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.

Two new maize hybrids released in Bolivia

Written by on July 9, 2013. Posted in News.

maize-hybrids1 Bolivia’s National Institute for Agricultural, Livestock and Forestry Innovation (INIAF), in collaboration with CIMMYT, released two new maize hybrids, INIAF H1 and INIAF HQ2, targeting drought-prone areas with high production potential. The release was announced at an event held on 13-14 June 2013 in Villa Montes and Yacuiba.

The new releases are single-cross hybrids derived from CIMMYT lines. INIAF H1 is a yellow flint hybrid with good lodging resistance and excellent husk cover; INIAF HQ2 is a yellow semi-dent hybrid with high protein content (quality protein maize, QPM) and moderate drought tolerance. Both were tested at Villa Montes, where they competed favorably with two widely sown commercial checks, yielding 7 t/ha despite the low (352 mm) rainfall during the growing season.

While Bolivia is self-sufficient in maize production with about 300,000 ha sown to maize and an average yield of 3.3 t/ha, climate change is starting to impact the agricultural sector just like in other Latin American countries. Weather conditions during the current crop season have been unfavorable for production due to persistent drought, and last week the government declared the region of Chaco, where 80% of the country’s maize is produced, a natural disaster area.

Félix San Vicente receiving an award from the Minister of Energy.

In the light of the challenges, Rubén Vaca, Sector Executive of Villa Montes, who led the event during the first day, congratulated INIAF on its achievements and noted their potential for increasing the profitability of maize production. Similar sentiment was expressed by Nemesia Achacollo, Minister of Land and Rural Development, and José Sosa, Minister of Energy and Hydrocarbons, who attended the event in Yacuiba on day two. Achacollo applauded the release of the hybrids and announced that “the Ministry is allotting 2 million US$ to INIAF to support their maize program.” As the Ministry of Energy and Hydrocarbons is also involved in agriculture, Sosa stated that the urea factory being built in Cochabamba will support the development of Chaco Tarijeño and the country as a whole. Marcial Rengifo, Sector Development Executive of Chaco Tarijeño in Yacuiba, then stressed the importance of the hybrids for Chaco farmers, and Jemy Gonzales, manager of the National Seed Company, committed to multiplying all the hybrids released by INIAF in the future to ensure that high quality seed is accessible to farmers in a timely fashion and at a reasonable price.

After Achacollo presented a hybrids release certificate to INIAF director general Gabriel René Hoyos Bonillas, the coordinator of INIAF’s Maize Program, Tito Claure, thanked everyone present and asked that INIAF’s collaboration with CIMMYT be maintained, adding that he “would join forces with all the national institutions involved in maize production.”

“We must promote QPM, which – due to its superior nutritional qualities – benefits both the people who consume it directly as well as pig farmers,” said Luis Narro, CIMMYT maize breeder and focal point for South America. Narro then encouraged INIAF to adopt doubled haploid technology to reduce the time required to develop new hybrids and indicated that the GreenSeeker handheld sensor could be used to optimize nitrogen fertilization in maize crops.

Luis Narro explains the advantages of hybrid INIAF H1.

“The CIMMYT-INIAF collaboration that led to the hybrids release is part of CIMMYT’s regional efforts conducted jointly with an improved germplasm evaluation network in the lowland tropics of Latin America,” said Félix San Vicente, CIMMYT maize breeder for Latin America. “We are ready to strengthen these links in the future in order to be able to handle the negative impacts of climate change on the Chaco region in Bolivia,” he added.

At the end of the event, Narro and San Vicente received awards from the Bolivian authorities in recognition of their inter-institutional collaboration and joint successes.

Nutrient Expert™ decision support tools for maize and wheat launched

Written by on July 8, 2013. Posted in News.

Nutrient-Expert™ The Nutrient Expert™ decision support tools for maize and wheat in India were officially launched for public use on 20 June 2013 at the National Agricultural Science Centre Complex in New Delhi during a meeting jointly organized by the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI) and CIMMYT.

Beginning in 2009 under the umbrella of the Cereal System Initiative in South Asia (CSISA) and later CRPs MAIZE, WHEAT, and CCAFS, the tools were developed through a joint effort of IPNI, CIMMYT, and national agricultural research systems to help Indian farmers achieve higher yields and profits. These easy-to-use, interactive, computer-based tools capture spatial and temporal variability to provide precise nutrient recommendations to smallholder farmers in the wheat and maize systems of India.

