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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.

CIMMYT, Limagrain and Seed Co Limited teams discuss partnership for tackling maize lethal necrosis

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Research managers and scientists from CIMMYT, Limagrain and Seed Co Limited held a discussion at CIMMYT-Nairobi on 4 July to forge a partnership to effectively tackle the maize lethal necrosis (MLN) disease in Africa.

Scientists from CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program, led by BM Prasanna, and representatives of the two companies, including Thierry Rosin (Limagrain lead for global corn research), Michel Debrand (chief executive officer, Limagrain-Africa), Emmanuel Aubry (head of corn research, Limagrain-South America) and Ephrame Havazvidi (research manager, Seed Co Limited), had detailed discussions on opportunities for collaborative research on MLN, as well as training and capacity building of African partners.

Photo: Florence Sipalla/CIMMYT

The proposed partnership seeks to fast-track the breeding and release of MLN-tolerant hybrids adapted to Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) through molecular marker-assisted breeding. “Seed Co is already an important partner of CIMMYT in Africa. Limagrain has been supporting CIMMYT’s research work with maize doubled haploids at CIMMYT in Mexico, and disease resistance in Asia,” said Prasanna, adding that through this proposed partnership all parties would bring various strengths to the effort of finding effective solutions to MLN.

MLN has resulted in significant yield losses to smallholder farmers in East Africa. Therefore, it is important to identify and develop germplasm with MLN tolerance to replace the susceptible varieties in SSA as quickly as possible. “CIMMYT’s recent work on identification of trait donors for MLN tolerance, coupled with the establishment of the MLN screening facility at Naivasha, serve as an important foundation for this partnership to develop improved maize varieties for Sub-Saharan Africa with MLN tolerance and other adaptive traits,” said Prasanna.

The visitors from Limagrain and Seed Co also toured the MLN Screening Facility at Naivasha, where germplasm from public and private sector partners is being screened. “It was a very good eye-opener on the MLN disease,” said Havazvidi, who described the MLN research for development efforts of CIMMYT as “well-thought-out,” especially with respect to the investigation of screening protocols and identification of sources of resistance to the disease. “I was impressed with the size of the screening and the professionalism in developing and managing the work at the MLN screening facility,” Rosin said.

“I learned a lot about MLN which was new to me,” stated Aubry. Debrand commented that, “the research collaboration with CIMMYT will enhance the impact of Limagrain and Seed Co in Africa, especially with reference to maizebased food security.”

Genetic Resources and Bioinformatics

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Genetic resources and bioinformatics are the responsibility of the Genetic Resources Program (GRP). It contributes to CIMMYT’s overall mission of increasing crop productivity to improve food security and improve livelihoods by storing, analyzing and disseminating the world’s largest collection of maize and wheat genetic resources, which are contained in the Wellhausen-Andersen Genetic Resources Center. The Center is one of only three ISO-certified seed banks in the world and the only one in North America. In its maize and wheat gene banks, seeds are held in trust for humanity under the framework of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Moreover, CIMMYT seed is made freely available to researchers and national agriculture institutions around the globe.

GRP scientists and staff work to provide healthy, viable seed and reliable information from the maize and wheat genetic resources collections and are responsible for more than 175,000 accessions. Their work enhances the use of maize and wheat genetic resources through research and technology, excellence in data stewardship and the creation of tools and methods that enable CIMMYT and its partners to readily use the available information.

The GRP consists of various units that work in tandem to achieve CIMMYT’S goals:

The Seed Health Laboratory staff members work on the safe exchange of wheat and maize seed around the world and are responsible for thousands of exchanges of maize and wheat samples annually.

The Biometrics and Statistics Unit provides service, research and training for CIMMYT and its partners, including methodology-model solutions, statistical analyses and experiment designs. A data stewardship approach strives for responsible stewardship and provides open access to CIMMYT’s seed data and the knowledge derived from it. Through this approach data standards, documentation, curation processes and timelines are established to coordinate the receipt, storage, manipulation and quality control of field and molecular data. It also enables accurate data documentation and storage throughout the analysis pipeline, versatile institutional databases and repositories, interfaces, output and informatic tools that are used by scientists and research assistants, reporting back the user requirements to CIMMYT’s software engineers in order to achieve continuous improvement of these tools.

CIMMYT recognizes that sustainably meeting the growing global demand for food may require the responsible use all of the available technologies, including genetically modified (GM) varieties of maize and wheat. Applying the practice of “sovereignty and safety first,” each nation will determine when and how GM crops will be used in their territory and this will require a legal and regulatory framework to be in place before any work can be done in this area (see CIMMYT’s guiding principles). CIMMYT is a member of “Excellence Through Stewardship,” which “promotes the universal adoption of stewardship programs and quality management systems for the responsible use and management of biotechnology-derived plant products.”

The Seeds of Discovery (SeeD) initiative systematically explores and mobilizes genetic variation in CIMMYT’s and other gene bank collections into maize and wheat breeding programs to increase productivity resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses such as heat, drought and disease.

The GRP’s activities can be summarized as:

  • Conservation, characterization, distribution and use of genetic resources.
  • Safe distribution of seed.
  • Stewardship and ensuring open-access to CIMMYT’s data and derived information.
  • Creation of quality, open-source software.
  • Development and validation of new tools and methods for gene mining and crop improvement.
  • Capacity building in all of these areas.

