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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Not all maize makes good tortillas

Written by on November 23, 2015. Posted in News.

Tortilla dough industry partners evaluating nixtamalized kernels during the workshop “From empirical knowledge to technical tools.” Photo: Natalia Palacios/CIMMYT.

With more than 600 food products derived from maize, Mexico is the fifth largest maize consumer globally, and the only country where more than 70% of the maize produced is used for direct human consumption. Farmers in Mexico grow maize mainly for home consumption, the nixtamalized flour industry, and the tortilla dough industry. The product’s end-use quality is greatly determined by the quality of the maize grain. Therefore, for the Mexican market, as well as for processors and consumers, grain quality is crucial.

Since the beginning of MasAgro, special emphasis has been placed on monitoring the quality of improved maize varieties to ensure that they meet the needs of Mexico’s traditional and industrial nixtamalization processes. Continuous exchanges of scientists with millers and tortilla dough entrepreneurs have been crucial for developing robust and cost-efficient analytical methods that different actors in the maize value chain can use to monitor grain quality. Offering analytical tools to the tortilla dough industry so it can move from empirical to analytical knowledge will help to optimize and professionalize its business.

SIMLESA review finds many successes and major challenges

Written by on November 17, 2015. Posted in News.

Farmers selecting pigeon pea varieties at Msingisi village, Gairo district, through SIMLESA. Photo: CGIAR Research Program on Grain Legumes

On 16-31 October 2015, the Sustainable Intensification of Maize and Legume Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) project undertook a two-week long Mid-Term Review (MTR) of its agricultural research and development activities on station and on farm. SIMLESA undertook this review to assess project performance and recommend actions to refine activities. The last MTR was carried out in 2012.

To wrap up the review, a two-day meeting was held with the participation of 40 people, including representatives from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the national agricultural research systems (NARS) of Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Kenya, and Tanzania, and CIMMYT scientists from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Zimbabwe.

Maintaining a diverse landscape in maize- and wheat-based systems to ensure a nutritious diet

Written by on November 17, 2015. Posted in Features. 1 Comment on Maintaining a diverse landscape in maize- and wheat-based systems to ensure a nutritious diet

Increasing wheat and maize yields in Arsi Negele (southern Ethiopia) is not enough to guarantee a nutritious diet, but maintaining a diverse landscape appears critical. Photo: F. Baudron

Arsi Negele, in southern Ethiopia, is a paradox: local farmers are blessed with good soils, good and reliable rainfall, relatively large farms, and good market connections, but the local hospital in Gambo admits, on average, one child per day suffering from acute malnutrition (kwashiorkor and marasmus). The main cause? A grain-based diet that lacks proteins, vitamins, and other micronutrients. Biofortified maize and wheat that include some of these missing elements could help. But diet diversification is probably the real answer.

Agriculture ministers support policies to achieve Africa’s growth potential

Written by on November 17, 2015. Posted in News.

Participants in the SIMLESA high level policy forum in Entebbe, Uganda. Photo: Johnson Siamachira/CIMMYT — Participants in the SIMLESA high level policy forum in Entebbe, Uganda.
Photo: Johnson Siamachira/CIMMYT

East and Southern African countries need to formulate and implement appropriate policies to help smallholder farmers access technologies that will enable them to increase farm yields and improve crop resilience and nutrition to address poverty, food security, and economic growth, renowned Zimbabwean agricultural economist and academic Mandivamba Rukuni told a high-level policy forum.

Delivering the keynote address at the SIMLESA policy forum co-organized by CIMMYT and the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) in Entebbe, Uganda, on 27–28 October, Rukuni said this can only be achieved through a dramatic shift to help smallholder farmers produce sufficient food for themselves, plus generate income. “Such technologies include improved seed varieties and fertilizers, and better infrastructure, such as roads and small-scale irrigation,’’ said Rukuni. SIMLESA is funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and implemented by CIMMYT.