The Nutrient Expert™ was developed in collaboration with target users and local stakeholders from public and private sectors through a series of dialogues and consultations, using site-specific nutrient management principles. As a result, the tools reflect resource constraints of smallholder farmers, lack of access to soil testing, and absence of tillage-specific nutrient management strategies in India. In a three-year validation process assessing their efficacy under contrasting management scenarios, conducted across a large number of locations in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), state agricultural universities, state agriculture departments, and fertilizer and seed industries, the tools have shown improved productivity, profitability, efficiency, and reduced environmental footprints over existing fertilizer management practices. According to Bruno Gerard, Global Conservation Agriculture Program director, “the excellent outputs of the IPNI-CIMMYT partnership will benefit not only South Asia but also other regions.” Adding to the positives of the tools, IPNI vice president Adrian M. Johnston praised their unique ability to link databases for output.

The tools were launched at the presence of CIMMYT director general Thomas Lumpkin, ICAR Crop Sciences deputy director general Swapan K. Datta, agricultural commissioner with the Government of India JS Sandhu, Adrian M. Johnston, Bruno Gerard, and ICAR assistant director general for Natural Resource Management B. Moham Kumar. As India faces many challenges to feed its growing population with changing food habits, Lumpkin emphasized the need for new tools: “We need to apply precision agriculture on each square meter; we need tools like the Nutrient Expert™ and remote-sensing technology to be able to do so.”

During panel discussions following the launch, participants stressed the importance of the tools and charted out the future course of action for their large-scale dissemination. “The challenges currently faced by South Asia should be used as an opportunity to create impact. Enabling farmers to apply fertilizer nutrients correctly and in a more precise way is one such opportunity,” said Datta. The Nutrient Expert™ tools will also help reduce the knowledge gap between extension workers and farmers, he added. Concerned about the degradation of natural resources, Kumar stressed that “excessive and imbalanced use of chemicals significantly contributes to nonpoint source pollution. A precise, site-specific nutrient management approach is a welcome solution to this problem.”

The concluding session, chaired by KD Kokate, ICAR deputy director general for extension, and co-chaired by CIMMYT’s Raj Gupta, provided necessary guidance for dissemination throughout the national system and other stakeholders.

The program was coordinated by IPNI-South Asia director Kaushik Majumdar and CIMMYT senior cropping systems agronomist ML Jat. Nutrient-Expert™3

IMAS phenotyping locations

Written by on July 8, 2013. Posted in News.

Nepal wheat scientists receive government award

Written by on July 4, 2013. Posted in News.

Nepal The Government of Nepal and the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) awarded Madan Raj Bhatta, Sarala Sharma, Deepak Bhandari, Dhruba Bahadur Thapa, and Nutan Raj Gautam — winners of the first-ever Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI) Gene Stewardship Award — for their outstanding contribution to food security through development and promotion of rust resistant wheat varieties in the country and for highlighting the country’s research globally. The award – one million Nepalese rupees (11,440 US$) and a plaque – was presented by the Minister of Agricultural Development Tek Bahadur Thapa Gharti on 8 May 2013 on the occasion of the 22nd anniversary of NARC in Khumaltar, Lalitpur.

On behalf of the awardees, Bhatta and Sharma thanked the Government of Nepal and NARC for recognizing their contributions and praised the role of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program and BGRI in promoting agronomically superior rust-resistant wheat varieties crucial for food security in the region. “I am going to use 100,000 rupees of my prize money to establish a fund awarding two farmers or technicians every year for significant contributions towards wheat rust management,” said Sharma in her award acceptance speech. On behalf of CIMMYT, wheat breeder Arun Joshi congratulated the award-winning team and NARC for their remarkable contributions in bringing about excellence in development and release of rust-resistant wheat varieties, seed multiplication of resistant varieties with diverse genetic backgrounds, disease surveillance, participatory research with farmers, and improvement of livelihoods of small-scale farmers to combat the problems of food security.

“Wheat has played a great role in internal food supply in the country, a role equivalent to more than 26 billion rupees annually,” said B.B. Gurung, NARC executive director. “The new technologies and wheat varieties introduced by the team have brought a significant increment in wheat area and productivity in the last five years,” he added, referring to the increase in wheat area from 0.7 million hectares to 0.8 million, production from 1.4 million tons to 1.8 million, and productivity from 2.1 t/ha to 2.3 t/ha.

Seed Health Lab aces its annual audit

Written by on June 27, 2013. Posted in News.

Sanidad-de-Semillas-2012 Since obtaining official accreditation in 2007, CIMMYT’s Seed Health Lab (SHL) must undergo a yearly audit to detect any deviation ISO/ IEC 17025 (General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories). To fulfill this requirement, on 17-18 June 2013, the Mexican Accreditation Entity reviewed the SHL’s quality system and seed testing protocols, and also inspected its new facilities in the Bioscience Building. It applied international standards on the general requirements for testing and calibration laboratories and found zero non-conformities at the SHL.

