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.

New agreement with Mexican government will allow MasAgro to continue its groundbreaking work

Written by on June 19, 2014. Posted in Features.

Photo: Conservation Agriculture Program staff

Dr. Thomas Lumpkin/CIMMYT Director General Mexico is seen by many as one of the strongest emerging economies, with a high GDP and strong purchasing power parity. Yet a commonly overlooked fact is that nearly 23 percent of Mexicans, some 27.4 million citizens, still suffer from food shortages and insecurity1. In late 2010, CIMMYT and the Mexican Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA) launched the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture project (MasAgro) to raise farm community living standards and foster sustainable food security through research, development, training and the transfer of technology —ultimately to make a difference to the lives of these millions.

From an initial budget of US$ 3 million to a budget of nearly US$ 20 million in 2014, MasAgro has been seen as a success and was described by the G20 Mexico Agriculture Group as “an experience that could serve as a model for coordinating research and development, innovation, transfer of technology, as well as public-private links in the agri-food sector.” Nonetheless, since the 2012 elections and change of government, as is typical, there has been a shift in priorities within SAGARPA with an increased focus on impact and downstream research. These changes also resulted in a changing vision for MasAgro, including new administrative rules. As a result, after months of extended negotiations, the technical annex between CIMMYT and the new SAGARPA administration was agreed upon by both parties, and signed last week.

For many across CIMMYT, the past few months have been a period of uncertainty, and I am grateful to all our staff for their patience during this difficult process. We are now entering a new phase of MasAgro with a broader vision and broader host of donors. MasAgro’s work, scientific research and innovation are integrated into CIMMYT’s strategy. MasAgro is an instrument to achieve a goal — to raise maize and wheat production in a sustainable manner in Mexico and perhaps other countries within Latin America — and this goal will remain beyond the parameters of a project’s lifespan.

CIMMYT’s mission — to increase the productivity of maize and wheat systems for global food security and reduce poverty — means that we must develop capacities across the entire value chain. Our challenge remains to accelerate the delivery of results but also to convince taxpayers, development agencies and policymakers that it is essential to invest in research. New crop varieties, good agronomic technologies and efficient value chains are the key drivers of growth in agricultural productivity.

Looking beyond the CIMMYT-SAGARPA relationship, CIMMYT is expanding MasAgro’s innovation and partnership model directly to Mexican state governments and to other Latin American countries.

For example, the Mexican state of Guanajuato has committed MX 10 million pesos (US$ 760,000) for 2014 to the Take It to the Farmer initiative, and there have been requests from the governments of Guatemala and Bolivia to replicate parts of the MasAgro model. Key innovations — ICT in agriculture, precision agriculture, post-harvest management, maize landrace improvement and conservation agriculture — are readily available for transfer to other countries. MasAgro and its many partners have achieved impressive results in just three short years (see box on page 2). Knowledge and insight gained from this pioneering project are serving as a blueprint for other CIMMYT projects and indeed other countries.

MasAgro’s Achievements and Impacts:

• 200,000 farmers are linked to MasAgro activities.

• 166 communities are engaged as part of the National Crusade Against Hunger.

• GreenSeekerTM technology has generated farmer savings in fertilizer application of US$ 1.7 million.

• 13 prototypes of agricultural machinery have been developed.

• 181 technicians have been certified in training on conservation agriculture.

• A network of more than 2,000 technicians is providing technical assistance to more than 60,000 farmers.

• Maize farmers applying MasAgro technologies have achieved an average yield increase of 25.4 percent. • More than 3,700 farmers are receiving agronomic and climate information via the MasAgro Móvil phone service.

• 40,000 ultra-high-density genetic profiles of wheat varieties and 20,000 of maize landraces have been generated.

• The largest search for heat and drought tolerance undertaken in any crop has been initiated, evaluating more than 70,000 wheat varieties for these traits.

• 4,000 landraces are being used to establish the relationship between genome-based information and traits such as drought tolerance and disease resistance. This is the most complete genome-wide association study (GWAS) in the history of maize research.

New Leadership for MasAgro

Dr. Bram Govaerts, Associate Director for the Global Conservation Agriculture Program, will assume the leadership of MasAgro, with responsibility for coordinating the evolution of related projects in Latin America. Bram joined CIMMYT in 2007 and since 2010 has been the leader for the MasAgro Take It to the Farmer initiative. Bram received his bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and Ph.D. from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium in bioscience engineering and agricultural production systems.

The boom-bust cycle of rust resistance genes continues unabated in western China, but CIMMYT lines mostly unaffected

Written by on June 11, 2014. Posted in Features.

By Garry Rosewarne/CIMMYT

Pi’Xian yield trials of Chinese-bred, CIMMYT-derived stem rust lines (above) and the National Yield Trials (below) in the 2013-14 season that was particularly bad for lodging. Photos: Garry Rosewarne

The “boom-bust cycle” of resistance genes refers to the widespread use of a single resistance gene that protects multiple varieties of a grain from a disease (boom). When the disease overcomes this resistance gene many varieties simultaneously become susceptible (bust). The wheat cultivar Mianmai 37, released in 2004, has always had high levels of resistance to yellow rust. However, in the 2013-14 season in China’s Chengdu basin, this cultivar has high levels of the disease, indicating a new rust pathotype has likely evolved. CIMMYT researchers are awaiting investigations by pathologists to confirm the presence of a new race. Mianmai 37 has been extremely popular in western China and has been used as the high-yielding check in the government-run provincial yield trials for several years. It is also used extensively in breeding programs throughout the region, but with the outbreak of this new pathotype, several breeders have reportedly lost between 60 percent and 80 percent of their breeding stocks. About 60 percent of entries in the government trials have also showed susceptibility this year, despite testing last year that showed they were all highly resistant. It is unknown which resistance gene has been overcome.

