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.

Hidden factors contribute to food insecurity in female-headed households

Written by on July 1, 2014. Posted in News.

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

Written by on June 27, 2014. Posted in News.

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.

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

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

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

Written by on June 24, 2014. Posted in Features.

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

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

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.

“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.

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.”