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cgiarNews- October 2007
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October 2007
Now, Phase Seven The Science Council is committed to ensuring that the CGIAR System is well positioned to meet the challenges inherent in its current phase of effectively mobilizing global science.
Prize Investments Two projects that were ealready winners when singled out for Innovative Marketplace Awards have used the prize to build on their success.
The Poverty Trap World Day Against Child Labor in Agriculture focuses attention on the sector with the most child workers and on the corrective role of education.
Of a Feather A broad partnership sees 80 laboratory staffers in 37 African countries trained to detect bird flu- and provides a model for future cooperation in disease control.
Water Enough to Eat? The Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture answers pressing questions about water, land and food production in its book Water for Food, Water for Life.
Last Crop Standing A new chickpea variety survives drought in Turkey's Central Anatolia region while other crops fail.
Change in the Air Global warming threatens to affect rice production across the globe, but little is really known about the likely impacts or what can be done about them.
Triple Play Three international agricultural research Centers join forces to boost rice production in sub-Saharan Africa and stem the drain on national coffers caused by rice imports.
Pooling Resources An innovative project helps HIV-affected farm families in Malawi integrate aquaculture and agriculture to double their income and boost household nutrition.
Keen on Quinoa As quinoa finds international appeal - and, paradoxically, falls out of the diet of the Andean people who grow the nutritious grain - a new machine takes the pain out of processing it.
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Two by Two The new National Partners Initiative capitalizes on CGIAR Center relationships with local partners by pairing their intellectual property experts.
Trading Margin Central African countries consider policy initiatives to enhance legal cross-border trade and, at the same time, gain better control of crime and contraband.
Double Agent Caterpillars that devour crops and cause extensive harvest losses also provide to farmers a ready means to respond to the threat.
Royal Visit The International Potato Center welcomed Princess Anne of the United Kindgom.
Tapping Talent The Gender and Diversity Associates Jamboree takes place with the theme "Going for Great in 2008".
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October 2007
Message from the Chair and Director Dear Colleague:
Now, Phase Seven Prize Investments
It is our pleasure to introduce this issue of e-CGIAR News, presenting a diverse array of stories about advances in research and related activities that form part of the varied mosaic of the CGIAR’s science agenda for sustainable agricultural development. As in previous issues, the stories provide eloquent testimony to the high quality of our science, the strength of our partnerships and the continuing commitment of the CGIAR’s 64 Members.
The Poverty Trap Of a Feather Water Enough to Eat? Last Crop Standing Change in the Air Triple Play
With the aim of further strengthening our work, we will take up several critical tasks and issues over the next few months. At the upcoming meeting of the CGIAR Executive Council (ExCo13), to be held in mid-October at Rome, we will review the outcomes of the External Program Management Reviews (EPMRs) carried out this year in four Centers, of the meta-analysis conducted on the basis of 11 previous EPMRs and of three recent Challenge Program External Reviews. These are important tools for improving research and organizational effectiveness and for guaranteeing accountability.
Pooling Resources Keen on Quinoa Two by Two Trading Margin Double Agent Royal Visit Tapping Talent
At ExCo 13, we will also work toward consensus on the way forward with the CGIAR External Review and the Facilitated Change Management Process called for last May at ExCo12. Together, these initiatives will enable us to gauge how far the CGIAR has come in recent years and what concrete measures we must take now to better fulfill our development mission in the face of many formidable challenges. Several months ago, a “scoping team” was formed to prepare a Change Process proposal for consideration by the Executive Council. Subject to approval of the final proposal at the CGIAR’s 2007 Annual General Meeting (AGM07), to take place on December 3-6 in Beijing, the change process would then unfold throughout 2008, starting with adjustments that can be implemented immediately for quick gains. In addition to dealing with that and other key business and providing ample opportunity for informal discussions, AGM07 will feature a Science Forum designed to concentrate the attention of CGIAR stakeholders on issues of fundamental importance for international agricultural research. The forum’s main purpose is to determine, based on past experience and new opportunities, how best to mobilize advanced science in the CGIAR’s problem-solving research. The agenda and other details of the event are taking shape and will be available soon on the CGIAR web site. One key item to be included in the agenda is a presentation on the World Development Report: Agriculture for Development, soon to be released by the World Bank. This will help place the forum within the framework of international discussion about the need for increased investment in agricultural development, including science and technology. The need for such investment is especially clear against the background of major global trends that represent both new opportunities and risks for agriculture. As we go about all of these tasks, we are well aware of their future implications and of our responsibility for ensuring that they result in a CGIAR that is highly relevant to the challenges we face and more effective in confronting them. Cordially,
Katherine Sierra CGIAR Chair
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Ren Wang CGIAR Director
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October 2007
Announcements Appointments WARDA Appoints New Assistant Director General for Research Now, Phase Seven Prize Investments The Poverty Trap Of a Feather
Dr. Marco Wopereis, a Dutch national, has been appointed as WARDA's incoming Assistant Director General, Research & Development. Dr. Wopereis has extensive experience in research and development related to integrated natural resource management, and rice in particular. Before joining WARDA, Dr. Wopereis was heading the Annual Crops Department at the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD).
Water Enough to Eat? Last Crop Standing Change in the Air Triple Play Pooling Resources Keen on Quinoa Two by Two
William Dar Appointed Chair of UN Committee on Science and Technology to Combat Desertification The Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) recently elected Dr. William D. Dar, Director General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), as chair of its Committee for Science and Technology. Dr. Dar, a native of the Philippines, was nominated by the group of Asian states and will serve as chair in the capacity of an independent expert.
Trading Margin Double Agent Royal Visit Tapping Talent
Syngenta Foundation Announces New Executive Director CGIAR Member Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture recently announced a new Executive Director, Marco Ferroni. A Swiss National, Ferroni has worked for the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank and the Swiss government. Further information: www.syngentafoundation.org
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The United States awarded Dr. Norman Borlaug, father of the Green Revolution, a Congressional Gold Medal, the USA’s highest civilian honor. The Medal was granted in recognition of his efforts to alleviate global hunger and poverty. Further information (LINK TO CIMMYT NEWS) Dr. John Ryan, an Irish scientist at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), received the 2007 J. Benton Jones Jr. Award, sponsored by the Soil and Plant Analysis Council, for achievements in the field of soil and plant analysis. Dr. Henri Carsalade, Member, ICARDA Board of Trustees, was awarded the “Officier de la Légion d'Honneur Medal” by the French government in recognition of his international achievements in public service. Dr. Mustafa El Boushini, Senior Entomologist at ICARDA, won the International Plant Protection Award of Distinction from the International Association of the Plant Protection Sciences. Dr. Robert Zeigler, Director General of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), was featured in Time magazine as a pioneer in agriculture. The article commended Zeigler’s innovative research to improve rice yields. Click here to read the article.
