AM A', ON -__ VOLUME 3, NUMBER 3 October 1996 | I 1 FORUM FORUM e-' | Toward Global Partnerships Global Program by Alexander von der Osten to Develop Late major event of International for the agriculture of the industrialized D Centers Week 1996 (Oct. 28- temperate zone countries; the progress Blight Resistant Nov. 2) will be a gathering of more recently achieved in developing 1 t stakeholders in agricultural re- country agriculture is producing novel D r search in a Global Forum, a two-day (Oct. technologies and processes that are increas- P1o0tato Cultlvars *30-31) conference whose purpose it is to ingly of interest to the developed world. by Peter Gregory advance collaboration within the global The exchange of knowledge and the degree agricultural research system. The Forum of North-South and South-South collabo- coordinated global research will be a milestone in the CGIAR's con- ration are quickly intensifying. effort to combat new and ex- tinuing pursuit of its efforts to open the Back in 1987, Vernon W. Ruttan tremely aggressive forms of System to its stakeholders and solicit their wrote: "The 'global agricultural research late blight disease is being participation in the strategy and priority system'... should be understood to com- spearheaded by the International Potato setting processes, thus integrating the prise the systems organized and sup- Center (CIP). CGIAR more fully by strengthening its ported by national and provincial (or The 10-year, $25.5 million Global Ini- linkages with its partners in the global ag- state) governments, as well as the Inter- tiative on Late Blight (GILB) to develop ricultural research system. national Agricultural Research Centers potato cultivars with durable resistance to The days when food and agriculture (IARCs). It includes the agricultural re- all forms of the disease was launched this were domestic concerns central to the search conducted or supported by private year followed urgent calls for action by idea of national autarchy are long over; organizations as well as public institu- farmers and the global research commu- few sectors have since World War II ex- tions. It should include national research Continued on page 3 perienced similarly rapid globalization. institutions in the developed market r - - Grain from developed exporting coun- economies and the centrally planned tries is covering staple food deficits in the economies as well as in the developing .)' - E -.j' j 4 developing world; beverage crops, shell- countries. Clearly, the need is growing for _. fish, fruit and vegetables from developing more effective articulation among the % C f. - countries satisfy daily needs in the rich, several institutional levels in the system industrial world. No country or region and between the suppliers and users of i could feed itself on crops of domestic ge- the new knowledge and new technology." netic origin; world food security is based The Forum will be held at the techni- X ;i on the principle of exchange. cal level. Its participants will not be min- Similarly, agricultural research has be- isters and politicians but top scientists - come a global concem. Modem food crop and research managers from national ag- - varieties contain germplasm from so many ricultural research systems (NARS) in de- Z regions and countries that it is sometimes veloping countries, advanced research in- difficult to unravel their origins. The origi- stitutions (ARIS) in developed and nal green revolution drew heavily on tech- developing countries, the private sector, nologies and processes originally developed academia, civil society, international re- CIP Continued on page 19 Potato late blight In this issue EDITORIAL Toward Global Partnership 1 The World Food Summit Global Program to Develop Late Blight Resistant Potato i AO will host the Worl d a populations). Asia would have to increase Cultivars I e Summit in November, and a first its energy supplies by 15 percent and glimpse of the documentation Latin America by less than 10 per cent. A Regional Fund for Agricultural confirms that the Organization, To provide diets that are well balanced in Technology Established in Latin once again, is harnessing all available re- terms of amino acids, vitamins and nutri- America and the Caribbean 4 sources to provide the world with bench- ents, Africa would have to increase its marks for the debate on world food is- plant-derived energy by another 25 per- The Kakamega Bean Revival 5 sues that will remain valid for years to cent (46 percent for countries consuming Research on sustainable come. Already once, in 1974, FAO had mainly roots and tubers), and Asia by 21 prodctio s s .in organized a major food summit, the percent. prouuction systems United Nations World Food Conference. "All included, developing countries That event spawned a host of innovations would have to increase their plant-de- Overuse of Insecticide Sprays 6 including the establishment of the Inter- rived energy by 174 per cent. This means national Fund for Agricultural Develop- that while countries of Latin America Widening Partnerships 7 ment (IFAD), and the strengthening of and Asia would have to roughly double A New Generation of FAO's Global Information and Early their plant-derived energy, Africa would Pearl Millet on the Horizon 8 Warning System (GIEWS). have to multiply it by five (multiply by One of the most valuable aspects of seven for the root- and tuber-consuming Vetch-An Alternative to Cereals the World Food Conference proved to be countries)." Monoculture 10 its documentation, which served the in- These are daunting prospects by any ternational community for many years as measure, particularly when considering Development of a a basis for analysis and policymaking. An that demography-based projections are Live Vaccine Delivery System even more powerful platform is being usually quite reliable compared with for East Coast Fever 11 prepared for November. those based on socio-economic param- Included in the documentation is a eters such as income or price elasticities. Helping to Shape the Farming technical paper on agricultural research The paper hints at some implications Future of New Nations 12 co-authored by Uma Lele of the World for Africa by concluding."the current The Culprit in Cassava Toxicity: Bank, on behalf of the CGIAR, and level of development of economic infra- ThenCulr in C aoxicity: Stein Bie, Director of FAO's Research, structure and of human resources will Extension and Training Division. constitute a serious handicap in the case Smallholder Soil Fertility Another technical paper "Food Re- of Africa. Africa would thus be faced Management in Southern quirements and Population Growth" with the obstacle of improving its human Africa 15 (WFS 96/TECH/i 2) offers fresh insights and infrastructure resources while facing into the magnitude of the changes in a very difficult food situation. In doing A Future Scenario for food demand anticipated in the coming so, Africa would also prepare the base for Agricultural Research 16 decades. A provisional version is available solving its food security problem in the for review and comments. long term, after 2025." Leipzig: A Difficult Milestone 17 (Dietary) "Energy requirements of de- World media are expected to give Japan's New International veloping countries will increase towards broad coverage to the Summit, but those JApas . 2050 due to the growth of their popula- who wish to follow events in greater de- Agricultural Research Policy 18 tion numbers and also, to a lesser degree, tail are advised to consult the FAO home The Land Quality as a consequence of change in their struc- page on the Internet (http:// Indicators Initiative 19 ture," says FAO. "The aging of the popu- www.fao.org), and especially the Summit lation and the increase in its physical information line (http://www.fao.org/ height as a consequence of better nutri- wfs/homepage.htm or gopher.fao.org). tion, are factors of increasing energy re- The e-mail address of the World Food quirements, whereas declining fertility Summit is: food-summit@fao.org. and increasing urbanization are factors reducing energy requirements. As a re- Issued by the CG1AR Secretariat, sult, by 2050, energy requirements 1818 H Street, NW, would be multiplied by 2 in developing CORRIGENDUM Washington, D.C., 20433, USA. countries as a group (by more than 3 in Reference was made in an article: Telephone: (1 202) 473-8913. inter-tropical Africa)". "Broader Partnerships: The CGIAR and Telephone: (1-202) 473-8913. The report observes that to eliminate NGOs" (vol. 3, number 2) to a limited Fax: (1-202) 473-8110. chronic undernutrition - taking differ- survey of center-level interactions with Visit the CGIAR Homepage on the ences in food distribution inside coun- NGOs (p.15). The survey was con- Visit he CGAR Hompage n the tries into account - Africa would have to ducted by the International Service for Internet at: http://www.cgiar.org. increase its energy supplies by an addi- National Agricultural Research (ISNAR). I tional 30 percent (40 percent for tropical 2 PWCGIAR (Continued from page 1) Late Blight nity. Their concern: the appearance of widely accepted as late blight's center of breeding lines. During the project's final new forms of the fungus that within the genetic diversity. There he discovered phase, years 2004-2007, emphasis will be past five years have spread to many of the two mating types, called Al and A2. directed to promoting widespread use of world's major potato producing regions. The A2 form of the fungus is believed new late blight resistant varieties-an ef- The disease, which was responsible for to have spread from Mexico to Europe in fort that will help farmers to control late the Irish potato famine in the 1840s, the late 1970s. Many experts believe that blight through integrated pest manage- causes estimated annual crop losses of it was then re-exported unintentionally ment systems in which resistant varieties, nearly 14 million tons annually, equiva- through the sale of infected potatoes. rather than chemical fungicides, play the lent to nearly $3 billion. Spread by in- This form of the disease can be more key role. damaging and powerful than the Al type, which escaped from Mexico in the 19th Projected Impact Expansion of Potato Production century and was responsible for the Irish CIP believes that there is a high famine of the 1840s. Both strains repro- chance of payoff from such investment Ironically, the new late blight threat duce asexually, but when they occur in because past CGIAR investments in late comes at a time when developing coun- the same location, they combine sexually. blight research have been highly profit- try potato production is expanding. Ac- CIP scientists say losses from newer able. Rates of return from CIP's collabo- cording to a recent FAO-CIP publica- strains of late blight are likely to rise. rative research with East African NARS tion, annual potato production in devel- Hard-hulled Oospores produced by conducted over the past 15 years, for in- oping countries grew from 30 million sexual recombination of different late stance, have been estimated at 91 percent tons in the early 1960's to 85 million blight mating types are genetically more annually. Net benefits to the African tons in 1993. Output is expected to rise diverse than older strains of the disease. farmers totaled $10 million in 1993 and further by nearly 3 percent per year for Their ability to survive in the soil over more than $60 million over the past de- the foreseeable future. By 2000, econo- longer periods poses new threats to de- cade. Most of this impact was due to in- mists predict that developing