 

 

Partnership on maize lethal necrosis in Africa makes significant progress

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Partners of the Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLN) project in Africa, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA), came together to review and discuss the progress and next steps for the project at a workshop on 14-15 May.

“The primary goal of this project is to identify MLN-tolerant germplasm, including inbred lines and pre-commercial hybrids, for potential deployment of MLN-tolerant varieties (with other relevant adaptive traits) through partners in Sub-Saharan Africa. The project also seeks to gain information regarding the genetics of resistance to the disease, create awareness and build capacity for more effective MLN management.

Group photograph taken at the MLN Screening Facility, Naivasha, Kenya. Photo: Florence Sipalla/CIMMYT

“As the project matures, we will be screening additional promising germplasm coming out of the MLN screening facility at Naivasha and from national agricultural research institute (NARI) partners at satellite testing centers in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda under high natural disease pressure. This will help to validate the performance of the germplasm under MLN in important agro-ecologies,” said CIMMYT Global Maize Program Director and MLN-Africa project leader, BM Prasanna.

Mike Robinson, chief scientific advisor at SFSA and representatives of several seed companies and NARIs in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda participated in the MLN Field Day at Naivasha on 14 May. The companies included East African Seed, Kenya Seed Company, Meru Agro, Monsanto, DuPont Pioneer and Seed Co Limited. “We hope to submit several germplasm entries for trials at the MLN screening facility in the next planting season,” said Francis Ndambuki, a maize breeder with Kenya Seed Company.

Less than a year after its opening, the MLN screening facility is now fully functional, evaluating materials from several partner organizations, including the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, NARIs and seed companies. The partners/ visitors had an opportunity to see several trials taking place at the facility, as well as promising MLN-tolerant germplasm. Scientists involved in this project are working intensively – in collaboration with national and international institutions to develop and validate virus inoculation and germplasm screening protocols. They are also testing a large array of germplasm for responses against MLN under artificial inoculation, developing diagnostic techniques and building the capacity of national partners in MLN diagnostics and management.

The CIMMYT seed systems team is working on scaling-up the identified MLN-tolerant germplasm and distributing it to interested public and private partners in Africa. The progress made on the project’s diverse fronts was presented in detail, and the next steps were discussed during the project meeting held in Nairobi on 15 May. “We are pleased that CIMMYT teamed with KARI to address this important issue for Africa,” said Joseph Mureithi, KARI deputy director. Mureithi continued, “The MLN screening facility at Naivasha is a model of partnership between CGIAR centers, NARIs and the private sector,” adding that the results of the trials at the facility would have far-reaching impact. “Stresses such as drought and poor soil fertility could potentially compound the expression of the MLN disease,” said KARI virologist Dr. Anne Wangai, a key partner in this project. “This is a great opportunity to demonstrate the confluence of technologies – breeding, pathology and entomology,” said Robinson, urging the project partners to further strengthen the scientific edge and demonstrate how the research being undertaken on the disease can quickly result in products that benefit African farmers affected by the disease.

“Policy advocacy is key,” said Wilfred Mwangi, CIMMYT’s regional representative for Africa. He emphasized the need to fast-track registration and commercialization of the MLN-tolerant hybrids, especially in the MLN-affected countries. The Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) was commended for its commitment and support in fast-tracking the release of promising MLN-tolerant hybrids. “There is fast progress on the MLN research and the first wave of improved materials is coming now,” said Robinson, adding that he is looking forward to seeing more materials in the future. He emphasized the importance of coordination, policy clarity, communication and international synergies on MLN research and development in Africa.

Why wheat matters

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Photo credit: Ranak Martin
Photo credit: Ranak Martin

Thomas Lumpkin served as director general at CIMMYT from 2008 to 2015.

The history of wheat is the history of civilization. Over 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent our ancestors ascended from an existence as hunter-gatherers and began tending and domesticating crops. Thus began wheat’s symbiotic relationship with the history of civilization and humankind’s responsibility as stewards of planet Earth.

Wheat is not only a major diet component but wheat-based products are the personification of cultural heritage and pride. Imagine Italians without pasta, North Africans without couscous, Indians without Chapattis or Chinese without noodles or steamed bread. It is time to pay homage to this grass, which was the basis for the development of modern civilizations and has done so much for the human race.

Wheat is the staple food of humankind, and its history is that of civilization. Yet today wheat is losing its crown. Many perceive wheat to be a food eaten and produced only by rich countries. Atkins, Davis (wheat belly) and other diets have convinced even more that wheat is bad for you and less wholesome than other crops. Although wheat remains an important crop, funding for wheat research has decreased significantly in recent years.

In spite of all these challenges, the demand for wheat is not dropping. Wheat is the staff of life for 1.2 billion poor people who live on less than US$ 2 a day; providing 20 to 50 percent of daily calories and 20 percent of protein. From South Asia through to Central Asia across the Middle East and on to North Africa, wheat is a staple food. Demand for wheat is not isolated to these traditional wheat-eating regions. Today African countries spend about US$ 12 billion annually to import some 40 million tons of wheat. What was once considered a minor crop for consumers in Sub-Saharan Africa, demand for wheat is now growing faster than for any other commodity and is now considered a strategic crop for food security by African leaders.

Perhaps what is most concerning are the predictions for the near future. Demand for wheat in the developing world is projected to increase 60 percent by 2050. India, the largest wheat-consuming country after China, has 17.5 percent of total world’s population and 20.6 percent of the world’s poor. If you look at a map showing the locations of recent food riots, it is almost identical to one showing where wheat provides more than one-third of a person’s daily calories. Households in developed countries spend less than 10 percent of their income on food supplies, in many countries, that percentage is much more. For example, in Pakistan and Egypt this figure is around 40 percent.

An Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report published earlier this year predicts that wheat will be the first of the main staple crops to be significantly affected by climate change, because of its sensitivity to heat and the fact that it is grown all over the world. Current projections predict that with every Celsius degree increase in temperature, wheat yields in semi-tropical areas could drop by 10 percent. Changes in weather may also lead to an increased risk in the severity of wheat diseases, which may cause severe losses in areas that were previously thought of as unimportant.

Recurrent food crises combined with climate change, depletion of natural resources and rising food prices are threatening the lives of millions of poor people who depend on wheat for both diet and livelihood. Demographers predict that by 2050 the earth’s population will peak at 9.6 billion. Developing countries, especially those in Africa and South Asia, are experiencing tremendous population growth. Based on current crop yields and food distribution methods, feeding nearly 10 billion people will not be trivial. Sustainably increasing wheat production will have a crucial impact on food security.

Wheat’s significant contribution to humankind is not yet over.

Sasakawa Africa Association celebrates the 100th anniversary of Norman Borlaug’s birth

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The Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) recently joined numerous countries and organizations around the world that have taken time this year to pay tribute to the life and achievements of Dr. Norman Borlaug, holding a series of events from 8-12 July in Uganda to celebrate what would have been his 100th birthday. The theme of the celebration was “Take it to the farmer,” in honor of Dr . Borlaug’s inspiring final words.

The SAA/Sasakawa Global 2000 (SG2000) was founded in 1986 by Japanese philanthropist Ryoichi Sasakawa, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Borlaug, who was the president of SAA until his death in 2009.

The Sasakawa Africa Association was named Best Overall Exhibitor at the Nile Agricultural and Trade Show, one of the events organized as part of the Borlaug centenary celebration. Photo: Adefris Teklewold/CIMMYT

Celebration events were attended by numerous dignitaries, including Yohei Sasakawa, son of the founder and Chairman of the Nippon Foundation; Professor Ruth Oniang’o, Chairperson of SAA and the Sasakawa Africa Fund for Extension Education (SAFE); Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, African Union Commissioner of Rural Economy and Agriculture; Dr. John Hardman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Carter Center (representing President Carter); Nicéphore Dieudonné Soglo, former President of Benin, SAA Board member and former Executive Director of the World Bank; Dr. Amit Roy, President and CEO of the International Fertilizer Development Center, or IFDC (Borlaug served on the IFDC board for 11 years); and Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, President of the World Food Prize Foundation (which was founded by Borlaug). The Borlaug family was represented at the ceremony by his daughter Jeanie Borlaug Laube and his granddaughter Julie Borlaug. CIMMYT was represented by Adefris Teklewold, project leader of the Nutritious Maize in Ethiopia project, which is implemented in partnership with SG2000. Key members of the Ugandan government also took part, including Edward Ssekandi, Vice President of the Republic of Uganda; Gen. Moses Ali, Second Prime Minister of the Republic of Uganda; and Tress Bucyanayandi, Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries of the Republic of Uganda.

The celebration began with a National Symposium on Training and Research for Agricultural Development at Makerere University, organized by SAA in collaboration with the university’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. The topic of the symposium was Extension and Training for Agricultural Transformation and recognized the partnership between SAA and Makerere University in executing SAFE for many years through the Department of Extension and Innovation Studies. Topics included: extension for agricultural modernization; strengthening agricultural extension through mid-career training; how to attract youth in agriculture; the relevance of universities in agricultural transformation: going beyond the rhetoric of gender in agriculture; and more. Oniang’o chaired the symposium’s opening session about Borlaug’s legacy and said, “Dr. Borlaug believed in young people as future farmers and as advocates against hunger.”

Students and faculty from schools around the country took part in debate, drama, essay and dance competitions. Prizes were awarded to the winners at the closing ceremony. Photo: Adefris Teklewold/CIMMYT

A special video tribute to Borlaug – “Play it hard – the Borlaug Way” – was shown during the opening session, with words of acknowledgment for CIMMYT. This was followed by a video message from Carter. Representatives of organizations that had links to Borlaug through SAA honored his legacy.

Sasakawa recounted the story of how his father approached Borlaug to establish the SAA and persuaded him to be SAA president. Sasakawa described Borlaug as a “fearless fighter” and said that through SAA, he “not only helped farmers to increase their yield, but he also succeeded in planting the seed of confidence in their hearts.”

Another major event organized in connection with the centenary celebration was the Nile Agricultural and Trade Show at Jinja Town, which is located at the headwaters of the White Nile. The trade fair wasorganized by the Uganda National Farmers’ Federation in collaboration with SAA. The main objective of the trade show was to create a platform whereby different stakeholders – farmers, researchers, manufacturers, consumers, traders, policy makers, students and financial institutions – could meet to identify advances, challenges and comparisons related to Uganda’s agriculture sector. Schoolchildren also staged colorful drama and dance performances at the trade fair to pay tribute to Borlaug for his work with smallholder farmers around the world. Different agricultural technologies and inputs available for adoption were also displayed.

The main event of the commemoration was a two-day symposium held in Jinja, “Take it to the Farmer: The Borlaug Legacy for Uganda.” The symposium was attended by senior Ugandan governmental officials and focused on the enduring results of the Borlaug legacy for both Uganda and Africa. During the symposium, Ssekandi said of Borlaug, “His achievements and contribution to humanity is a long narrative of one man’s love for other people, as exhibited by his contribution to the eradication of hunger in Africa and Uganda.”