XXI Latin American Maize Meeting

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WPEP helps farmers produce wheat seed for a food-secure future

Written by on November 13, 2015. Posted in News. 1 Comment on WPEP helps farmers produce wheat seed for a food-secure future

Wheat seed distribution in Nankana-Sahib, Punjab province. Photo: Monsif ur Rehman/CIMMYT Pakistan — Wheat seed distribution in Nankana-Sahib, Punjab province.
Photo: Monsif ur Rehman/CIMMYT Pakistan

As part of seed multiplication and distribution, an objective of the Wheat Productivity and Enhancement Program (WPEP), CIMMYT-Pakistan distributed quality wheat seed free of charge to smallholder farmers in Punjab province with the aim of replacing outdated, susceptible wheat varieties.

A distribution ceremony was held at the Wheat Research Institute (WRI) Faisalabad on 3 November 2015. The event was attended by Makhdoom Hussain, WRI-Faisalabad Director, and M. Imtiaz, CIMMYT Country Representative.

In the third round of wheat seed distribution by WPEP, each of 40 farmers received 25 kg of seed of PAKISTAN-2013 and NARC-2011, wheat varieties derived from CIMMYT germplasm that are resistant to rust (especially Ug99).

Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia enters Phase III: focus on scalability and strategic partnerships

Written by on November 13, 2015. Posted in Features.

In eastern India, CSISA increased adoption of early sowing of wheat and zero tillage by demonstrating the benefits in farmers’ fields. Photo: Vinaynath Reddy.

Growth rates of staple crop yields in South Asia are insufficient to meet the region’s projected demands. Forty percent of the world’s poor live in South Asia, and the area comprising eastern India, Bangladesh, and Nepal has the world’s largest concentration of impoverished and food insecure people. At the same time, resource degradation, declining labor availability, and climate change (frequent droughts and rising temperatures) pose considerable threats to farming system productivity and rural livelihoods. By 2050, 30% of South Asia’s wheat crop is likely to be lost due to higher temperatures, experts say.

CIMMYT is recognized for its role in strengthening Malawi’s maize seed system

Written by on November 13, 2015. Posted in Features.

Kennedy Lweya, Seed Business Development Specialist for East and Southern Africa, receives an award on behalf of CIMMYT during the Seed Trade Association of Malawi Congress and Expo. Photo: CIMMYT

CIMMYT recently received an award in recognition of its efforts and contributions towards developing and strengthening Malawi’s maize seed system. Kennedy Lweya, Seed Business Development Specialist for East and Southern Africa, received the award on behalf of CIMMYT, during the Seed Trade Association of Malawi Congress and Expo––the first of its kind––held on 22–23 October 2015 at the Bingu International Conference Centre in Lilongwe.

Many of these accomplishments have been achieved through the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project, which has helped farmers withstand the effects of a drought that continues to affect millions of smallholders who depend on maize as their staple food.

Upon receiving the award, Lweya noted, “This signifies recognition of tremendous work undertaken by CIMMYT scientists globally and in Malawi, in particular, to improve maize systems. More importantly, the award is an endorsement of the value that public-private partnerships bring in improving livelihoods and food security in the developing world.”

Kenyan delegation visits CIMMYT for collaboration on nixtamalization

Written by on November 6, 2015. Posted in News.

Sicily Kariuki presses a perfect tortilla. Photo: Sam Storr/CIMMYT

On Thursday, 5 November, a delegation of Kenyan scientists and government officials visited CIMMYT, concluding a fact-finding mission to see if Mexico can help Kenya to find new, and safer, ways to eat maize.

Leading the delegation was Sicily Kariuki, principal secretary of Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries. “Our objective is to meet with experts who face common challenges in the area of agriculture, in particular, maize, safety, and specifically nixtamalization,” she said.