Monica Mezzalama, SHL head, thanks all SHL staff for their patience, perseverance, and professionalism, which made it possible to achieve this excellent result. Congratulations, SHL!

Four new maize varieties released in Ethiopia

Written by on June 26, 2013. Posted in News.

A happy farmer holding cobs of BH547 (right hand) and BH546 (left hand).

The national productivity of maize, one of the most important staple crops grown in Ethiopia, is close to 3 tons/ha, a 50% increase since 2008. This increase is attributed mainly to the use of new technologies, including improved varieties such as the ones developed and provided to smallholder farmers by the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) and CIMMYT. This year, the National Maize Research Program of EIAR in collaboration with CIMMYT released four new varieties for high-potential and drought-prone maize growing areas.

The new varieties include BH546 and BH547, intermediate maturing, three-way cross hybrids released for high-potential maize growing areas, and MH140 and Melkassa-1Q for drought-prone areas. The varieties were either developed from CIMMYT source germplasm or they contain CIMMYT inbred lines as one of their parents. BH546 has a yield advantage of 30% and 10% over BH540 and BH543, the most popular hybrids adapted to the same agro-ecology, with a mean yield potential of 8.7 tons/ha across several locations under optimum management conditions. Its narrow semi-erect leaves make it desirable for high-density planting and inter-cropping with legumes, a common practice in most maize growing areas of the country. BH547 has a grain yield advantage of 26.4% and 7% over BH540 and BH543, respectively, and mean grain yield of 10 tons/ ha. Farmers participating in variety selection preferred the hybrids over the popular varieties for their bigger cob size, good husk cover, high yield potential, and better reaction to known diseases of the area.

MH140, originally developed by CIMMYT-Zimbabwe, is a highly stable high-yielding hybrid tolerant to drought and low nitrogen stresses, as well as major foliar diseases of the central rift valley of Ethiopia. MH140 showed a yield advantage of 18% and 10% over the popular hybrids of the drought prone areas, MH130 and MHQ138, respectively. Melkasa1Q, developed for dry and marginal maize growing areas of Ethiopia, is a quality protein maize version of an extra-early maturing open-pollinated variety Melkasa-1 developed through backcrossing-cum- recurrent selection. The whole grain of Melkasa1Q contains 3.9% lysine and 0.9% tryptophan, about twofold of the levels in Melkassa-1; it shows an 11% grain yield increase over Melkasa-1, with mean grain yield of 4.6 tons/ha.

EIAR in collaboration with CIMMYT and the Ministry of Agriculture have begun variety demonstration and popularization to promote the seed delivery system. Private and public seed companies involved in seed production can take up these varieties and embark on their production and marketing.

EIAR thanks CIMMYT breeders, seed specialists, and project leaders Dagne Wegary, Dan Makumbi, Amsal Tarekegne, Cosmos Magorokosho, Tsedeke Abate, and Mulugeta Mekuria for their technical and financial support leading to the release of the varieties.

MasAgro partners explore the nutritional and industrial uses of corn starch

Written by on June 24, 2013. Posted in News.

Almidon-flipped Although many of us know that cereals such as maize contain starch, very few of us are aware of its usefulness and numerous applications. Luis Arturo Bello from the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) is one of a number of Mexican scientists who are internationally recognized for their knowledge and research on starch, especially corn starch. Bello, along with other researchers from Mexico’s National Autonomous University (UNAM)-Juriquilla and CIMMYT, discussed various aspects of starch with representatives of the academic and industrial sectors during a course combining theory and practice sponsored by the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture (MasAgro) initiative at the Center for Applied Physics and Advanced Technology (CFATA-UNAM), in the city of Querétaro on 3-5 June 2013.

“We know that compounds such as starch, proteins, and oil, among others, are very important for the quality of the finished product, which is what people consume. This is why the food industry is interested in learning more about starch and identifying maize varieties with optimal traits for food processing and production,” said Mario Rodríguez of UNAM during the event.

The course highlighted how maize starch content influences food processing and preparation (for example, the nixtamalization process for making tortillas), as well as its varied uses and nutritional roles. Course participants also had the opportunity of learning the theory underlying X-ray technology, electronic microscopy, and rheology, and of identifying the diverse forms and composition of maize starch.

The course brought out the importance of exploring maize genetic diversity as a potential source of resistant starches and dietary fiber, and of starches with different forms, structures, and sizes. As part of the human diet, these starches influence the glycemic index, which indicates how quickly carbohydrates such as starch are digested and absorbed by the human body. Some starches have a very rapid glycemic index (they are absorbed very quickly), and others, such as resistant starches, have a slower one.