Fellowships Crawford Fund Fellowship Open for Nominations The 2007 Crawford Fund Fellowship is now open to promising agricultural scientist below the age of 35 from a set group of developing countries. The Fellowship
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supports training at an Australian institution on the application of knowledge to increase agricultural production in the fellow’s country of affiliation. Nomination forms and further information are available at www.crawfordfund.org Vavilov-Frankel Fellowship 2008 Two Vavilov-Frankel Fellowship opportunities will be available in 2008 to carry out research on conservation and use of plant genetic resources. Applications are invited from developing-country nationals aged 35 or under, holding a masters degree (or equivalent) and/or doctorate in a relevant subject area. Full details on the Fellowship, including selection criteria and application procedures, are available at: http://www.bioversityinternational.org/About_Us/Fellowships/VavilovFrankel_Fellowship/index.asp#2008_Call_for_Application
Opportunities 2008 IFA Crop Nutrition Award Each year, the International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA)grants a Crop Nutrition Award for research that has led to significant advances in crop nutrition and been effectively communicated to farmers in the form of practical recommendations. The recipient of the Award will receive 10,000 at the IFA Annual Conference in Vienna, Austria, in May 2008. Any individual researcher involved in crop or soil science is eligible. Applications must be submitted by January 15, 2008. Visit the IFA website for further information: www.fertilizer.org Conference on Food Security and Environmental Change The Global Environmental Change and Food Systems (GECFS) is organizing a conference on Food Security and Environmental Change: Linking Science, Development and Policy for Adaptation, scheduled to take place April 2- 4, 2008, at the University of Oxford, UK. For further information: http://www.foodsecurity. elsevier.com/
Obituaries Dr. Orville Page , one of the world's leading potato researchers, died on Aug. 4, 2007 in his native Canada. Page worked at the International Potato Center (CIP) from 1973-1985 as the first director of research and as the deputy director. Page is remembered for his contributions to expanded potato production in developing countries as a means of alleviating hunger. To read the obituary in the Globe and Mail, please click here. Dr. Donald Lovelle Plucknett, Scientific Advisor to the CGIAR from 1980-1993, died on September 7, 2007. Among many other achievements, Plucknett is remembered for founding the International Society for Tropical Root Crops, developing practical methods for establishing and managing tropical pastures under the threat of severe weed invasion and declining soil fertility, and pioneering farming systems research. Professor Jack Hawkes, the leading authority on the evolution and genetics of the potato, died on September 6, 2007. Between 1939 and 1981, Hawkes undertook more than a dozen potato-collecting expeditions to most countries in South America. His research resulted in understanding of the genetically complex relationship between potato species. One of his most useful results was finding genetic resistance to the golden nematode worm.
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October 2007
Now, Phase Seven The hallmark of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) is combining the best in science to contribute to development. Throughout its history, working in partnership with national agricultural research systems (NARS), and increasingly with other partners, the CGIAR has contributed to sustainable and poverty-reducing development through the research and researchrelated activities of its Centers. This has resulted in major productivity gains and improved policies and institutions for the benefit of the poor. Like other institutions, the CGIAR has evolved over time, changing its focus and structure to adapt to the needs of the present while, at the same time, nurturing the competence and imagination to wrestle with the demands of the future. Indeed, the CGIAR has evolved from a small group of research Centers focused on raising agricultural production largely through crop breeding to one that, today, encompasses a much larger number of research Centers and expanded partnerships addressing a broader and more diverse portfolio of research for development. At least seven distinct phases of development can be identified over its brief history: ●
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plant breeding oriented to high-yielding varieties of rice, wheat and maize, the major food staple crops (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center and International Rice Research Institute, 1960-1965); plant breeding underpinned by agronomic activities tailored to the needs of high-yielding varieties, crop protection, irrigation, soil fertility and plant nutrition (International Center for Tropical Agriculture, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, and International Crops Research Institute for the SemiArid Tropics, 1965-1975); farming systems research to fine tune agronomic and technological activities to meet the specific needs of diverse agricultural groups, with more socioeconomic and policy research to address distorted policies and weak institutions, in recognition of the critical role that good agricultural policies and strong NARS play in accelerating technological change and fostering agricultural development, and to enable impact (International Food Policy Research Institute and International Service for National Agricultural Research, 1975-1980); broadening research objectives by including biodiversity, natural resource management, ecosystems and agroforestry (Bioversity International, Center for International Forestry Research, International Water Management Institute, World Agroforestry Center, and WorldFish Center, 1980-1990); as farmers themselves can’t solve some problems unless the conditions are created that enable them to do the right things, adopting ecoregional approaches to integrate efforts at higher levels (Ecoregional Programs, 1990-1998); combined and collaborative efforts by the Centers to address global concerns (Challenge Programs, 1998-2007); and mobilizing science and stimulating agricultural research by public and private investment, and greater and more extensive use of partnerships with the private sector and civil society (current).
Clearly, the CGIAR saw its agenda broaden considerably as it moved from a strongly supply-side orientation to one led considerably more by demand (often from donors). At the same time it started
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moving away from delivering concrete research products (e.g., improved crop varieties) to developing approaches, articulating problems and deriving common agendas and solutions with its partners. Its role as a moderator, initiator, facilitator, stimulator and bridge to broader stakeholder groups has become increasingly important. That evolution is also making clear what is needed from the Science Council (SC), the science-advisory organ of the CGIAR, to ensure that CGIAR research and partnerships remain of the highest relevance and quality. The mission of the SC is to (a) enhance and promote the quality, relevance and impact of science in the CGIAR; (b) advise the Group on strategic scientific issues of importance to its goals; and (c) mobilize and harness the best of international science for addressing the goals of the international agricultural research community. With respect to the last point, and considering the current seventh phase of CGIAR development, the SC is committed to ensuring that the CGIAR System is as well positioned as possible to meet the challenges inherent in effectively mobilizing global science to realize CGIAR goals. A particular focus will be placed on bridging the gap in the current research-to-development continuum and creating a collective node in the “open science” system. This will be achieved through four channels: ●
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Promoting excellence in research: Two SC standing panels — on monitoring and evaluation and on impact assessment — focus their efforts on strengthening processes related to planning, monitoring and evaluating research, including documenting the poverty-related impacts of the System’s research. Ensuring the implementation of System priorities: The SC continues to interact with the Alliance Office to help develop, improve and implement the Framework Plans following a CGIAR System strategy. Encouraging partnerships: The SC seeks ways to best stimulate partnerships, including with the private sector and civil society, to open up new avenues for development. For the Centers to develop these relationships requires a different mode of operation and attitude. The sense of mission and dynamism in the current environment demand such change, which the SC is available to stimulate and support. Conducting strategic analyses: The SC will follow through on the provision of necessary contextual issues to support the research agenda of the CGIAR, including support to develop Systemwide guidelines on intellectual property rights (in particular regarding product stewardship and liability), ethics, streamlining medium-term plans, and strengthening monitoring and evaluation processes, in particular the performance measurement system.
These activities will sharpen the relevance of the CGIAR to development and contribute to the Millennium Development Goals, especially the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger and the development of a global partnership for development. The role of the SC as a catalyst and facilitator is modest but, when done in the right way, very productive and effective. That is our goal.
