Maize-bean intercrop in the milpa system of the western highlands of Guatemala. (Photo: Carlos Gonzalez Esquivel)
Researchers from the Department of Energyâs Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee, United States, and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Texcoco, Mexico, describe why it is important for technical assistance to build upon indigenous farming knowledge and include women if programs are to succeed in tackling poverty and hunger in rural, Mesoamerican communities. Their findings, describing recent work in the Guatemalan Highlands, are recently published in Nature Sustainability.
According to government figures, 59% of Guatemalans live in poverty, concentrated in indigenous rural areas, such as the Western Highlands. Many factors contribute to pervasive malnutrition and a lack of employment opportunities for people in the Highlands. Recent crop failures associated with atypical weather events have exacerbated food shortages for Highland farm communities.
In early 2019, 90% of recent migrants to the southern border of the United States were from Guatemala, a majority of those from regions such as the Western Highlands. When they are unable to produce or purchase enough food to feed their families, people seek opportunities elsewhere. Historically, sugar cane and coffee industries offered employment but as prices for these commodities fall, fewer options for work are available within the region.
Indigenous peoples in the Highlands have been using a traditional agricultural production system called milpa for thousands of years. The milpa system involves growing maize together with climbing beans, squash, and other crops on a small plot of land. The maize plants support the growth of the climbing beans; the beans enrich soil through biological nitrogen fixation; and squash and other crops protect the soil from erosion, retain water, and prevent weeds.
However, frequent crop failures, declining farm sizes, and other factors result in low household production, forcing families to turn to non-agricultural sources of income or assistance from a family member working abroad. Studies have shown that as household income declines, dietary diversity decreases, which exacerbates undernutrition.
In prior decades, technical assistance for agriculture in Central America focused on larger farms and non-traditional export crops. The researchers recommend inclusion of indigenous communities to enhance milpa systems. Nutrition and employment options can be improved by increasing crop diversity and adopting improved seed varieties that are adapted to the needs of the local communities. This approach requires investments that recognize and advance ancestral knowledge and the role of indigenous women in milpa systems. The Nature Sustainability commentary highlights that technical assistance needs to include women and youth and should increase resilience in production systems to climate change, related weather events, pests, and disease.
âImproving linkages among local farmers, extensionists, students, and researchers is critical to identify and implement opportunities that result in more sustainable agricultural landscapes,â said Keith Kline, senior researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. âFor example, improved bean varieties have been developed that provide high-yields and disease resistance, but if they grow too aggressively, they choke out other milpa crops. And successful adoption of improved varieties also depends on whether flavor and texture meet local preferences.â
Strengthening institutions to improve agricultural development, health care, security, education can help create stronger livelihoods and provide the Western Highlands community with a foundation for healthier families and economic stability. As more reliable options become available to feed oneâs family, fewer Guatemalans will feel pressured to leave home.
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is the global leader in publicly-funded maize and wheat research and related farming systems. Headquartered near Mexico City, CIMMYT works with hundreds of partners throughout the developing world to sustainably increase the productivity of maize and wheat cropping systems, thus improving global food security and reducing poverty. CIMMYT is a member of the CGIAR System and leads the CGIAR Research Programs on Maize and Wheat and the Excellence in Breeding Platform. The Center receives support from national governments, foundations, development banks and other public and private agencies. For more information, visit staging.cimmyt.org.
Mary Twaya is an exemplary farmer in Lemu, a rural drought-prone community in southern Malawi, near Lake Malombe. On her one-hectare farm she grows cotton, maize, and legumes like groundnut and cowpea, which she just picked from her fields. Since agriculture is Twayaâs sole livelihood, it is important for her to get good harvests, so she can support her three children and her elderly mother. She is the only breadwinner since her husband left to sell coffee in the city and never returned.
Agriculture is critically important to the economy and social fabric of Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the World. Up to 84% of Malawian households own or cultivate land. Yet, gender disparities mean that farmland managed by women are on average 25% less productive than men. Constraints include limited access to inputs and opportunities for capacity building in farming.
Mary Twaya stands by her field during the 2018/19 season. (Photo: Christian Thierfelder/CIMMYT)
Twaya was part of a CIMMYT project that brought climate-smart agriculture practices to smallholder farmers in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
She was enthusiastic about adopting climate-smart agriculture practices and conservation agriculture strategies in her plot. âI have always considered myself an active farmer, and when my husband left, I continued in the project around 2007 as part of the six lead âmother farmersâ with about 30 more âbaby farmersâ learning through our field trials,â Twaya explained.
âWe worked in Lemu since 2007 with Patrick Stanford, a very active and dedicated extension officer who introduced conservation agriculture to the village,â said CIMMYT agronomist Christian Thierfelder. âFarmers highlighted declining yields. The Lemu community was keen to transform their farming system, from conventional ridge tillage to more sustainable and climate-adapted cropping systems.â This was an ideal breeding ground for new ideas and the development of climate-smart solutions, according to Thierfelder.
Mulching, spacing and legume diversification
Showing her demonstration plot, which covers a third of her farm, Twaya highlights some of the climate-smart practices she adopted.
âMulching was an entirely new concept to me. I noticed that it helps with moisture retention allowing my crops to survive for longer during the periods of dry spells. Compared to the crops without mulching, one could easily tell the difference in the health of the crop.â
âThanks to mulching and no tillage, a beneficial soil structure is developed over time that enables more sustained water infiltration into the soilââ, explained Thierfelder. âAnother advantage of mulching is that it controls the presence of weeds because the mulch smothers weeds unlike in conventional systems where the soil is bare.â
Research shows that conservation agriculture practices like mulching, combined with direct seeding and improved weed control practices, can reduce an average of 25-45 labor days per hectare for women and children in manual farming systems in eastern Zambia and Malawi. This time could be used more productively at the market, at home or in other income-generating activities.
A plate full of pigeon peas harvested from Maryâs plot in Lemu, Malawi. Pigeon pea grain has a high protein content of 21-25%, making it a valuable food for many families who cannot afford dairy and meat. (Photo: Shiela Chikulo/CIMMYT)
After 12 years of practicing conservation agriculture, Twaya confirms that she does not spend too much time in the field because she just uproots the weeds with no need for using a hoe. This makes the weeding task less laborious and allows her to spend her time on other chores such as fetching water, washing laundry or cleaning her homestead. âI have time to also go to the village banking and loan savings club to meet with othersâ.
Adopting optimum plant density, instead of throwing in three seeds in each planting hole was another transformational change. The âSasakawa spacingâ â where maize seeds are planted 25 centimeters apart in rows spaced every 75 centimeters â saves seed and boosts yields, as each plant receives adequate fertilizer, light and water without competing with the other seeds. This practice was introduced in Malawi in the year 2000 by Sasakawa Global.
Twaya pays more attention to the benefits of planting nitrogen-fixing crops alongside her maize, as she learned that âthrough crop rotation, legumes like pigeon pea improve the nutrition of my soil.â In the past she threw pigeon pea seeds loosely over her maize field and let it grow without any order, but now she practices a âdouble-up legume system,â where groundnut and pigeon pea are cropped at the same time. Pigeon peas develop slowly, so they can grow for three months without competition after groundnut is harvested. This system was introduced by the Africa RISING project, funded by USAID.