The glycemic index is important in conditions such as diabetes, where glucose levels have to be controlled, or in diets aimed at gaining or recovering energy reserves. In disorders such as obesity, a lot of glucose accumulates, fat metabolism is activated, and fats are stored in adipose tissue.

“By exploring and understanding the genetic diversity of maize landraces through initiatives such as MasAgro, we are finding new ways of improving and conserving it,” said Natalia Palacios, maize nutritional quality researcher at CIMMYT. “Starch is only one of many nutritional and industrial compounds that are useful to us.”

Seed systems in a snapshot

Written by on June 23, 2013. Posted in News.

snapshot1 — CIMMYT seed systems specialists Peter Setimela and James Gethi and Crop Breeding Institute’s Busiso Mavankeni review seed parent trials in Kadoma, Zimbabwe.

Curbing maize post-harvest losses continues

Written by on June 22, 2013. Posted in News.

zambia2 “Reducing post-harvest losses is key to increasing availability of food as it is not only important to increase domestic food production but also to protect what is produced by minimizing losses,” stated Zechariah Luhanga, Permanent Secretary, Provincial Administration at the Office of the President, Eastern Province, at the Provincial Stakeholders Workshop on Effective Grain Storage for Sustainable Livelihoods of African Farmers Project (EGSP-II) held in Chipata, Zambia, on 29 May 2013. “We as the key stakeholders and participants in the agricultural sector can enhance food security and improve incomes of resource poor farmers and artisans by promoting improved storage technologies such as metal silos and hermetic bags in Zambia.”

The workshop had five main objectives: (1) to provide a forum for exchange of ideas, information, and research outputs on EGSP-II among stakeholders in Chipata; (2) to raise awareness on post-harvest losses and dissemination of effective grain storage technologies among provincial stakeholders; (3) to consult provincial stakeholders on effective postharvest technologies, policy environment, and market issues for the purpose of refining, updating, and implementing EGSP-II; (4) to engage in policy dialogue on matters related to storage and find means of enhancing adoption of the technology; and (5) to acquaint key stakeholders in the province with the post-harvest technology and ways to enhance its adoption among farmers.

Maize suffers heavy post-harvest losses estimated at 20-30%. “The main underlying factor is that most of the small-scale farmers do not have access to improved storage facilities,” explains Tadele Tefera, CIMMYT entomologist and EGSP-II coordinator. Ivor Mukuka, EGSP national coordinator for Zambia, noted that since the larger grain borer was first found in Zambia in 1993, there have been sporadic outbreaks causing substantial losses in maize. “For instance, rapid loss assessments in Lundazi and Chama districts revealed losses ranging from 5-74%. Other studies indicate storage losses of between 45-90% based on farmers’ estimation,” he added.

Luhanga reminded participants that grain post-harvest management development requires active participation of all stakeholders, including government, research systems, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector in bringing the technologies to farmers’ doorsteps. “You need to make sure to set priority activities so that they address the challenges faced by smallholder farmers regarding maize grain post-harvest management, but also expand their opportunities in the maize sector,” Luhanga urged more than 50 stakeholders present in the meeting.

Besides post-harvest loss reduction, the metal silo technology provides huge business opportunities to artisans. “Engaging in metal silo fabrication and marketing can create jobs and rural enterprise development,” said Egbet Munganama, principal agricultural engineer at the Department of Mechanization, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Zambia. According to Jones Govereh, EGSP policy analyst, artisans can earn over US$ 3,000 per year if they fabricates just five silos a month on average. “This is an attractive income for micro-entrepreneurs but commercially oriented entrepreneurs can earn much more,” he explained.

“Improved maize storage technologies have a great potential impact on food security as most households lose much of their maize due to poor storage facilities,” concluded CIMMYT principal economist Hugo De Groote, considering that maize is the major food crop in Zambia.

Tadele thanked the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) for funding EGSP-II, a project aiming to reduce post-harvest losses, enhance food security, and improve incomes of resource-poor farmers in Zambia.

French savoir-faire

Written by on June 17, 2013. Posted in News.

French After a year of exchanges, planning, and construction, CIMMYT and CMF, a French company manufacturing greenhouses, inaugurated CIMMYT’s new state-of-the-art greenhouses at El Batán on 13 June 2013. The facility is funded by CIMMYT and the Carlos Slim Foundation and is part of a vast laboratory complex opened on 13 February 2013 in the presence of Bill Gates and Carlos Slim.