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October 2007
Prize Investments In Uganda, where 80% of the population relies on traditional medicine, local people learn how to produce herbal medicines and improve their livelihoods thanks to the Rukararwe Partnership Workshop for Rural Development (RPWRD), a consortium of traditional healers and experts. In Peru, on the flat highland plain in one of the country’s poorest regions, the Center for Research on Natural Resources and the Environment (CIRNMA) helps local farmers raise their incomes by identifying and developing new markets for their produce and dairy products. These civil society organizations have been singled out by the CGIAR and presented with Innovation Marketplace Awards for their outstanding and innovative contributions to development, food security, poverty reduction and improved natural resource management. Both are using the recognition and prize money to expand their work and leverage their impact on the ground (the monetary value of Innovation Marketplace Awards varies from year to year, depending on donor contributions). RPWRD used its $15,000 award to intensify efforts, in collaboration with the World Agroforestry Center, to expand the availability of the herbs that most Ugandans rely on for their health needs, including the treatment of malaria and HIV/AIDS. Herbalists in Masaka, a war-torn city about 130 kilometers from Kampala, work with trained nurses to select rare herbs that are in high demand and cultivate them in RPWRD nurseries. RPWRD’s seedbed now has the capacity to supply 500,000 medicinal herb seedlings a year, five times more than it could in 2003 when the award was presented. Other project outcomes include a technical handbook and a campaign to propagate, conserve and domesticate endangered medicinal tree species. RPRWD has also planted a 20-acre demonstration rainforest that is home to more than 100 indigenous plant species. CIRNMA, in partnership with the International Potato Center and Peru’s National Agricultural Research Institute, used its $10,000 prize to enhance the development of new farming technologies suited to hilly Andean regions. By teaching farmers how to protect their cattle and keep them warm at night, for example, CIRNMA was able to increase milk production and local incomes. Farmers now supply milk to a small cheese factory, also part of the CIRNMA project, that produces more than 12,000 one-kilo blocks of cheese annually. The dairy project is one component of a broader program led by CIRNMA to identify products with a comparative advantage and help farmers develop the capacity and tools to penetrate new or larger markets. The strategy is to fill niches in the local market and neighboring regions. In the case of quinoa, a traditional Andean crop that is attractive to health-conscious consumers in Europe (see Keen on Quinoa in this edition of CGIAR e-News), the goal is not just to meet local needs but to penetrate national and international markets as well. Farmers receive technical assistance to improve their quinoa yields and to make the transition toward organic production, creating new and more profitable niche markets for the high-altitude grain.
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Since CIRNMA works only with organized communities, not with individual farmers, the project has the added benefit of encouraging farmers to form productive associations and work together to supplement their incomes and improve their quality of life. Successful partnerships such as these between civil society organizations and the CGIAR help leverage the Centers’ scientific research and are key to real and lasting poverty reduction, food security and environmental protection.
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October 2007
The Poverty Trap Images of children in sweatshops and factories frequently appear in the news, but it is in rural areas where child labor is more prevalent. Agriculture, not industry, claims nearly 70% of child labor worldwide,exposing children to dangerous working conditions and limiting their educational opportunities. More than 132 million girls and boys between the ages of 5 and 14 currently toil long hours each day in fields across the developing world. To address this problem, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) represented the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) at the signing on of a declaration of cooperation on June 12, 2007, internationally recognized as the World Day Against Child Labor in Agriculture. Spearheaded by the International Labor Organization, the declaration outlines a pledge of support and partnership to help eliminate child labor in agriculture made by key international organizations including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; International Fund for Agricultural Development; International Federation of Agricultural Producers; and International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations. In rural areas,work obligations prevent children from going to school, leaving them condemned to a life of poverty. This sad refrain often repeats from generation to generation, as there is little hope of breaking the vicious cycle without access to education. Conversely, the opportunity to go to school lessens the likelihood of participation in child labor and enhances the child’s chances of escaping poverty. Recognizing the linkage between education and poverty, some governments have established programs to provide parents with incentives, in the form of cash or free food rations, to send their children to school. IFPRI has conducted extensive evaluations of education intervention programs, especially in Latin America. For example, it evaluated the Mexican government’s Programa de Educaci ón, Salud, y Alimentaci ón (PROGRESA), which provides cash transfers to ruralfamilies if their children attend school. IFPRI found that PROGRESA greatly increased school attendance by both girls and boys and drove down rates of child labor in agriculture. IFPRI also worked with the government of Bangladesh to design and then evaluate that country’s Food for Education program, which provides food for poor families whose children attend school regularly. IFPRI found that the program increased school participation rates by 20-30% and contributed to students’ remaining in school up to almost a year and half longer than they might otherwise have done. A new brief by the CGIAR Science Council’s Standing Panel on Impact Assessment highlights IFPRI’s contribution to the success that the program achieved in improving the lives of children in Bangladesh. “Incentives play an important role in bringing children to school and can significantly reduce child labor in agriculture,” said Akhter Ahmed, IFPRI senior research fellow and leader of the institute’s research on the Food for Education program. The World Day Against Child Labor in Agriculture is only the beginning of the CGIAR’s work to foster awareness and help eradicate child labor in agriculture. In keeping with its mandate, the CGIAR will http://www.cgiar.org/enews/october2007/story_03_print.html (1 of 2)05/14/2008 10:23:14 AM
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incorporate issues surrounding child labor in agriculture within its research priorities and coordinate work across Centers. Additional information about IFPRI’s role, on behalf of the CGIAR, in the June 2007 World Day Against Child Labor in Agriculture is available here. The CGIAR Science Council’s brief on IFPRI’s evaluation of Bangladesh’s Food for Schooling program is available here.
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October 2007
Of a Feather
Now, Phase Seven Prize Investments The Poverty Trap
This first regional training in Africa to diagnose avian influenza saw the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Africa Union’s Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) organize a series of intensive training courses conducted over the last year across the continent. The project, funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ by its German acronym) and implemented by German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), has helped to improve transparency, communication and information exchange in bird flu campaigns.
Of a Feather Water Enough to Eat? Last Crop Standing Change in the Air Triple Play Pooling Resources Keen on Quinoa Two by Two Trading Margin Double Agent Royal Visit Tapping Talent
Trainees wearing protective clothing are shown by a trainer how to carry out a postmortem examination and collect test samples from a chicken suspected to be infected with avian influenza. The inter-sector cooperation achieved by the project — tapping agricultural, veterinary and medical experts for disease control — is unusual, particularly in countries lacking the resources to bring together experts from different ministries and disciplines. This cooperative aspect has excited the imaginations of ILRI administrators, among others. “The network of African veterinary and human diagnosticians created by this training over the past year has great potential,” comments John McDermott, ILRI research director. “It has fostered ‘diagnostic champions’ in
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Africa who are being consulted by their colleagues. The benefits of this will go beyond avian influenza to other important infectious diseases of both people and animals.”
