United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Happy Seeder, happy farmers: tillage in a single pass
Capacity developmentGulshad Nabi (Chand) is a progressive farmer from Chak Dahir, Tehsil Muridke in the Sheikhupura District of Punjab Province, Pakistan. He cultivates wheat and basmati rice, which constitute his family’s only source of livelihood. Heavy tillage and burning of rice residues are the common practices for growing wheat in the region, resulting in the loss of soil nutrients, air pollution and poor food security and livelihoods for farmers like Gulshad.
CIMMYT showcases advances in agricultural technology and development in Pakistan
Capacity developmentThe Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP), led by CIMMYT and funded by USAID, presented the latest advances in agricultural technology and provided a platform for local industry to explore innovative technologies, products and services at the Pakistan Agriculture Conference and Expo 2015 in Islamabad.
Researchers define and measure “sustainability”
Capacity developmentLeading specialists on the sustainable intensification of agriculture tried to hammer out indicators for assessing “sustainability,” a development term that refers roughly to the health and longevity of a system, at a 13 February workshop in San Jose, California.
USAID’s Feed the Future initiative highlights CIMMYT heat tolerant maize breeding
Climate adaptation and mitigationThe Feed the Future initiative of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) featured CIMMYT’s Heat Tolerant Maize for Asia (HTMA) project in a recent newsletter, highlighting it as an exemplary public-private partnership. Launched in 2013, the project is developing heat-resilient hybrid maize for resource-poor smallholder farmers in South Asia whose livelihoods are threatened by climate change.
Two-wheel tractors to increase smallholder farm power in Ethiopia
Capacity developmentFor Ethiopian smallholder farmers who have for millennia used the traditional animal-drawn maresha plow, two-wheel tractors could increase their productivity while reducing labor.
Zero tillage for smallholder wheat farmers in Balochistan, Pakistan
InnovationsUnder the Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP) for Pakistan and in collaboration with Balochistan Agriculture Research, CIMMYT has begun testing and spreading with farmers the practice known as “zero tillage” to sow wheat in Balochistan, a province in southwest Pakistan that accounts for more than 40 percent of the country’s land area but only five percent of the population.
Pakistan wheat farmers call for quality seed of the right varieties
Capacity developmentLack of good seed of appropriate varieties is holding back harvests of smallholder wheat farmers in rugged, rain-fed areas of Punjab, Pakistan, said a group of farmers to some 50 representatives of seed companies, input dealers, and research, extension and development organizations, at a workshop in Chakwal, Punjab, on 18 September 2014.
Improved maize to boost yields in nitrogen-starved African soils
Climate adaptation and mitigationSub-Saharan African farmers typically apply less than 20 kilograms of fertilizer per hectare of cropland — far less than their peers in any other region of the world. In 2014, partners in the Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS) project developed 41 Africa-adapted maize varieties that respond better to low amounts of nitrogen fertilizer and are up for release in nine African countries through 24 seed companies.
Ethiopia’s seed co-ops benefit entrepreneurs and smallholder farmers
Nutrition, health and food securityGovernment-subsidized farmer-run cooperatives produce high-yielding, disease-resistant wheat seed, accelerating distribution and helping smallholder farmers grow healthy crops.
Research on climate-resilient wheat keeps Green Revolution on track
Climate adaptation and mitigationAs the global population grows from a current 7 billion to a projected 9.6 billion by 2050, wheat breeders involved in the battle to ensure food security face many challenges.
Scale-appropriate mechanization: the intercontinental connection
Capacity developmentCIMMYT aims to improve the livelihoods of poor farmers in the developing world by providing practical solutions for more efficient and sustainable farming. Among the options to improve efficiency, scale-appropriate and precise planting machinery is a crucial yet rarely satisfied need
AIP stakeholders share experiences with multi-crop bed planter in Pakistan
Capacity developmentCIMMYT, in collaboration with Wheat Research Institute Sindh (WRIS) and Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) supported by USAID, initiated pilot testing of a multi-crop bed planter for planting cotton and wheat in a cotton-wheat cropping system in Sakrand, Pakistan under the Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP) for Pakistan.