Groundnuts and pigeon peas grow under the double-up legume system in Mary Twayaâs conservation agriculture plot. (Photo: Christian Thierfelder/CIMMYT)
A mother farmer shows the way
Switching to climate-smart agriculture requires a long-term commitment and knowledge. Some farmers may resist to the changes because they initially find it new and tedious but, like Twaya observed, âit may be because they have not given themselves enough time to see the long-term benefits of some of these practices.â
With all these innovations â introduced in her farm over the years with the support of CIMMYT and the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development of Malawi â Twaya reaped important economic and social benefits.
When Twaya rotates maize and pigeon pea, the maize stalks are healthy and the cobs are big, giving her higher yields. Passing-by neighbors will often exclaim ââIs this your maize?ââ because they can tell it looks much more vigorous and healthier than what they see in other fields.
For the last season, Twaya harvested 15 bags of 50kg of maize from her demo plot, the equivalent of five tons per hectare. In addition to her pigeon pea and groundnut crops, she was able to feed her family well and earned enough to renovate her family home this year.
This new way of managing her fields has gained Twaya more respect and has improved her status in the community.
Through surplus sales of maize grain, pigeon pea and groundnuts over the past 12 years, Mary has generated enough income to build a new home. Nearing completion, she has purchased iron sheets for roofing this house by the end of 2019. (Photo: Shiela Chikulo/CIMMYT)
This year opens the Decade of Family Farming (#FamilyFarmingDecade), which aims to improve the life of family farmers around the world. In an earnest discussion, two leaders in the global agriculture community reflect on the challenges facing family farmers, the promises of high- and low-tech solutions, and their hopes for the future.
A conversation between Martin Kropff, Director General of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) and Trevor Nicholls, CEO of CABI.
On the unique challenges facing family farms
Trevor Nicholls (CABI): Family farmers come in many shapes and sizes but for me, the words âfamily farmerâ bring a focus on smallholders and people who are starting on a journey of making a farming business. It depends on which part of the world youâre talking about; a family farm in the UK is perhaps very different to a small family farm in Ethiopia. And family farms can grow from just a small plot to being quite large commercial enterprises.
Martin Kropff (CIMMYT): All agriculture started with family farms. Fifty years ago in my home country, the Netherlands, farms were almost all family farms. When we look globally, farms in places like India, Pakistan, and Kenya are very often small, and the whole family is involved.
KROPFF: When the whole family is involved, gender dynamics come out. In a way, family farming is very often the farming done by women. This makes women the most important players in agriculture in many developing countries. Itâs crucial to recognize this and understand their decision-making. For example, our research shows that men and women value different traits in crop varieties. We need to understand this to have successful interventions.
NICHOLLS: Weâve seen something similar through our Plantwise plant clinics, where farmers come for practical plant health advice. We see a definite pattern of men bringing in cash crops for advice, and women looking more at fruits and vegetables to feed their family. But overall, mostly men come into our clinics, particularly in certain parts of the world. Weâre trying to encourage more female participation by timing the clinics so that they fit into womenâs routines without getting in the way of taking care of elderly relatives or getting kids off to school. Sometimes really simple things can open up access and improve the gender balance.
KROPFF: When the whole family is involved, there are also downsides. In Africa, young people do much of the weeding.
NICHOLLS: Thatâs right, they may be pulled out of school for weeding.
KROPFF: This really worries me. Hand weeding is such hard labor, such an intensive use of energy; it seems like it should be something of the past. Children donât want to do it anymore. My wife is from the generation where children still did weeding in the Netherlands. She remembers standing in the fields weeding when the sun was extremely warm while her friends were out doing other things.
NICHOLLS: It starts kids off on the wrong path, doesnât it? If their experience of farming is backbreaking weeding from the age of 8 onwards, itâs highly unlikely to attract them into farming as a career.
A farmer uses a smartphone to access market information.
On keeping young people interested in farming
NICHOLLS: We need to look at things like weed control as a social issue. Itâs possible, for example, to use beneficial insects to limit the spread of certain weeds that infest farmland. Biocontrol and Integrated Pest Management should be seen as ways of reducing the spread of certain weeds, and also as ways to reduce the burden on women and youth.
KROPFF: I agree. Similarly, weâre finding that small-scale mechanization is making a difference for youth, and also womenâs labor in Latin America, Africa and Asia, where CIMMYT has been introducing two-wheel tractors that can be engineered in local workshops. Suddenly, smallholders can harvest the entire wheat crop of 20 families in one day. This saves so much time, money, and effort, eliminating some of the âbadâ labor that may discourage youth and unfairly burden women. Farmers can focus on the âniceâ aspects of the business. Itâs a real game changer for family farming.
NICHOLLS: Yes and this can also be amplified through digital technology. People refer to the âUber-izationâ of tractors, where farmers are able to hire a piece of mechanical equipment for a very short space of time, and maybe it even comes with an experienced driver or operator. Weâre finding that digital tools like artificial intelligence, satellite imaging, smartphones, and other modern technologies, will intrigue youth anywhere in the world. These will hopefully have an impact on bringing more youth back into farming, as they start to see it as technologically enabled rather than straightforward muscle power.
On the transformations that need to happen
KROPFF: If we want to keep youth engaged, and improve farmersâ livelihoods, I think farming needs to become more entrepreneurial. Many family farms are only half a hectare. I think this has to grow somehow, though land rights and ownership are a challenge
NICHOLLS: As farming becomes more business-like in Africa then weâre going to see the same sort of consolidation that we saw in the United States and Europe, whereby farm sizes do get larger even if land ownership remains fragmented.
This could happen through cooperatives, which offer economies of scale and also help farmers spread the costs of things like access to inputs, advice, weather insurance and crop insurance. But we need to view cooperatives as more than a way to infuse new technologies into the farming system. They are in fact a channel for helping farmers gain stronger business skills, so they can get a better bargain for themselves.
KROPFF: In Mexico we are working with 300,000 smallholder farmers in a sustainable maize and wheat sourcing initiative. Rather than âpushingâ new varieties and technologies at farmers, we help them partner with maize and wheat companies to create a local demand for high quality, sustainable products. Real scaling up, especially for wheat and maize, needs more than extension. Farmers need better links to the market.
NICHOLLS: If farms get larger and more mechanized, it means fewer people are involved in the business of farming. This shift means that people will need other rural occupations, so that they donât just leave the land and move to the city. We need investments in other productive activities in rural areas. This could be around post-harvest processing of crops: adding value locally rather than shipping the raw materials elsewhere.
KROPFF: Exactly. Weâve been doing more work on this in the last ten years. CIMMYT works on wheat and maize, and these are products that need to be processed. Doing this locally would also help people save food in the future for more difficult times, instead of selling to someone from the city who may buy it for an unfair price. Farmers these days have access via smartphones to market information, which is empowering. We see it happening in Africa. Itâs really crucial.
NICHOLLS: Weâre certainly seeing the power of digital technologies, which are also helping us move beyond just responding to crop pests and diseases to being able to get better at predicting outbreaks on a micro-scale. By linking ground observations through our Plantwise clinics with satellite observation technology and data, weâve developed a program called PRISE (Pest Risk Information SErvice), which provides farmers with alerts before a pest is likely to reach its peak point, so that they can be prepared and take preventative measures.