One of the trainees practices how to collect a blood sample from the wing vein of a chicken as fellow trainees look on. ILRI Director General Carlos Seré also sees opportunity to build on the momentum that has been created: “We’re interested to explore with others how this regional emergency training might be transformed into long-term indigenous capacity building for better control of infectious diseases in Africa.” Others organizing the courses or providing training materials were the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), World Animal Health Organization (OIE), World Health Organisation (WHO) and US-based Centers for Disease Control (CDC). ILRI and AU-IBAR together conducted a basic 10-day training course in Cameroon, Kenya and Senegal. They drew trainers from OIE, FAO and WHO avian influenza reference laboratories; ILRI; AU-IBAR; CDC-Kenya; Institut Pasteur; Centre Pasteur; and African universities and research organizations. The courses revealed that most African countries have the capacity to collect samples of bird flu virus, including the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus, and ship them to designated laboratories for analysis. Some of these labs can also perform basic serological tests for bird flu virus, but few are equipped with the advanced molecular diagnosis and virology tests or the biosafety level 3 facilities needed to handle live H5N1 virus. ILRI and AU-IBAR staff who organized the courses targeted the few labs that did have these facilities to serve as regional reference laboratories, providing 20 of their staff members with two advanced training courses (one in English, the other in French) conducted at South Africa’s ARC-Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute in Pretoria, which is equipped with all the facilities needed to diagnose avian influenza. GTZ implemented the project as part of its Poverty Reduction in Rural Areas project, additionally procuring for laboratories in affected countries equipment for diagnosing bird flu. In early July, the first follow-up training took place in three veterinary laboratories in Ghana, with staff of laboratories in Accra, Pong Tamale and Kumasi trained by the German Friedrich-Löffler-Institute. For more information, e-mail at ILRI Duncan Mwangi (
[email protected]), Roger Pellé (
[email protected]), Margaret Macdonald-Levy (m_macdonald-levy@lineone. net) or Susan MacMillan (
[email protected]).
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October 2007
Water Enough to Eat?
Now, Phase Seven Prize Investments The Poverty Trap Of a Feather Water Enough to Eat? Last Crop Standing
The recently concluded Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture is a critical evaluation of the benefits, costs and impacts of the past 50 years of water development. It pulls together the work of more than 700 scientists and practitioners from around the world who look at the water management challenges that communities face today, and at the solutions people have developed in different parts of the world to meet these challenges. The Comprehensive Assessment findings will enable better investment and management decisions for the future.
Change in the Air Triple Play Pooling Resources Keen on Quinoa Two by Two Trading Margin
Water for Food, Water for Life provides in-depth analyses of water and food issues for practitioners, academics, researchers and policymakers engaged in water management, agriculture, conservation and development. The Assessment:
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describes key water-food-environment trends that influence our lives today and uses scenarios to explore the consequences of a range of potential investments; informs investors and policymakers about water and food choices in the light of critical influences such as poverty, ecosystems, governance and productivity; and covers rainfed agriculture, irrigation, groundwater, water of marginal quality, fisheries, livestock, rice, land and river basins.
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Smallholder farmers make up the majority of the world’s rural poor and also possess the greatest unexploited potential to directly influence land and water management. Photo: Sharni Jayawardena. In 2003, some 850 million people in the world were food insecure, with 70% of the world’s poor living in rural areas. Meanwhile, the past 50 years have witnessed unprecedented ecosystem changes with negative impacts. The spread and intensification of agriculture have been responsible for much of this change. Problems will intensify unless they are addressed. Only if water use in agriculture improves will we be able to meet the acute freshwater challenges facing the world over the next 50 years. According to the Comprehensive Assessment, targeting smallholder farmers in both rainfed and irrigated areas offers the best chance for reducing poverty quickly in developing countries. Some of the key action messages emerging from the Comprehensive Assessment for policymakers, water managers and other decision makers are the following: Change the way we think about water and agriculture. Instead of a narrow focus on rivers and groundwater, view rain as the ultimate source of water that can be managed. View agriculture as a multiple-use system and an agro-ecosystem providing services and interacting with other ecosystems. Fight poverty by improving access to agricultural water and its use. Target the livelihood gains of smallholder farmers by securing water access through water rights and investments in water storage and delivery infrastructure, improving value obtained by water through pro-poor technologies and operating multiple water-use systems. Manage agriculture to enhance ecosystem services. In agro-ecosystems there is scope to promote services beyond the production of food, fiber and animal protein. Because of increased water and land use, however, some ecosystem change is unavoidable, and difficult choices are necessary. Increase the productivity of water. Gaining more yield and value from less water can reduce future demand for water, thereby limiting environmental degradation and easing competition for water. More food can be produced per unit of water in all types of farming systems. The poor can benefit from water productivity gains in crop, fishery, livestock and mixed systems. Upgrade rainfed systems, as a little water can go a long way. Rainfed agriculture is upgraded by improving soil moisture conservation and providing supplemental irrigation. These techniques hold great potential for quickly lifting large numbers of people out of poverty and for improving water productivity in subSaharan Africa and Asia. Adapt yesterday’s irrigation to tomorrow’s needs. Modernization, defined as a mix of technological and managerial upgrading to improve responsiveness to
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stakeholder needs, will enable more productive and sustainable irrigation. Reform the reform process, targeting state institutions. A major policy shift is needed for water management investments important to irrigated and rainfed agriculture. The divide between rainfed and irrigated agriculture must be broken down, and fishery and livestock practices must be linked to water management. Civil society and the private sector are important actors, but the state is the critical driver. Deal with tradeoffs and make difficult choices. Bold steps are needed to engage with stakeholders because people do not adapt easily to changing environments. Informed multi-stakeholder negotiations are needed to make decisions on water use and allocation. Other users such as fishers and smallholders must develop a strong collective voice. The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Ramsar Convention on Wetlands are co-sponsors of the Comprehensive Assessment. Copies of Water for Food, Water for Life can be purchased online at Earthscan. Please click here. For other materials, visit the Comprehensive Assessment website.
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October 2007
Last Crop Standing
Now, Phase Seven Prize Investments The Poverty Trap Of a Feather Water Enough to Eat?
Every year crops worth hundreds of millions of dollars are lost, and thousands of farmers are driven toward economic despondency, because of drought. Climate change is worsening the threat of reduced rainfall in many drought-prone regions. This leaves agricultural scientists faced with the challenge of developing varieties that can withstand drought and safeguard the livelihood of farmers. At the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), researchers working with scientists from the national agricultural research system of Turkey have successfully developed a new variety of chickpea, Gokce, that can survive drought. It also has moderate tolerance to Ascochyta blight, a disease that devastates chickpea crops.
Last Crop Standing Change in the Air Triple Play Pooling Resources Keen on Quinoa Two by Two Trading Margin Double Agent Royal Visit Tapping Talent
Farmers harvesting Gokce, a drought-tolerant variety of kabuli chickpea, in Yozgat province of Central Anatolia region in Turkey. The region has been hit by a severe drought causing failure of crops in 2007. Gokce has proved itself by surviving the current drought in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey and producing an impressive yield under severely adverse weather conditions in areas where wheat, barley and other crops have failed. Turkish newspapers have quoted the Turkish Union of Agricultural Chambers as estimating losses from the drought this season to be about 5 billion Turkish lira, or US$4 billion. The government has allocated 514 million lira ($411 million) to compensate farmers. Meanwhile, farmers cultivating Gokce in Central Anatolia expect to harvest around 1.5 tons per hectare. “Work on developing this variety began in 1984-85 as part of an international yield trial,” says Dr. R.S. Malhotra, senior chickpea breeder at ICARDA. “Gokce was identified for field trials in Turkey in 1991.” It was initially tested at the Central Research Institute’s research farm at Haymana, near Ankara, by Dr. Ismail Kusmenoglu and his team members. Subsequently, in 1992 and 1993, it was tested in regional yield trials at five contrasting locations (Corum, Haymana, Karaman, Konya and Yozgat). In 1997, the National Variety Registration and Release Committee of Turkey released it for commercial production.
