uncategorized.

The Heat Stress Tolerant Maize (HTMA) for Asia project is a public-private alliance that targets resource-poor people and smallholder farmers in South Asia who face weather extremes and climate-change effects. HTMA aims to create stable income and food security for resource-poor maize farmers in South Asia through development and deployment of heat-resilient maize hybrids.

South Asian farmlands have been increasingly experiencing climate change-related weather extremes. If current trends persist until 2050, major crop yields and the food production capacity of South Asia will decrease significantly – by 17 percent for maize – due to climate change-induced heat and water stress.

In response, CIMMYT and partners are developing heat stress-resilient maize for Asia. The project leverages the germplasm base and technical expertise of CIMMYT in breeding for abiotic stress tolerance, coupled with the research capacity and expertise of partners.

OBJECTIVES

  • Future climate data obtained from the recent CIMP5 database, and future and current heat stress hot-spots in South Asia are mapped
  • Genome-wide association studies revealed multiple haplotypes significantly associated heat tolerance, including nine significant haplotype blocks (~200 kb) for grain yield explaining 4 to 12% phenotypic variation individually with the effect size varied up to 440 kg/ha.
  • A total of 17 first generation heat tolerant hybrids formally licenced to project partners for deployment and scale-out in their targeted geographies/market in stress-prone ecologies of South Asia
  • New base germplasm, including early generation lines and pedigree populations, with enhanced levels of heat tolerance shared with partners to use in their own breeding programs.
  • Over 130 maize researchers and technical staff from India, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh, including 32 women and 99 men, were trained on various aspects of developing stress-resilient maize through four training course workshops organized under the project.
  • Strong phenotyping network for heat stress in South Asia, with well-equipped locations and trained representatives.

FUNDING INSTITUTIONS

  • United States Agency for International Development – Feed the Future

PRINCIPAL COORDINATOR

Pervez Haider Zaidi

 

Affordable, Accessible Asian (AAA) Drought Tolerant Maize Project

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Smallholder maize farmers in marginal environments in Asia are prone to drought due to either scanty/erratic rainfall or falling groundwater levels.

The Affordable, Accessible, Asian (AAA) Drought Tolerant Maize Project is a partnership among CIMMYT, the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, national agricultural research systems of Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam to develop drought-tolerant maize for smallholder farmers in Asia.

AAA combines complementary technologies and comparative advantages, such as CIMMYT’s global expertise in drought-tolerant maize breeding, Syngenta’s elite germplasm bred for Asia, the national partners’ local knowledge of farmers’ requirements and their germplasm testing network.

This project covers a gamut of upstream and downstream activities: marker discovery (genome-wide association studies); trait discovery (understanding root structure and function-lysimetrics); marker applications (genomic selection); drought phenotyping facilities (rhizotronics, rain-out shelters; managed drought stress screening locations); germplasm development; hybrid deployment; and linking with potential hybrid commercialization partners.

Objectives

  • Validation of drought-tolerant genetic markers
  • Rhizotronics studies reveal importance of root functional traits in determining drought tolerance
  • Genomic selection is proving to be a powerful strategy for developing improved source populations
  • Promising results from hybrid trials in India and Indonesia indicate the value of this innovative partnership model

Funding Institutions

  • Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA)

Principal Coordinator

Bindiganavile Sampath Vivek

Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Seed Scaling (DTMASS)

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on . Posted in Uncategorized.

The Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Seed Scaling (DTMASS) project was officially launched in 2014 with the aim to meet demand and improve access to good-quality maize through production and deployment of affordable and improved drought-tolerant, stress-resilient and high-yielding maize varieties for smallholder farmers.

Led by CIMMYT and implemented through in-country public and private partnerships, DTMASS emphasizes scaling up and scaling out of drought tolerant maize seed, and uptake of the same among smallholder farmers. Over its lifespan, the project aims to produce close to 12,000 metric tons of certified seed for use by approximately 400,000 households, or 2.5 million people, in six countries in eastern and southern Africa.

DTMASS target countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia) account for 25 percent, or 252 million, of the people in sub-Saharan Africa, and 41 percent of the maize production areas. DTMASS builds on the progress made by Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa and other complementary CIMMYT maize projects in Africa, including Improved Maize for African Soils and Water Efficient Maize for Africa.