KROPFF: Without a doubt, smallholder farmer communities are rapidly entering the digital age, and tools on weather prediction, selection of varieties, market information are very important and transforming the way people farm.
A farmer requests weather information via SMS.
On climate change
KROPFF: Climate change is going to be the issue affecting family farmers, especially in Asia and Africa where the population will grow by 2 billion people who need food that has been produced on their own continents. Yields have to rise and climate change brings yields down. We have to help smallholder family farmers keep doing their job and ensure crop yields, which is why climate change is embedded into 70% of our work at CIMMYT. One major area is developing and testing heat- and drought-tolerant varieties that suit local climates. Last year I was in Zimbabwe, which was experiencing El Niño, and I was very impressed by the difference in maize yields from drought and heat-tolerant varieties compared to the normal varieties.
NICHOLLS: Thatâs very good. In addition to drought and heat, we see pests and diseases appearing in new places as a result of climate change. Pests and diseases will cause crop losses of up to 40% on average. Stemming those losses is critical. Weâre seeing invasive species, such as fall armyworm, and many invasive weeds and trees that are effectively stealing arable and pastoral land from farmers, as well as water resources.
Pest-resistant crops have great long-term potential, but farmers also need short-term solutions while they wait for new varieties to become available. One of CABIâs strengths is scanning for solutions from other parts of the world. With fall armyworm, we are looking to South America, where the pest originates, for solutions and natural enemies. Weâre also scanning our fungal culture collection for samples that may have properties that can form the basis for biopesticides, and therefore open up a program of biological control.
Hopes for the future
NICHOLLS: Iâm very optimistic for family farmers. They are incredibly resilient and resourceful people, and they survive and thrive in pretty difficult circumstances. But the world is getting more challenging for them by the day. I think the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have framed many of the issues very well, in terms of food security and livelihoods, sustainable consumption and production, and this will help to focus attention on family farmers.
I do see some quite encouraging signs, particularly in Africa, where the CAADP (Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme) has brought much greater coordination among countries. Weâre seeing more unity in the requests we receive from our member countries to help them address the issues that are in the SDGs. That makes the work of our organizations easier, because weâre addressing a broader set of demands. And in turn, that will benefit family farmers.
Technology, be it biotechnology or telecommunications and ICTs, is becoming so much more affordable over time. The rate that smartphone usage is spreading in Africa and Asia is incredible. In many areas we actually have most of the technology we need today. Itâs about getting it put into practice effectively with large numbers of farmers. So I remain very optimistic about the future.
KROPFF: Iâm an optimist by nature. Thatâs also why Iâm in this job: itâs not easy, but I really believe that change is possible if we have our act together and collaborate with CABI and other international research partners, national systems and the private sector. For a long time, people said that there was no Green Revolution in Africa, where yields remained one ton per hectare. But today we see yields increasing in countries like Nigeria, and in Ethiopia, where maize yields are 3.5 tons per hectare. Good things are happening because of family farming.
I believe that to increase yields you need three components: better seeds for more resilient crop varieties; sustainable intensification to grow more nutritious food per unit of water, land and soil; and good governance, to properly manage resources. We need to invest in all of these areas.
NICHOLLS: I fully agree. We need to work on all these areas, and harness the power of modern technology to help family farmers thrive now, and in the future.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Starting machinery to husk maize cobs at Green Farm near Kitale, Trans-Nzoia. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)
The development community is introducing increasingly complex and systemic technological designs for sustainable improvements to agriculture. Yet, a systemic perspective is hard to find in “adoption-outcome” focused analyses of technological change processes. In order to improve development interventions, it is necessary not only to analyze both successes and failures, but also the process and impacts of technological change.
Researchers at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) recently published a paper on rethinking technological change in smallholder agriculture, arguing against the conventional approach to studying technology adoption.
The problem with the concept of technology adoption
While the adoption rate of newly introduced technologies is still used in the evaluation of agricultural research and development, the theory of technology adoption is an insufficient framework for understanding technological change. It is too linear, too binary, too focused on individual decisions and gives an inaccurate and misleading picture to researchers.
The theory of adoption treats technology like a âblack boxâ that is transferred smoothly from one setting to another, following a linear progression of old and inferior tools and methods to new improved ones. This theory is too simplistic to align with the complex realities of the capabilities and agency of multiple actors. In addition, in cases of participatory technology development, where intended users are involved in the creation of innovations, adoption rates are often limited due to the relatively small scale of the project.
Using adoption rate as the only indicator of success or failure can lead researchers to ignore wider impacts of the introduction of a new technology. Adoption rates could go up, but use of a new technology could cause harm to social relations, the local environment, or its resilience. Low adoption rates could classify a program as a failure, while farmers benefited substantially in undetected ways, for example forming networks or acquiring new skills and knowledge. A singular focus on adoption rates thus limits our understanding of what happens in processes of technological change.
Farmer Kausila Chanara direct dry seeding rice in Ramghat, Surkhet, Nepal. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)
An alternative conceptual framework
In addition to the introduction of a new technology to small-scale farming systems, technological change involves the agency of many social actors. The agency of farmers, scientists, project managers and extension officers is key to understand whether a new technology is perceived to be useful, accessible or realistic, as well as how it is adjusted and changing social relations.
A new framework is needed to capture this reconfiguration of social and technological components that result from the introduction of a new technology to a community.
The authors of this paper propose an alternative conceptual framework with an agent-, practice- and process-oriented approach to better understand technological change. The framework is composed of four key components: propositions, encounters, dispositions and responses.
Propositions are composed of artefacts, methods, techniques and practices and a proposed mode of engagement in agricultural production. Encounters can be deliberately organized, for example a field day, or spontaneous, when a farmer sees a neighbor using a new tool. Intended users of technology may be disposed to respond in a variety of different ways, and dispositions may change over time. Finally, responses are a process or pathway that is likely to involve adjustment or recalibration to make the new technology work for the farmer.
Further work to operationalize this framework is needed. The authors suggest a next step of developing indicators to measure learning, experimentation and behavioral change as part of analyzing technological change processes.
Many maize farmers in sub-Saharan Africa grow old varieties that do not cope well under drought conditions. In the Oromia region of Ethiopia, farmer Sequare Regassa is improving her familyâs life by growing the newer drought-tolerant maize variety BH661. This hybrid was developed by the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), using CIMMYT’s drought-tolerant inbred lines and one of EIAR’s lines. It was then officially released in 2011 by the EIAR as part of the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and continued under the Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) initiative.
âGetting a good maize harvest every year, even when it does not rain much, is important for my familyâs welfare,â said Regassa, a widow and mother of four, while feeding her granddaughter with white injera, a flat spongy bread made of white grain maize.
Since her husband died, Regassa has been the only breadwinner. Her children have grown up and established their own families, but the whole extended family makes a living from their eight-hectare farm in Guba Sayo district.
Sequare Regassa (wearing green) and her family stand for a group photo at their farm. (Photo: Simret Yasabu/CIMMYT)
On the two hectares Regassa cultivates on her own, she rotates maize with pepper, sweet potato and anchote, a local tuber similar to cassava. Like many farming families in the region, she grows maize mainly for household food consumption, prepared as bread, soup, porridge and snacks.