Me Wu and Dr. Zhu Huazhong from the Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences making final selections in Pi’Xian, Sichuan Province.

This new virulence comes on top of the V26 pathotype that first appeared in 2011-12. This pathotype took out the widely used gene Yr24/26, rendering many varieties susceptible. Of major concern was the apparent loss of resistance in the CIMMYT derived cultivar Chuanmai 42, the world’s first commercially released variety with a synthetic background, which showed a 15 to 20 percent leap in yield potential compared with the best non-synthetic lines in the region. Fortunately, Chuanmai 42 was segregated for resistance to V26, and reselections were quickly made and seed was bulked up so that this high-yielding variety can still be grown. The new yellow rust pathotypes have had virtually no effect on the CIMMYT nurseries in the region, where the vast majority of lines are maintaining their durability.

CIMMYT is collaborating with the Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (SAAS) and the Chinese Government State Affairs for Foreign Expert Administration, which partially funds Dr. Garry Rosewarne’s work, on various projects to improve China’s wheat yields. Over the past three years, in conjunction with Dr. Yang Ennian, a breeding program has been established that focuses solely on the use of adult plant resistances. This program is also virtually unaffected by the arrival of new pathotypes. This year, fixed lines were selected from the most advanced material, and these will be grown on small observation plots next year. Not only is the use of slow-rusting genes having an effect in this program, but the change from pedigree breeding to selected bulk generation advancement is resulting in much more efficient field operations. This, combined with extensive use of summer nurseries, will see an increase in efficiency of up to 50 percent in the breeding program.

Dr. Zhu Huazhong of SAAS is also using slow-rusting genes from CIMMYT, albeit for a different reason. Chinese material is generally completely susceptible to the wheat stem rust lineages of Ug99. Although stem rust is rare in China, Dr. He Zhonghu recognized that it would be prudent to employ a pre-emptive breeding strategy in preparation for a potential incursion of Ug99. To this end, Dr. Zhu has been making crosses between Sichuan material and several of the CIMMYT stem rust nurseries in China. Not only are these lines showing good yellow rust resistance in yield trials, there appears to be an increase in lodging tolerance.

A Chinese-produced small-scale combine harvester is being tested on yield plots at Guanghan, Sichuan Province. Photo: Garry Rosewarne

CIMMYT’s Sichuan office also is testing machine harvesting of yield trials using a Chinese-built small plot harvester that costs about US $6,000, with hopes of implementing multi-location yield trials so lines can be more rigorously tested for yield stability. Collaborative breeding and research activities throughout China are also being driven by the Sichuan office, where slow-rusting germplasm is being distributed to selected key breeding programs to use in their hybridizations. Genetic populations have also been distributed for multiple environment testing against yellow rust, leaf rust, powdery mildew and fusarium head blight. Other research is focusing on quantifying the value of slow-rusting genes under epidemic conditions, using molecular markers to pyramid slow-rusting genes behind major seedling resistances and identifying novel resistance genes to yellow rust.

Varietal uptake by farmers is particularly difficult in China, where new seed can cost up to US$ 1,000 per ton. In a novel venture for this region, a seed company is being paid by the provincial government to grow another CIMMYT synthetically derived cultivar, Chuanmai 104, and the seed will be given directly to farmers in an effort to improve yields in the region.

AIP-maize establishes public-private variety evaluation network in Pakistan

Written by on June 9, 2014. Posted in News.

By AbduRahman Beshir Issa/CIMMYT

The maize component of the recently launched Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP) for Pakistan has created a public-private network to evaluate CIMMYT international trials of white and yellow kernel hybrids and OPVs including conventionally developed bio-fortified maize.

Faisal Hayat, R&D manager of Jullundur Private Ltd. (right), and AbduRahman Beshir Issa during a maize evaluation at JPL. Photos: AbduRahman Beshir

Seven types of maize trials consisting of different maturity groups, various tolerances to water stress and enhanced levels of protein quality were introduced from CIMMYT Colombia, Mexico and Zimbabwe and distributed to five private seed companies, six public research institutes and two universities for evaluation during the spring season (February-June). The preliminary evaluation during seed setting showed good performance of introduced materials, and a number of entries are showing strong selection potential.

The testing will continue in the summer season (July-November) with additional varieties and partners to check seasonal variations on the performance of the varieties. The AIP is funded by the USAID Feed the Future Initiative and collaborators receive grants to conduct variety evaluation and other project activities. This approach will strengthen the public-private partnership and ensure accelerated diffusion of improved maize cultivars to the smallholders at an affordable price. In addition, partners will enrich their gene pool and enhance their breeding program through the acquisition of CIMMYT maize germplasm.