countries veloping-country potato farmers. The A2 vestment of only $5.6 million in the de- will produce more than a third of the is known to be present on all continents ployment of late blight resistant varieties world's potato crop. except Australia and Antarctica. and improved availability of planting ma- terials. GILB But in the face of the new disease The GILB initiative will draw on problems, similar progress in the future fected potatoes and aloft by strong winds, worldwide public and private research will not be possible without additional the disease can destroy a healthy potato sources in its efforts to develop higher resources. For this reason, CIP has al- field in just a matter of days. levels of durable host plant resistance and ready increased its commitment to late CIP Director General Hubert Zandstra to use resistant varieties in integrated blight research from $1.2 million per says late blight has reached epidemic pro- pest management programs. A meeting at year to $1.5 million. To expedite the portions in many areas. He notes that the CIP's headquarters in the Lima suburbs launching of this global project, CIP disease is poised to strike hardest at mit- last March established project priorities plans to reallocate an additional lions of poor people in developing coun- and developed work plans. $500,000 in 1997 from its existing re- tries who rely on potatoes, but can least During the first three-year phase of the sources. These funds will be used to afford to buy expensive chemicals to project, 1998-2000, researchers expect stimulate full-scale planning, improve keep the fungus in check. to expand the genetic base for durable re- communications, and expedite a small "The late blight threat questions the sistance of cultivated potatoes through number of priority research projects. As- ability of the potato crop to continue its the transfer of resistance genes from wild suming that additional funding needed to unprecedented growth," Zandstra says, species, primitive cultivars, and to a lim- finance the project will become available, "especially in developing countries where ited extent from other organisms. This the Center predicts that payoffs in devel- production has soared by nearly 200 per- work is expected to both broaden and oping countries could eventually exceed cent in the past 30 years and is expected strengthen late blight resistance. Rapid $3 billion per year. to rise about another 3 percent a year by progress is expected as CIP and national the turn of the century." CIP and FAO program scientists have already overcome Peter Gregory is the Deputy Director General economists predict that developing coun- most incompatibility barriers between for Research, International Potato Center tries will produce more than a third of wild species and cultivated potatoes. the world's potato crop by the year 2000. GILB research will also focus on efforts to promote the use of integrated pest Origins of the Disease management practices, including simple, Late blight, also known as but practical field sanitation practices Phytophthora infestans, began as a local that are frequently ignored by farmers disease of wild relatives of potato and to- who once relied solely on fungicides to mato in Mexico's Toluca Valley. In the control the disease. early 1950s, John Niederhauser, a World From 2001 through 2003, the initia- Food Prize laureate and a founding mem- tive will advance the transfer of broader- ber of the CIP Board of Trustees, pin- based durable resistance to locally pointed the valley as the location now adapted potato varieties and advanced CGIAR4 3 NEWS A Regional Fund for Agricultural Technology Established in Latin America and the Caribbean by Ruben Echeverria S ixteen Latin American and Carib- countries, and the remainder from coun- By focusing on funding strategic re- bean (LAC) countries, with the tries and organizations based outside search, the Fund will complement the support of the Rockefeller Foun- LAC. The 16 current member countries applied and adaptive research conducted dation, IDRC, the Inter-Ameri- are jointly formulating a scale and time- by national institutes and strengthen the can Institute for Agricultural Cooperation table of contributions based, among region's participation in the international (IICA), and the Inter-American Develop- other criteria, on the size of the economy research system. The Fund further seeks ment Bank, have established a Regional and the relative significance of the agri- to increase competition between several Fund for Agricultural Technology. The cultural sector. As the regional support research organizations in implementing Fund's Board of Directors held its first consolidates, the process of obtaining priority research projects. In this sense it meeting in Cartagena de Indias, Colom- contributions from outside the region is will increase the efficiency and produc- bia, on July 2 and 3, 1996. beginning. tivity of existing national and interna- The mission of the Fund is to increase All contributors to the Fund are mem- tional funding mechanisms. the competitiveness of the food and agri- bers of the Board of Directors which is The establishment of the Regional culture sectors, ensuring sustainable man- responsible for setting policies, establish- Fund for Agricultural Technology in Latin agement of natural resources and reduc- ing priorities, allocating resources to re- America and the Caribbean is an ex- tion of poverty in the LAC region. The search projects, and defining the Fund's ample of an innovative mechanism for in- main objectives of the Fund are to: operating procedures. Members have vot- creased and sustained funding of agricul- * support strategic research for the ing rights in proportion to their contribu- tural research. The Fund is but one of development of agricultural tion. Additionally, each LAC country has several new funding mechanisms being technologies with characteristics of an equal number of "basic votes" to guar- developed in the region that can be repli- regional public goods; and antee a balance of importance in favor of cated, improved, and adapted to other * constitute a forum for critical food small countries. regions of the world. and agriculture technology issues, The research activities would focus on The long-term nature of agricultural * facilitate the access and exchange of * increasing productivity in food crops, research, and the diversity of institutions scientific knowledge and * address issues related to the that are part of the world's agricultural * minimize the duplication of research management of natural resources, and technology system, create a need to de- efforts among members. * strengthening the institutional velop alternative financing mechanisms- The Fund aims to create an endow- capacity on agricultural research such as the LAC Fund-aimed at consoli- ment of approximately US$200 million policy and management. dating a truly global agricultural research to generate an annual resource flow of at The specific priority areas of research to system. least US$] 0 million. These resources will be financed by the Fund are currently be- While increased funding for research is be competitively allocated to finance ing defined in the course of preparation of an important priority, the existing re- high priority research projects at re- the Fund's first Medium Term Plan, which sources allocated to agricultural science gional and subregional levels. The execut- will cover the period 1997-99. and technology must also be better man- ing agencies would be international, re- The primary beneficiaries of the Fund aged. New alternatives for financing agri- gional, and national agricultural research will be the countries of the region cultural research should not only add re- entities; some research activities may in- through sources but also serve as mechanisms to clude participation of the private sector * increased food production, improve focus and accountability of re- in funding and/or executing projects. * improved consumer as well as farm search programs, to promote the effective The Fund will begin operations when income, use of scarce resources, and to foster col- it has received at least US$50 million in * better management of renewable laboration at national, regional and inter- contributions. This goal is expected to be natural resources, and national levels. reached very soon. The Fund is being es- * alleviation of poverty. More information on the Regional Fund tablished and consolidated over a period It is expected that the Fund will re- for Agricultural Technology is available of three years during which the IADB fi- duce the currently felt gap in the avail- from the Technical-Administrative Secre- nances the administrative, financial, and ability of sustainable medium- and long- tariat at the Inter-American Development technical services necessary for its opera- term financing for strategic regional Bank, 1300 New York Avenue, NW, Stop tions. The Fund's main sources of financ- agricultural research activities, and in- W0500. Washington, DC 20577. Tel.: ing are the countries of the region, and creasingly shift the responsibility for fi- (202) 623-3876. Fax: (202) 623-3968. other organizations. Approximately nancing and decision-making on regional E-mail: FONDOREG@IADB.ORG. US$150 million will come from LAC research priorities to the countries of the region. 4 fCGIAR 14 NEWS 4 The Kakamega Bean Revival A couple of years ago, Eunice Changirwa never thought she'd see an- other bean crop in her half-hectare field. But today, at her farm near Kakarnega in western Kenya, she offers guests a steam- l . ing plate of plump, multicolored beans, mixed with kernels of white maize in a to tr y a fi sa thick, rich broth. , qs In the early 1990s, Eunice and most other farmers in this area practically lost . their local bean races, when crops myste- r ..-'Q 4 , riously began to turn yellow and fail sea--,i_x ;. son after season. "I had no choice but to .-. stop growing beans," she says. "Any seed I e planted was just wasted, it didn't pro- . -or duce anything." After that, beans became a rare treat in _ her household. "Once in a while, I would F-.j.j buy beans in the market from other parts , .'