Maize represents a third of cereals grown in Ethiopia. It is cheaper than wheat or teff â a traditional millet grain â and in poor households it can be mixed with teff to make the national staple, injera.
In April, as Regassa was preparing the land for the next cropping season, she wondered if rains would be good this year, as the rainy season was coming later than usual.
In this situation, choice of maize variety is crucial.
She used to plant a late-maturing hybrid released more than 25 years ago, BH660, the most popular variety in the early 2000s. However, this variety was not selected for drought tolerance. Ethiopian farmers face increasing drought risks which severely impact crop production, like the 2015 El Nino dry spell, leading to food insecurity and grain price volatility.
Under the DTMA project, maize breeders from CIMMYT and the Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research (EIAR) developed promising drought-tolerant hybrids which perform well under drought and normal conditions. After a series of evaluations, BH661 emerged as the best candidate with 10% better on-farm grain yield, higher biomass production, shorter maturity and 34% reduction in lodging, compared to BH660.
The resulting BH661 variety was released in 2011 for commercial cultivation in the mid-altitude sub-humid and transition highlands.
The year after, as farmers experienced drought, the Ethiopian extension service organized BH661 on-farm demonstrations, while breeders from CIMMYT and EIAR organized participatory varietal selection trials. Farmers were impressed by the outstanding performances of BH661 during these demos and trials and asked for seeds right away.
Seed companies had to quickly scale up certified seed production of BH661. The STMA project team assisted local seed companies in this process, through trainings and varietal trials. Companies decided to replace the old hybrid, BH660.
Comparison of the amount of certified seed production of BH660 (blue) and BH661 (red) from 2012 to 2018. (Source: Ertiro B.T. et al. 2019)
âIn addition to drought tolerance, BH661 is more resistant to important maize diseases like Turcicum leaf blight and grey leaf spot,â explained Dagne Wegary, a maize breeder at CIMMYT. âFor seed companies, there is no change in the way the hybrid is produced compared to BH660, but seed production of BH661 is much more cost-effective.â
EIARâs Bako National Maize Research Center supplied breeder seeds to several certified seed producers: Amhara Seed Enterprise (ASE), Bako Agricultural Research Center (BARC), Ethiopian Seed Enterprise (ESE), Oromia Seed Enterprise (OSE) and South Seed Enterprise (SSE). Certified seeds were then distributed through seed companies, agricultural offices and non-governmental organizations, with the technical and extension support of research centers.
Sequare Regassa stands next to her fields holding a wooden farming tool. (Photo: Simret Yasabu/CIMMYT)
From drought risk to clean water
After witnessing the performance of BH661 in a neighborâs field, Regassa asked advice from her local extension officer and decided to use it. She is now able to produce between 11-12 tons per hectare. She said her family life has changed forever since she started planting BH661.
With higher maize grain harvest, she is now able to better feed her chickens, sheep and cattle. She also sells some surplus at the local market and uses the income for her familyâs needs.
Sequare Regassa feeds her granddaughter with maize injera. (Photo: Simret Yasabu/CIMMYT)
âIf farmers follow the recommended fertilizer application and other farming practices, BH661 performs much better than the old BH660 variety,â explained Regassa. âIf we experience a drought, it may be not that bad thanks to BH661âs drought tolerance.â
Regassa buys her improved seeds from the Bako Research Station, as well as from farmersâ cooperative unions. These cooperatives access seeds from seed companies and sell to farmers in their respective districts. âMany around me are interested in growing BH661. Sometimes we may get less seeds than requested as the demand exceeds the supply,â Regassa said.
She observed that maize prices have increased in recent years. A 100 kg bag of maize that used to sell for 200â400 Ethiopian birr (about $7â14) now sells for 600â700 Ethiopian birr (about $20â23). With the increased farmersâ wealth in her village, families were able to pay collectively for the installation of a communal water point to get easy access to clean water.
âLike womenâs role in society, no one can forget the role maize has in our community. It feeds us, it feeds our animals, and cobs are used as fuel. A successful maize harvest every year is a boon for our village,â Regassa concluded.
Family farmers produce more than 80% of the worldâs food, but often have the least amount of access to support.
As the UN Decade of Family Farming launched on May 29, 2019, I talked with Trevor Nicholls, CEO of the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), on this topic.
On an article published on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Food Sustainability Index blog, we propose six key actions that can help family farmers thrive in the coming decade:
Invest in women and youth: Make family farming work for all
Attract young farmers into tech-smart farming
Make climate-resilient crops more accessible
Share practical plant health advice with family farmers
Help family farmers diversify and grow more from less land
Translate national and global goals into practical farming support
International scientists are working with regional and national partners in sub-Saharan Africa to catalyze local wheat farming and help meet the rapidly rising regional demand for this crop.
The specialists are focusing on smallholder farmers in Rwanda and Zambia, offering them technical and institutional support, better links to markets, and the sharing of successful practices across regions and borders, as part of the project âEnhancing smallholder wheat productivity through sustainable intensification of wheat-based farming systems in Rwanda and Zambia.â
âWork started in 2016 and has included varietal selection, seed multiplication, and sharing of high-yielding, locally adapted, disease-resistant wheat varieties,â said Moti Jaleta, a socioeconomist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) who leads the project. âOur knowledge and successes in smallholder wheat production and marketing will also be applicable in Madagascar, Mozambique, and Tanzania.â
Harvesting wheat at Gataraga, Northern Province, Rwanda.
Maize is by far the number-one food crop in sub-Saharan Africa but wheat consumption is increasing fast, driven in part by rapid urbanization and life-style changes. The region annually imports more than 15 million tons of wheat grain, worth some US$ 3.6 billion at current prices. Only Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Africa grow significant amounts of wheat and they are still net importers of the grain.
âGrowing more wheat where it makes sense to do so can help safeguard food security for people who prefer wheat and reduce dependence on risky wheat grain markets,â Jaleta explained. âWeâre working in areas where thereâs biophysical potential for the crop in rain-fed farming, to increase domestic wheat production and productivity through use of improved varieties and cropping practices.â
In addition to the above, participants are supporting the regionâs wheat production in diverse ways:
Recommendations to fine-tune smallholder wheat value chains and better serve diverse farmers.
Testing of yield-enhancing farming practices, such as bed-and-furrow systems that facilitate efficient sowing and better weed control.
Testing and promotion of small-scale mechanization, such as power tillers, to save labor and improve sowing and crop establishment.
Exploring use of hand-held light sensors to precisely calibrate nitrogen fertilizer dosages throughout the cropping season.
Innocent Habarurema, wheat breeder in the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), cited recent successes in the release of improved, disease resistant wheat varieties, as well as engaging smallholder farmers in seed multiplication and marketing to improve their access to quality seed of those varieties.
âThe main challenge in wheat production is the short window of time between wheat seasons, which doesnât allow complete drying of harvested plants for proper threshing,â Habarurema explained. âSuitable machinery to dry and thresh the wheat would remove the drudgery of hand threshing and improve the quality of the grain, so that it fetches better prices in markets.â
Millers, like this one in Rwanda, play a key role in wheat value chains.