AIP maize trials distributed to public and private partners in Pakistan (Spring 2014)

Partner institution/center No. of trials

Maize and Millet Research Institute (MMRI): 4
Cereal Crops Research Institute (CCRI): 5
National Agricultural Research Institute (NARC): 7
Jullundur Private Ltd (JPL): 3
Four Brothers Seed company (4B group): 3
Ali Akbar Group: 2
ICI Pakistan Ltd: 2
Petal Seed Company (PSC): 1
Agricultural Research Institute – Balochistan/Quetta: 1
Agricultural Research Institute- Tandojam (ARIT)-Sindh: 1
Agricultural Research Institute- Gilgit Biltistan: 1
University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF): 1
University of Agriculture Peshawar (UAP): 1

Putting up resistance

Written by on June 5, 2014. Posted in News.

Dr. Ravi Singh, a CIMMYT Distinguished Scientist and Head-Bread Wheat Improvement & Rust Research, was recently profiled for his work with wheat in the article “Putting Up Resistance,” which appeared in The Scientist(Click here to read article)

Singh spoke to the importance of wheat around the world and his work with the Ug99 strain of wheat rust, which Singh was one of the first scientists to discover in the 1980s.

Additional articles on Dr. Ravi Singh:

A Warming Planet Struggles to Feed Itself. The New York Times.
Interview with Ravi Singh. CIMMYT.

El trabajo del Dr. Ravi Singh, científico distinguido y jefe del programa de mejoramiento de trigo duro y experto en royas, es tema del artículo Putting Up Resistance, que publicó recientemente The Scientist (haga clic aquí para leer el artículo)

Singh habla de la importancia del trigo en el mundo y de su trabajo con Ug99, una cepa de la roya del tallo. Singh fue uno de los primeros científicos que la detectaron en la década de los ochenta.

Otros artículos del Dr. Ravi Singh:

A Warming Planet Struggles to Feed Itself. The New York Times.
Interview with Ravi Singh. CIMMYT.

CIMMYT, Oak Ridge scientists collaborate on food security challenges

Written by on May 29, 2014. Posted in News.

Carissa Wodehouse/CIMMYT

On 20-22 May, CIMMYT hosted a summit with researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), a U.S. Department of Energy facility that is the largest multipurpose science laboratory in the U.S. and a committed member of the Knowledge Systems for Sustainability community of practice.

CIMMYT and ORNL began interacting in 2011, with CIMMYT leadership visiting ORNL in 2013. This summit was the formal realization of the commitment between the two groups. Bram Govaerts, associate director of CIMMYT’S Global Conservation Agriculture Program, gave an overview of the necessity for collaboration by referring to a recent National Geographic article, “Feeding 9 Billion,” that offered a five-step plan to sustainably increase the global food supply:

1. Freeze agriculture’s footprint

2. Grow more on the farms we already have

3. Use resources more efficiently

4. Shift diets

5. Reduce waste

The first four suggestions, Govaerts pointed out, were being directly addressed at the summit. Technology developed at ORNL will play a major role, through the improved use of big data, assessment tools, sensors and controls. One example described by Jay Gulledge, director of ORNL’s Environmental Services Division, is a laser-based infrared computed tomography spectroscopy tool that can read the greenhouse gas emissions of an area.

Virginia Dale, ORNL Corporate Fellow in the Environmental Services Division, addressed how farmers, data specialists and others are having different conversations around the same topics. “When people talk about food security, they mean different things; there’s no agreement in the world.” To create a common starting point, Dale described ORNL’s efforts to determine specific environmental and socioeconomic sustainability indicators that add value to the entire community.

On the second day, the morning was dedicated to creative, collaborative brainstorming to specify work for each of the five task areas. Stan Wood, senior program officer in the Agricultural Policy and Global Development Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, noted a recurring tension among all task groups between focusing on external audiences versus serving internal scientists’ needs. He described how the science community tends to ask for a model, while visitors to the Gates Foundation will ask “so what difference does it make?” Wood suggested focusing both on the practitioners (will it actually be helpful in the field?) and the beneficiaries (are they front and center?) to create a strong human narrative.

Molly Jahn, professor in the Laboratory of Genetics and Department of Agronomy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, reviewed the partnership potential including commercial and media groups, common resources and a focus on near-term rather than hypothetical goals. “We’re on the edge, and not everything we commit to or try works,” she said. “Challenges happen, and that is part of the experiment. Those challenges themselves are deeply informative.”

CIMMYT Director General Tom Lumpkin closed the summit, describing Jahn as “a living matrix maker … she gets us out of our silos.” He continued, “so much could be done if we had all of the data, all of the research projects that have disappeared into paper recycling and digital trash cans.” Acknowledging the senior CIMMYT staff present, Lumpkin emphasized that they are people who have spent time “on the ground, in the villages, who have looked farmers in the face. They can bring a lot to the discussion.”

Launch of Invest in LAC Agriculture campaign: strong support for CIMMYT work in Mexico

Written by on May 28, 2014. Posted in News.

By Ricardo Curiel

The Invest in LAC Agriculture campaign kicked off 13 May to encourage increased investment and unlock the grain production potential of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The region is home to more than one-third of the world’s freshwater resources and more than a quarter of its medium- to high-potential farmland.