As part of the commemoration to honor Borlaug, competitions were held in schools around the country in areas where SAA is working. Students and faculty held debates on agricultural issues, drama and dance performances, and an essay challenge on the status and future of agriculture in Uganda.

Ethiopian government adopts quality protein maize scale-out plan

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The Ethiopian government has embarked on a new initiative to improve nutritional security in the country through the widespread demonstration and use of quality protein maize (QPM), a type of maize that contains enhanced levels of protein. The new government initiative is a high-level endorsement of CIMMYT’s five-year Nutritious Maize for Ethiopia (NuME) project.

One of NuME’s goals is to promote the delivery and use of QPM seeds. Photo: NuME staff

The principal goal of NuME is to improve the food and nutritional security of Ethiopians through the widespread application and use of QPM and improved agronomic practices that increase productivity. NuME project leader Adefris Teklewold said, “The new government initiative will play a major role in making the QPM technology and inputs available to a larger number of maize farmers living beyond NuME target woredas (districts).”

The key aspects of NuME are in the government QPM scale-out plan, “Strengthening Quality Protein Maize Promotion and Seed Supply Systems in Ethiopia.” The plan sets a target to increase the area producing QPM in Ethiopia to 200,000 hectares in 2015-2017, roughly 10 percent of the total land currently devoted to maize production in the country.

After critical review and enrichment by key stakeholders, the initiative was approved by Ato Wondirad Mandfero, State Minister of Agriculture, as “an initiative that links agriculture and nutrition.” Mandfero issued directives for the initiative’s immediate implementation in high-potential maize growing areas in the country, as well as the inclusion of QPM technology dissemination in the regular government extension program starting this year. The Ethiopian government’s agricultural extension program focuses primarily on assisting small-scale farmers to improve their productivity by disseminating research-generated information and technologies.

Many Ethiopian families depend on maize as their staple food source, but ordinary maize lacks essential amino acids and a maize-based diet can leave children at risk for protein deficiency. Photo: NuME staff

An alliance of key government institutions engaged in the agriculture sector, including the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency, the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), other key development partners and CIMMYT support the scale-out plan and will work together to help execute a variety of initiatives to fulfill the food and nutritional security of Ethiopians.

The government initiative will create synergies with NuME and expand QPM through more field demonstrations and field days. NuME is achieving success with these methods, but the government expansion will make the QPM technology and inputs available to a larger number of maize farmers living beyond NuME project woredas. The government initiative will also create opportunities for more collaborators to participate in the effort and thus for more experience-sharing and impact on the ground. According to Teklewold, “The ultimate winner will be small-scale Ethiopian farmers who will have access to the technology through a wide variety of outlets and extension services.”

A sizable number of Ethiopian families depend on maize as their staple food source. However, a maize-based diet is generally deficient in the essential amino acids lysine and tryptophan. This can leave families — and particularly children — at risk for protein deficiency, especially in circumstances where intake of alternative protein sources is limited.

NuME promotes QPM, maize varieties developed by CIMMYT scientists through conventional breeding that contains enhanced levels of protein compared to common maize varieties. Two CIMMYT scientists (Dr. Evangelina Villegas and Dr. Surinder Vasal) who worked to develop QPM in the 1980s and 1990s were awarded the World Food Prize in 2000 for their work. QPM helps to fill the lysine intake gap in circumstances where maize is the dominant source of calories and protein and intake of alternative protein sources is limited. This analysis is strongly supported by various studies conducted in West Africa, Latin America and Asia, which concluded that children in vulnerable environments could benefit nutritionally from QPM consumption1.

Key objectives outlined in the scale-out proposal include:

  • Identifying options to enhance seed businesses and impact pathways by identifying constraints and opportunities in the seed value chain.
  • Enhancing the capacity of regulatory agencies and developing systems to track improved seed use and impact.
  • Demonstrating and creating awareness of seed companies and farmers regarding the performance and nutritional superiority of QPM varieties.
  • Providing sufficient quantities of quality of QPM varieties to farmers in a sustainable manner.
  • Supporting seed companies and community-based organizations to improve their capacity in seed production skills, post-harvest seed handling and seed business management to enable them to absorb available QPM varieties and increase quality seed.

The government initiative notes that five QPM varieties have already been officially released by Ambo, Bako and Melkassa Research Centers. Basic and adaptive research activities are being conducted concurrently by different centers of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) in collaboration with CIMMYT, to develop new improved QPM varieties adapted to different maize production environments and evolving stresses in the country.

As part of the initiative, a strategy will be developed to start QPM adoption by ensuring a sufficient QPM seed supply by:  improving access to credit and coordinated production of all seed categories (breeder, pre-basic, basic and certified) along the value chain; testing and demonstrating a stockist distribution plan for more efficient seed distribution; and providing seed business management and production training to emerging seed producers.

Target areas selected under the initiative include Agricultural Growth Program (AGP) woredas, most of which are in high-potential maize growing areas. An estimated 2.4 million people, comprising some 400,000 households in AGP woredas in Amhara, Oromia, SNNPR and Tigray regions, are expected to benefit from this initiative.