CIMMYT and INIFAP have been developing a project to improve the traditional process of maize nixtamalization and show that it can dramatically reduce contamination by harmful aflatoxins. At the invitation of Mexico’s Ambassador to Kenya, Erasmo R. Martínez, CIMMYT and Kenya are now exploring the potential for Mexican technologies to improve food security in Kenya.

Maize is the main staple food in Kenya, but the supply chain remains vulnerable to aflatoxin contamination caused by fungal infections. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that 25% of global food production is affected by mycotoxins (aflatoxin is a type of mycotoxin), and this contamination is thought to cost Africa US $670 million in lost exports to the European Union alone.

From L-R: Yabesh Monari, Natalia Palacios, Peter Mwangi Njugana, Kevin Pixley, Johnson Irungu, Charles Bett, Martin Kropff, Hans Braun, Sicily Kariuki and Ana Laura Ayala. Photo: CIMMYT

Sicily Kariuki was joined by CIMMYT’s Natalia Palacios and representatives from the Unga Ltd & Chairman Millers Association in Kenya, the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), Mexico’s National Institute of Forestry, Agriculture, and Livestock Research (INIFAP), and the Mexican Agency for Development Cooperation (AMEXCID).

The visiting delegation observed the process of nixtamalization at an INIFAP experiment station, visited a tortilla maker, and even tried their hands at making tortillas themselves.

Charles Bett, senior research officer at KALRO Katumani, believes that Mexican methods of eating maize could soon catch on in Kenya. “Right now wheat chapattis are very popular, but as they are expensive they are only for celebrations,” he explained. The next big thing could well be a Mexican taco.

CIMMYT contributions are present in more than 26% of all major wheat varieties in China after 2000, according to a 2014 study by the Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy (CCAP) of the Chinese Academy of Science. (Photo: CIMMYT)

New paths ahead for agricultural research

Written by on November 4, 2015. Posted in Director General's corner.

Since joining CIMMYT in June 2015, I’ve had the opportunity to learn first-hand the impact of its work around the world, and the appreciation for our work among our peers, partners, and friends.

For example, in China, three decades of partnership with CIMMYT have added $ 3.4 billion to wheat output, and Australia, a donor country, has benefited to the tune of A$ 30 million per year on an in-vestment in CIMMYT of just A$ 1 million. A recent study found that around $33 million invested in CGIAR wheat breeding yields $2-5 billion worldwide. When the devastating maize lethal necrosis disease broke out in eastern Africa in 2011, CIMMYT led a response to get resistant varieties in farmers’ fields within just four years.

Even from such few examples, it is clear that wherever CIMMYT is involved, we have a valuable and unique contribution to make.

There are many challenges to be addressed in the world, from insecurity and population movements to our changing climate. Fundamental to most is the issue of how we practice agriculture to sustainably feed the world, and maize and wheat rank among the most important crops for food security, responsible for 25% of global protein and calorie consumption. What is needed is sustained and increased investment in agricultural research, and organizations such as CIMMYT and its partners to carry it out.

The recently-adopted sustainable development goals respond to this need. Among them are the objectives of ending malnutrition by 2030, doubling the productivity and incomes of small-scale producers, especially women, introducing sustainable and resilient agricultural practices, and ensuring access to the world’s treasure of genetic diversity.

There is a clear consensus between CIMMYT’s work and global priorities identified at the highest level; the question is how we can use our partnerships to effectively mobilize resources in pursuit of these goals.

Traditional donors are rightly concerned about aid dependency, leading a call to move from aid to trade. In practice, this means working more closely with the agrifood sector to ensure that consumers always enjoy access to affordable, appropriate, safe, and nutritious food.
Another answer is that many of the poor no longer live in poor countries. Emerging economies are increasingly important partners in their own development, and in the development of other nations in similar circumstances.

Finally, there is always value in greater coordination and collaboration with new partners. Many development NGOs make extensive use of agricultural research, but too few are closely involved in it.