Scaling up investments in agricultural development and research in LAC was one of the key policy recommendations of a groundbreaking report by the Inter-American Development Bank and the Global Harvest Initiative titled The Next Global Breadbasket: How Latin America Can Feed the World, released on 23 April (download the report here). This report illustrates the opportunities, obstacles and challenges that stand in the way of realizing LAC’s agricultural potential, and how the public and private sectors can and must move forward together.

CIMMYT was among more than 30 partner organizations that contributed compelling evidence for policy action action and investment. In particular, CIMMYT shared its experience in improving extension services in Mexico by developing MasAgro-Móvil, a mobile information service that offers technical advice, grain price information and weather updates to more than 3,500 farmers who participate in the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture (MasAgro) project.

Bernardo Guillamón, manager of the Office of Outreach and Partnerships, IDB, welcomes food security experts to the kickoff event for the Invest in LAC Agriculture Campaign. Photos: Ricardo Curiel

CIMMYT and the Mexican Agriculture Secretariat (SAGARPA) started MasAgro in 2010 to increase Mexico’s maize and wheat productivity by developing improved maize seeds for rain-fed zones and promoting conservation practices among resource-constrained farmers, explained Bram Govaerts, associate director of the Global Conservation Agriculture Program, who represented CIMMYT at the launch event at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. MasAgro drew praise from the representatives of the partner institutions who spoke at the launch.

Ricardo Sánchez, sustainable food security director for Latin America of The Nature Conservancy, commended the collaboration for offering opportunities to young farmers who wish to earn their livelihood from agriculture. Philippe Villers, president of GrainPro Inc., said that Mexico and CIMMYT were at the forefront of the Green Revolution of the 1970s and that today their partnership is developing extension systems that effectively achieve yield increases and reduce post-harvest losses.

The LAC report was further discussed at an afternoon briefing attended by members of Congress and their staffs as well as representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Agency for International Development, NGOs, foundations and think tanks, plus researchers and academics working in and for LAC.

Harare station holds field day

Written by on May 26, 2014. Posted in News.

By Cosmos Magorokosho, Mulugetta Mekuria and Tawanda Mushandu/CIMMYT

A strong hailstorm that ravaged the CIMMYT research station in Harare turned out to be an unplanned but effective demonstration for the Southern Africa Regional Office’s partners day, held on 15 April.

Participants were excited about the low-cost maize storage silos on display and the efficacy of the SuperGrainbag, a hermetically sealed grain storage system. They also were surprised to see how well the lodging-resistant varieties had withstood the hail that had fallen two weeks earlier.

Some of the varieties promising to end hunger in Africa are on display. Photos: Tawanda Mushandu, Irene Chakoma and Oswell Ndoro

The event drew more than 200 participants from various Zimbabwe government departments, private seed companies, universities, agriculture colleges, the donor community, diplomatic missions, agro-input companies, and other stakeholders. Economist Mulugetta Mekuria highlighted that the CIMMYT Harare station has evolved from a purely maize breeding station to a maize improvement and farming systems research station.

The participants visited programs showcasing technologies on effective grain storage; new drought-tolerant and disease-resistant hybrids and open-pollinated varieties (OPVs); and new technologies for phenotyping and sustainable intensification. They also learned about conservation agriculture technologies such as legumes that can be used effectively in soil improvement and crop rotation systems, low-cost field equipment suited to CA systems for smallholder farmers, and recommended agriculture input application for CA systems. The new hybrid and OPV maize varieties were classified according to maturity group, grain quality, disease resistance, plant aspect, and yield potential. Of particular interest were the germplasm products showing high yield potential, tolerance to low soil nitrogen and resistance to biotic stresses such as maize streak virus, northern leaf blight, grey leaf spot and cob rots.

John Govereh explains the use of the SuperGrainbag.

The Maize Physiology program showcased the nitrogen-use efficiency work in progress and the latest low-cost technologies that are supporting the breeding activities, and how they can help breeders choose the best germplasm. The day ended with a discussion during lunch where participants gave positive and constructive feedback on what they had seen and learned in the field, and more importantly, on what they would wish to see CIMMYT scientists develop in the future.

Update: CIMMYT maize inbred lines and pre-commercial hybrids with potential resistance to maize lethal necrosis (MLN)

Written by on May 22, 2014. Posted in News.

By B.M. Prasanna/CIMMYT

Since 2011 MLN has become a disease of serious concern in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and possibly Rwanda. CIMMYT has been working in close collaboration with the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), private sector partners and virology experts from the USA to combat the disease through host-controlled resistance.

MLN-susceptible line (CML505) versus MLN-resistant inbred line (CLRCY034).

A CIMMYT-KARI MLN screening facility was established at Naivasha in September 2013, and a large array of maize germplasm is presently being evaluated against the disease under artificial inoculation. Subsequent to the development of effective protocols, CIMMYT and KARI have been conducting MLN screening trials in Kenya since 2012, to identify promising inbred lines and pre-commercial maize hybrids with resistance to MLN.

A promising pre-release CIMMYT hybrid versus an MLN-susceptible commercial check.