Critical wheat diseases in Zambia include spot blotch, a leaf disease caused by the fungus Cochliobolus sativus, and head blight caused by Fusarium spp., which can leave carcinogenic toxins in the grain, according to Batiseba Tembo, wheat breeder at the Zambian Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI).
âDeveloping and disseminating varieties resistant to these diseases is a priority in the wheat breeding program at Mt. Makulu Agricultural Research Center,â said Tembo. âWeâre also promoting appropriate mechanization for smallholder farmers, to improve wheat production and reduce the enormous drudgery of preparing the soil with hand hoes.â
Participants in the project, which runs to 2020, met at Musanze, in Rwandaâs Northern Province, during February 5-7 to review progress and plan remaining activities, which include more widespread sharing of seed, improved practices, and other useful outcomes.
âThere was interest in trying smallholder winter wheat production under irrigation in Zambia to reduce the disease effects normally experienced in rainfed cropping,â said Jaleta, adding that the costs and benefits of irrigation, which is rarely used in the region, need to be assessed.
Project participants may also include in selection trials wheat varieties that have been bred to contain enhanced grain levels of zinc, a key micronutrient missing in the diets of many rural Africa households.
âThe project will also push for the fast-track release and seed multiplication of the best varieties, to get them into farmersâ hands as quickly as possible,â Jaleta said.
In addition to CIMMYT, RAB, and ZARI, implementing partners include the Center for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA). Generous funding for the work comes from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat.
Field technicians use their cameras during the Photovoice training. (Photo: CIMMYT)
The main focus of the Sustainable and Resilient Farming Systems Intensification (SRFSI) project is on conservation agriculture technologies. Since farmers may face an increase in weeds after adopting zero-till planters, however, more research is needed about how farmers are dealing with weed.
One of the research objectives of the project is to understand farmersâ knowledge, perception, and practices of conservation agriculture. To this end, researchers are using the Photovoice methodology in Cooch Behar (West Bengal, India), Rongpur (Bangladesh) and Sunsari (Nepal) to collect relevant data on weed management practices.
Photovoice is a visual qualitative research method that allows people to express their perspectives through photographs. Photography can be used for evaluation purposes, through storytelling exercises.
On December 6-7, 2019, field technicians in Bangladesh, India and Nepal participated in a training about this methodology. They learned the rationale of Photovoice, its technical and logistic aspects, as well as the ethical considerations and the need to collect consent forms.
Participants also learned how to take pictures of inter-row cultivation and weeds on the farm, and how to confirm the geolocation of the farm.
Worth a thousand words
Using the Photovoice method, 30 households will be explored, including their labor allocation and decision-making dynamics around the implementation of conservation agriculture practices.
The effectiveness of this approach will emerge as smallholder farmers present their perspectives through photographs accompanied by their narratives.
Activities will be monitored on weekly basis.
The SRFSI project, funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, is set to improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of smallholder agriculture in the Eastern Gangetic Plains of Bangladesh, India and Nepal, by promoting sustainable intensification based on conservation agriculture technologies.
The theme for this yearâs International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is: Coming together
with those furthest behind to build an inclusive world of universal respect for human rights and dignity.
Drought is the primary constraint on maize production in the quiet rural village of Songshuwa, in Yunnan province, China.
It serves as a reminder that people living in poverty often are disproportionately affected by human rights violations and global warming.
As climates shift and natural disasters become more common around the world, smallholder farmers and pastoralists face increasing threats to their livelihoods. The risk is particularly high in dryland regions where prolonged droughts or extreme heat can decimate crops and kill livestock. For those just barely hanging on, these shocks are enough to push them into the poverty trap. Uncertainty about what tomorrow brings further discourages farmers, rural financial services, value chain institutions and governments from investing in agriculture.
In a study released earlier this year, a group of researchers reviewed publications from the last decade to assess how agricultural production technologies and practices â for example, crop rotations â and institutional interventions â such as index-based insurance â can mitigate risk and improve farmer welfare. They found that improved crop varieties, conservation agriculture and diversified production systems can reduce adverse impacts of climate-related risk under some circumstances. Insurance and social protections can also create safety nets that enable farmers to manage risk and adopt improved technologies and practices.
The authors point out that there is limited evidence showing these interventions have helped a significant number of very poor farmers escape poverty. Further research is needed to understand what interventions, or combinations of interventions, can create impact at scale.
This work was implemented as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), which is carried out with support from CGIAR Fund Donors and through bilateral funding agreements. For details, please visit https://ccafs.cgiar.org/donors.Â
Check out other recent publications by CIMMYT researchers below:Â
Viewpoint: beasts of the field? Ethics in agricultural and applied economics. 2018. Leigh Josephson, A., Michler, J.D. In: Food Policy v.79, p. 1-11.
Analysis of spot blotch resistance and its association with yield and its related traits in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) germplasm. 2018. Ritusga Tewari, Jaiswal, J.P., Kumar, A., Singh, P.K. In: The Bioscan v.11, no. 1, p. 921-924.
Increasing yield stability and input efficiencies with cost-effective mechanization in Nepal. 2018. Park, A.G., McDonald, A., Devkota, M., Davis, A.S. In: Field Crops Research v.228, p. 93-101.
Identification of novel quantitative trait loci linked to crown rot resistance in spring wheat. 2018. Erginbas-Orakci, G., Sehgal, D., Sohail, Q., Ogbonnaya, F.C., Dreisigacker, S., Pariyar. S.R., Dababat, A.A. In: International Journal of Molecular Sciences v. 19, no. 9, art, 2666.
A Bayesian decision theory approach for genomic selection. 2018. Villar-Hernandez, B.d.J., Perez-Elizalde, S., Crossa, J., Perez-Rodriguez, P., Toledo, F.H., Burgueño, J. In: G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics v.8, no. 9, p. 3019-3037.
Ashley Muzhange eats sadza with her family in rural Zimabwe. Her sadza is made with vitamin A orange maize, a variety improving the nutrition of children and families in the nation. Photo: Matthew O’Leary/ CIMMYT
In the rural Chiweshe Communal Area, about two hours north of Zimbabweâs capital Harare, 18-month-old Ashley Muzhange tucks into a bowl of vitamin A orange maize sadza. Sadza, a thickened porridge made from finely ground maize grain with a side of stewed vegetables, is the staple dish for rural families.
Ashleyâs sadza is made from biofortified maize, conventionally bred by researchers at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) under the work of HarvestPlus to contain a higher amount of nutritious vitamin A.
Recent prolonged drought pushed malnutrition to levels not seen in over 15 years, with almost 33,000 children in need of urgent treatment for severe acute malnutrition, according to the United Nations Childrenâs Fund (UNICEF). Many experience micronutrient deficiencies, since their diets lack the vitamins and minerals required for growth and development.
Ashley’s mother, Lilian Muzhange, prepares fritas made with vitamin A orange maize grown on their family farm. Photo: Matthew O’Leary/ CIMMYT
According to the World Health Organization, 35.8 percent of preschool aged children suffer from vitamin A deficiency. The leading cause of preventable blindness in children, it compromises the immune system increasing the risk of death from diseases like measles, diarrhea and respiratory infections.