Agricultural research must be responsive to the needs of society, and can only be scaled out and sus-tained by governments, the private sector, and NGOs. Nonetheless, core funding for agricultural research is essential to the impacts it generates. Funding organizations themselves enable the employment of the brightest minds, development of effective institutional capacities, and the flexibility to engage in overlooked but essential research priorities.

In 2016, CIMMYT will celebrate its 50th anniversary. Fifty years of impact felt in farmers’ fields around the world, of continually expanding our research portfolio and collaboration with partners so that, to-day, CIMMYT is more prepared than ever before to respond to global needs. But it is not enough. New business models, strategies, and partnerships are needed for agricultural research to fulfill its promise to the world. The upcoming CIMMYT strategy for 2016-2030 will set out a framework for our future.

Training on quarantine pests of wheat in Ethiopia

Written by on November 3, 2015. Posted in News. 1 Comment on Training on quarantine pests of wheat in Ethiopia

Trainees observe fungal, bacterial, and viral diseases of wheat in quarantine fields. Photo: Terefe Fitta

Ethiopia’s loose quarantine system permits the introduction of foreign pests, which attack crops and hurt yields and farmer incomes, making understanding how to identify new pests vital; strengthening the national quarantine system is thus key to protecting crops.

To address these challenges, CIMMYT-Ethiopia hosted a training session on the quarantine of wheat pests in Ethiopia from 13-15 October at Holetta Agricultural Research Center, where seeds of the most commonly introduced germplasm are inspected before they are planted and further evaluated for foreign pests at isolation sites throughout the country. Attending the session were 13 trainees from Holetta and six other research centers, including Sinana, Kulumsa, Adet, Mekele, Werer, and Ambo.

Temesgen Desalegn, Holetta Agricultural Research Center Director, welcomed participants and delivered an orientation session about the center, staff, and the crop and livestock research conducted at the site. The center is the oldest quarantine site to receive and inspect seeds of introduced germplasm for foreign pests by further planting and evaluating at isolated sites, Desalegn said, explaining that his aims for the training included exploring various aspects of regulatory issues.

Bekele Abeyo, wheat breeder and country representative at CIMMYT’s Ethiopia office, highlighted the role of wheat in the Ethiopian economy, describing major growing regions and production trends. He also described the challenge of recurrent rust epidemics that cause significant yield losses, and how such losses affect the country’s growth and transformation plan aimed at achieving food security. Due to the significant yield losses caused by the rust epidemics, CIMMYT and its national counterparts, the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) and Regional Agricultural Research Institutes (RARIs), developed a project, now in its first year, titled “Seed Multiplication and Delivery of High Yielding Rust Resistant Bread and Durum Wheat Varieties to Ethiopian Farmers.”

The project, which targets 51 districts in four regions, has two sub-components, five specific objectives, and several activities under each objective. It supports small-scale farmers with an emphasis on women, encourages private sector partners, and links farmers with industries. It also aims to build the capacity of national programs by acquiring field and laboratory equipment and conducting various types of short-term trainings sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the CIMMYT/EIAR seed project.

Eshetu Derso, Deputy Director of crops research at EIAR, offered praise for such training and the long-lasting relationship and support CIMMYT has provided. He mentioned that CIMMYT staff are forging change by helping Ethiopia identify and bridge gaps. Eshetu detailed various components of phytosanitary/regulatory issues regarding quarantine and pests in Ethiopia, including recent phytosanitary proclamations in the country. Finally, he noted that awareness will be created and vigilant phytosanitary action taken to ensure no new foreign pests are introduced. All plant materials introduced into Ethiopia will be inspected by quarantine officials at international airports or seaports by establishing separate “plant quarantine counters” and a scanning system.

Training participants at Holetta Agricultural Research Center, Ethiopia. Photo courtesy of Bekele Abeyo

The government is trying to keep out quarantine diseases such as ergot, late potato blight, and Karnal bunt, Eshetu said, mentioning other risky diseases such as the wheat rusts, white rot in garlic, maize lethal necrosis, yellow mosaic virus in papaya, ginger bacterial leaf wilt, and fruit spot of citrus. All these diseases have either been introduced into Ethiopia or have the potential to be introduced, he said.