This is the second update of the information on potential MLN-resistant or moderately resistant inbred lines and pre-commercial hybrids (crossed with CIMMYT varieties), following the first update that was shared with public and private sector partners in May 2013. An evaluation of CIMMYT inbred lines and pre-commercial hybrids was done under artificial inoculation during 2013-2014 in two independent trials, at Narok and Naivasha sites in the Rift Valley, Kenya (Tables 1 and 2).

In each trial, the entries were grown in at least two replications, and MLN severity scores were recorded at different stages of crop growth (vegetative and reproductive stages) on a 1-5 scale (1 = no disease symptoms, 5 = extensive damage). The highest MLN severity score recorded across different trials on a particular entry, and the corresponding disease response rating, are presented here. For a list of the new lines and hybrids, click here.

“A taste of the new CIMMYT”: DG shares vision with fund council

Written by on May 21, 2014. Posted in Features.

By Karen Willenbrecht/CIMMYT

Dr. Thomas A. Lumpkin, CIMMYT director general, welcomed members of the CGIAR Fund Council to the El Batán campus on 9 May by promising them “a taste of the new CIMMYT.”

The Fund Council, a representative body of donors and other stakeholders, is the decision-making body of the CGIAR Fund. Its first onsite meeting of 2014 was held 7-8 May in Mexico City, hosted by Mexico’s SAGARPA, and many of the members visited the El Batán campus the following day for a series of presentations and tours that gave them a first-hand look at CIMMYT’s work. Lumpkin opened the day with an overview of CIMMYT’s unique history and its value to the international community, reminding the council members that in some developing countries, up to 90 percent of wheat and maize crops are from CIMMYT-derived seeds.

He also outlined some of the challenges and achievements in the regions where CIMMYT operates:

Africa

The continent is spending US $18 billion per year on wheat imports, Lumpkin said, but it is capable of growing enough wheat to meet all its demand with the right farming methods, training and policy environment. High temperatures and droughts brought on by climate fluctuations pose a severe problem, as do epidemics of new diseases. However, the quick response to the appearance of maize lethal necrosis (MLN) provides a model for responding to future diseases —thanks to generous funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and ingenious work by CIMMYT scientists, we were able to begin releasing MLN-resistant germplasm in just two years.

Americas

MasAgro is an exciting initiative that has already posted impressive gains in Mexico’s national effort to increase grain production and reduce hunger. In the past year, CIMMYT has reorganized the program to align with the Mexican government’s National Crusade Against Hunger (Cruzada Nacional Contra el Hambre). In addition to ongoing work in Colombia, recent visits by government representatives of Bolivia and Ecuador mean that CIMMYT’s work in Latin America may expand.

South Asia

Constraints to germplasm exchange are a major challenge in the region, and the impact of climate change, population growth and water shortages is most acute here. CIMMYT’s expertise can help farmers make the necessary shift from water-intensive rice to cotton and maize. The Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) is a bright spot in the region, already hosting field days that draw thousands of farmers. Lumpkin then shared some of the recent successes of the CRPs. From MAIZE, he singled out the Striga weed management program; the increase in maize seed fortified with essential nutrients; and small farm mechanization, with a particular focus on developing equipment that women farmers can comfortably use. Highlights from the WHEAT program include the adoption of zero-tillage in Kazakhstan and the wheat boom in Ethiopia, where yields have doubled in a decade.

From there, Lumpkin moved on to the future of CIMMYT, which will continue to undergo rapid growth and change. Exciting new programs and technologies will shape the way we fulfill our mission:

BISA

Launched in 2011 in collaboration with the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), the institute now has full UN privileges and is working to improve the region’s agricultural practices. An example of the way BISA is helping Indian farmers is a technique that allows them to seed wheat into standing cotton, saving them a month of growing time. The president of Pakistan has agreed to co-fund the institute in his country, Lumpkin said, and the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan will fund new facilities and a farm.

International Wheat Yield Project (IWYP)

CIMMYT is part of a new international consortium that seeks to improve wheat yield by 50 percent within 20 years. The type of project that IWYP may fund is an effort to increase the photosynthetic efficiency of wheat from 1 percent to 1.5 percent. While the amount of change may seem insignificant, such a breakthrough would have enormous impact, allowing farmers to grow more wheat on the same amount of land using no more water, fertilizer or labor. Seed funding by MasAgro helped begin the funding pledges, which are currently at US $50 million.

Technology

Lumpkin singled out several technologies in use or in the pipeline that will increase yields and help mitigate the effects of climate change, water shortages and disease epidemics: • Doubled haploid maize inducer lines developed for the tropics.

• Use of helicopter- and blimp-mounted drone sensors to take quick, accurate measurements in the fields.

• The GreenSeeker system, which is already saving participating Mexican farmers US $100/hectare.

• Hybrid wheat – The quest for hybrid wheat varieties is so important to the world food supply that big companies have teamed up with CIMMYT to achieve that goal while still looking out for the developing world.

The past and future changes at CIMMYT can perhaps best be summarized by the evolving attitude toward our gene bank, which houses more than 175,000 accessions and is the largest in the world. In the past, Lumpkin said, the gene bank was regarded as a museum. But today, as through projects like Seeds of Discovery, CIMMYT scientists carefully analyze the small variations among the accessions, aware that those might lead to big discoveries. “The gene bank,” Lumpkin said, “is not a museum.”