The NuME project is implemented by CIMMYT and funded by Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD). Among CIMMYT’s partners helping to implement NuME are EIAR, the Sasakawa Africa Association/ Sasakawa Global 2000; MoA; the Ethiopian Ministry of Health; the Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute; Farm Radio International; Harvard School of Public Health; universities; agricultural, technical, vocational and educational training centers; and numerous seed companies.

Affordable drought-tolerant maize for small holder farmers

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By Anita Mins

There is a growing need for drought-tolerant maize cultivars among smallholder farmers in developing countries, particularly in Asia where the cultivars’ development is a technical reality and outputs are achievable. Public-private partnership projects such as the Affordable, Accessible, Asian Drought-Tolerant Maize (AAA) project attempt to address smallholder farmers’ urgent and long-lasting need to access available and affordable new crop varieties that are robust, drought-tolerant and high-yielding.

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World Food Prize winner Rajaram: Farmers and training are critical for wheat yields

Written by Mike Listman on . Posted in News.

Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram, center, joined Nuria Urquía Fernández, left, representative in Mexico of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, and Raúl Urteaga Trani, coordinator of international affairs of Mexico’s Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA), for a news conference on 15 July.

Better research and policies are not enough to ensure that wheat productivity rises to meet the expanding demand of the world population in coming decades, according to Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram, 2014 World Food Prize winner and retired CIMMYT distinguished scientist.

“If we want to make a change, research won’t do  it alone; we need to work directly with farmers  and to train young agronomists, ensuring they  have a broad vision to be able to address the problems  in farmers’ fields,” said Rajaram, speaking at a news  conference in Mexico City on 15 July.

Rajaram shared the conference table with Nuria  Urquía Fernández, representative in Mexico of  the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of  the United Nations, and with Raúl Urteaga Trani,  coordinator of international affairs of Mexico’s  Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural  Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA).  “Dr. Rajaram’s work on the genetic improvement of wheat has helped productivity to increase beyond population and demand growth,” said Urquía, who along with Urteaga introduced Rajaram at the event.

During 33 years as a CIMMYT wheat scientist, Rajaram worked directly with Nobel Peace laureate and World Food Prize founder Dr. Norman Borlaug. As leader of bread wheat breeding and later director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program, Rajaram personally oversaw the development of more than 480 high-yielding, disease-resistant varieties sown on 58 million hectares in developing countries.

Speaking to representatives of leading national and global media outlets, Rajaram thanked CIMMYT for the freedom to conduct his groundbreaking wheat breeding research. He also acknowledged the International  Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas  (ICARDA), where he  worked for several years  before his retirement  in 2008, for its efforts  to breed and spread  improved legumes and  other crops that foster  diverse farming and  diets. “Finally, I want to thank Mexico and farmers in agricultural states like Sonora, Estado de México, Jalisco and Guanajuato. As a foreigner, when I first arrived at CIMMYT I had to show that I could do the best for Mexico,” explained Rajaram, who was born and raised in India but is also a naturalized citizen of Mexico, a country he said opened its arms to him and his family.

Outcomes of the conference included positive reports by leading Mexican newspapers and Notimex, the Mexican wire service whose postings are run by many other national media outlets.

Indian organizations honor Rajaram for World Food Prize win

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By Gurdev Singh/CIMMYT

Dr. S. Ayyappan, director general of ICAR, honored Rajaram as “the best living wheat scientist in the world today.”

Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram was on board a flight to New Delhi on 18 June when he was announced as the recipient of the 2014 World Food Prize (WFP). Upon landing, he was given a warm welcome by his close associates in India, Dr. O.P. Shringi and Sanjaya Chhabra of DCM Shriram Ltd. and others, who informed him of the official announcement. After spending some quality time with his family in his hometown of Varanasi, he had a completely new itinerary for his visit that involved several congratulatory events at agriculture-related institutes and organizations.

Rajaram has been working closely with DCM   Shriram Ltd. in New Delhi since 2005 on its wheat project. Sovan Chakrabarty, the business head and executive director, congratulated Rajaram in the traditional Indian way, with a shawl and a bouquet, in the presence of the Shriram Farm Solutions team members.­ Shringi said the firm took pride in being the first to receive and honor Rajaram after the official W­­­FP announcement. During the ceremony, Rajaram said he is a strong proponent of public-private partnerships for food security and increasing wheat productivity in India. He applauded Shriram Farm Solutions’ excellent famer delivery mechanism and the progress it has made in developing and marketing new wheat varieties in a very short time.

At the request of Dr. R. R. Hanchinal, chairperson of Protection of Plant Varieties & Farmers’ Rights Authority at the National Seed Institute of India, Rajaram attended a function at the National Agriculture Science Center Complex. Dr. S. Ayyappan, director general of the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) and the chief guest, honored Rajaram as “the best living wheat scientist in the world today,” and Hanchinal shared his achievements with a select group of scientists and authorities from Indian agricultural universities and institutions.

Children of DWR staff members joined Dr. Indu Sharma, director of DWR, to welcome Rajaram with waving flags.

The Indian Agriculture Research Institute in New Delhi, where Rajaram earned his master’s degree in genetics and plant breeding, also held a function. The director, Dr. H.S. Gupta, lauded Rajaram’s contributions and congratulated him for being selected to receive the most prestigious prize in agriculture.

In a speech to several distinguished scientists, Rajaram emphasized the need to address the productivity problems in the eastern part of the Indo-Gangetic plains.