CIMMYT pathologist Monica Mezzalama conducted an introductory training course on seedborne diseases of wheat, including detection methods, diagnosis, epidemiology, and management of fungi, bacteria, and viruses. She coupled descriptions with hands-on practice observing fungal, bacterial, and viral diseases of wheat in quarantine fields; leaf sampling and sample preparation; and laboratory work on isolation techniques (leaf and seed). She also covered MLN, the major threat to maize production in recent years.

Mohammed Dawd, Head of quarantine at EIAR, and Bekele Kassa, plant pathologist at Holetta Agricultural Research Center, offered insights and conducted training on pests and quarantine diseases in Ethiopia.

Participants raised many concerns related to the skills gap that hinders proper handling of quarantine services, limited training opportunities, and the lack of guidance from senior scientists and management. They emphasized the importance of keeping up expertise on threats and risks posed by quarantine pests and concluded that current weak quarantine enforcement in Ethiopia should be bolstered by strictly implementing rules and regulations to prevent the introduction of unauthorized and uncertified germplasm.

Winners of the 2015 World Food Prize announced

Written by on October 28, 2015. Posted in News.

Based on information from the Sustainable Intensification Program Science Dissemination Team

Photo: World Food Prize winner Sir Fazle Hasan Abed. Photo courtesy of worldfoodprize.

“It is difficult to express in words how honored and deeply touched I am by this recognition,” said Sir Fazle Hasan Abed upon receiving the 2015 World Food Prize award on 16 October in Des Moines, Iowa. “The real heroes in our story are the poor themselves and, in particular, women struggling with poverty who overcome enormous challenges each day of their lives. Through our work across the world we have learnt that countries and cultures vary, but the realities, struggles, aspirations and dreams of poor and marginalized people are remarkably similar.”

Originally from Bangladesh, Abad is founder and chairperson of BRAC, and the prize was awarded to him because of his outstanding contributions to improving global food production and distribution for the benefit of the poorest of the poor. During the ceremony, which was held in the state capitol, Abad thanked everyone and expressed how honored he felt by the prize, but noted that he should not be recognized by the prize, but everyone who worked for the BRAC organization over the past 43 years, because it was through their efforts that new pathways were found for keeping millions of people in Bangladesh and other countries in Africa and Asia out of poverty.

Another award winner was Eric B. Pohlman, who was selected to receive the Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application 2015, which was won by Dr. Bram Govaerts in 2014. Pohlman, who is the Director of the One Acre Fund, was recognized for the work he has done through the Fund, by applying its extension model in Rwanda, where it has helped train more than 1,000 extension workers who have supported more than 130,000 farm families.

This event also included other activities such as discussion panels that sought to find solutions to the problems of climate change and food security. Conservation agriculture, precision agriculture, and climate-smart technologies were some of the alternatives they discussed.

Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram was the recipient of the World Food Prize 2014.

WPEP’s 2015 Annual Planning Meeting

Written by on October 28, 2015. Posted in News.

WPEPs Annual Planning Meeting-3The Wheat Productivity Enhancement Program (WPEP), funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), held its annual wheat planning meeting organized by Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) and CIMMYT on 8-10 September 2015 in Islamabad.

WPEP aims to improve wheat productivity in Pakistan through rust surveillance, breeding, pre-breeding, seed multiplication, agronomy, and capacity building. The meeting highlighted the progress of research institutes across the country during 2014-15, the production challenges they face, and the way forward to improve wheat productivity.

Acknowledging the efforts of WPEP during the inaugural session, Sikander Hayat Khan Bosan, Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research, said that Pakistani farmers have been able to double their wheat yields during the past few years. The USDA, international experts, PARC, and CIMMYT have brought a new development paradigm to Pakistan’s agricultural sector in the form of the WPEP.