New facility opens in Agua Fría, Mexico

Written by on May 14, 2014. Posted in News.

Nemesia Achacollo, Bolivia’s Minister of Land and Rural Development, and B.M. Prasanna (center left front with tan hat), director of the Global Maize Program, inaugurate a new facility. Photo: Guillermina Sosa Mendoza

By Guillermina Sosa Mendoza/CIMMYT

A new building at the Ernest W. Sprague Experimental Station in Agua Fría, Puebla, was inaugurated on 8 April during a visit from Nemesia Achacollo, Bolivia’s Minister of Land and Rural Development.

With the new facilities, CIMMYT scientists will be able to generate and evaluate maize germplasm as well as expand offerings in doubled haploid (DH) services, seed production and training courses. Ciro Sánchez, the station superintendent, welcomed the group and explained how the station is managed. Achacollo cut the ribbon to inaugurate the building and start the tour.

Vijay Chaikam, CIMMYT DH specialist, explained the benefits of DH seed and the production-to-planting process. “The quality of the parents is most important and can ensure the type of seed that will be obtained,” he said. Achacollo toured the test plots to see the growth and performance of the DH program as well as work by the low tropics team and the hybrid seed production process. She was accompanied by B.M. Prasanna, director of the Global Maize Program, CIMMYT scientists and members of the Bolivian and Ecuadorian governments.

Representatives from Bolivia, Ecuador and CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program visit the Ernest W. Sprague station in Agua Fría, Mexico. Photo: Guillermina Sosa Mendoza

Visitors exchanged viewpoints on the struggles of farmers in their respective countries and how the technology could improve sustainable production in Latin America. Arturo Silva, leader of MasAgro-Maize, and Achacollo agreed on the importance of increasing collaboration for improving maize productivity.

Update: CIMMYT maize inbred lines and pre-commercial hybrids with potential resistance to maize lethal necrosis (MLN)

Written by on May 13, 2014. Posted in News.

A promising pre-release CIMMYT hybrid versus an MLN-susceptible commercial check. Since 2011 MLN has become a disease of serious concern in the east African countries of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and possibly Rwanda. CIMMYT has been working in close collaboration with the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), private sector partners and virology experts from the USA to combat the disease through host-controlled resistance. A CIMMYT-KARI MLN Screening Facility was established at Naivasha in September 2013, and a large array of maize germplasm is presently being evaluated against the disease under artificial inoculation. Subsequent to the development of effective protocols, CIMMYT and KARI have been conducting MLN screening trials in Kenya since 2012, to identify promising inbred lines and pre-commercial maize hybrids with resistance to MLN. This is the second update of the information on potential MLN-resistant or moderately resistant inbred lines and pre-commercial hybrids (in CIMMYT genetic backgrounds), following the first update that was shared with public and private sector partners in May 2013.

An evaluation of CIMMYT inbred lines and pre-commercial hybrids was done under artificial inoculation during 2013-2014 in two independent trials, at Narok and Naivasha sites in the Rift Valley, Kenya (Tables 1 and 2). In each trial, the entries were grown in at least two replications, and MLN severity scores were recorded at different stages of crop growth (vegetative and reproductive stages) on a 1-5 scale (1 = no disease symptoms, 5 = extensive damage). The highest MLN severity score recorded across different trials on a particular entry, and the corresponding disease response rating, are presented here.

Table 1. Responses of selected CIMMYT maize inbred lines to artificial inoculation with MLN
at Narok and Naivasha, Kenya (2013-2014)

Inbred line	Kernel color	Heterotic Group	Max. MLN severity score	Disease response rating
CLRCY039	Y	B	2.0	R
CLYN261	Y	A	2.0	R
CLRCY034	Y	B	2.0	R
CKDHL120552	W	A	2.3	MR
CKDHL120161	W	B	2.4	MR
CKDHL120668	W	B	2.4	MR
CKDHL120664	W	B	2.4	MR
CML494	W	B	2.5	MR
TZMI730*	W	B	2.5	MR
CKDHL120918	W	B	2.5	MR
CML550	W	B	2.6	MR
CML543 (CKL05003)	W	B	2.7	MR
CKDHL120671	W	B	2.7	MR
CLA106	Y	B	2.7	MR
CKSBL10205	W	AB	2.7	MR
CKSBL10194	W	AB	2.8	MR
CML535 (CLA105)	Y	B	2.8	MR
CKSBL10060	W	A	2.9	MR
CKDHL121310	W	B	3.0	MR
DTPYC9-F46-1-2-1-2-B	Y	A	3.0	MR
CKDHL0500	W	B	3.0	MR

*IITA Inbred Line

Abbreviations Y: Yellow; W: White
Disease Response Rating R: Resistant (max. MLN severity score ≤2.0) MR: Moderately resistant (max. MLN severity score ≥2.0 but ≤3.0) S: Susceptible (max. MLN severity score >3.0)	MLN Severity Scoring (1-5 Scale) 1 = No MLN symptoms 2 = Fine chlorotic streaks on lower leaves 3 = Chlorotic mottling throughout plant 4 = Excessive chlorotic mottling and dead heart 5 = Complete plant necrosis

Table 2. Responses of selected CIMMYT pre-commercial hybrids under artificial inoculation
against MLN at Narok and Naivasha, Kenya (2013-2014)