It was a good opportunity for the French Ambassador, Elisabeth Beton Delègue, to come and visit CIMMYT, while supporting a dynamic French enterprise working in Mexico and other parts of the world. She was guided through the visit by Kevin Pixley, Marianne Bänziger, Renaud Josse (director of CMF) and his staff, and Guillermo Simon, representing CARSO, Carlos Slim’s conglomerate company.

“This is a great adventure,” said Beton Delègue. “It is the first time I see a realization of this type, with multiple possibilities allowing a dialogue between researchers and manufacturers and I am proud of our French technology.” CMF has designed a greenhouse of 1,577 m2 consisting of 21 cells that can reproduce different climates. It has its own weather station too. “We work closely with the researchers to define what the real research needs are,” explains Josse. “We try to build the most adequate project. One cell can reproduce a desertic climate, another a tropical climate. We work on the characterization of necessities in terms of temperature gaps and humidity fluctuations among other things.” This precise control of climatic parameters will be of great assistance for CIMMYT’s research on climate change.

The other building to be realized by CMF is a smaller greenhouse of 400 m2 which consists of five sealed cells for biosafety (BSL2 or biosafety level 2). No exchange between indoor and outdoor area will be possible. The project is well underway and should be completed soon.

Marianne Bänziger reflected on the importance of the biosafety guarantee, and appreciated that calling in the experts in the area would certainly lead to higher quality research.

“I am very happy to participate in the inauguration of the greenhouses and to visit CIMMYT,” said Beton Delègue, “and I hope to collaborate with CIMMYT in the future because we have many projects going on which deserve that we meet again.”

For Ravi Singh, CIMMYT distinguished scientist, “the new greenhouses are like a new car model. The good control will help to improve efficiency and obtain better results.”

Promising CIMMYT maize inbreds and pre-commercial hybrids identified against maize lethal necrosis (MLN)

Written by on June 14, 2013. Posted in News.

The maize lethal necrosis (MLN) disease first appeared in Kenya’s Rift Valley in 2011 and quickly spread to other parts of Kenya, as well as to Uganda and Tanzania. Caused by a synergistic interplay of maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMV) and any of the cereal viruses in the family, Potyviridae, such as Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV), Maize dwarf mosaic virus (MDMV), or Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV), MLN can cause total crop loss if not controlled effectively.

A regional workshop on MLN and the control strategies was organized by CIMMYT and KARI during February 12-14, 2013 in Nairobi, which was attended by some 70 scientists, seed company breeders and managers, and representatives of ministries of agriculture and regulatory authorities in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and the USA. The Workshop led to identification of important action points steps for effectively controlling the disease.

CIMMYT scientists have been working closely with virology experts from USDA-ARS and Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) to develop suitable protocols for testing the responses of maize germplasm against MLN, and to identify promising inbred lines and hybrids with resistance to MLN. During the 2012-2013 crop season, the CIMMYT-KARI team undertook extensive screening of inbred lines, pre-commercial and commercial hybrids in Naivasha and Narok in Kenya, under high natural disease pressure and artificial inoculation, respectively.

A trial featuring 119 commercial maize varieties (released in Kenya) under artificial inoculation during 2012-2013 revealed that as many as 117 varieties were susceptible to MLN. Another set of trials including 335 elite inbred lines, 366 pre-commercial hybrids and 7 commercial hybrids (as checks) under MLN artificial inoculation in Narok, and another set of trials comprising 350 elite inbred lines and 135 pre-commercial hybrids under natural disease pressure in Naivasha, led to identification of some promising CIMMYT inbred lines as well as pre-commercial hybrids showing resistance or moderate resistance. These results offer considerable hope to combat, through breeding efforts, the deadly MLN disease that has severely affected maize harvests and discouraged farmers from growing maize in eastern Africa.

Notes on trial results

The details of the promising CIMMYT elite inbred lines and pre-commercial hybrids against MLN are presented in Table 1 and Table 2, respectively. The results presented in Table 1 are based on evaluation of CIMMYT inbred lines in four independent trials, two under artificial inoculation (Narok) and two under natural disease pressure (Naivasha) during 2012-2013. In each trial, entries were replicated (minimum two), and MLN severity scores (on a 1-5 scale basis) were recorded three or more times during the crop cycle, from the vegetative to the reproductive stage. The highest average MLN severity score (max. MLN score), recorded at any stage during the trial, is presented as representative of a given entry.

The data must be critically assessed and cautiously used by stakeholders and partners. More weight should be given to data from artificially inoculated trials, since trials under natural disease pressure are more liable to ‘disease escapes’ and identification of false positives. Caution must be exercised when using specific lines identified as potentially resistant (R) or moderately resistant (MR), especially when classification is based on data from only one trial (even under artificial inoculation). Please note that in such cases, the responses of the lines need to be validated by CIMMYT through further trials.