Rajaram has been a regular visitor at Punjab Agriculture University in Ludhiana, so the vice chancellor, Dr. B.S.  Dhillon, invited Rajaram to an event in his honor.  Dr. Darshan Singh Brar, former head of plant breeding, biotechnology and biochemistry at the International Rice Research Institute, and Dr. Gurdev Singh, a former professor at the university and adviser to DCM Shriram Ltd., were special guests. Rajaram took time to interact with the faculty, particularly Dr. Kuldeep Singh, director of biotechnology, and his Ph.D. students.

Dr. Indu Sharma, director of DWR, presented a memento to Rajaram during an event held in his honor.

Dr. Indu Sharma, director of ICAR’s Directorate of Wheat Research (DWR), organized a large event for Rajaram’s visit to DWR on 27 June. Sharma joined a group of staff members’ children to welcome Rajaram by waving flags, and then she shared some fond memories in a staff meeting of him interacting with Indian wheat scientists in the field.  The DWR staff gave Rajaram a standing ovation for his unparalleled contribution to wheat production, particularly in Asia. Dr. A.K. Srivastava, director of the National Dairy Research Institute in Karnal, offered hearty congratulations and opined that wheat varieties with slightly more biomass would be handy in providing much-needed fodder for milking animals.

Addressing the audience, Rajaram congratulated the Indian wheat researchers for achieving remarkable wheat production again this year, and he emphasized the need to develop human resources and train the younger generations to work hard in the fields in an interactive mode. He also discussed the important issue of post-harvest handling and storage facilities in India. He then planted a tree at DWR’s new compound in Karnal.

Economist: ‘You may never have heard about CGIAR, but you need to care about it’

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By Carissa Wodehouse/CIMMYT

Visiting Fellow Richard Woodward of the Sheffield Political Economy Research  Institute (SPERI) recently wrote a blog post titled “The CGIAR: The Most  Important International Organisation You’ve Never Heard Of?” in which he  describes the history and impact of CGIAR, including CIMMYT. He wrote that  CGIAR “can justifiably claim to have made the biggest contribution to global  nutritional improvements witnessed in the last 50 years.”

CIMMYT, along with IRRI, are named as two key institutions in the Green Revolution. In describing the crop-based focus of the CGIAR centers, Woodward highlights the 22 new maize varieties released by CIMMYT in 2013 as well as CIMMYT’s work fighting the rust disease Ug99.

Calling attention to CGIAR’s fluctuating budget, Woodward points to the political nature of funding that goes to catastrophes and large-scale programs such as the World Food Programme. As a result of this budget squeeze, CGIAR is forced “towards uneasy collaboration with large agribusiness corporations,” which Woodward notes has its dangers.

Woodward also calls into question why CGIAR gets little attention, when eradicating extreme hunger and poverty are both prominent Millennium Development Goals.  He writes:

“Hunger and poverty are complex problems that defy straightforward policy solutions. Nevertheless, there is widespread agreement that boosting agricultural productivity in an environmentally sustainable manner – a goal to which CGIAR is devoted – is vital if poverty is to be alleviated.”

Hidden factors contribute to food insecurity in female-headed households

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By Florence Sipalla/CIMMYT

Results of a survey conducted by the Adoption Pathways (AP) project indicate that even when male-headed and female-headed households have the same resources, the latter are still less food-secure. This difference could be attributed to unreported social exclusion, discrimination and access to credit facilities which the researchers will explore further through group discussions and using repeated observations (panel data) with the farmers.

ACIAR donor representatives at Egerton University.

“Equal access to inputs, human capital, resources and institutional services may not close the gender food security gap,” said Menale Kassie, CIMMYT socioeconomist and the AP project leader. “The quality of information extension workers are providing to female farmers could be different.” Kassie presented research results of a survey conducted in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania to donor representatives from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) led by Nick Austin, the chief executive officer, and Mellissa Wood, director of the Australian International Food Security Research Centre (AIFSRC) at Egerton University in Njoro, Kenya.

Farmers who adopt a suite of conservation agriculture (CA) technologies get the best returns. “If farmers combine technologies, the income they generate is much higher,” Kassie said. “Farmers who adopted a combination of sustainable intensification practices (SIPs) such as crop rotation, minimum tillage and improved maize seed had the highest returns.” Survey results from Tanzania also show that adoption of improved varieties improves the food security status of food-insecure households.

The results also shed light on the spill-over effects of SIP adoption, risk of crop failure and the cost of risk reduction. The AP project is compiling detailed gender-disaggregated data to study causes of food insecurity and technology gaps. “This data set is cross-cutting and will be used by stakeholders beyond the project partners,” Kassie said. “We are bringing students on board to increase research productivity.”

From right: Donor representatives ACIAR CEO Nick Austin, AIFSRC director Mellissa Wood and Australian High Commission’s Paul Greener listen to Egerton University

Wilcyster Nyateko, a master’s student at Egerton University using AP data and working under the supervision of Professor Gideon Obare, presented her research proposal “Determinants of diffusion of agro-innovation amongst smallholder farmers in Eastern and Western Kenya” to the donor delegation. “The AP data helped to widen my perspectives,” said Nyateko, who is going to include variables such as plot characteristics, tenure and distance of the plot from the household and market in her analysis based on the feedback she received. Other stakeholders who will have access to the panel data include Egerton University’s policy thinktank, Tegemeo Institute. “This is a fascinating data set,” Austin said after the presentation.

The project has contributed to capacity building of partners and young economists who have participated in data collection. “The project also provided employment opportunities to the enumerators,” Kassie said. The project has produced 15 publications and seven policy briefs and presented research results in various international forums. “Some of the challenges encountered include attrition problems such as spouses working in distant places and who are not able to participate in the survey or families included in the original sample who had migrated to other villages.”