Hybrid	Pedigree	Max. MLN severity score	Disease response rating
CKH12613	Under NPT in Tanzania	2.25	MR
CKH12622	CML444/CML445//CLWN234	2.33	MR
CKH12603	Under NPT in Uganda	2.37	MR
CKH12623	CML539/CML442//CLWN234	2.38	MR
CKH12624	CML539/CML442//CML373	2.45	MR
CKIR12014	CML312/CML442// CKSBL10028	2.49	MR
CKH12625	CML444/CML445//CML373	2.50	MR
CKIR12007	CML78/P100C6-200-1-1-B-B-B-B-B// CKSBL10014	2.50	MR
CKDHH0970	CKDHL0089/CKDHL0323//CKDHL0221	2.50	MR
CKIR11024	CML78/P300C5S1B-2-3-2-#-#-1-2-B-B-#// CKSBL10060	2.51	MR
CKH12607	Under NPT in Tanzania	2.51	MR
CKH10085	Under NPT in Kenya	2.62	MR
CKH12600	Under NPT in Uganda and Tanzania	2.66	MR
CKH12627	CLRCW106//CML444/CML395	2.70	MR
CKDHH0943	CKDHL0159/CKDHL0282//CKDHL0214	2.75	MR
CKDHH0945	CKDHL0089/CML395//CKDHL0214	2.75	MR
CKH12626	CML395/CML488//CML373	2.77	MR

Note: The responses of the promising hybrids mentioned above are being validated through
experiments at the MLN Screening Facility in Naivasha

MLN Severity Scoring (1-5 Scale)
1 = No MLN symptoms
2 = Fine chlorotic streaks on lower leaves
3 = Chlorotic mottling throughout plant
4 = Excessive chlorotic mottling and dead heart
5 = Complete plant necrosis

Disease Response Rating
R: Resistant (max. MLN severity score ≤2.0)
MR: Moderately resistant (max. MLN severity
score ≥2.0 but ≤3.0)

For further information on:

MLN research-for-development efforts undertaken by CIMMYT, please contact:
Dr. B.M. Prasanna, Director, Global Maize Program, CIMMYT, Nairobi, Kenya;
Email: b.m.prasanna@cgiar.org
Availability of seed material of the promising lines and pre-commercial hybrids, please contact:
Dr. Mosisa Regasa (m.regasa@cgiar.org) if your institution is based in eastern Africa, or Dr. James Gethi (j.gethi@cgiar.org) if your institution is based in southern Africa or outside eastern and southern Africa.

CIMMYT-Pakistan: modernizing national wheat breeding programs

Written by on May 10, 2014. Posted in News.

By Yahya Rauf and Imtiaz Muhammad/CIMMYT

In collaboration with the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), CIMMYT organized a ceremony at the National Agricultural Research Center (NARC), Islamabad, to present wheat planters to various research institutions and universities under the Wheat Productivity Enhancement Project (WPEP).

CIMMYT Country Representative Imtiaz Muhammad highlighted the importance of these newly imported small-plot planters, which will replace the traditional hand-sowing crop systems and antiquated machinery currently used by many of the Pakistan national programs. The planters will bring precision and efficiency to research trials.

Planters will be used in the coming wheat season by all WPEP partner institutes and will be tested at small farms for wheat cultivation. The technology will be transferred to farmers to improve crop productivity once it is successful.

Imtiaz Muhammad, CIMMYT country representative, explains the wheat planter to MNFS&R, PARC and USDA officials. Photos: Awais Yaqub

Clay Hamilton, USDA agriculture counselor in Pakistan, said the machinery handover ceremony was an example of the successful scientific collaboration between the United States and Pakistan and institutes like CIMMYT, which is critical in order to achieve better results in agriculture production. This year, CIMMYT, PARC and USDA are celebrating the 50th anniversary of Dr. Norman Borlaug beginning his work in Pakistan to improve wheat productivity.

Seerat Asghar, the secretary of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFS&R), acknowledged the ongoing technology transfer to Pakistan from the U.S. and CIMMYT. PARC Chairman Iftikhar Ahmad said WPEP achieved its goal of increased productivity by introducing disease-resistant wheat varieties, building research capacity, improving disease surveillance systems, developing seed distribution systems and modernizing national crop development programs through upgrading infrastructure and equipment. Moreover, Pakistan is now prepared to cope with the challenges of Ug99 while also developing new wheat varieties to help meet increasing food demand.

Maize-free window to curb spread of disease in Kenya

Written by on May 9, 2014. Posted in News.

By Wandera Ojanji/CIMMYT

Buoyed by the success of a campaign to curb the spread of maize lethal necrosis (MLN), the farming community around the Kiboko Crops Research Station in Makueni County, Kenya, agreed to create a maize-free window during August and September and to plant within two weeks of the onset of long rains in April.
The decisions follow an effective campaign by CIMMYT, the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and the Makueni County Ministry of Agriculture last year to create a maize-free window in March and April 2014, which required farmers to stop planting maize between the end of October 2013 and the end of February this year. The maize-free windows are critical in interrupting the disease cycle, thus reducing the population of vectors.