. - Eunice Changirwa of the country, but they were expensive," '- , ! with KARI bean she recalls. In the absence of this vital 4 s , * breeder Reuben protein source, the family's diet was re Otsyula duced to a monotonous dependence on CIAT maize and banana, their main starchy staples. It also hurts to lose the income from network. "I was really impressed with uct justify the farmers' use of organic sales of surplus bean production. In fact, farmers' widespread adoption of climbing material to maintain soil fertility." Eunice's finances still haven't recovered beans in highland areas similar to ours in At an OMMN meeting, farmers dis- from the blow. Only recently, her daugh- western Kenya," Otsyula says. Many of cuss the problem of finding stakes to sup- ter had to drop out of school, because the varieties he saw, introduced in port climbing beans. One of the few male the family couldn't come up with the Rwanda during the 1980s, are of Mexi- farmers in the room describes how he fees. can highland origin and are resistant to lets part of his Napier grass, which pro- But Kenyan bean scientists refused to root rots. vides fodder for cattle, grow to maturity accept the finality of the farmers' loss. Otsyula arranged to import the 10 best and then uses the tall bamboo-like shoots One of them, Reuben Otsyula, a bean varieties from Rwanda into Kenya. "I be- to support his climbing beans. breeder with the Kenyan Agricultural Re- gan to test them with farmers right away, Later, the conversation shifts to the search Institute (KARI), obtained a grant because root rot is not a problem in the new, root rot resistant bush bean varieties through the Eastern and Central Africa well-fertilized soils of our experiment with which some of the farmers have Bean Research Network (ECABREN) to station," he explains. been experimenting. Otsyula obtained seek solutions. He and colleagues deter- At about that time, Otsyula attended a these too through ECABREN and has mined that the problem was a complex field day organized by Patrick Nekesa of tested them jointly with Eunice of diseases referred to collectively as root the Association for Better Land Hus- Changirwa and other farmers. Partici- rot. "Serious outbreaks occur mainly in bandry (ABLH). A nongovernment orga- pants in the meeting talk excitedly about areas where high population density nization supported by the UK's Overseas the prospect of intercropping beans with makes land extremely scarce and forces Development Administration (ODA), maize once again, in addition to growing farmers to cultivate their plots inten- ABLH seeks solutions to the problem of high yielding climbers on the raised beds sively, thus exhausting the soil," explains declining soil fertility in Kakamega where they apply organic matter. CIAT plant pathologist Robin Buruchara. through its Organic Matter Management Early next year, Otsyula hopes to re- In search of a genetic remedy, Otsyula Network (OMMN). By enabling farmers lease the new bush bean varieties offi- first screened all the samples in KARI's to derive an adequate income from the cially. "If the farmers have five to chose bean germplasm bank for their reaction land they already occupy, the network from, they will be better able to protect to root rot. About 90 percent proved hopes to relieve pressure on the area's their bean crops from root rot," he says. highly susceptible, and under heavy dis- sole remaining tropical forest. With the revival of bean production in ease pressure the rest succumbed as well. "Without new opportunities to pro- Kakamega, farmers are also gaining new Next, Otsyula began to look outside duce, farmers have no motive to con- confidence in their own ability and that of the nation's borders. In 1993 he joined serve," Nekesa says. "That's why climbing local institutions to solve urgent problems. scientists from Uganda and other coun- beans were the right technology at the (CIA7) tries for a "traveling workshop" organized right place and at the right time. Their in Rwanda by the CIAT-supported bean good yields of a highly marketable prod- CGIAR s NEWS NEWS Research on Sustainable Overuse of Insecticide Sprays Production Systems in sub-Saharan Africa esearch by experts in several X? HITA Launches Cooperative Asian countries has shown that a large proportion of insecticide 1 * Efjort Wvith CJRAD L prays used by rice farmers is __ -_ unnecessary. About 80 percent of farm- IITA and the Center for International ers' insecticide sprays in the Philippines i Cooperation in Agricultural Research are estimated to be used for the wrong for Development (CIRAD) have pests and applied at the wrong time. agreed to undertake joint research on "Production will remain the same if farm- .; . . sustainable agricultural production sys- ers do not use these inputs," says K L. tems in the humid tropics of Sub-Sa- , . . i t i . K L. haran Africa. The aim is to improve ag- Heong, an IRRI entomologist. v +' > . Farmers often believe that highlyvi 4 ricultural productivity while conservingFamrofebeivththglvs- 1,:. 'j: '," riculuralprodctivty wile onseving ible insects are responsible for large yield natural resources, thereby contributing i lose s in reice, and dirgec much l teIr at- to better nutrition and living standards losses in rice, and direct much of their at- for poor rural populations. CIRAD will tention to leaf-feeding insects such as leaf l :'j i cooperate with IITA in facilitating and folders. However, these insects usually do L _ S . . \ z iHt id implementing research and develop- not reduce yields. IRRI ment activities linked to the Humid "Rice crops with leaf damage generally Forest Consortium, one of three con- recover," says Heong. "Pest management of insecticides. Khun Mechai Viravaidya, sortia of IITA's Ecoregional Program for is more than technology development. A Chairman of the Population Community the Humid and Subhumid Tropics. The huge gap currently exists between what Development Association (PDA), em- program aims to solve the biophysical farmers know and what they need to phasized the need to communicate scien- and socio-economic constraints to agri- know to make good decisions in pest tific knowledge to farmers, and to ex- cultural production in Africa's humid management." plore the use of media, community and subhumid tropics. Research in Chainat and Lop Buri development organizations, and other The two organizations will share sci- provinces in Thailand indicated that 76 means, to reach as many farmers as pos- entific expertise and information, and percent of the farmers surveyed, spray in sible. IRRI will publish a book on re- will be jointly responsible for project the first four weeks after planting, but search findings from the ten countries. preparation and the search for funding. according to Khun Lakchai Meenakanit, IRRI has adopted integrated pest man- This agreement breaks new ground by an agricultural extension specialist with agement (IPM) as its guiding concept for associating, in the framework of an the Thai Department of Agricultural Ex- research to develop better pest manage- ecoregional research and development tension: "These applications are unneces- ment tools and strategies. The objective program, an advanc:ed research institu-. tion in a developed country with an in- sary." Several years ago, rice farmers in of IRRI's IPM research is to derive, evalu- temational center of the CGIAR. The Thailand experienced problems from a ate, and develop principles, techniques, agreement was signed in Paris on July 2 pest called the brown planthopper. Sci- tools, and knowledge that enhance the by CIRAD Director General Michel de entists now discovered that this pest is a decision making skills of farmers, exten- Nuce de Lamothe and IITA Director secondary problem stimulated by insecti- sion specialists, researchers, and public General Lukas Brader. cides. administrators. Intensive studies in the CIRAD is a renowned French scien- Experts have also found that rice farm- different rice ecosystems on the interac- tific institution specializing in agricul- ers in the region continue to use highly tions among plants and their pests and ture in the humid and subhumid trop- toxic chemicals such as methyl parathion predators have been carried out by IRRI ics. It was created in 1984 as a public and monocrotophos. The World Health researchers. industrial and commercial establish- Organization classifies both as highly In addition, research on the economic ment by merging France's tropical re- hazardous to human health, causing and health impacts of various control tac- search institutes for agronomy, veteri- heart conditions, nervous system disor- tics has been done. Based on these find- nary, forestry, and agribusiness sci- ders, and even death after continued ex- ings, IRRI strongly endorses IPM, based ences. CIRAD's mission is to contrib- posure. Both chemicals are banned in the on ecological principles in which natural ute to development in these regions United States, Europe, and Japan. mechanisms and processes, including host through research, experimentation, Recently, forty scientists from Cambo- plant resistance, are fully exploited to re- and the exchange of scientific and dia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, duce economic losses to farmers. technical information. Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thai- IRRI is working closely with national At the close of a week-long task force land, and Vietnam met in Bangkok for an and international organizations to pro- meeting at IITA in Apri, 50 representa- IRRI workshop to discuss the pest man- mote and implement IPM by generating FAO and IITA, signed a Memorandum agement perceptions and practices of the knowledge needed including an un- of Understanding describing their com- farmers in Asia. Khun Peecharat derstanding of the decision-making pro- mitments to the Ecoregional Program Wannapee, director general of the De- cesses of farmers. for the Humid and Subhumid Tropics of partment of Agricultural Extension ap- (IRRI) Sub-Saharan Africa. pealed to participants to find ways to (IITA) help farmers reduce the unnecessary use 6 f CGIAR 14A~ NEWS | ANNOUNCEMENTS | Lucia de Vaccaro (Venezuela) and WidCening aPartnershipns Hanumantha Rao (India) have become TAC W idening Partnerships members; Hans Gregersen, Eugenia Muchnik de Rubinstein and Saydil-Moukhtar K. Tour6 The Jakarta Preparatory M eeting have left TAC. Lucia de Vaccaro was previously the Board chair of CIAT. Hanumantha Rao is for, the Glo bal Forum Chairman, Center for Economic and Social preparatory meeting for the The Jakarta preparatory meeting was, * Shellemiah Okoth Keya (Kenya) has been ap- Global Forum on the NARS- in a way, an unusual and exciting event. p ointed Executive Secretary of the Technical CGIAR Partnership Initiative NARS from the four regions, NGOs and Advisory Committee (TAC), effective April was held in Jakarta (May 17-18) private sector representatives freely ex- 1996. He is a soil scientist with degrees from prior to the CGIAR Mid-Term Meeting. It changed views, compared priorities and Makarere and Cornell Universities and was was attended by regional NARS organiza- problems, discovered how much they previously Professor of Soil Science at the Uni- versity of Nairobi and Vice Chancellor of Moi tions to follow-up on a spate of regional had in common and where their principal University in Eldoret. He replaces John H. NARS-CGIAR meetings held since Fall differences exist. Monyo, now Director of FAO's Agricultural 1995. Regional and subregional research A pattern of global agricultural re- Support Systems Division (AGS). organizations presented their respective re- search cooperation emerged from the * Roberto Lenton, the Director of UNDP's ports on the outcome of those fora. meeting and with it the prospect for joint Sustainable Energy and Environment Division, "The spirit in which the preparatory formulation and sharing of a future com- has replaced Timothy Rothermel as UNDP Co- meeting for the Global Forum was con- mon agenda based on the relative sponsor Representative. Roberto Lenton was ducted, and the substance of the discus- strength of each actor. At the end of the tional Irr ecgationrManageneral of the Interna sion at the meeting, demonstrated cre- meeting, the emergence of a truly global in Colombo, Sri Lanka. ative interaction between the CGIAR system which Chairman Serageldin had and other segments of the global agricul- urged, seemed closer to practical reality. . Ian Bevege has rep laced AuEtralian Centre tural research system," said Ismail It was obvious that the Jakarta meeting for International Agricultural Research Serageldin in his post-MTM letter to had not only strengthened interaction be- (ACIAR). Eric Craswell is currently Director heads of delegation. tween NARS and CGIAR but had also General of IBSRAM. Ian Bevege is widely Much of the praise for the outcome of catalyzed consultation among NARS, known for his role as ACIAR's point person when the Centre acted as the CGIAR's execut- the meeting goes to the main players, in with NGOs and