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Based on the success of the field trials, the Exporters’ Union Seed and Research Company (ITAS by its Turkish acronym), a nonprofit organization set up by Turkish agricultural exporters, introduced Gokce into the country in 1997. “The results of field trials were excellent, and we got the variety registered,” recalls Kusmenoglu, who is now general manager of ITAS. ITAS initiated its Integrated Technology Transfer Project in 1997 and planted 1,400 kilograms (kg) of foundation seed at Konya in Central Anatolia in the spring of 1998. The seed was then distributed to growers in 2000. Since then, 100-150 tons of certified seed has been provided to farmers for cultivation. As Gokce cultivation expanded, the average yield of chickpea increased significantly from 861 kg per hectare in 2000 to 1,071 kg per hectare in 2006. Chickpea is now grown on some 600,000 hectares in Turkey, of which nearly two-thirds are in Central Anatolia. This year Gokce was planted on almost 85% of the chickpea production area at Gaziantep and Adiyaman in Southeast Anatolia and at Ankara, Eskisehir, Konya, Karaman, Isparta, Corum, Kirsehir, Yozgat and Sivas in Central Anatolia. Turkey is one of the world’s largest exporters of kabuli chickpea, and Turkish farmers have quickly adopted Gokce because of its large seed size, drought tolerance and resistance to Ascochyta blight. For more information from ICARDA, e-mail
[email protected].
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October 2007
Change in the Air One of the biggest concerns of global warming is its effect on agriculture. How will higher temperatures and concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO 2) affect agricultural production? What are the implications for feeding the billions of poor who rely on small-scale and subsistence farming? And what can we do to mitigate the impacts? The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has a long history of studying the effect of climate on rice. The first experiment on temperature effects was conducted in 1961, the year after IRRI’s inception. Remarkably, the first work on high CO 2 concentrations’ affect on rice plants was performed in 1971, long before climate change became known to a broader audience. Likewise, the first workshop dealing with climate and rice dates back to 1974. In 2007, IRRI established the Rice and Climate Change Consortium to assess the direct and indirect consequences of global warming for rice production, develop strategies and technologies to adapt rice to changing conditions, and explore crop-management practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions under intensive production. In the initial phase, the focus is on improving the resilience of rice to heat stress. IRRI is establishing monitoring sites to test the effects of emerging crop-management trends, such as diversification from double cropping of rice to rice-maize rotation, that will alter crops’ budgets of carbon and nitrogen and so affect greenhouse gas emissions. Data gathered from these sites will be used to develop predictive models and guide future research. The effect of higher atmospheric CO 2 concentrations and temperatures on rice yields is uncertain. Crop modeling at IRRI has determined that, as a rule, for every increase in CO 2 concentration of 75 parts per million, rice yields will increase by half a ton per hectare. Conversely, for every 1°C increase in temperature, yields will decrease by 0.6 tons per hectare. However, nobody has studied the interactions between CO 2 and temperature under controlled, realistic field conditions. The technology to do this is now available. If funding can be found, IRRI hopes to develop an experimental system in which both CO 2 and temperature can be controlled in rice fields. A lot of genetic variation exists across varieties of cultivated rice and its wild relatives, supporting optimism that IRRI will be able to develop new varieties that can cope with higher temperatures. Scientists are also confident that the resilience of rice production systems to climate extremes, such as floods and droughts, can be improved within certain limits. While IRRI sees plant breeding at the heart of efforts to safeguard rice production, the efficiency of adaptive measures can be increased significantly by other efforts, including ● ●
molecular marker techniques to speed up the breeding process; geographic analysis of vulnerable regions, where the rice crop is already experiencing critical temperature levels;
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●
regional climate modeling to identify future tilting points affecting rice production (temperatures or CO 2 levels, for example, above which major yield losses are experienced); and site-specific adjustment in crop management, such as shifting planting dates and improved water management.
The envisaged adaptation of rice production to climate change will require substantial funds to support vigorous and concerted efforts by national and international research institutions.
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October 2007
Triple Play With rising international rice prices threatening to double their US$2 billion annual rice import bill, the rice-consuming nations of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have finally received some good news. Three of the world’s leading international agricultural research institutes recently announced plans to combine their efforts in Africa to boost African rice production and save the continent millions of dollars in foreign exchange it now spends on rice imports. The three centers are the Africa Rice Center (WARDA) in Benin, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT by its Spanish acronym) in Colombia and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines. With only 13% of the world’s population, Africa accounts for 32% of world rice imports, which makes it a big player in the international rice trade. In 2006, SSA imported more than 9 million tons of rice worth an estimated US$2 billion. With world rice reserves at their lowest since 1983-84, international rice prices are expected to double in the next couple of years. This is especially alarming for SSA nations, which need to import about 40% of their rice to satisfy local demand. In a joint declaration announcing a major programmatic alignment, the three centers — all of which are supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) — affirmed their commitment to bring the best of science and their experience in Asia, Latin America and Africa to address the major challenges facing Africa’s rice sector. “To me this is the best way to reach a consensus on rice research in Africa,” said Dr. Papa Abdoulaye Seck, director general of WARDA. “By harmonizing our activities we can cover the whole continent, have critical mass and address most of the problems facing rice. At the end of the day we can have a very high impact.” Among their initial proposals is to establish the Sub-Saharan Africa Rice Consortium (SARC), which will consolidate the two existing regional rice networks: the West and Central Africa Rice Research and Development Network and the Eastern and Central Africa Rice Research Network. The new combined entity will also cover the parts of SSA not included in the existing networks. The three Centers have also agreed that SARC will provide a platform for collective action by the three CGIAR Centers and collaboration with national agricultural research and extension systems (NARES). The consortium will provide a united front for promoting rice and rice research in SSA and a common conduit for channeling technology and information from international research to NARES and farmers in the region. Outlining SARC’s objectives, representatives of WARDA, CIAT and IRRI said they wanted to maximize coordination among the three Centers and their interaction with NARES. They also hoped to provide farmers with better access to improved seeds and technologies and to develop a critical mass of trained scientists, thereby enhancing Africa’s capacity in rice research.
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October 2007
Pooling Resources An innovative project to encourage fish farming among families affected by HIV/AIDS in Malawi has doubled the income of 1,200 households and greatly increased fish and vegetable consumption in rural communities. Now, Phase Seven Prize Investments The Poverty Trap Of a Feather Water Enough to Eat?
These findings were released in a review of a multi-year initiative by the Malaysiabased WorldFish Center, one of 15 centers supported by the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research, and World Vision, an international humanitarian aid organization, to promote aquaculture among vulnerable populations in Malawi. The two organizations have worked extensively in Malawi, a country devastated by the AIDS pandemic, encouraging farm families headed by women and orphans to adopt integrated aquaculture-agriculture.