A community leader shares his perspectives on MLN and its control in Kiboko. Photo: Wandera Ojanj

A meeting was organized on 1 April by Stephen Mugo, principal scientist and maize breeder for CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program, in partnership with KARI and the Makueni County Ministry of Agriculture at the Kiboko Crops Research Station. More than 25 people attended, including county administration, local community leaders, religious leaders, Makueni County agricultural staff, Kiboko farmers and CIMMYT and KARI scientists.

“Farmers did, to a very large extent, respect and adhere to our resolution to have a maize-free window, which was enough to reduce vector density and consequently transmission,” Mugo said. According to Lucas Ngulu, Makindu District agricultural officer, more than 95 percent of farmers within a 5-kilometer radius of the Kiboko Crops Research Station followed the resolution passed at the first MLN stakeholders meeting on 1 October 2013. They did not plant maize and instead planted cowpeas and pigeonpeas during the period. Joel Mbithi, farm manager for the CIMMYT Kiboko Crops Research Station, attributed the success to the aggressive awareness campaigns that partners conducted in the area.

However, most of the farmers who grow maize under irrigation did not adhere to the call for a maize-free window. Their decision is attributed partly to a lack of understanding about the importance of the campaign and partly driven by the need to earn a living, as most of them depend on the sale of irrigated maize for their livelihoods.

Isaac Kariuki, the Makindu District deputy agricultural officer, noted that the few farmers who did not adhere to the advice lacked proper and accurate information on the disease. He called on the team to provide accurate information in a timely manner and to do everything possible to bring the remaining farmers on board. Some farmers wrongly believed that the disease is controlled by heavy rains. “As fate would have it, those farmers who still went ahead and planted maize lost their crop to drought that hit the region after the initial heavy and consistent rains,” Kariuki said.

Reverend Reuben Mulwa called on participants to be ambassadors and reach out to fellow farmers to respect and adhere to the maize-free windows. “Lead by example by being the first to adhere to the resolution,” Mulwa said. “But take due diligence when talking to other farmers about respecting and adhering to these resolutions.”

Field days in Malawi and Zambia promote metal silos

Written by on May 8, 2014. Posted in News.

By Wandera Ojanji/CIMMYT

The Effective Grain Storage for Sustainable Livelihoods of African Farmers Project (EGSP) Phase-II held a series of field days in Malawi and Zambia to raise awareness and demonstrate the efficacy of metal silos in protecting stored grains against weevils and larger grain borers – the two most destructive storage insect pests of maize. The project is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

Farmers feel properly stored grain from a metal silo during the field day at Banda Jessy’s farm in Chimtende Camp, Katete District, Zambia. Photos: Wandera Ojanji

During the events, farmers compared the good-quality grain stored in a silo to the damaged grain stored in traditional structures and gunny bags. Artisans and extension officers also demonstrated the proper use and handling of a metal silo. The first field day was held on 8 April at Banda Jessy’s farm in Chimtende Camp, Katete District, Eastern Province, Zambia. More than 160 farmers, metal silo artisans, agricultural officers and local leaders attended the event.

Metal silos have many benefits, said Dolan Mulumbu, Chimtende camp officer. They have the ability to store grain for many years without damage, don’t require insecticides, are portable and are insect- and rodent-proof. They also give farmers flexibility on when to sell their grain and allow them to store grain for their families. Greyson Phiri, Sambira Village headman, thanked CIMMYT for bringing the metal silo technology to farmers.

The second field day in Zambia was held on 9 April at Peter Mwanza’s homestead in the Kamlaza Agricultural Camp, Chipata District, Eastern Province. The field day was attended by more than 270 farmers from the camp. Most farmers in the area sell their grain immediately after harvest for fear of it being destroyed by post-harvest pests.

Moffat Khosa, of the Zambian Ministry of Agriculture’s Department of Mechanization, urged farmers to adopt the technology to help them avoid selling their grain immediately after harvest – when the prices average US$ 10 per 50 kilogram bag – and sell at a higher price later in the season. He challenged farmers to invest in post-harvest technologies as much as they are investing in other farm inputs, such as seed and fertilizer.

Chilese Mabengwa and Zidana Mbewe, district extension officers for Katete and Chipata, respectively, demonstrate proper use and handing of metal silos during the field day at Banda Jessy’s farm in Chimtende Camp, Katete District, Zambia.

More than 240 farmers attended the third field day on 11 April at Frank Renadi’s farm in Kapsala Village, Chigonti Extension Planning Area, Lilongwe District, Malawi. It was attended by Wilfred Lipita, controller of Agriculture Extension and Technical Services; Godfrey Ching’oma, director of Crop Development; his deputy, Bartholomew Ngauma; Penjani Theu, program manager, Lilongwe Agricultural Development Division; district development officers from Lilongwe and Mchinji; and local leaders from Chigothi. Lipita urged farmers to take advantage of the 50-50 cost-sharing offer from the project to acquire metal silos, adding that those who cannot afford to pay 50 percent can opt for cheaper super grain bags.

The project intends to distribute 7,500 super grain bags to smallholder farmers in the Lilongwe and Mchinji districts for demonstration. “The crop in the field needs to be protected from maize weevils and larger grain borers, rodents and ambient moisture fluctuations,” Lipita said. “Where the crop has done well, there is need for farmers to jealously guard the crop so that there are no post-harvest losses.”