Biofortification increases the density of vitamins and minerals in a crop through conventional plant breeding or agronomic practices. When consumed regularly, biofortified crops generate measurable improvements in health and nutrition. The process develops crops rich in nutrients for consumers as well as the agronomic characteristics like drought and disease resistance valued by farmers. It is considered a sustainable way to bring micronutrients to populations with limited access to diverse diets.
Even though baby Ashley is unaware her sadza not only fills her stomach, but also provides her with a dose of vitamin A, her family is conscious of the benefits.
âThis orange maize assures me that my daughter gets a nutritious meal and means we donât only rely on the supplements provided by the government,â said Lilian Muzhange, her mother.
Orange the color of health
The farming family first began trialing the biofortified vitamin A orange maize in 2015 and are now growing it in place of traditional white maize. The nutritious variety contains high levels of beta-carotene, a vitamin A precursor that produces the rich orange color and once ingested is converted into the micronutrient, acting as an antioxidant to protect cells.
âOur family now prefers the new vitamin A orange maize over the white maize, as it has great health benefits for my children and granddaughter and the taste is delicious. The sadza truly is better,â said Ashleyâs grandfather Musonza Musiiwa. âI was also pleased the variety is drought tolerant. Despite a dry spell in January my maize was able to yield a good harvest.â
Orange maize conventionally bred to contain high amounts of vitamin A is fighting child malnutrition in Zimbabwe. (Photo: Matthew O’Leary/ CIMMYT)
Rural diets mainly consist of what farming families can grow, which is predominantly maize, said CIMMYT maize breeder Thokozile Ndhlela. The majority of rural households do not meet minimum dietary diversity, reliant on a cereal-based diet where meat is a rarity, the Zimbabwe Food and Nutrition Council finds.
âWhite maize traditionally used for the staple sadza is predominantly starch and very low in nutritional value,â said Ndhlela, who leads CIMMYTâs biofortified breeding efforts in Zimbabwe. âBiofortifying this staple crop ensures consumers have access to nutritious food season after season as farmers continue to grow it.â
Musiiwa not only sees the health and agronomic benefits of vitamin A orange maize, but has also identified its economic opportunity. The farmer is planning to increase the amount he grows to capitalize on the market he believes is set to grow.
Getting vitamin A maize into farmersâ fields and onto plates
Sakile Kudita, HarvestPlus researcher, explains the benefits of of vitamin A orange maize to seed company and government representatives. Photo: Matthew O’Leary/ CIMMYT
For the new biofortified maize to be part of the food system it must be commercialized creating a full value chain, said Sakile Kudita, a demand creation researcher with HarvestPlus, a program improving nutrition and public health by developing and promoting biofortified food crops.
âVitamin A orange maize needs to be a product millers take up and processed foods are made of, so that seed companies have an incentive to keep producing seed and farmers have an incentive to grow more than just for consumption but also sale in order to generate income,â she said.
The efforts of HarvestPlus and CIMMYT to engage government, food processors and seed companies at field days, where they learn about the nutritional and agronomic benefits and taste the orange maize have yielded success, said Kudita. Working with the government, four biofortified varieties have been commercialized since 2015.
Prime Seed Co, a subsidiary of the regional certified seed company Seed Co, was the first company commissioned by the government to commercialize vitamin A orange maize in Zimbabwe and now sells the variety Musiiwa uses in his field.
Prime Seed Co worked with CIMMYT, HarvestPlus and the Zimbabwe government to release the first vitamin A orange maize variety onto the market. Photo: Thoko Ndhlela/ CIMMYT
âThrough our partnership with CIMMYT and HarvestPlus we are developing a market for vitamin A orange maize in Zimbabwe,â said Masimba Kanyepi, a sales manager at Prime Seed Co. âWe have seen our sales improve since launching the first variety and expect an increase.â
Kanyepi is confident the market will grow following a new government regulation requiring all processed maize products to contain added micronutrients, including vitamin A, through fortification.
Food industry representatives taste-test foods made with vitamin A orange maize at an open day. Photo: Matthew O’Leary/ CIMMYT
âAdding vitamin A to maize at the processing stage is expensive for food companies due to the cost of importing the vitamin from overseas,â said Kanyepi. âBuying vitamin A orange maize grown by local farmers already biofortified at the same price as the white variety makes economic sense.â
Food companies see the saving with Zimbabwe manufacturer, Cairns Foods, confirming itâs taking steps to include biofortified maize in its cereals and biofortified beans in its canned products.
With food processors and millers buying vitamin A orange maize there is demand for farming families like the Musiiwas to grow more, ensuring not only a boost to their health but also their livelihood, said Kudita.
Breeding for a more nutritious future
Vitamin A orange maize in a farmer’s field. Photo: Matthew O’Leary/ CIMMYT
The crop diversity found in the maize species is key to nutritional gain. The plant grows in distinct environments and has developed a diverse range of valuable traits including nutritional properties.
Following a lengthy analysis of thousands of samples in the CIMMYT Maize Germplasm Bank researchers discovered native landraces and varieties from South and Central America containing increased levels of beta-carotene, explained Ndhlela. These were included in breeding programs in Africa and crossed with local varieties to ensure they were fit for the subtropical climate and were tolerant to local biotic and abiotic stresses.
Working alongside Zimbabweâs national breeding program Ndhlela continually monitors, improves and combines dozens of characteristics, which include high yield potential, nitrogen use efficiency, and tolerance to drought, into new varieties that meet farmersâ preferences.
The most recent biofortified varieties contain about 39 percent more vitamin A compared to the first, she said.
âCIMMYTâs support through free access to maize germplasm and breeding expertise has allowed us to continue developing this nutritious maize,â said Prince Matova, a maize breeder with the Zimbabwe Ministry of Agriculture. âIn the next few years we expect to release two more varieties.â
At the end of the day, farming is a business and farmers value varieties with high yield, adapted to stress conditions. The breeders are currently trialing new vitamin A maize varieties with the hope of identifying those with the potential to yield as much as the traditional white varieties and are already garnering positive feedback from farmers.
CIMMYT maize breeder Thoko Ndhlela shows food industry representatives the agronomic benefits of vitamin A orange maize in the field. Photo: Matthew O’Leary/ CIMMYT
CIMMYTâs biofortified vitamin A maize breeding is  supported by HarvestPlus. HarvestPlus improves nutrition and public health by developing and promoting biofortified food crops that are rich in vitamins and minerals, and providing global leadership on biofortification evidence and technology. HarvestPlus is part of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH). CGIAR is a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future. Its science is carried out by its 15 research centers in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations. The HarvestPlus program is coordinated by two of these centers, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
HarvestPlusâ principal donors are the UK Government; the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; the US Governmentâs Feed the Future initiative; the European Commission; and donors to the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health. HarvestPlus is also supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Vijesh Krishna is a lead economist focusing on the economics of technological change in agriculture. He joined CIMMYT in 2017 and has been mainly working on inclusive technology adoption and its impacts on resource use, productivity, and farmer livelihoods. Before joining CIMMYT, Krishna worked as a senior research fellow at the University of Goettingen in Germany (2012-2017), where he examined the determinants and impacts of land-use transformation systems in Indonesia. He also worked as a production and resource economist for CIMMYT in South Asia (2009-2012) and as a Ciriacy-Wantrup post-doctoral fellow at the University of California at Berkeley (2008-2009).