CIMMYT is working closely with both public and private sector partners to significantly expand the MLN evaluation network capacity in eastern Africa, and will continue the intensive efforts to identify/develop and deliver new sources of resistance to MLN.

For further information on:
MLN research-for-development efforts undertaken by CIMMYT, please contact: Dr BM 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.

Additional resources

UPDATE: Promising CIMMYT maize inbreds and pre-commercial hybrids identified against maize lethal necrosis (MLN) in eastern Africa
Maize lethal necrosis (MLN) disease in Kenya and Tanzania: Facts and actions (Download )
KARI-CIMMYT maize lethal necrosis (MLN) screeing facility (1.43 MB)
Maize lethal necrosis: Scientists and key stakeholders discuss strategies as the battle continues

Videos

MLN: A farmer’s plea

Maize lethal necrosis disease: A new challenge
for maize scientists in eastern Africa

Media coverage

Deadly maize disease resurfaces in N. Rift. Business Daily, 31 May 2013.

Fresh viral maize disease worries farmers. Daily Nation, 31 May 2013.

Alert out in Coast over maize disease. Daily Nation, 31 May 2013.

Extension personnel urged to lead by example in promoting metal silos

Written by on June 13, 2013. Posted in News.

Metal-Silos5 Agricultural extension service staff members in Zambia have been challenged to be the first adopters of metal silos to help promote the technology for effective grain storage. “I implore you, extension workers, to be the first adopters and users of the metal silo technology. As citizens that live side by side with farmers, go and be the first to practice what you will be preaching. You must lead by example,” stated Bert Mushala, the Permanent Secretary, Provincial Administration, Office of the President, Eastern Province, in a speech read on his behalf by his assistant Beenzu Chichuka at the official opening of the Improved Postharvest Management Training Workshop for Extension and Media Personnel held during 27- 28 May 2013 in Chipata, Zambia. “Farmers learn by seeing. Therefore, before they start using the metal silos, they want to see the chief executives, the business executives, extension workers, journalists, and other opinion leaders in the forefront, zealously storing maize in the metal silos,” he added.

The purpose of the training was to build technical capacity on hermetic grain storage technologies, such as metal silos and super grain bags, among extension and media staff in the project implementation districts of Chipata and Katete. The workshop intended to create awareness on the importance of grain post-harvest management, help gain insights into different factors affecting post-harvest management, and provide a better understanding of traditional and improved post-harvest technologies and their use in grain loss reduction, summarized Tadele Tefera, CIMMYT entomologist and the Effective Grain Storage for Sustainable Livelihoods of African Farmers Project (EGSP II) coordinator. Ivor Mukuka, EGSP national coordinator for Zambia and ZARI chief agricultural research officer, noted that this was part of the process of sharing information on EGSP as a means of promoting effective grain storage and thus helping smallholder farmers safely keep their grains for longer and sell when the time and price are right.

Reiterating the importance of the technology, Mushala noted that self-sufficiency in food grains in the country does not depend only on increased production and productivity, but also on minimizing losses both in the field and during storage. Over the years, supporting organizations and other partners, including the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, have poured colossal amounts of resources into the production component of the sector. “The resultant improved yield gains, especially in maize, have largely been wasted through post-harvest losses,” regretted Mushala, adding that “this project is therefore unique and outstanding to us in Zambia as it focuses on the comparatively neglected storage aspects. It is the first one of its kind and could not have come at a better time.”

Mushala then reminded the journalists that they had an enormous task of educating the masses on the new form of storage as many citizens, even in urban areas, are engaged in agriculture. “Go and empower the masses with this information so that together, we can reduce on-farm storage losses to zero,” Mushala urged the participants. Eastern Province Agriculture coordinator Obvious Kabinda called for commitment: “You must have confidence and belief in the technology if you are to successfully promote it to others.”

The messages did not get lost on the participants. “I have gained good knowledge of the technology and, like other trainees, will be using it to ensure that farmers are aware of its existence, have access to it, and are able to adopt the metal silos,” said Michelo Lubinda, a producer with the Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS), confirming the usefulness of the workshop.

Tefera thanked the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI) and the Ministry of Agriculture for their commitment in implementing the project in Zambia, and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) for funding the project.

The training was organized by CIMMYT, ZARI, and the Department of Mechanization, Ministry of Agriculture, and facilitated by Tefera, Mukuka, CIMMYT agricultural economist Hugo De Groote, EGSP policy economist Jones Govereh, and senior mechanization specialist Moffat Khosa and principal agricultural engineer Egbet Munganama from the Department of Mechanization Ministry of Agriculture, Zambia.