Last Crop Standing Change in the Air Triple Play Pooling Resources Keen on Quinoa Two by Two Trading Margin Double Agent Royal Visit Tapping Talent
WorldFish-During a fish processing demo, Mrs Ethel Chidothe closes a sale with her processed fish. The project assists farmers by digging on their land small, rainfed ponds measuring about 20 by 10 meters. The farmers raise commonly cultivated fish species such as tilapia. Labor requirements are light enough for children and the elderly to pitch in, making the ponds easy to manage for households affected by AIDS. “These small fish ponds offer tremendous benefits to struggling farming families in rural Africa, whose many challenges have been greatly compounded by AIDS,” says Dr. Stephen Hall, director general of WorldFish. “In addition to income from sales, the fish provide a vital source of food that is critical to survival for people with HIV/ AIDS. The ponds also provide water for crops during dry periods and sediment that makes excellent fertilizer.” Malawi ranks among the world’s least developed countries. Almost a fifth of Malawians aged 15-49 are infected with HIV/AIDS, which kills tens of thousands of them each year. The pandemic has worsened poverty and hunger among Malawians, most of whom are subsistence farmers cultivating less than a hectare of land. Families participating in the fish farming project have shown a 150% increase in fresh fish consumption, boosting their intake of protein, calcium, vitamin A and other
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micronutrients. Research by the World Health Organization has shown that good nourishment can prolong the life of HIV/AIDS patients by up to 8 years. According to the World Food Programme, fresh fish offers important nutritional benefits to people afflicted by disease, who need up to half again more protein and 15% more calories than healthy people. A 2006 nutrition survey by World Vision found that, among households adopting integrated agriculture-aquaculture, malnutrition among children under 5 dropped from 45% to about 15% in 3 years. “The purpose of the project is to develop technologies and practices in fish production that are specifically suited to households headed by orphans and widows,” says Dr. Daniel Jamu, the WorldFish regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa. “We’ve seen that fish farming, while not a cure-all for their problems, can dramatically improve conditions among Malawi’s rural families dealing with HIV/ AIDS.” The success of aquaculture in Malawi has prompted WorldFish and its partners to aggressively expand the initiative to include 26,000 farming households in Malawi and neighboring Mozambique and Zambia, with the goal of providing benefits to 134,000 people. About 30% of farmers in the program are women. Experts working with WorldFish and World Vision teach them how to raise, process and market fish. As in many areas of Africa badly affected by AIDS, women in Malawi are the primary providers and caregivers. Fish has traditionally been an important part of the diet in landlocked Malawi, but population growth and declining catches reduced annual per capita fish consumption from 14 kilograms in the 1970s to 4.2 kilograms in 2005. Previous efforts to increase fish consumption through aquaculture failed, in part because they required large financial investments. The WorldFish approach is succeeding because it cheaply and efficiently integrates aquaculture into existing farm operations. Investment is minimal because farmers are encouraged to use farm waste and crop byproducts to feed their fish. By providing additional water and fertilizer in the form of pond sediment, fish farming can boost crop production across the farm. Some farmers grow valuable crops like bananas and guava on the well-watered perimeter of their ponds. A WorldFish impact study shows that between 1999 and 2004 the number of fish farmers in Malawi grew by threefold. “Many poor farmers in Malawi and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa are starting to view aquaculture as an easier and cheaper alternative to raising cattle,” observes Jamu. “This project shows that farmers can produce up to 1,500 kilograms of fish per hectare,” he says. “If fish farming were adopted on only 1% of the 250 million hectares identified by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization as suitable for aquaculture, the operations could produce 3.75 million tons of fish per year. That’s four times the reported catch for all fisheries in the region.” WorldFish has recently partnered with Globalgiving.com so that people can contribute to the Malawi project online. Ten dollars can buy enough fish to stock one family’s pond, and $200 can fund the construction of an entire fish pond. Please click here for more information.
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October 2007
Keen on Quinoa
Now, Phase Seven Prize Investments The Poverty Trap
Quinoa is gaining a reputation in the developed world as an exotic grain that is good for both you and the environment. In the Andes, where quinoa has been cultivated for 5,000 years, it is a traditional staple for breakfast, lunch and dinner, not to mention commonly used in snacks and sweets. The rise of quinoa in developed countries created opportunities for poor farmers in the Andes, one of the harshest agricultural environments in the world, but it also brought problems. Damiana Astudillo, a Mickey Leland Congressional Hunger Fellow, has worked with Bioversity International for the past 2 years to understand the challenges of commercial quinoa cultivation in the southern Bolivian Altiplano.
Of a Feather Water Enough to Eat? Last Crop Standing Change in the Air Triple Play Pooling Resources Keen on Quinoa Two by Two Trading Margin Double Agent Royal Visit Tapping Talent
Toasting grains of quinoa in a metal pan helps loosen the saponin and enhances the flavour of the grain. Preparing quinoa is a long and laborious process that is carried out mostly by women. D. Astudillo/Bioversity International. Conditions on the Altiplano are extreme. Temperatures can range from -18 ° C to 27 ° C in a single day. Frost occurs overnight 225 times a year, rainfall averages less than 25 millimetres annually, and the sandy soils have very little organic matter. Quinoa is one of the few crops that thrive, and it provides excellent nutrition. Protein content ranges from 11% to 19% and is of very high quality, offering all eight amino acids essential for human health.
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Communities of the southern Altiplano have responded quickly to expanding demand for their wonder grain. Production increased from about 5,600 tons in 1980 to more than 13,500 tons in 2001. In her study, though, Astudillo identified four major worrying trends as farmers switch from subsistence to commercial production. Quinoa diversity is being lost. A single variety now makes up 37% of production, and the top three account for 72%. This illustrates how market demand boosts the total amount of quinoa grown but also narrows the focus toward homogeneous varieties with commercial value. The move to commercial production has also affected the local diet. Farm families used to eat quinoa at every meal. Now, they can afford to buy other foods that are easier to prepare. With the time demands of commercial growing, it is no surprise that homemakers have turned to pasta, rice and processed foods. Nutrition has suffered because the substitute foods offer much less than quinoa.
A simple machine reduces the time required to process 12 Kg of quinoa from 6 hours to 7 minutes. D. Astudillo/Bioversity International. The shift to commercial cultivation also threatens the environment. Villagers reap larger harvests by moving quinoa off the hills to the flatlands, but this has promoted such inappropriate technologies as disc harrows, which worsen wind erosion. In addition, farmers leave land fallow for shorter periods, which causes further erosion and depletes the few nutrients present in the soil. Finally, the social life of the community has suffered. Where families used to help one another when needed and often worked together, increased mechanization makes families more independent — and so more isolated. Astudillo worked with people of the Southern Altiplano to see whether things could be changed. Workshops helped raise awareness of the nutritional value of local quinoa, and new recipes to make quinoa more appealing had children queuing up for second helpings of pancakes. Even the best recipes, however, do not address the fundamental problem: preparing quinoa is a laborious, time-consuming affair. Quinoa seeds are coated with a layer of saponin, which is not only exceedingly bitter but toxic. To clean the seeds, women toast them and then tread on them barefoot while the grains are still hot to loosen the saponin. The grains are then winnowed repeatedly to let the wind blow the dust away. Finally they are rinsed in water and set out to dry. Processing 12 kilograms of quinoa can take up to 6 hours. Astudillo worked with a local mechanic and inventor to build a machine that reduces that processing time to 7 minutes. Communities not only found the machine's quinoa totally acceptable, they said they would pay up to 75 US cents to process 12 kilograms. This is important because the machines cost around US$800, which is more than a family could afford. "The machine will reduce the burden of women's work and will facilitate the consumption of a nutritious grain,” Astudillo observes. “This is a low-input, high-impact opportunity for practical rural development and the improvement of livelihoods of marginalized populations."