Krishna holds a PhD in agricultural economics (University of Hohenheim), an MPhil in environmental policy (University of Cambridge), and an MSc in agricultural economics (University of Agricultural Sciences Bangalore). His research findings are published in several peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters.
Index insurance is one of the top 10 innovations for climate-proof farming. Photo: P. Lowe/ CIMMYT
What stands between a smallholder farmer and a bag of climate-adapted seeds? In many cases, itâs the hesitation to take a risk. Farmers may want to use improved varieties, invest in new tools, or diversify what they grow, but they need reassurance that their investments and hard work will not be squandered.
Climate change already threatens crops and livestock; one unfortunately-timed dry spell or flash flood can mean losing everything. Today, innovative insurance products are tipping the balance in farmersâ favor. Thatâs why insurance is featured as one of 10 innovations for climate action in agriculture, in a new report released ahead of next weekâs UN Climate Talks. These innovations are drawn from decades of agricultural research for development by CGIAR and its partners and showcase an array of integrated solutions that can transform the food system.
Index insurance is making a difference to farmers at the frontlines of climate change. It is an essential building block for adapting our global food system and helping farmers thrive in a changing climate. Taken together with other innovations like stress-tolerant crop varieties, climate-informed advisories for farmers, and creative business and financial models, index insurance shows tremendous promise.
The concept is simple. To start with, farmers who are covered can recoup their losses if (for example) rainfall or average yield falls above or below a pre-specified threshold or âindexâ. This is a leap forward compared to the costly and slow process of manually verifying the damage and loss in each farmerâs field. In India, scientists from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), have worked out the water level thresholds that could spell disaster for rice farmers if exceeded. Combining 35 years of observed rainfall and other data, with high-resolution satellite images of actual flooding, scientists and insurers can accurately gauge the extent of flooding and crop loss to quickly determine who gets payouts.
The core feature of index insurance is to offer a lifeline to farmers, so they can shield themselves from the very worst effects of climate change. But thatâs not all. Together with my team, weâre investigating how insurance can help farmers adopt new and improved varieties. Scientists are very good at developing technologies but farmers are not always willing to make the leap. This is one of the most important challenges that we grapple with. What weâve found has amazed us: buying insurance can help farmers overcome uncertainty and give them the confidence to invest in new innovations and approaches. This is critical for climate change adaptation. Weâre also finding that creditors are more willing to lend to insured farmers and that insurance can stimulate entrepreneurship and innovation. Ultimately, insurance can help break poverty traps, by encouraging a transformation in farming.
Insurers at the cutting edge are making it easy for farmers to get coverage. In Kenya, insurance is being bundled into bags of maize seeds, in a scheme led by ACRE Africa. Farmers pay a small premium when buying the seeds and each bag contains a scratch card with a code, which farmers text to ACRE at the time of planting. This initiates coverage against drought for the next 21 days; participating farms are monitored using satellite imagery. If there are enough days without rain, a farmer gets paid instantly via their mobile phone.
ACRE makes it easy for Kenyan farmers to get insurance. Source
Farmers everywhere are businesspeople who seek to increase yields and profits while minimizing risk and losses. As such, insurance has widespread appeal. Weâve seen successful initiatives grow rapidly in India, China, Zambia, Kenya and Mexico, which points to significant potential in other countries and contexts. The farmers most likely to benefit from index insurance are emergent and commercial farmers, as they are more likely than subsistence smallholder farmers to purchase insurance on a continual basis.
Itâs time for more investment in index insurance and other innovations that can help farmers adapt to climate change. Countries have overwhelmingly prioritized climate actions in the agriculture sector, and sustained support is now needed to help them meet the goals set out in the Paris Climate Agreement.
Farmers head home after harvesting maize in Chipata district, Zambia. CIMMYT/Peter Lowe
EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) â Compiling gender-inclusive data could help scientists understand how to help smallholder farmers improve nitrogen fertilizer application practices, according to a new research paper.
Smallholder maize and wheat farmers need to make use of inorganic nitrogen fertilizer alongside other good agronomic practices to produce healthy and productive crops, but nitrogen can be misapplied.
Fertilizer overuse can be harmful to plants and soil, contaminate drinking water and kill off fish species. Additionally, nitrogen fertilizer produces nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, which contributes to climate change.
âGender and environmentally-blind fertilizer policies have been the norm in many regions, leading to negative effects in both high and low nitrogen fertilizer use scenarios that impact most strongly on women and childrenâ, said Clare Stirling, a senior scientist with the Sustainable Intensification Program at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).
âOur study shows that moving towards a more balanced and efficient use of nitrogen fertilizer will significantly improve gender and social equity outcomes,â Stirling said, adding that such outcomes can only be brought about by significant socio-economic and cultural changes influencing gender and social norms.
âAgriculture needs to function within a âsafe operating spaceâ for nitrogen,â she said. âWe need to make sure that nitrogen use efficiency is neither too high nor too low. If itâs too high, soils are at risk of being mined and become degraded, if itâs too low, large amounts of reactive nitrogen are released to the environment.â
In developing countries, women make up about 43 percent of the agricultural labor force, but in comparison to men, they have access to only a fraction of the land, credit, inputs â such as improved seeds and fertilizers, agricultural training and information, according to the Farming First coalition
The lack of resource access puts women heads of household at a disadvantage. Even if they are primary decision makers, in general they are hampered by weaker socio-economic status, lower availability of male labor, lower access to markets, agricultural technologies, machinery, credit, collateral and advice, including on how to mitigate and adapt to climate change. As a result of unequal access, women use less fertilizer. They may also forgo food to ensure that children and other family members eat nutritious food, putting their own health at risk.
âThereâs a growing consensus that gender gaps in access to inputs are in part behind differences in productivity and on-farm practices,â he said.
Women farmers who use too little nitrogen fertilizer are trapped in a negative cycle of lower crop yields and income, leading to a greater risk of household food and nutrition insecurity, the scientists said. On the other hand, where too much nitrogen fertilizer is used woman and children are likely to be the most vulnerable to suffering ill-health consequences.
Despite their significant role in agricultural production, particularly in the developing world, women are neglected in most development initiatives, suggesting that the returns on targeting women farmers in relation to promoting best practice fertilizer use, may be very high with respect to increasing production and incomes, according to the authors.
Due to their central role regarding child health, nutrition and education, women should be key beneficiaries of development efforts, the scientists argue.
âThese factors make the case that the social returns on agricultural investments are higher when targeted to women,â Attwood said.
The scientists took several case studies from India and sub-Saharan Africa, confirming their theory that imbalanced nitrogen fertilizer use has a greater impact on women and children.
The first case study revealed clear connections between negative health outcomes for poor rural women and their infants and the timing of nitrogen fertilizer applications in India. The study showed that morbidity of the babies of poor rural women appears to be negatively affected through their motherâs work in rice paddy fields, where they absorb fertilizer-derived toxins.
The second case study suggests that applying nitrogen fertilizer to cash crops rather than staple food crops such as maize may contribute towards less food availability and poorer nutrition outcomes for families in some sub-Saharan African countries.