with the private sector. ing agency in establishing CIFOR. particular to William Dar who was se- The role of regional and subregional Ahrned Thabit passed away on August 16 in lected chair as a last-minute replacement groupings was emphasized, and-perhaps Cairo, Egypt of a heart attack. Dr. Thabit's asso- for Cyrus Ndiritu (Kenya) who was un- for the first time-broad contacts were ciation with the CGIAR System dates to 1978. able to attend. William Dar represented established among regions. He joined the International Livestock Center for the Philippine NARS and is Chairman of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Africa (ILCA) as its Financial Controller and the Asia-Pacific Association of Agricul- and Africa which have strong subregional Treasurer, after a very successful career in the oil tural Research Institutions (APAARI). organizations (SROs) are setting up consul- experiuse in accounthabitn bught his formidable The meeting's keynote was struck by tative mechanisms at the regional level. Washington in 1986 when he joined the World Abdelmajid Slama, the Director of The Near East (WANA) and Asia-Pacific Bank as a Senior Disbursement Officer, subse- IFAD's Technical Division, who gave the which already have regional organizations, quently serving as a Senior Investment Officer in opening remarks. IFAD has been catalytic are in the process of enlarging their mem- the World Bank's affiliate, the International Fi- nance Corporation. Since 199 1, Ahmed Thabit in facilitating a series of meetings and bership and strengthening their mandates. had advised the CGIAR Secretariat on account- consultations on how to strengthen The NARS concurred with the goals of ing policy issues while continuing his work as Fi- NARS-CGIAR partnerships. The partici- the CGIAR and stressed the priority on in- nancial Consultant with the Bank's Asia and pation of TAC chair Donald Winkelmann creasing productivity and agricultural pro- Central Asia departments. His unexpected death gave rise to a lively discussion of the duction. They also emphasized the con- is a blow to his colleagues in the CGIAR Secre- gave ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~tariat and friends in the CGIAR family. Our CGIAR's future priorities and strategies. tinuing need for more training, particularly heartfelt condolences to his wife Fatma and his in advanced research technologies, and ac- two sons Ibrahim and Ehab. I cess to databanks, in cooperation with uni- * Stein Bie (Norway) has been selected Direc- I 4 ANNOUNCEMENTS 1 versities. A need was felt for closing the tor General of ISNAR. He will succeed Chris- growing gap in electronic communications tian Bonte-Friedheim in March, 1997. Stein W. General of Australia's aid program and Executive between NARS and the centers. Bie, is a soil scientist and former Director of Director of the World Food Program, has become The regfonal fora drafted an Operaton NORAGRIC, board member of ICRISAT and the Crawford Fund's ChairregionaloOperation chair of the CGIAR Working Group on Fol- the Crawford Fundds CheairHon Doug Anthony1 Framework for NARS-CGIAR partner- low-up Action to Agenda 21. He is currently Alex Buchanan became the Fund's Executive Di- ships for presentation at the Global Fo- Director of FAO's Research, Extension and rector, replacing the retiring Derek Tribe. rum, including a first set of specific re- Training Division. * Margreet Zwarteveen (IIMI) has won the trien- search activities for implementation * Kanayo F. Nwanze, a Nigerian national, has nial N. D. Gulhati Memorial Award 1996 given during 1998 and 2000. In this first phase, been selected Director General of the West Af- at the conference of the International Commis- activities are likely to focus on upgrading rica Rice Development Association (WARDA). sion on Irrigation and Drainage for "the best pa- H scretyPoetTa edro per by a young professional." The title of her pa- and strengthening existing collaborative He is currently Projecteam Lader of per: 'A plot of one's own: Gender relations and programs,ICRISAT's Sorghum Medium Rainfall project in irrigated land allocation policies in Burkina Faso." initiated. Case studies on best practices Andhra Pradesh. He will take up his new posi- initited. ase sudieson bet pratices tion on I December, replacing Eugene R. Terry, Hans-Juergen von Maydell (Germany) is will be conducted as part of the partner- who has headed WARDA since 1987. chairing the Board of ICRISAT as of April 1. ship activities and are expected to raise CIAT's fax number has changed. It is now (57- the level of collaborative experience. 2)445-0073. CGIAR4 7 RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS 41 A New Generation of Pearl Millet on the Horizon J CRISAT scientists in India are test sources of two new classes of ing a new generation of pearl millet:^ tU7 resistance: recovery resistance by which that could expand the horizons for r e pathogen and host coexist without this poor man'~s crop in Asia and Af-afetnyil(..,hepnsougw rica. It is hoped that evaluations starting in . :' the pathogen to produce symptomless the 1996 rainy season will confirm the grain heads); and complete resistance to readiness of new hybrids that have more virulent strains (i.e., resistance that durable heterogeneous resistance and visual r remains effective regardless of how uniformity acceptable to both farmers and L .J, much inoculum is used in attempts to seed companies. If the trials are successful initiate infection) the new hybrids could reach farmers as i a method to select for resistance from early as 1998, crowning 24 years of efforts R. Gutman the residual variability normally to improve what is already a miracle per- present within susceptible cultivars; formed under environmental extremes. from cultivation. Downy mildew * top-cross pollinators and hybrids with (Sclerospora graminicola) is a fungus that extremely good yield potential; Reliability can persist in the soil from one season to * a systemic fungicide, metalaxyl, which Pearl millet is the only cereal that reli- the next and spread rapidly from one can control the disease for short ably provides grain and fodder under dry- plant to another by means of asexual periods when certain resistances land conditions, on shallow or sandy soils spores. become ineffective and alternative with low fertility and low water -holding Tens of millions of poor people depend resistant cultivars are unavailable. capacity. In drier parts of Africa and Asia, on pearl millet and ICRISAT turned to Molecular mapping has also expanded pearl millet is the staple food grain. In west and central Africa, the primary knowledge of downy mildew resistance. more hospitable areas, it is fed to bul- source of genetic diversity, for reinforce- It has shown that: locks, milch animals and poultry. ment. Open-pollinated cultivars, includ- * many genes contribute to downy While pearl millet farmers have man- ing WC-C75 and ICTP 8203, provided mildew resistance; aged to feed their families under harsh new resistance to downy mildew, in- * these genes are scattered throughout conditions for centuries, population creased grain yields and gave scientists the host genome; growth is outstripping their capacity to time to develop new materials with even * pathogen-strain specificity is the rule meet new demand with ancient practices better yields and quality. Ten years after for each of these genes, and and landraces. Scientists need to know their introduction the reinforced crops * a large portion of resistance to a given more about the crop's tolerances in order remain resistant. More recently, new ma- pathogen population can be accounted to boost yields and expand the land un- terials have been introduced that show for by relatively few genes. der cultivation in harsh environments grain and stover yields which are at least Two decades of focused research with where other crops are unsustainable. 10 percent higher than those of the first national agricultural research systems India, which produces more than half generation of ICRISAT-bred earl millets, have also yielded screening techniques the world's pearl millet, has been the often combined with even shorter growth and cultivars resistant to the pearl millet center of research efforts to meet this season requirements. grain-replacement diseases, ergot challenge since the 1960s when the avail- At the same time, the first open-polli- (Claviceps fusiformis) and smut ability of cytoplasmic-genic male-sterile nated ICRISAT cultivars were intro- (Tolyposporium penicillariae). lines brought a succession of hybrids. duced, single-cross hybrid cultivars in- Sharing New Materials Before ICRISAT was founded in 1972, cluding ICMH 451, ICMH 423, and most of the research was done by the In- ICMH 356 were bred using at least one Another major accomplishment of dian Council of Agricultural Research African parent. Many other materials of ICRISAT's pearl millet team has been the (ICAR) and other Indian organizations Indian origin were crossed with African global diffusion of new materials. Efforts which raised yields to new highs. Since germplasm. F3 and F4 materials were to incorporate drought tolerance led the mid-1960s, when hybrid pearl millets used to derive hybrid pollen parents and ICRISAT to a west African landrace called were first introduced in India, average parents of synthetic varieties. Screening Iniadi which matures in 70-85 days, is grain yields have nearly doubled despite a techniques were developed at the well adapted to low soil fertility, resists considerable shift to more marginal pro- ICRISAT Asia Center and other hotspot diseases, and is especially tolerant of duction environments. locations. Among the products generated drought. Yields range from 0.8 to 2.5 t ha. and released are ICMS 7703, ICMV 155 At Kansas State University in the Limitations Exposed and ICMV 221. Indian farmers experi- United States, Iniadi has become a princi- However, downy mildew of epidemic enced two further downy mildew epi- pal exotic germplasm source because of proportions soon exposed the limitations demics during the 1980s and ICRISAT- its earliness even at latitude 39 degrees of the hybrids. While landraces with in- bred materials withstood both. N. Two male-sterile lines developed from herent genetic diversity survived the epi- Iniadi materials-843A (ICMA 2) and demic, genetically uniform hybrids failed. Consolidation 842A (ICMA 3)-were recommended by One of them (HB3) had been adopted Consolidating these gains, ICRISAT the Indian national program for general widely in India but was devastated by scientists have identified: Continued on page 9 downy mildew and had to be withdrawn 8 *iCGIAR (Continued from page 8) | RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS 1fi | Pearl MiUet use as seed parents. Today, at least half of M e T Used all hybrids marketed by India's private Modern Molecular Tool Used sector, are produced from these lines. . Br E i e Investment Repaid to Improve Rice Breeding Efciency It has been conservatively estimated ew breeding lines showing used to identify position of disease resis- from phearnul miletuvarieties toIde med by higher levels of tolerance or tance genes. Deoxyribonucleic acid or from pearl mllet varileties developed y new forms of resistance to bi- DNA is a genetic protein-like nucleic ICRISAT total $50 million-more than J L n otic stresses, and some with acid in plant and animal chromosomes l12 times the cost of its investment in multiple-resistance genes, have been de- that carries genetic information which pearl millet research. veloped by IRRI scientists with the aid of controls heredity or genetic