Mexico and CIMMYT:
A half-century of amity and accomplishments that profit farmers

Cordial and productive relations between Mexico and CIMMYT of nearly 50 years have led to improved maize and wheat varieties, cheaper and more sustainable cropping practices, enhanced capacity in researchers and technicians, and the spread of new scientific knowledge, representing many millions of dollars in benefits for farmers, according to a recent report by CIMMYT.

Both qualitative and quantitative evidence suggests that strong Mexico-CIMMYT collaboration has benefited both farmers and the national economy, while improving farm productivity and profitability and consumers' welfare.

Sustainable cropping practices that leave more in farmers’ pockets
“Twenty-five years ago, I saw people in northwestern Mexico scooping up grain from the side of the road after it blew off the transport trucks,” says Ravi Singh, CIMMYT wheat breeder, who has worked in the area for over two decades. “If people were hungry it was a way for them to get a little food. But you don’t see that anymore.”

Farmers used to burn their crop residues, recalls Singh, polluting the air so badly that you didn’t want to hang your laundry outside to dry. “Farmers got rid of their crop residues fast that way, but burning killed soil microorganisms and then they had to spend more on fertilizer.” Simply put: traditional tillage practices were more expensive and environmentally-unfriendly. In the face of mounting environmental problems, Mexican organizations and farmers have shown a growing interest in conservation agriculture.

Conservation agriculture entails three basic principles: minimizing soil disturbances such as plowing, retaining crop residues on the surface, and using relevant crop rotations. When done properly, these practices improve soil structure and fertility, increase farmers' yields, and bring them huge savings in water, fuel, time, and other resources. CIMMYT established conservation tillage trials in Mexico as early as 1975. The center is working now with farmers and researchers to test and promote relevant practices with farmers throughout the country. These include zero-tillage—sowing seed directly into residues of a previous crop, without plowing—or cropping on permanent, raised beds.

Improved maize and wheat varieties take root
Conservation agriculture isn’t the only innovation CIMMYT has helped plant in Mexican soil. In the past 35 years, more than 95% of wheat varieties sown derive directly from advanced lines developed by CIMMYT’s global wheat improvement program. “Between 1962 and 2002, CIMMYT’s wheat varieties increased yields in the Yaqui Valley of Sonora state, in northwestern Mexico, by an average 54 kilograms per hectare every year,” says Hans Braun, director of the program.

The center’s breeding efforts have also focused on maize, a staple food for millions of Mexicans. Fully 73% of the improved open-pollinated varieties and 90% of the hybrids grown carry genetic contributions from CIMMYT.

Milking maize for all its worth
Researchers from CIMMYT and the Mexican National Institute of Forestry, Agriculture, and Livestock Research (INIFAP) have partnered to refine and spread varieties of quality protein maize (QPM). A greater portion of the grain protein in QPM can be assimilated by people and farm animals than from normal maize, and so it represents a good option for farmers and consumers who depend heavily on this cereal for food and animal feed.

“Quality protein maize can help reduce malnutrition in rural populations and improve poultry and cattle output for the country’s growing livestock-raising industry,” says Gary Atlin, CIMMYT maize breeder. In 2001, a first generation of more than 30 QPM lines, including hybrids and open-pollinated varieties, was developed and sown on 70,000 hectares in 20 Mexican states.

Economic impact of improved varieties
INIFAP studies on the economic impacts of maize and wheat improvement speak to the importance of investing in science for agriculture. Based on 2002 prices, their results showed gross economic returns from the use of maize variety HV-313 on the order of USD 39.1 million USD and a benefit:cost ratio of 6.2—meaning that for every dollar invested in developing and introducing this variety, Mexico obtained more than 6 dollars in economic returns.

Use of the wheat variety Salamanca S75 also resulted in USD 3.8 billion in economic benefits for farmers, in addition to significant environmental benefits. Thanks to the variety’s resistance to key fungal diseases, reduced use of the CIMMT-derived fungicides has saved farmers nearly USD 687 million. Salamanca S75 also contains CIMMYT contribution in its ancestry.

Seeing red, looking into the soil
CIMMYT, in collaboration with Stanford University and Oklahoma State University, has worked for 15 years to improve fertilizer management for wheat, increasing profits and reducing the environmental impact from left-over nitrogen not used by the crop. “This work has shown that, under adequate fertilizer management, famers can cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% and nitrogen losses through leaching by 90%, while increasing profits for growing wheat,” said Ivan Ortíz-Monasterio, CIMMYT wheat agronomist who has led these efforts.

Among other things, Ortíz-Monasterio and his partners are promoting use of an infrared sensor that precisely gauges a given wheat crop’s need for nitrogen fertilization. The technology has been implemented in the state of Sonora and is being transferred to other wheat-producing regions of Mexico. Within just two years, participating farmers’ incomes have risen by more than USD 350,000.

Investing in plants and people
CIMMYT investments in human resources since 1966 have strengthened Mexico's research and extension institutions. The center’s researchers have mentored scores of undergraduate and postgraduate students. More than 500 researchers, technicians, and farmers have also participated in the center’s training courses.

“We want to make sure that knowledge and technology developed at CIMMYT moves from one country to another, or gets transferred from the lab to farmers’ fields,” says Petr Kosina, knowledge sharing and capacity building coordinator at CIMMYT. With support from CIMMYT, Mexican students have presented a total of 293 theses, 245 in Mexico and the rest in foreign universities.

Preserving crop genetic diversity
The CIMMYT seed bank in Mexico has proven to be an invaluable resource for maize and wheat breeders worldwide when they seek new sources of valuable traits such as drought-tolerance or resistance to pests and disease. The bank preserves 24,000 maize samples and 160,000 of wheat and related species, including the world’s largest collection of maize landraces (farmer-selected varieties), and wild relatives like teosinte and Tripsacum.

The seed is held in trust for future generations under the specifications of the 2004 International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. None of the collections may be patented or otherwise subject to intellectual property restrictions. “Many countries have relied on CIMMYT to replenish their national seed collections when these have been lost due to wars and natural disasters,” says Tom Payne, curator of CIMMYT's wheat seed collection.

For more information: Javier Peña, wheat grain quality specialist (j.pena@cgiar.org)

For more stories on CIMMYT’s work in Mexico please see:

A boost for maize in the State of Mexico

CIMMYT helps farmers till less, reap more in Chiapas, Mexico

Million-dollar vote of confidence from Mexican farmers and state officials

Unearthing hidden impacts of CIMMYT's work: Support documented for more than 800 thesis students

Wheat farmers see infrared