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October 2007
Two by Two
Now, Phase Seven Prize Investments The Poverty Trap Of a Feather Water Enough to Eat? Last Crop Standing Change in the Air
For the next 5 years, the Central Advisory Service on Intellectual Property (CAS-IP) will, through its National Partners Initiative, help Centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and their national partners to build on knowledge and expertise in handling intellectual property and technology transfer. This support comes thanks to a new grant from the Cultural Cooperation, Education and Research Department of the Directorate General for International Cooperation (DGIS) of the Netherlands . Participants in this initiative are organized into pairs consisting of a CGIAR IP focal point and an IP colleague nominated from a national partner institution. At the first meeting, which was held in May 2007, the group listed stakeholders who are entrusted with intellectual assets and IP, including farmers, researchers, trainers, scientists, government agencies and students. The IP in question ranges from plant varieties and licensed technologies to patents and diagnostic kits. The challenge is to ensure this property is effectively managed when in the custody of the various users.
Triple Play Pooling Resources Keen on Quinoa Two by Two Trading Margin Double Agent Royal Visit Tapping Talent
Hanumanth Rao, IP Manager at ICRISAT working with Kalpana Sastry from the National Academy of Agricultural Research in Hyderabad, India with the help of Jim Jimenez from IRRI. The response at the preliminary meeting of this group was extremely positive. Each of the pairs committed to a 12-month action plan to tackle some of the more urgent IP issues faced at the national level or in a partnership. The International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, for example, committed to working with their respective national partners (the National Academy of Research and Management in India and the National Biotechnology Development Agency in Nigeria) to review their IP policies. The national partner of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, committed to populating the license agreement database that was made available by ICRISAT during the meeting. The Forestry Research and Development Agency in Indonesia, in conjunction with the Center for International Forestry Research, aims to run a workshop on collaborative research. These are all concrete steps toward improving IP management at the national level. The initiative is planned as a two-way street. Capacity and expertise in managing IP and technology transfer are best acquired through a combination of training, experience and communication with other professionals. The partnerships, which CAS-IP initiated and has pledged to support on an ongoing basis, promise a real opportunity to leverage CGIAR Center national resources to better manage both CGIAR and local intellectual assets at the local level in a global context.
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The initiative is currently planned as part of a larger 5-year project funded by DGIS. By Year 3, CAS-IP intends to transform the initiative into a standalone IP professional society, or coordinate it with an existing international IP practice group, to create an organization with international reach. IP management should be about ensuring, at each juncture, that research outputs are accessible for use to benefit those who need them most — resource poor farmers. The CAS-IP National Partners Initiative is an important step toward achieving that goal. The National Partners Initiative was launched under CAS-IP leadership in May 2007 with a meeting at Bioversity International headquarters in Rome. There are currently 12 pairs of IP managers/focal points and their nominated national partners from Burkina Faso, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, Tanzania and Thailand. CAS-IP aims to enable access to, and the use of, CGIAR products for the benefit of the poor through effective IP and technology transfer management. For more information on CAS-IP activities, and for information on the services available to participating CGIAR Centers, please e-mail v.henson-apollonio@cgiar. org.
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October 2007
Trading Margin
Now, Phase Seven Prize Investments The Poverty Trap Of a Feather Water Enough to Eat? Last Crop Standing Change in the Air Triple Play Pooling Resources
For traders in animal and plant products deep in the forests of Central Africa, it is not business as usual. This is especially true for those traders operating in the shadowy forests that blanket borderlines, where the rule of law yields to the law of the jungle. The trade in forest products brings many welcome economic benefits to remote communities. But, if allowed to continue in its current, poorly managed fashion, it may also bring many unwelcome environmental and social changes. The Sangha River region is a case in point. A biodiversity hotspot crisscrossed by waterways, it is the meeting point of three national boundaries, of Cameroon, Central Africa Republic and Republic of Congo. When the Congo government collapsed in the 1980s, Cameroon took over Congo’s strategic role as the transit country for timber from the Central African Republic and northern Congo. What was once a wilderness home for elephants and chimpanzees, the Sangha River region is today alive with merchants and traders. With its forests traversed by dirt roads to Douala port in Cameroon, the region hosts a trade in timber, bush meat, palm oil, gold and diamonds that offers economic opportunity to people in all three nations.
Keen on Quinoa Two by Two Trading Margin Double Agent Royal Visit
“The products are mostly extracted from the tri-nation region and sold in Cameroon or exported from Douala,” says Ruben de Koning, a researcher with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). “As this trade in natural products has increased, so has the cross-border trade in manufactured goods and processed foods, and in crops like plantains and cassava, to supply the small villages springing up in forest concessions.”
Tapping Talent Julius Tieguhong, also of CIFOR, says that while the rapid economic development of this once remote border zone has benefited many people, it has also brought significant concerns about the potential for conflict and environmental damage.
Moving goods from the trans-border region of Sangha to Douala port in Cameroon is costly and sometimes deadly. Often local officials levy unofficial fees on drivers and rugged forest tracks exert a heavy toll on trucks. Photo: Julius Tieguhong. “The rush on marketable natural products can damage the natural resource base and does not always favor human populations,” observes Tiehuhong. Conflict over diamond trading, hunting and commercial logging is also a problem, with locals complaining that outsiders plunder the region and offer nothing in return. CIFOR and the Center for Education, Formation and Help, a local nongovernmental organization, have been examining policy solutions that might enhance cooperation
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among local governments in the three countries. Their studies find that bureaucracy and unfair regulations are hampering the region’s legal cross-border activities. According to de Koning, the legal trade in essential goods like crops, non-timber forest products and medicines should be liberalized, as capricious levies imposed by officials increase tensions and raise the prices of these everyday needs. How to deal with illegal cross-border activities is a more complex question. On the one hand, elephant hunting and the illegal firearms trade should be firmly suppressed by authorities. On the other hand, the problems caused by illegal gold and diamond mining could be better controlled if prohibitions against them were lifted. Local governments from the three countries have recently begun looking more closely at the Sangha River region and considering appropriate deregulation polices. Trade liberalization and the illicit trade activities are also receiving extensive consideration. However, tackling this issues and implementing new policies is difficult for governments still struggling with the aftermath of recent war and internal instability. De Koning nevertheless believes the region can be saved if the political will exists to build capacity in potentially politically sensitive official institutions. “The military, the police, customs and game wardens,” he enumerates, “they all need assistance in targeting and controlling illegal trade. At the same time, legal trade needs to become more efficient and productive for people, so development and stability can be established in Sangha.”