potential. Collaboration a modern molecular tool-DNA marker- Most genetic characteristics can be pre- aided selection. dicted but some cannot. Because DNA A virtuous cycle of collaboration has DNA marker-aided selection was first markers are stable and are not subject to been completed which started in Burkina applied to the rice breeding program dur- environmental effect, they can be ana- ing 1994 in order to combine disease re- lyzed at any growth stage of rice. sistance genes of similar effect in one cul- One of the limiting factors in using * Annual millet yield losses from abiotic tivar and then to ascertain whether this marker-aided selection is its high cost. and byotic stresses that could be over- gene grouping showed more durable re- IRRI scientists have, however, stream- billion. sistance to bacterial blight and blast, two lined the procedure and have made many very damaging diseases of rice. In the technical improvements to simplify it. * Asia is the world's leading millet pro- past, it has been difficult for a breeder to "Cost was reduced from $20 per sample ducer, but Africa's millet harvest rose know whether two or more genes of to less than $2.00 per sample," said N. 28 percent between the early 1970s similar effect have been successfully Huang, molecular geneticist in IRRI's and 1990s and the percentage of Afri- combined. DNA marker technology now Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biochemis- cans who grow millet for domestic food allows breeders to follow the inheritance try Division. With such a reduced cost, consumption is rising. of these genes through examination of marker-aided selection can now be used (25 Years of Food and Agriculture Improvement. unique DNA markers located adjacent to routinely in IRRI's breeding program. CGIAR 1971-1996) each gene. (IRRI news release) DNA markers are fragments of rice ge- netic materials called DNA which can be Faso in 1979, when Iniadi, a local ________________________________________ landrace, was taken to India. Okashana 1, a variety based on Iniadi germplasm but 4w NEWS 4w not identical to the landrace from Burkina Faso, grown on a demonstration plot at the ICRISAT Asia Center, was se- As is well known, agriculture was millennia ago independently invented in several world re- lected for trials in Zimbabwe. From there gions: In the Near East (wheat and barley), in East Asia (rice), and in Mesoamerica lected for trials in Zimbabwe. From there (maize). Recent research showed that agriculture was also invented in Southeast Asia/Pacific it was taken to Namibia where it was re- with the cultivation of the root crop taro. leased in 1990 and enthusiastically adopted by farmers. Okashana 1 is now the most popular variety in Namibia, the Conserving ana Using Taro only non-Sahelian country where pearl millet is the cereal of choice for consum- Taro originated in Indochina where the greatest genetic diversity is to be found. Today, ers. In 1991, Okashana 1 was introduced the edible root and leaves of the taro plant are widely used in Africa, the West Indies and to Chad for trials and is likely to be South America. Some types have special significance as crops for difficult lands, as they planted on more than 100,000 ha within can produce large yields under flooded or swampy conditions. two years. . is also being widelygroHowever, as the crop moved into the Pacific much of its variability was lost, leaving two years. It iS also being widely grown in the crop genetically vulnerable. In recent years, an outbreak of taro blight disease devas- Mauritania and Benin. tated the crop in many Pacific countries which depend on the crop both as a food and as ICRISAT's long range goal is to explore an export crop. Susceptibility to a virus complex and the taro beetle also plague produc- the potential of pearl millet in chronic tion. drought-prone areas of southern Africa IPGRI, in partnership with FAO and IDRC, has assisted in the collection and improve- and non-traditional environments such as ment of taro in several countries in the region, for example Vietnam, Papua New South America. Maize is preferred by Guinea, and the Philippines. However, very little germplasm or information exchange consumers in both places, but in south- between Southeast Asia and the Pacific countries has taken place. ern Africa in particular, the hardy pearl One of the plans, supported by IPGRI, is a collaborative action to ensure that taro millet could dramatically improve farm- seeds and pathogen-tested tissue cultured plantlets which possess the necessary variabil- ers'et prospcts forfoodscurity . Imroear- ity can be made available to Pacific countries and that collections of taro can continue to ers' prospects for food security, be conserved in the countries of Southeast Asia. (IFPRI) CGIAR4f 9 14 RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS 4 | Vetch - An Alternative to Cereals Monoculture G_ rowing cereals year after yeare a r _ in the same field drains the soil of essential nutrients and A s _erodes productivity when nu- trients are not replenished. And, like mo- noculture of any sort, it can encourage persistent pests and diseases. . : . Cereal monoculture in the West Asia I and North Africa (WANA) region has en- . -* couraged a particularly sinister crop disease. It is caused by a microscopic parasitic 8 v worm, or nematode, that infests the plants y A "- and is particularly prevalent in North-West _-_ Syria, in areas with 250-300mm annual . rainfall. Syrians call the disease Abou Alouwei, after the farmer in whose fields I- ICARDA researcher Mustafa Bellar first identified it. Abou Alouwei is such a tall man that it is said he waves in the breeze, I r like the infested stalks of barley Abou Alouwei and his wife were childless for so - many years that his neighbors, with grim ICARDA humor, reasoned that he also shared an- other characteristic with the affected bar- sown with vetches, it would produce Trials by ICARDA at Tel Hadya and at ley-the heads of which are sterile. enough feed for 80 million ewes. Some of Breda during the 1980s tended to sup- Nematodes are not the farmers' only the pressure caused by the overgrazing of port this conclusion while other trials problem in WANA. A small insect pest sheep and goats on marginal semi-arid suggested that, by producing a greater called "ground pearl" has also affected the lands in the WANA region could possibly biomass overall, the barley/vetch rotation region, but fortunately it can be elimi- be eased by exploiting this potential. also provided better water-use efficiency- nated by fallow or crop rotation and the ICARDA also estimated that vetches an important factor in an area of scarce use of clean seed for the next cereal would return an additional 1.4 million water supply. Both the barley/fallow and planting. One solution is to rotate cereals tons of nitrogen to the soil each year-a the barley/legume options provided bet- with forage legumes such as vetches, figure equal to 165 percent of the nitro- ter yields than barley monoculture. something that ICARDA scientists had gen then applied as fertilizer in Afghani- developed as a means of fixing nitrogen stan, Algeria, Iran, Jordan, Libya, Syria, Adapting the technology in the soil and boosting yields. Tunisia, and Turkey combined. These fig- Since the mid-1980s, ICARDA has The use of vetch is not new. Tradition- ures should be treated with caution how- therefore encouraged the use of vetches to ally, farmers grew it in rotation with cere- ever, because much depends on land replace the fallow in cereal production. als as feed for livestock and draft animals. management, environment and species, Evidence indicates that common vetch is It could be grazed green in late winter as subsequent research has confirmed. the best species to use in areas with rain- and early spring, when feed was short; it But even in situations where the effect of fall of around 300mm, but there are many could be harvested early to make hay; or rotation with cereals is disappointing, the different vetch species, and many different it could be left to mature, to provide system can be beneficial. breeding lines within those species, that grain and straw for winter feeding. prefer lower or higher rainfall. References to rotation with legumes Testing date from Roman times, but the practice In 1985, Jordanian researchers began a Increasing vetch yields probably faded because farmers became 10-year trial to compare the yield from The shattering of pods can make seed less dependent on draft animals and popu- barley sown after fallowv, with that of bar- harvesting difficult with vetch, but with lation growth pushed up demand for cere- ley rotated with forage legumes. Al- careful selection and breeding, ICARDA als, tempting growers into monoculture. though the nitrogen-fixing effect of le- scientists have been able to develop Until the 1950s, forage legumes ac- gumes is thought to be most effective higher-yielding varieties with non-shatter- counted for 10- 15 percent of the rainfed with reasonable rainfall, the Jordanian ing pods. farming area in one Syrian province, but trials were held at Ramtha where it rarely A major difficulty common to any crop by 1988 it had plunged to just 2 percent. exceeds 250mm. The best yields were meant to rehabilitate degraded land is that Yet the system made good sense. In obtained after a barley/fallow rotation- it might be eaten before reaching matu- 1978, a report commissioned by ICARDA but once livestock feed and meat prices rity, but ICARDA was able to draw on a indicated that there were about 30 million were taken into consideration, the best germplasm collection of more than 5,000 hectares of fallow land in the WANA re- net returns to farmers were from the bar- lines to identify a vetch that forms pods gion suitable for pasture and forage le- ley/forage legume rotation, accompanied gumes, and that if 70 percent of this were by sheep grazing during the legume year. Continued on page I I 10 4WCGIAR (Continued from page 10) Vetch underground as well as above ground. double-knife cutterbar for harvesting. Transferring ideas Most of the seed held in ICARDA's bank The roller costs the equivalent of about Explaining the interrelated benefits of has been collected within WANA, so they US$3500 but it can be easily transported vetch to farmers has been especially im- incorporate a wide range of locally- between fields so that farmers can share portant. Any new idea can be difficult to adapted characteristics. the investment. Hand harvesting of le- transfer and when the technology offered gumes costs Syrian farmers 2000-3000 is an update of something that they have Convincing farmers lira (about US$50-75) per hectare. themselves abandoned, farmers may be Developing a technology off-farm is An additional benefit of the new har- especially skeptical. On the El Bab often just a beginning, however. For vester is that farmers at El Bab in North- project, many do not believe that forage ICARDA's work to be useful, researchers ern Syria have found that it works well legumes are especially productive and must collaborate with farmers to ensure for barley as well. The roller allows them there is economic pressure for continu- that there will be interest in adopting the to increase their straw yields by cutting ous cereal cropping. At El Bab however, end product. lower. They have also found that the new the farmers are key players in the project One attraction of vetch is its versatil- equipment makes it easier to harvest and ICARDA is working with them to ity. It can be grazed green, cut for hay, or lodged barley. develop the most acceptable approach. harvested