AP plans to produce more empirical outputs using the panel data, build the capacity of partners and share the research outputs with key stakeholders (e.g. policymakers, development partners, researchers and farmers). “The key challenge is taking research products to these stakeholders; doing so requires more resources and time, beyond the project period,” Kassie said. The donors also paid a courtesy call to the Egerton University leadership where they were hosted by Professor Rose Mwonya, the deputy vice chancellor of academic affairs, and Professor John Mwangi, who gave them an overview of the university and its involvement in the AP project.

Predominance of informal seed systems in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Pakistan: a wake-up call for improvement

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By Krishna Dev Joshi, Muhammad Imtiaz and Akhlaq Hussain/CIMMYT

Improving and sustaining wheat productivity gains in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (KP) and other parts of Pakistan is vital to addressing national food security, as wheat is a major staple in the country.

Photos: Asad Khan

Regular deployment of new, high-yielding and rust-resistant wheat varieties is essential to ensure ongoing improvement in wheat yields. This can only be achieved once a sustainable and profitable wheat seed system is in place. A workshop held on 4 June at the Cereal Crops Research Institute (CCRI), Nowshera, KP, brought together 49 participants representing major actors in the wheat value chain.

Participants included researchers from institutes in KP as well as from the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), farmers, extension personnel, private seed companies, seed regulatory bodies and CIMMYT scientists. Participants analyzed gaps and opportunities in the current seed system. CIMMYT organized the event under the Agriculture Innovation Program (AIP) for Pakistan with CCRI, KP, Nowshera and PARC. The AIP is funded by the USAID Feed The Future Initiative.

Workshop participants stressed using innovative approaches for research, extension, seed production and marketing. According to the KP Department of Agriculture Extension, wheat productivity in the province is nearly 1.6 tons per hectare (t/ha) while the national average yield in Pakistan is around 2.7 t/ha. Wheat is grown on about 730,000 hectares in KP. Considering a 30 percent seed replacement rate, about 30,000 tons of wheat seeds is needed annually in the province. According to the Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department (FSC&RD) only around 7 percent of certified seeds are replaced every year (3.8 percent by public sector and 2.9 percent by private seed companies).

The remaining 93 percent of seed comes from informal sources. The lack of business perspective among almost all the major value chain actors coupled with weak coordination and linkage between them were identified by workshop participants as the main reasons for the predominance of informal seed systems in the province. The prevalence is a concern for wheat growth and sustainability. Farmer Abdul Malik from Swabi stressed that “seed is very important to maximize yield, and unavailability of quality seeds is the main cause of low productivity.”

He asked for better wheat seed of the right varieties that is available locally, adapted to specific conditions and affordable. Another farmer asked for focus on wheat varieties suitable for rain-fed conditions, as more than 60 percent of the wheat grown in KP is rain-fed. The workshop identified the long adoption lag phase as another major issue in releasing new varieties and making certified seed available. Workshop participants stressed that seeds coming to villages should include information about new varieties and associated technologies. Seed packets should contain information about new varieties and their specific adaptation to irrigated or Barani (rainfed) lands and other relevant traits. Demonstration plots and other adaptive research are important to popularize new varieties as well as for educating farmers about new seed varieties.

A total of 23 private seed companies are registered in KP, the majority of which are in urban areas, and few of these are functional. The majority of functional seed companies do not have wheat seed in their business portfolio or only have a small quantity of wheat seed because demand is low and this business is unprofitable. The high cost of seed production (small holdings and majority of nonirrigated areas, low productivity, etc.) adds to this complexity. complexity. The net returns from the sale of wheat seeds by the public sector Agricultural Development Fund (ADF) project were only around 7 percent (disregarding staff salary, overheads, seed storage costs).

The wheat seed business is unlikely to become a business of choice for private sector companies in this province. Wheat seed from Punjab does have a market in KP because of lower seed procurement prices. ADF, within the Department of Agriculture Extension, encourages local private seed companies to minimize dependency on Punjab, though the implementation is complicated without changing wheat grain pricing policy regime in the province, a major factor responsible for making this industry highly uncompetitive.

Workshop participants highlighted the role of seed and agricultural input dealers that sell wheat seed in the province. These dealers are vital actors in areas with underdeveloped seed markets, such as KP. Ensuring access to correct and appropriate information about the seeds they sell is vital. Participants, for example, raised concerns that some seed dealers sold seeds of a rust- susceptible wheat variety last year in Swabi, resulting in big losses for farmers. This was linked with a lapse in the implementation of Seed Act provisions, which is meant to protect farmers.

Former CIMMYT Global Wheat Program Director wins 2014 World Food Prize

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CIMMYT is delighted that the World Food Prize 2014 has been awarded to distinguished wheat breeder Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram for his achievements in plant research and food production.

Continuing the legacy: Rajaram donates $20,000 to the Global Wheat Program to support training for the next generation of wheat breeders.

According to Hans Braun, Director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program, “Rajaram is the most successful wheat breeder alive.” Rajaram cultivated a generation of wheat scientists and taught them about wheat improvement and key CIMMYT methods. Rajaram studied genetics and plant breeding under Prof. M.S. Swaminathan at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi in 1964 before joining Dr. Borlaug in Mexico in 1969.