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October 2007
Double Agent
Now, Phase Seven
Helicoverpa armigera, commonly known as the cotton bollworm or legume pod borer, causes annual crop damage estimated at as much as US$ 2 billion globally. This does not include an additional cost of US$500 million spent on insecticides for its management. Interestingly, Helicoverpa larvae also provide a priceless environmental service, as they can be used to produce a biopesticide to protect crops from Helicoverpa itself.
Prize Investments The Poverty Trap Of a Feather Water Enough to Eat? Last Crop Standing Change in the Air Triple Play Pooling Resources Keen on Quinoa Two by Two Trading Margin Double Agent Royal Visit Tapping Talent A Helicoverpa armigera larva (caterpillar) bores its way into a chickpea pod. The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has added a modern twist to a traditional technology. It has also succeeded in establishing biopesticide production units in nearly 100 villages in India and Nepal in collaboration with national agricultural research and extension systems and nongovernmental organizations, through a project funded by the World Bank. This project proposal won one of the World Bank’s Development Marketplace Award for 2005. Farmers in India and Nepal traditionally shake crop plants to dislodge Helicoverpa larvae. Using these larvae for the multiplication of the nucleo polyhedrosis virus (NPV), a biopesticide that kills Helicoverpa, is the modern twist that ICRISAT provided. NPV production begins with collecting the larvae and feeding them with an NPV-laced diet until the infected larvae die. The NPV biopesticide is extracted from the dead larvae and can be sprayed on crops to manage Helicoverpa attacks. The high impact enjoyed by the biopesticide, augmented with other ecofriendly activities, in 96 villages in India and Nepal over the past 2 years, has allowed farmers to reduce their spraying of chemical pesticides by 65% in cotton, 24% in pigeonpea and 21% in chickpea, thereby reducing input costs and protecting the environment and crop-friendly insects. Through the biopesticide production project in India and Nepal, says Dr. William Dar, director general of ICRISAT, the institute and its partners have placed production of an effective biopesticide in the hands of villagers. This enables them to become selfsufficient in meeting their needs for the biopesticide. Dr. G.V. Ranga Rao, an ICRISAT scientist working on integrated pest management, observes that the project has not only provided farmers with an alternative to chemical pesticides to deal with the Helicoverpa problem, but also enabled them to start biopesticide production in their villages.
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The World Bank Marketplace Award enhanced the scope of the project by funding the establishment of decentralized biopesticide production units in 76 villages in India and 20 in Nepal. In addition to establishing the village-level biopesticide units, ICRISAT and its partners trained 201 researchers and 983 farmers in India and Nepal on techniques of NPV production at the village level and on integrated pest management. For further information, contact Dr. G.V. Ranga Rao at
[email protected].
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October 2007
Royal Visit Princess Anne of the United Kingdom visited the International Potato Center (CIP by its Spanish acronym) in Lima, Peru, on July 9, 2007. The Princess Royal’s stop at CIP while touring several countries in South America reflected her strong interest in agriculture and concern for the peoples of developing countries. Now, Phase Seven Prize Investments The Poverty Trap Of a Feather Water Enough to Eat?
At the Zandstra Biodiversity Complex, the British royal viewed a display of the valuable biodiversity that CIP safeguards. She was particularly interested in the tremendous variety of shapes, sizes and colors of Andean potatoes. In the largest collection of its type in the world, CIP conserves almost 5,000 varieties of potato and thousands of varieties of sweetpotato and little known Andean roots and tubers. The diverse collection is a priceless source of crop variation to meet future challenges, including climate change.
Last Crop Standing Change in the Air Triple Play Pooling Resources Keen on Quinoa Two by Two Trading Margin Double Agent Royal Visit Tapping Talent
CIP's Director General Pamela K. Anderson explaining to the Princess Royal the pachamanca, a traditional Peruvian cooking ceremony, where potatoes, vegetables and different types of meat are cooked with local herbs in a pit in the ground. To the left is Catherine Nettleton, the UK Ambassador to Peru. The princess heard about CIP’s work in fortifying sweetpotato with vitamins. Vitamin A deficiency puts millions of children at risk of blindness. In response, CIP has developed new varieties of orange-fleshed sweetpotatoes that are easy to grow, popular with children and proven to increase levels of vitamin A in the blood. While at CIP, Princess Anne took part in a pachamanca, a traditional Peruvian event in which potatoes, vegetables, meat and herbs are cooked in a pit in the ground. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ranks potato the third most important food crop in the world. It is especially central to the diets and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people in developing countries. The UK has been a major donor to CIP since 1972. In addition to core budget grants from the Department for International Development, the UK offers support to a number of CIP’s special projects, including research on potato diseases in Peru and Bolivia and the development of orange-fleshed sweetpotato varieties in Africa.
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October 2007
Tapping Talent The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics hosted this year’s Gender and Diversity Associates Jamboree of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Now, Phase Seven Prize Investments The Poverty Trap
Themed “Going for great in 2008,” the jamboree celebrated the achievements so far by Centers supported by the CGIAR and prepared them for the next round of challenges. Over 40 participants from 14 CGIAR Centers joined in, providing a mix of research, human resources and management staff .
Of a Feather Water Enough to Eat? Last Crop Standing Change in the Air Triple Play Pooling Resources Keen on Quinoa Two by Two Trading Margin Double Agent Royal Visit Tapping Talent
CG Center “shoppers” negotiating for policies, tips tools and resources on offer at the Gender & Diversity Market Place The jamboree highlighted collaboration with other CGIAR bodies by dedicating a full day to a review of System-level reforms, innovations and resources. This featured a video presentation by CGIAR Chair Kathy Sierra and live videoconferences with Acting CGIAR Director Fionna Douglas and CGIAR Alliance Executive Chair Emile Frison. Participants also benefited from sessions with Information and Communication Technologies and Knowledge Management (by videoconference), Central Advisory Service on Intellectual Property, and Strategic Advisory Service on Human Resources. “It should be important to the whole CGIAR that we think about the gender dimensions of our work,” said Sierra. “We need to get people from a full array of backgrounds and histories into the System to open it up. There is talent everywhere in the world, and we should be able to tap into that talent that is embodied in women.” Participants were treated to an innovative diversity market place. Centers displayed their G&D best practices and had the opportunity to “sell” and “buy” new ideas and resources from one another. The market place demonstrated great creativity and how much the Centers have to share. “Everything I have seen in this marketplace today shows that we are making genuine progress in the CGIAR,” said Vicki Wilde, G&D Program leader. Other exciting features of the jamboree included special clinics for G&D associates
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focused on cross-cultural communications and designed to strengthen their roles as change agents in their Centers. In 2008, the G&D Program will conduct a Systemwide human resources survey to measure progress on G&D, as follow up to its 2003 benchmarking report (available at www.genderdiversity.cgiar.org/publications/WP40HRsurvey.pdf). This review will help the CGIAR take stock of G&D staffing and trends. Meanwhile, the G&D Program will continue to monitor Center goals and deliver G&D services designed to support their achievement. For more information, visit the Gender & Diversity website www.genderdiversity. cgiar.org.
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