at maturity for grain and straw. The vetch story illustrates another key If mature harvesting is to be an induce- Livestock gains point about agricultural research. There ment however, the cost of harvesting it- The economics of sheep grazing on for- must be a systems approach. Cereals, self becomes an issue. Labor, in real age legumes also look good. Grazing can vetches, livestock, soil conditions and terms, is not cheap in WANA, and this eliminate the need for weeding, and this market forces are all components of a has been a factor in farmers' willingness, is important in areas such as El Bab complex pattern that we call agriculture. or otherwise, to adoption rates of other where selective herbicides are not avail- Any new effort must be slotted into that crops as well. able. The daily weight gain at 30 lambs pattern, or farmers will not adopt it. To complement production gains with per hectare has been about 200 grams Even worse, the change might ultimately vetch, ICARDA needed a low-cost without supplementary feeding. The av- prove to be harmful. method of mechanized harvesting. erage weight of a five-month-old lamb (ICARDA) Working with local industry, it developed raised on a vetch field is about 35 kg-the a roller to prepare the ground and a best weight at which to sell. |i RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS | Development of a Live Vaccine Delivery System for East Coast Fever R esearchers at ILRI are develop animals and cattle has been shown to cells that display 'foreign' proteins, in- ing a new vaccine against East protect most animals from disease when cluding cancerous cells and cells infected Coast fever, a deadly disease of they are subsequently infected with le- with viruses and parasites. cattle caused by a single-celled thal doses of live parasites. Employing a series of pioneering mo- organism, Theileria parva. This parasite, The success of the p67-based lecular and immunological techniques, transmitted by ticks, costs farmers in Af- immunisation strategy will depend on how ILRI scientists have identified two pro- rica more than US$170 million a year in effectively it prevents sporozoite invasion teins expressed by schizonts that stimu- direct losses. To keep their animals free of of lymphocytes. Within minutes of entering late cytotoxic T-cell responses. The disease, farmers regularly spray or dip an animal host, the parasite sporozoites in- genes encoding these schizont antigens livestock in tick-killing chemicals that are vade lymphocyte cells, where-no longer have been cloned, sequenced and in- both expensive to purchase and damag- vulnerable to attack by antibodies-they dif- serted into vaccinia viruses, which are ing to the environment. ferentiate into schizont forms. By causing now being tested for their vaccine po- ILRI's Animal Health Improvement Pro- the lymphocytes they invade to multiply tential. The first experiments have pro- gram in Nairobi is working to develop a uncontrollably, these schizonts quickly kill duced exciting results: cattle infected novel vaccination strategy that will not only the animal. Thus, sporozoites that manage with these recombinant viruses have de- offer better protection against East Coast to evade initial antibody attack and to enter veloped cytotoxic T-cells that kill para- fever but will do so cheaply and without lymphocytes, can still give rise to fatal dis- site-infected lymphocytes. polluting the environment. Scientists in ease. To circumvent this parasite survival To perfect these live vaccination strate- this program are developing the vaccine stratagem, ILRI scientists began looking for gies, ILRI scientists need to enlarge their potential of a protein found on the surface a schizont parasite antigen that would aug- experimental data. Construction of a new of the Theileria parva sporozoite-the form ment their sporozoite-antigen vaccine by Biologically Secure Animal Disease Re- of the parasite that ticks pass to cattle. arming a second branch of the bovine im- search Facility allows them to do this. As The scientists have inserted the gene mune system. the scientific knowledge generated by these for this parasite protein, named p67 be- Previous ILRI research had shown that more informative experiments grows, so cause it has a molecular mass of 67 animals that recover from East Coast fe- does the prospect of a safe, reliable and kilodaltons, into Salmonella bacteria and ver possess specialised cells that kill lym- cheap vaccine that will keep African cattle- vaccinia viruses, which produce the for- phocytes infected with Theileria parva and by extension the farms and households eign protein. Inoculating these harmless schizonts. These cytotoxic T cells have that raise them-healthy and productive. recombinant organisms into laboratory evolved to recognise and destroy body (ILRI) CGIAR4 I I NEWS Helping to Shape the Fanning Future of New Nations he five newly-independent re ISNAR and the Aga Khan Foundation long-term visits to ICARDA, Aleppo, to publics of Central Asia face were represented. do collaborative work on cereals. There heavy challenges as they adapt The total surface of the five Central have also been other contacts. A. w to a decentralized economy. In ad- Asian Republics is 400 million hectares, of At the end of the Tashkent meeting, dition to its own regionally-oriented efforts, which some 80 percent is farm land, equal ICARDA and its collaborators signed an ICARDA is supporting the work of a to 30 percent of the former USSR's total. agreement with the five republics for a CGIAR Task Force to explore the potential Wheat and cotton are important crops, as plan of action that envisages: for CGIAR collaboration in Eastern Europe are livestock. About 70 percent of the * Establishment of national research and the former Soviet Union. The initiative farm land is permanent pasture and 51 strategies and program plans. ISNAR in Central Asia began with two workshops percent of the population is rural. The en- would play the key role. in Tashkent. vironment is familiar to ICARDA-low * Producing recommendations for rainfall, extremes of temperature and a structural adjustments and policy Assisting Central Asia's Agricultural mixture of mountain, desert and steppe. It amendments. This falls into IFPRI's Research Needs is a natural continuation of the West Asia province. There is some cause for optimism in and North Africa (WANA) region. * The identification and testing of the right Central Asia. The five newly-independent Food production in the republics is no technologies for diversifying the republics don't lack energy and commit- longer supplemented by food imports agricultural system and improving both ment to their future agricultural develop- from elsewhere in the former USSR, and crop and livestock productivity. ment. Uzbekistan has increased its wheat this has spurred a drive for food security ICARDA, CIMMYT and IPGRI will area by 25 percent in the last five years. and a concentration on cereal production. be involved in these aspects. A similar expansion of the wheat area is Raising cereal output can be achieved ei- * Strengthening of national seed programs. reported from Kazakstan. But there are ther by intensification, the expansion of The plans include a regional also frightening problems: area sown, or both. Intensification has coordination unit and a variety testing monocropping, salinity and rangeland led to monoculture systems operating system. degradation. To help the newly-indepen- with a lack of fertilizer that has damaged * Strengthening human resources. This dent republics address these and other soil fertility, while the latter has tended means training, but for ICARDA it has problems, ICARDA and its partners from to reduce crop diversity. There are feed also always meant exchange of within and outside the CGIAR System, and fodder supply problems, and live- scientific visits and travelling with assistance from German bilateral aid stock numbers are declining in places. workshops. Other CGIAR centers will (BMZ/GTZ), held a major workshop in The seed sector is not always able to be involved. Tashkent in December 1995. meet demand. Seed supply was thus the Establishing cooperation between the Central Asia's scientists can base them- important focus of discussion. This is an research and educational institutions selves on long experience. The workshop area where ICARDA has done much in the region. participants visited institutions which work in collaboration with national pro- As a result of the workshop, a joint had been active in research for 60 years grams in countries farther South, with project proposal was drawn up by and more. The problems they are facing significant cooperation from Germany ICARDA in collaboration with CIMMYT, are, in any case, not confined to Central and the Netherlands. IPGRI, ISNAR and IFPRI so that funding Asia but they have been compounded by Problems specific to the seed sector could be sought for the activities. This was a major transition from one philosophy that had earlier been identified include, submitted to BMZ/GTZ. of economic and social organization to antiquated processing and testing equip- In the meantime, international nurser- another which, among other things, has ment, weak variety maintenance, lack of ies of wheat have been supplied from the cut supply lines for essential inputs such marketing and the need to better under- Turkey/CIMMYT/ICARDA International as fertilizer. stand the complexity of a seed program . Wheat Program based in Turkey; and of The objective of the ICARDA delega- in which the essential components are barley from ICARDA in Aleppo. tion was to research needs and priorities, strongly interrelated. The governments, ICARDA also organized a Wheat Rusts and help draft a plan of action. The as a consequence of a state monopoly Workshop for West and Central Asia in workshop closed with the signing of an culture that prevailed in the sector, have Karaj, Iran, from May 19-31, 1996, in agreement for future cooperation in agri- yet to fully appreciate the leading role collaboration with the Iran national pro- cultural research and development. that the private sector could play in the gram and CIMMYT, to initiate activities The participating nations were seed sector in future. In order to broaden on yellow rust in wheat for the countries Kazakstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and understanding of these last two issues, it of West and Central Asia. Scientists from Uzbekistan; the Kyrgyz Republic was also had been recommended to hold a re- Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and involved. Also attending were representa- gional workshop on the seed sector. Azerbaijan, where yellow rust is impor- tives from the West Asian republics of tant, were invited to this workshop. Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia-from a The Needs Scientists from the region obtained the different agroecological zone that has Since 1991 ICARDA had conducted opportunity for interaction, through vis- much in common with parts of Turkey germplasm collection missions in both its by ICARDA scientists to the national and Iran where the Highland Regional Central Asia and the Caucasus, and three programs during the crop season, and by Program of ICARDA is active. CIMMYT, scientists from CIS countries have made Continued on page 13 12 f CGIAR (Continued from page 12) New Nations International Centers Week 1996 inviting three key wheat scientists from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Georgia to Monday, October 28-Saturday, November 2,1996 attend the Fifth International Wheat Washington DC USA Conference held in Ankara from June 10- ' D 14, 1996. The Central Asian scientists have also received necessary assistance in International Centers lights of current research, attending other international conferences. Week 1996 (ICW96) will 6 t A . assess future research Livestock: a key to the future cover five and a-half days, needs, and outline what The December workshop was followed and will consist of the fol- ; /- they have in the pipeline in February 1996 by another meeting, also lowing four connected , for meeting these needs. in Tashkent, on Central Asian animal pro- components: The Forum will build on duction organized by ICARDA and last year's widely wel- USAID-the latter through its Small Rumi- * commemoration of the comed innovation of a day nant Collaborative Research Program (SR- 25th anniversary of the I 1 I 9 9 6 dedicated to Centers at CRSP, University of California, Davis). The objective of the ICARDA/USAID CGIAR (one day); ICW It will approach re- workshop was to identify constraints to * a Centers Forum on the search challenges from a regional sustainable animal production-with an substance of current and future perspective, thus leading into the eye to environmental and desertification research (one day); next day's svnthesis of global re- issues. There is real concern about these r search issues. problems; and ICARDA scientists travel- * a Global Forum that will bring ling through the region noticed that some together the various components Global Forum cultivato in plrantefdllto cerealsc Such of the global agricultural research Wednesday, October 30-Thursday, sastrous because the crop will often fail system (one and a-half days); and October 31,1996 and the land won't easily revert to its the CGIAR Business Meeting A Global Forum, at which represen- former state, either to provide grain or (two days). tatives of the various components grazing. Other issues raised in the meeting in- that form the evolving global agri- cluded: 25th Anniversary Day of cultural research system (NARS, * Land tenure policies in transition; Commemoration NGOs, the private sector, advanced * The fragmentation of flocks and Monday, October 28,1996 research institutions, international changing nature of sheep diseases caused by privatization; A program to honor CGIAR stal- cente)ill expore a the nee * The advice to concentrate on warts of the past and present, cel- opportunities for agricultural re- production of milk and meat rather ebrate twenty-five years of effort search, the scope for collaboration, than wool because world demand for and achievement, strengthen part- and practical measures to strengthen local pelts is falling; nerships, and look to the future. partnerships. The Forum is expected * The need to conserve indigenous Excellence in Science Awards will to culminate in the adoption of a breeds; Declaration and Action Plan for Gw- * The need to improve the processing be presented to Center scientists balartneh in Aculal re- and quality control of products. and their partners. A major event of aeartnershics inlAgriculturaleRe- ICARDA is participating in the work the commemoration will be the Sir search, which will be presented to and deliberations of the Task Force on John Crawford Memorial Lecture, the World Food Summit in Novem- Central/Eastern Europe and the former to be delivered by Mr. Maurice F. ber by CGIAR Chairman Ismail Soviet Union. At the request of the task Strong, a founding member of the Serageldin. force, ICARDA organized a CGIAR/ CIR te pca usswl NARS workshop in Tashkent in Septem- CGAR. Other special guests willMeeting ber 1996. This workshop requested sup- include participants in the key ini- CuIaR Busines Meeting port for regional cooperation and for tial events of the CGIAR, such as Thursday, October 31-Saturday, projects with centers. the Bellagio meetings and the first November 2,1996 Much work and funding will be in- formal meeting of the CGIAR on A two-day CGIAR Business Meet- volved in all this but ICARDA thinks the May 19,1971. ing, which will focus on research di- investment opportunities represent good rections and the financing plan for value. At stake is a fresh start in agricul- Centers Forum the 1997 Research Agenda, as well ture for five nations totaling 51 million people and 400 million hectares of land. Tuesday, October 29,1996 as on action requirements based on These dimensions have major implica- A Centers Forum at which Center the Declaration and Action Plan to tions for environmental protection and Directors will at w hg be adopted at the Global Forum. regional stability-all for the price of a present the high- second-hand jet fighter. CGIAR0 13 | 40 PERSPECTIVES 4f I T'he Culprit in Cassava Toxicity: Cyanogens or Low Protein? G. Padmaja T nhe starchy roots of cassava The protein link (Manihot esculenta Crantz) are Whenever a . -- j -, already a staple for about 500 chronic disease has I.... million people of tropical Af- been linked to rica, Asia, and Latin America, but count- sava consumption, I . . e- f' less others might also benefit from this the victims have food if it were not for the sensationalism also been found to *.~ .e that sometimes surrounds the crop's po- suffer from protein tential toxicity. deficiency, suggest- The cassava plant carries two cyano- ing a relationship genic glucosides, linamarin and between the two. ' lotaustralin, in its edible roots and leaves. Protein is essen- The amounts of these potentially toxic tial for all the - * compounds vary considerably, according body's vital func- - to cultivar and growing conditions. tions, and for elimi- "Sweet" varieties usually have such small nating certain di- -- amounts as to be innocuous, whereas etary toxins. With CIAT "bitter" varieties have sufficiently high the help of the en- levels to require domestic processing to zyme rhodanese, the human body detoxi- of protein from other sources to obtain remove most of the toxins. fies cyanide by forming thiocyanate. the U.S. recommended daily allowance When the body is regularly exposed to (RDA) of 65 g protein per adult. In con- 15 ProtehinEnergy Ratio of Cereals oandTuberC.op.(PE) cassava cyanogens, the increased synthe- trast, 1 kg of wheat supplies 121 g of PE%is obtained though the forula: sis of rhodanese makes extra demands on protein and rice, 61 to 64 g of protein. 17500 % p.tOtIfo mn hepoenta FE-gy (KJ/100g) the body's reserves of amino acids, the If protein intake is more than adequate lo * * building blocks of proteins. To detoxify for both general metabolic requirements 1.0 mg hydrocyanic acid (HCN), the and cyanide elimination, toxic effects are body also needs a daily supply of about lessened or even eliminated, even if cas- s | | | | - - 1.2 mg of dietary sulfur (S) from S- con- sava is improperly processed. (Fatal poi- taining amino acids (SAA). If the de- - - - -- mand for rhodanese and SAA is pro- 1 longed, as in the regular consumption of . - I 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 cassava, and the diet is inadequate, the r EI - 2 -rc(pawm,-illed)5-I ooseapvet hen(Oned) synthesis of many proteins vital for - 43whe.tflo (Win.d)3Coocasin(ter) bodily functions may be impaired, lead- ing to the development of protein defi- In situations where famine or extreme ciency diseases. poverty may force a population to eat poorly processed cassava in a diet that is Cassava - low protein source ;- also deficient in nutrients such as protein, Cyanogens alone cannot be blamed for . . 3 ;e-T the plant's cyanogenic glucosides can lead toxicity because other cyanogenic crops, _ 1 0 . 0 _-___ to poisoning. A classic case was the infan- such as sorghum and Lathyrus bean, tile kwashiorkor epidemic in famine- which are widely used as food, cause few soning can result from ingestion of large stricken Biafra in 1968, but there have toxicity problems. But the protein con- amounts of unprocessed or poorly pro- also been recent examples of spastic tents of these two crops (11.0% and cessed high-cyanogen cassava.) Hence, paraparesis, or konzo, in drought-stricken 18.7%, respectively) are higher. the lack of protein in cassava roots is regions of Mozambique and Tanzania. Many cassava products contain very probably responsible for most non-fatal Detoxifying cassava low amounts of cyanogens, which can be cases of cyanide poisoning associated Detoxifying cassava efficiently eliminated by the body, if the with cassava. Farming populations who cultivate cas- protein intake is adequate. Cassava roots, sava have developed many methods of being bulky and rich in carbohydrates, Developing new cassava varieties detoxifying cassava. Boiling and drying free dietary proteins from having to meet To help resolve the cassava toxicity- are sufficient to make low-cyanogen cul- the body's energy needs, thus allowing protein deficiency problem, biotechnol- tivars safe for consumption, but more rig- them to be used more efficiently. How- ogy can contribute to the breeding of cas- orous procedures such as grating, fer- ever, the level of protein in cassava lags sava varieties that are acyanogenic and/or menting, and sun-drying, are necessary to far behind the levels found in rice, wheat, have protein-rich roots. effectively remove cyanogens from culti- and tuber crops (Figure 1). An adult con- (CIAT: Cassava Newsletter 19/2) vars of higher toxicity (see Table). suming I kg of cassava has to ingest 52 g 14 4 CGIAR 40 PERSPECTIVES 1 | PAST & UPCOMING... | * The M.S. Swaminathan Research Founda- Smallho der Soil Fertility tion (India) has been chosen for the 1996 * r r ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Blue Planet Prize for its research promoting sustainable agriculture and rural develop- Management in Southern Africa ment. The Foundation, chaired by CGIAR pioneer MS. Swaminathan, is the first Blue he continued viability of strategy is to emphasize the use of or- Planet Prize winner from Asia. The prize of smallholders in southern Africa ganic nutrient sources, especially le- 50 million yen is an international award rec- is a major challenge for soil and gumes, that capitalize on freely available and related activities. It was established in crop scientists. Population pres- nitrogen in the atmosphere. Legumes 1991 by the Asahi Glass Foundation of Japan. sure on available crop land has made are not new to farming systems. Grain * CIFOR's new headquarters buildings in shifting cultivation obsolete, with the re- legumes, legume intercropping and rota- Bogor, Indonesia, were inaugurated on May sult that maize, the dominant tion, green manures, improved fallows, 20 by Indonesian Minister of Forestry smallholder crop, is now planted year agroforestry, cereal residues, and animal Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo in the pres- round in many areas. The fallows, which manures can all enhance soil fertility ence of CGIAR Chairman Ismail Serageldin, traditionally restored soil fertility and re- and sustain the soil resource base. How- CIFOR Board traditionally ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Chairman Bo duced the buildup of pests and diseases, ever, the potential of legume technolo- P2 Bengtsson and Di- are disappearing from the agricultural gies is rarely realized on farmers' fields rector General Jef- landscape. Soils are degrading and na- because, in broad terms, the larger the frey Sayer, at the tional increases in maize productivity fertility benefit expected from legume I , time of the CGIAR have been disappointing despite the fact technology, the larger the initial invest- Mid-Term Meeting. The spacious new that smallholders have adopted high- ment in labor and land must be. I headquarters build- yielding germplasm