Farmers in Kenya’s Embu County try nitrogen use efficient maize varieties

Written by on June 10, 2013. Posted in Features.

Mercy Wawira, farmer who participated in the IMAS on-farm trial in Kenya’s Embu County

High fertilizer prices are among the major constraints facing maize farmers in Eastern and Southern Africa. “We apply just a little fertilizer, just the way you would apply salt to taste,” says a maize farmer in the Embu County, Kenya. “We lack enough fertilizer for our maize crop,” explains another one during a focus group discussion.

Kenya imports all its fertilizer, which results in high input costs borne by smallholder farmers. As agriculture forms the backbone of Kenya’s economy, the government offers farmers fertilizer at subsidized rates. “The subsidized price of Urea is about US$ 30 per 50kg bag, while without the subsidy it goes for up to US$ 50 per 50kg bag,” said the County’s land development officer Samuel Kibiu. “Despite the subsidy, not all farmers can afford the fertilizer,” he added. But even if they can, they still have to face several other challenges, such as transporting the fertilizer to their farms in Kieni, about 40 kilometers from the collection point in Embu town, after going through an elaborate process of obtaining subsidy receipts from the local agriculture office.

In October 2012, a team from CIMMYT’s Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS) project, together with the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and extension workers from the Ministry of Agriculture, visited a group of farmers in the Kieni Division, Embu County. “Fertilizer is essential in Sub-Saharan Africa,’’ says Biswanath Das, IMAS project leader, “but fertilizer use in the region is amongst the lowest in the world, averaging less than 20kg per hectare.” This falls way below the recommended application rates and below average of what farmers apply in Asia and Latin America. “Most smallholder farmers in Africa are extremely risk averse, as the bulk of smallholder production is under rain-fed systems,” says Das. “As a result, farmers are reluctant to invest in expensive inputs such as fertilizer due to unpredictable rainfall.”

Making fertilizer more accessible in Africa has proved extremely difficult and researchers have thus begun searching for other ways to address the issue. The IMAS project is developing new maize varieties that are more efficient at using the small quantities of nitrogen currently applied in smallholder maize production systems in Southern and Eastern Africa. The goal is to develop maize varieties that yield up to 50% more than the existing varieties through better nitrogen use efficiency. The first set of varieties developed through the IMAS breeding pipeline showed promising results during onstation trials and is being tested by farmers in Kieni. “Despite the poor rains, we got good yields,” said Mercy Wawira commenting on the IMAS hybrid she planted on her farm. “We have seen our yields improve with this new variety,” said John Bosco Mugendi who also participated in the IMAS on-farm trial. “This variety is good,” he added. Members of the community were present to help Wawira and Mugendi harvest the maize from the small trial plot. “We hope we shall get this variety again to plant in the next season,” said Obed Nyaga Njamura, agribusiness development officer in Embu’s Kieni Division.

Farmer John Bosco Mugambi also participated in the IMAS on-farm trial in the Embu County.

As yield gains observed under managed low-nitrogen stress trials on station are being replicated under farm conditions in the region, IMAS scientists feel encouraged. Together with partners in the national agricultural research systems in Eastern and Southern Africa (KARI and the Agricultural Research Council of South Africa, ARC) and Pioneer Hi-Bred in the USA, IMAS is developing nitrogen use efficient varieties to benefit smallholder maize farmers in Africa. “We broker technology through these partnerships. We also build capacity through the comparative advantage in the different institutions,” said KARI’s director Ephraim Mukisira.

A new era for Agricultural Innovation in Pakistan

Written by on June 4, 2013. Posted in News.

On 27-28 May, representatives from CIMMYT, USAID, the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), ILRI, IRRI, AVRDC, and UC Davis met with colleagues from several Pakistan universities, agricultural secretaries of the provinces, development sector organizations, private sector representatives, and farmer organizations, to discuss and plan the next stage of the USAID-supported Agricultural Innovation Program for Pakistan (AIP).

In his opening address, Randy Chester, USAID’s Deputy Office Chief for Agriculture, stated that “AIP represents a unique and unprecedented collaboration, in that it will bring together the expertise and resources of all of these organizations, including USAID, to increase the income of farmers across Pakistan.” By using the Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD) approach of agricultural research for development (AR4D), AIP “will foster a demand-driven, results-oriented, science research community, and enhance linkages between Pakistan’s agricultural research and innovation communities, the wider global community of agricultural scientists, and the private and civil society sectors,” he concluded.