At CIMMYT, Borlaug became a mentor to Rajaram and they worked side by side in the fields of El Batán, Toluca and Ciudad Obregón. Rajaram – known affectionately as “Raj” — led bread wheat breeding research at CIMMYT for more than three decades. His leadership and commitment to wheat improvement resulted in the release of more than 480 varieties of bread wheat with increased yield potential and stability, along with wide adaptation and resistance to important diseases and stresses.

Rajaram with his mentor Dr. Norman Borlaug in the wheat fields of Obregón. Photos: CIMMYT files

These varieties include the spring and winter wheat cross Veery, which was released in 36 countries; new approaches to disease resistance, for instance ‘slow-rusting’ wheatvarieties; and largely reduced foliar blight susceptibility in semi-dwarf wheat. Rajaram’s wheats are grown on some 58 million hectares worldwide and approximately 30 million hectares in South Asia. One of his wheats, PBW 343, is India’s most popular wheat variety. His varieties have increased the yield potential of wheat by 20 to 25 percent.

He also led efforts at CIMMYT to apply the concept of durable resistance to rusts — the most damaging wheat disease across the world. His accomplishments include training or mentoring more than 700 scientists from dozens of developing countries. The World Food Prize was established by Norman Borlaug in 1986 to honor the achievements of individuals who have “advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world.”

The first recipient of the World Food Prize was M.S. Swaminathan, the man who brought Borlaug’s semi-dwarf, high-yield, disease-resistant wheat varieties to India – thus earning him the title “Father of the Indian Green Revolution.” Rajaram was nominated for the World Food Prize by Dr. Thomas Lumpkin, Director General and Dr. Hans Braun, Director of the Global Wheat Program at CIMMYT, with support from national agricultural research institutes around the world.

Congratulations Raj, from the entire CIMMYT staff! We continue to be inspired by your work, which has benefited millions of farmers and consumers all over the world.

Biography: 

Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram was born on a small farm in rural Uttar Pradesh, India, in 1943. Unlike most children in his socioeconomic position, he was encouraged to pursue an education by his parents, and graduated from secondary school as the top-ranked student in the entire Varanasi District. Rajaram went on to earn a B.Sc. in agriculture from the University of Gorakhpur, a M.Sc. in genetics and plant breeding from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi and a Ph.D. in plant breeding from the University of Sydney. Rajaram’s outstanding career at CIMMYT began in 1969 working as a wheat breeder alongside Dr. Norman Borlaug. In 1972, at the age of 29, Borlaug appointed him as head of CIMMYT’s Wheat Breeding Program. After 33 years at CIMMYT, including seven as Director of the Global Wheat Program, Rajaram joined the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) as Director of Integrated Gene Management before formally retiring in 2008. During his distinguished career, Rajaram’s work resulted in the release of more than 480 varieties of bread wheat in 51 countries, which are grown on more than 58 million hectares worldwide. Rajaram is a Mexican citizen and resides in Mexico.

Wheat Field Day in Georgia

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By Alexei Morgounov/CIMMYT

Georgia has high soil fertility and good agro-environmental conditions for growing wheat, yet the country imports most of the grain it needs. To help make Georgia’s agriculture sector more self-sufficient, a small workshop and Wheat Field Day were held 7 June at Lomtagora Farm in Marneuli County.

The farm is a focal point in Georgia for the testing and adoption of winter wheat germplasm supplied by the International Winter Wheat Improvement Program, a joint project of the government of Turkey, CIMMYT and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). Several high-yielding varieties have been identified, multiplied and delivered to the farming communities in the country. During the field day, participants saw more than 70 varieties and breeding lines demonstrated on big plots and submitted seed requests for the ones they liked. Traditional Georgian bread was baked from different genotypes including the landraces, and samples were offered to the visitors.

Drs. Kakha Lashki and Alexei Morgounov discuss the performance of the new wheat lines. Photo: Alexei Morgounov

Dr. Kakha Lashki, head of the farm, emphasized the need for technological innovations and varieties to improve farms and increase wheat production. Dr. Alexei

Morgounov of CIMMYT-Turkey presented some of those technological solutions. He also addressed the challenges facing wheat farmers globally. Dr. Ram Sharma of ICARDA-Tashkent spoke about the outcomes of regional cooperation with ICARDA and how they can be applied in Georgia.

This was the fifth year for the Wheat Field Day, and it attracted around 100 participants from across the country.

CIMMYT and the Canadian wheat alliance join forces to fight durum wheat diseases

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By Mike Listman/CIMMYT

CIMMYT and the Canadian Wheat Alliance (CWA) launched a collaboration on 9 June to apply genomics-assisted breeding to develop new durum wheat varieties that are more resistant to wheat rust, Fusarium head blight and other diseases. The work will benefit Canadian farmers and durum wheat producers in developing countries.

CIMMYT wheat breeder Karim Ammar

“The world uses more than 25 million tons of durum wheat each year, either for pasta or as a key food staple and source of livelihoods in North Africa and the Middle East. This collaboration will help to assure sufficient durum wheat production and quality to meet rising global demand,” said Hans Braun, director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program.

The CWA is a project of the government of Saskatchewan, the National Research Council Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. It is focused on accelerating variety development, sustainable yields with variable climates, increased productivity and sustainable profitability.

“Our collaboration with CIMMYT, one of the world’s most reputable organizations in the field of wheat improvement, will allow Canadian wheat farmers to benefit from the Center’s world-class and extensive research,” said Roman Szumski, chair of the CWA Steering Committee.