PARC Chairman Iftikhar Ahmad commended the efforts of researchers to successfully combat the wheat rust diseases. He also emphasized that policies should be more farmer-friendly so that farmers could make the most of their hard work.

Briefing participants on WPEP’s successes, David Marshall, USDA/ARS-Plant Science Research Unit, mentioned its research activities, inter-institutional collaboration, development of greenhouse and rust inoculation facilities, laboratories, and agricultural machinery. He added that the Karnal bunt (KB) problem in wheat is spreading in Pakistan and hindering seed exports. If, for several years, collaborating institutions take actions such as treating seed with fungicides, breeding KB resistant varieties, and providing KB-free seeds, this would greatly decrease the inoculum load and help control the disease.

David Williams, Agricultural Counselor, U.S. Embassy, acknowledged the efforts of CIMMYT, PARC, and all the national organizations involved in improving wheat productivity.

CIMMYT Country Representative Imtiaz Muhammad summarized WPEP’s achievements over the past five years and the support it has provided to improve wheat production. He updated the participants on the rust races that have been identified, including 4 stem rust, 28 yellow rust, and 14 leaf rust races. He assured them that CIMMYT will continue to work towards enhancing wheat production in Pakistan in close partnership with national and international partners.

WPEPs-Annual-Planning-Meeting-2 — Participants in WPEP’s 2015 annual planning meeting. Photo: PARC.

Farmer representatives from across Pakistan attended the meeting and described the challenges they face, mainly, purchasing quality seed at an affordable price and being able to market their agricultural products. Participants expressed their appreciation for the support of USDA, PARC, and CIMMYT in enhancing wheat production.

Big data for development research

Written by on October 27, 2015. Posted in Blogs.

Both private and public sector research organizations must adopt data management strategies that keep up with the advent of big data if we hope to effectively and accurately conduct research. CIMMYT and many other donor-dependent research organizations operate in fund declining environments, and need to make the most of available resources. Data management strategies based on the data lake concept are essential for improved research analysis and greater impact.

We create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data daily–so much that 90% of the data in the world today has been created in the last two years alone. This data comes from everywhere: sensors used to gather climate information, drones taking images of breeding trials, posts on social media sites, cell phone GPS signals, and more, along with traditional data sources such as surveys and field trial records. This data is big data, data characterized by volume, velocity, and variety.

Twentieth century data management strategies focused on ensuring data was made available in standard formats and structures in databases and/or data warehouses–a combination of many different databases across an entire enterprise. The major drawback of the data warehouse concept is the perception that it is too much trouble to put the data into the storage system with too little direct benefit, acting as a disincentive to corporate-level data repositories. The result is that within many organizations, including CIMMYT, not all data is accessible.

Today’s technology and processing tools, such as cloud computing and open-source software (for example, R and Hadoop), have enabled us to harness big data to answer questions that were previously out of reach. However, with this opportunity comes the challenge of developing alternatives to traditional database systems–big data is too big, too fast, or doesn’t fit the old structures.

One alternative storage and retrieval system that can handle big data is the data lake. A data lake is a store-everything approach to big data, and a massive, easily accessible, centralized repository of large volumes of structured and unstructured data.

Advocates of the data lake concept believe any and all data can be captured and stored in a data lake. It allows for more questions and better answers thanks to new IT technologies and ensures flexibility and agility.However, without metadata–data that describes the data we are collecting–and a mechanism to maintain it, data lakes can become data swamps where data is murky, unnavigable, has unknown origins, and is ultimately unreliable. Every subsequent use of data means scientists and researchers start from scratch. Metadata also allows extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) processes to be developed that retrieve data from operational systems and process it for further analysis.

Metadata and well-defined ETL procedures are essential for a successful data lake. A data lake strategy with metadata and ETL procedures as its cornerstone is essential to maximize data use, re-use and to conduct accurate and impactful analyses.