The third case study in Lake Victoria connects the dots between insufficient fertilizer use, soil degradation leading to soil erosion and runoff into the lake and health problems for both men and women. The presence of high levels of nitrogen in the lake due to poor land management is changing its ecology, affecting the lives of artisanal fisher communities and leading to higher rates of HIV/AIDS.
âAs long as the majority of policy-makers and planners remain frozen into a conceptual lock-in oblivious to the gendered implications of technically balanced and socially balanced fertilizer use, women smallholder farmers will not reach their potential,â said Cathy Farnworth, a gender specialist working with the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and lead author on the research paper.
âWe need gender awareness in research studies and rural advisory services to develop appropriate strategies to reach and empower women in different households to help them act independently.â
The project was funded by CCAFS, Bioversity, CIMMYT, and the CGIAR Research Programs on wheat and maize.
An Earthquake Recovery Support Program beneficiary operates the lightweight and versatile mini-tiller, which is easier and more cost-effective than using bullocks to plough fields. Photo: P. Lowe/CIMMYT
Since the programâs beginning in June 2015 a suite of agricultural assets including mini-tillers and other farm machines, seed and grain storage facilities, agricultural hand tools, technical training and agronomy support have been implemented through its completion this September. Beneficiaries came from across eight of the most risk-prone affected districts in Nepal.
Last yearâs earthquake seriously undermined Nepalâs food security with losses estimated at more than $280 million in the agriculture sector alone. Nearly two-thirds of the countryâs population relies on agriculture for their livelihood, which has made it even tougher for farmers affected by the earthquake. The quakes destroyed grain and seed stockpiles, killed and injured livestock, wrecked tools and implements and collapsed regional irrigation and agricultural marketsâ infrastructure.
While the programâs monitoring and evaluation activities are still underway, initial estimated impacts show the storage bags and cocoons distributed are expected to save about 2,700 tons of grain and seed. In addition, agricultural hand tools have helped sustainable agriculture take hold, and agronomy guides have provided information on new production technologies and management practices. Distributed mini-tillers can also cover 700 hectares of land, reducing drudgery for women in particular due to their light weight. Mechanics trained by the program also ensure mini-tillers will be repaired and available locally, which encourages continued demand for the machines.
CIMMYT Director General Martin Kropff, observes a mini-tiller in operation during his visit in March this year to Nuwakot, one of the districts benefiting from the Earthquake Recovery Support Program in Nepal. Photo: A. Rai/CIMMYT
Subarna Bhandari, one of the recipients from Sindhupalchowk district, operated his mini-tiller for a total of 120 hours, earning approximately $540 within 3 months. The combined 8 machines that were distributed in his area would therefore help the recipients earn over $4,000. Another beneficiary previously needed three pairs of bullocks for two rounds of plowing at a cost of roughly $60. Thanks to the mini-tiller, the same activity now only costs $14.
âKeeping cattle for farm labor is costly and tedious because they need feed and fodder throughout the year, even when they are not in use,â says Mitra Shrestha, a farmer from Nuwakot district. âHowever, the mini-tiller needs fuel only when it is being used. In one hour the machine can cultivate an area that would require a pair of cattle to work an entire day,â she adds.
Shrestha uses the surplus time she can now spare for vegetable farming and other household chores. âIn fact, I now also use the mini-tiller for land preparation of potatoes, since it can till deeper and make ridges.â
Beyond the earthquake program, CSISA is moving some of its activities into these districts so that it can build upon the momentum created around scale-appropriate mechanization over the last year. The Nepal Seed and Fertilizer project, led by CIMMYT, also works in the earthquake zone.
HARARE (CIMMYT) — As CIMMYT joins the world in celebrating the International Day for Biological Diversity on 22 May, it can take pride in the diverse maize varieties it develops which have improved the livelihoods and health of smallholder farmers globally.
These varieties have brought tremendous benefits to smallholders in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Over 90 percent of agricultural production in SSA is rainfed, which puts farmers at risk for drought and heat in addition to the poor soil fertility, pests and diseases they face. Drought alone damages about 40 percent of all maize crops in SSA, endangering the livelihoods and food security of millions of smallholder farmers.
Stress tolerant maize not only reduces risks for farmers in the face of unpredictable environmental and biological conditions, it also allows more stable crop production. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) breeds high-yielding, locally-adapted maize varieties with farmer-preferred traits such as drought tolerance, nitrogen use efficiency, and disease and insect pest resistance. Many of these varieties also have increased nutritional traits such as high protein quality and increased provitamin A content, which help increase childrenâs weight and height growth rates and reduce childhood blindness.
âSince working with CIMMYT, we have unlocked our production potential,” says Sylvia Horemans, marketing director of Zambia-based Kamano Seeds. Since 2012 Kamano Seeds has benefitted from CIMMYT to strengthen its work in maize breeding, seed production and marketing. Photo: CIMMYT
âIncreasing adoption of these stress tolerant maize varieties is helping African farmers cope with drought and climate change, improve yields at household level and thereby enhance the livelihoods and food security of tens of millions of farmers,â said Cosmos Magorokosho, CIMMYT-Southern Africa maize breeder.
These drought-tolerant varieties have proven resistant despite harsh conditions brought on in southern Africa by an intense El Niño, according to Magorokosho. âSignificant impacts have been observed in plots of smallholder farmers who grow these varieties.â
In 2014, over 54,000 metric tons of certified seed of the stress tolerant maize varieties were produced and delivered by partner seed companies for planting by smallholders. By the end of that year, more than five million smallholders had planted the improved drought tolerant varieties on over two million hectares, benefiting more than 40 million people in 13 countries in SSA.
Today, there are more than 200 stress tolerant maize varieties that yield the same or more than commercial varieties under average rainfall, and more importantly, produce up to 30 percent more than commercial varieties under moderate drought conditions. Armed with these improved varieties, CIMMYT is assuming a greater role to ensure stress tolerant maize reaches nearly five and a half million smallholder households in SSA by the end of 2019.
âEven with a little rain, this seed does well,â says a smallholder farmer Philip Ngolania, in south-central Kenya, referring to a drought-tolerant maize variety he planted during the 2015 crop season. âWithout this seed, I would have nothing. Nothing, like my neighbours who did not use the variety.” Photo: Johnson Siamachira/CIMMYT
âIn close collaboration with our partners, we were able to create excitement about what can be achieved with drought tolerant maize in Africa,â said Tsedeke Abate, leader of CIMMYTâs Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa project. CIMMYT is working with national agricultural research systems, international research centers, and other development programs to disseminate improved maize seed to smallholder farmers in SSA through small-and medium-sized seed companies.
âThe work we have undertaken on drought tolerant maize has created significant impacts. However, several challenges still remain,â cautioned B.M. Prasanna, Director of CIMMYTâs Global Maize Program and the CGIAR Research Program MAIZE. One of these challenges is maize lethal necrosis (MLN), which emerged in Kenya in 2011 and has since devastated maize crops across East Africa. CIMMYT is working to generate improved stress tolerant maize varieties with resistance to MLN and other major diseases.
Maize production in Africa is growing rapidly, making maize the most widely cultivated crop on the continent, and the staple food of more than 300 million people. Providing farmers with diverse, improved seed choices will thus strengthen food security, health and livelihoods in SSA.
On the transformations that need to happen