AIP is a unique program for CIMMYT, aiming to address not only cereals and cereal systems, but also livestock, vegetables, and fruit trees, through a combination of commissioned projects, a competitive grants system, and human resource development. The program will draw on the expertise and resources of the five international partners, but many other Pakistan partners will be brought on as the program develops. PARC Chairman, Iftikhar Ahmad, highlighted the role that Pakistan organizations have to play: “We need a new kind of collaboration,” he said. “It must be a two-way process in that Pakistan must also contribute to international science. Pakistani scientists must play a crucial role in paying back what we get from the outside. Other economies can benefit from Pakistani science as well,” he added.

It would not be the first time that Pakistan has positively impacted worldwide agricultural development. Its national agricultural research system was instrumental in identifying two high-yielding wheat mega-varieties, ‘Mexi-Pak’ and ‘Pak81’, also known as ‘Siete Cerros’ and ‘Seri’, respectively, recalled Hans Braun, Director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program.

During spirited working groups, participants put forward their suggestions for project priorities that will enable AIP to increase the incomes of tens of thousands of farmers, through increased agricultural productivity, in the shortest time frame possible. There will be a strong focus on adapting and up-scaling existing technologies present elsewhere in the region, such as Greenseeker sensors for improved nutrient management.

Closing the meetings, Jonathon Conly, USAID Mission Director, Pakistan, praised the group in their collaboration to revolutionize Pakistan’s agricultural sector. “If we care about driving economic growth, it has to be done by increasing farm productivity, by increasing adoption of technologies, and human capacity,” he said; concluding: “I believe that AIP will lead to the desperately-needed increases in agricultural productivity in this country.” Pakistan35

Collaborative wheat breeding for durable resistance to stripe rust in China

Written by on May 31, 2013. Posted in News.

Chinese-wheat-grower Breeding of durable resistance to stripe rust —the greatest biotic threat to wheat production in the largest wheat producer and consumer in the world, China— was the major theme of a workshop jointly organized by the CIMMYT-Sichuan office and the Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (SAAS) at the SAAS Plant Breeding Institute in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China, on 18 May 2013. The workshop aimed to promote the adoption of second-generation parents and slow-rusting breeding strategies in spring wheat-producing areas of China and to facilitate collaborative breeding strategies between SAAS and its sister organizations in neighboring provinces. The workshop consisted of a seminar and a discussion session on germplasm and breeding strategies led by Gary Rosewarne (CIMMYT Global Wheat Program senior scientist) and Bob McIntosh (Emeritus Professor at the University of Sydney), and followed by a field visit to the Southern China Field Station at Xindu.

China has the largest area prone to stripe rust epidemics in the world. Traditionally, the disease has been controlled through genetic strategies focused on incorporating major seedling resistance genes to provide immunity. However, this method places strong pressure on the fungus to evolve and overcome these genes. Since the 1950s, the development of virulent pathotypes to widely used resistance genes has caused numerous serious stripe rust epidemics, with the major ones in 1990 and 2002 resulting in the loss of 2.65 and 1 million tons of grain, respectively. Given China’s importance in the world’s wheat production and consumption, any threat to the country’s wheat production has implications for global food security.

CIMMYT has pioneered breeding of durable resistance to stripe rust through the incorporation of multiple, slow-rusting loci, a breeding strategy well established at SAAS but largely ignored by most other wheat breeders in China who still focus on major seedling resistance. At the beginning of this century, SAAS and CIMMYT established a shuttle breeding system to introduce slowrusting loci into Sichuan germplasm. Five high-yielding but susceptible Sichuan lines were sent to Mexico each year for three years; Ravi Singh, CIMMYT distinguished scientist and head of Bread Wheat Improvement, then made single backcrosses with several CIMMYT donor lines. The resulting lines were advanced in Toluca and Obregón, Mexico, and large populations of early generation materials were sent back to Sichuan for further advancement and final selection. Fixed lines from these first generation crosses have shown good levels of resistance in China, along with yields comparable to those of the check varieties. There is currently a range of second generation parental lines with slow-rusting loci in Chinese backgrounds; it is expected that with these as donors, researchers should be able to raise yield potential further while maintaining resistance.

The workshop resulted in a proposed collaborative strategy which would allow breeders representing different regions of China to receive several lines of second generation Chinese slow-rusting donors and to conduct single backcrosses with some of their elite germplasm that has become susceptible. Chinese scientists involved in the process will be invited to help select early generation materials using the bulk selection methodology. After selection, large early generation populations will be sent back to the regions for further selection and advancement under local conditions. “We anticipate that through this mentoring process, breeders will feel comfortable adopting new breeding strategies that can increase their efficiencies and ensure that durable stripe rust resistant lines are released throughout China,” explained Rosewarne.

China12