on 33-50 percent of Although combinations of inorganic ings are located on the land under maize. The loss of mineral and organic fertilizers show promise, they 10 hectares of land nutrients from the soils under cultivation do have a cash cost and innovative surrounded by for- generally exceeds nutrient inputs, chal- mechanisms are needed to help farmers ested areas. lenging research and extension organiza- access them. One promising approach is * ICRAF and Television Trust for the Envi- tions to improve productivity without to provide start-up cash grants that can ronment (TVE), with support from the Swedish International Development Agency compromising sustainability. be paid into savings schemes from which (SIDA), have jointly produced a two part Scientists must now combine the gains farmers can obtain loans. agroforestry video consisting of: "Field of available from improved germplasm with Basic, process-based research provides Trees," a 30 minute program for TV broad- complementary improvements in soil fer- the foundation for extrapolating from casting, and "Farming with Trees," a 15 tility management at a price smallholders site-specific trials to agronomic recom- makers and members. The video was shot at can afford. Inorganic fertilizers are ex- mendations for specific agro-ecological four locations in Africa, Latin America and pensive and impractical for smallholders zones and farmer groups. Previous crop Southeast Asia, and is available in English, because blanket applications are recom- husbandry research is often neglected be- French and Spanish, in PAL and NTSC for- mended even in semi-arid areas. But the cause results are distilled into a few rec- mats. Copies can be obtained from Michael profitability of using fertilizer can be in- ommendations that ignore important in- Hailu, ICRAF. creased by developing fertilizer manage- teractions in the system and fail to Gender Issues: The CGIAR Gender Staffing ment techniques that are appropriate for address the diversity that exists among Program led by Deborah Merrill-Sands has smallholders and by ensuring that recom- smallholders. Institutional memory Lens," tedisun by Bonnie Folger McClafferty mendations for fertilizer use are better should be maintained and disseminated (Email: BKM7M@aol.com). The lead article targeted to their circumstances. more widely through computer databases states that: "Addressing gender issues in the Fertilizer-use efficiency is often low and networks. And the emphasis in both workplace will be critical for the centers' because of the declining level of organic research and extension should move ability to reteain highp uanityfor career devel- matter in tropical soils. For this reason, away from rigid and prescriptive ap- opment, to foster effective collaboration be- the proportion of locally produced or- proaches to flexible problem-solving for- tween men and women, and to create a work ganic materials must be increased to mats that lead to conditional recommen- environment that mobilizes the talents and maintain soil organic matter and halt the dations. This would facilitate the skills of diverse staff groups." Copies of the July issue are available from the CGIAR Sec- downward spiral of soil fertility. Improv- evolution of a technology development retariat. The next issue is expected for ing the efficiency of inorganic fertilizer process driven by smallholders' needs. ICW96. use in various ways, including the addi- Failure to develop such a process will re- Climate Change and Rice: Changes in cli- tion of soil micronutrients and small sult in the further weakening of the natu- mate and the implications for global food se- amounts of high-quality organic matter, ral resource base and a continuing decline curity and environmental sustainability, are will consolidate and expand the base of in the living standards of rural communi- highlighted in a book recently copublished by fertilizer users. ties reliant on agriculture in southern Af- IRRI and Springer. Edited by S. Peng, K.T. In many households, where the cash rica. Ingram, H.U. Neue, and L.H. Ziska, the 374- In many households, where the cash rica. page study examines research on emissions of needed to buy inorganic fertilizer far ex- (CIMMYT Natural Resources Group paper 96-02: John greenhouse gases from rice fields, ultraviolet- ceeds total annual income, the best D.T Kumwenda, Stephen R. Waddington, Sieglinde S. B radiation effects on rice, and the interactive Snapp, Richard B. Bones, and Malcolm J. Jackie: Soil Fer- effects of carbon dioxide and temperature on tility Management for the Maize Cropping Systems of rice. Predictions on climate change using Smallholders in Southern Africa: A Review) simulation models are also discussed. Copies are available from IRRI's Communication and Publication Services. CGIAR V& I S FORUM A Future Scenario for Agricultural Research by R. S. Paroda h Ihe estimated world population lion tons in 2001. Raising food output in tional, regional and international levels. of 5.35 billion in 1991, with an the developing countries is, therefore, a Addressing the research agenda in future 1I average life expectancy of 66 key priority issue which must be ad- at the regional and international levels is years, signals projected world dressed appropriately in the future. likely to be more rewarding. population totals of 6.17 and 8.35 billion The development of agriculture in a With reorientation of the national, re- by 2000 and 2025 A.D., respectively. given environment entails a skillful man- gional and CGIAR system's agenda, re- This growth is believed to bring natural agement of the basic production assets search programs will have to be read- resources under further pressure. Pres- such as land, water, biodiversity, climate justed with appropriate financial ently, 800 million people in the develop- and sunshine. Manipulation of arrangements, governance, implementa- ing countries, or 15 percent of the total biodiversity involves domestication of tion and monitoring mechanisms. For world population, are insecure in their plants and animals, selection of superior each of the missions, so identified, the food supplies. Even optimistic projec- genotypes, crossbreeding for incorpora- principal strength of the participating tions for 2020 indicate that about 100 tion of alien genes and, finally, applica- NARS would determine the success of million pre-school children would remain tion of sophisticated biotechnological and the program. Strong regional fora and protein-energy malnourished. More than genetic engineering techniques. networks cannot be thought of with half of the world's protein-energy malnu- In this scenario, the contemplated eco- weak NARS. Similarly, the eco-regional trition problem is in South Asia, and rea- regional planning will have to aim at en- orientation, regional fora and regional sonably large numbers are estimated to hancing agricultural productivity and pro- networks would determine the regional remain malnourished even by 2020 de- duction on a sustainable basis. This would strength and relevance of the Consulta- spite expected increases in production, call for an effective collaborative mecha- tive Group on International Agricultural growth in income and reductions in the nism with responsibility for a higher level Research (CGIAR) in future. Hence, population growth rates. of integration in research and development partnership and catalytic role of the The world production in the major efforts. Thus, a lucid distinction of the col- CGIAR assumes far more importance staple food, cereals, has shown a com- laborative mechanism and a clear distinc- than ever before. In fact, the essence of pound growth rate of 3.9 percent during tion between priority setting at the eco-re- cooperation with removal of apprehen- 1966-90. Although the developed econo- gional level and its effective execution at sions would be mutually beneficial for mies initially produced the bulk of the the local levels would be essential. The the players as partners. Thus, effective- world cereals, their share decreased from conceptual model of deriving the best out ness of the CGIAR would also depend on 54 percent in 1966 to 46 percent in 1990. of the vast resources-scientific, technical, the simultaneous growth of the regional But Asia's share increased from 33 percent ecological and environmental-will have to fora like the Asia-Pacific Association of in 1966 to 41 percent in 1990. An FAO be judiciously used and managed in a way Agricultural Research Institutions study indicates that the trade in agricul- that these resources are in harmony with (APAARI) and the various NARS. Some tural products would increase if there was the environment. The agricultural research of the recent initiatives in this regard are 1.0 percent higher growth in incomes of institutions will be called upon to develop likely to be rewarding in future. the developing countries, and their cereal closer links with agri-business and with the While moving 'up-stream', the system consumption would increase by 20 mil- private sector in general, and the National should not lose sight of resource-poor lion tons, with net imports rising by 8 mil- Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) farmers. In this endeavor, the establish- would be required to assess ground realities ment of both the centers of excellence for better functioning as a 'Switch On' and and required networks would be the pri- The Indian Council of Agricultural Re- 'Switch Off' mechanism in response to ority areas in future, where sharing by all search (ICAR) is an autonomous body re- changing needs. concerned will be the cardinal principle. sponsible for the organization and man- Under the given circumstances, a well- In doing so, it must be realized that prob- agement of research and education in ag- thought-of research and development lem-oriented commodity centers and re- riculture, animal sciences and fisheries. The Council was established in 1929 and program in a matrix-mode with stream- source centers in research are not mutu- reorganized in 1965 and 1973. The Min- lined priorities, appropriate strategies and ally exclusive. The commodity research ister of Agriculture is the President of thoughtful approaches would be abso- must be based on appropriate resources ICAR. Its principal executive officer is lutely essential. Thus, the contemplated and resources are to be effectively man- the Director-General who is also Secre- sustainability would hinge on productiv- aged for enhancing farm productivity. tary to the Government of India and ity, profitability, equity, protection of en- Cutting across crops and commodities to Principal Adviser in all matters relating to vironment and natural production base, enhance competitiveness and market ac- agricultural research and education. efficiency, effectiveness, competitiveness, cess, researches on processing, product ICAR's 1994/95 budget was about 5,000 and a market-oriented and demand- development and value addition should million rupees. ICAR operates a network driven production-to-consumption sys- in future also receive much needed fund- of 45 institutes, 4 national bureaux, 9 tem. This would require synergies of ac- ing and policy support. project directorates, 30 national research tion, reaction and interaction so that the ofac- ingandpolicysupport centres, a National Academy of Agricul- tural Research and Management, and 79 desired results are in tune with the com- R.S. Paroda is Director-General of the Indian All-India Co-ordinated Research Projects prehensive policies, priorities, and re- Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) spread over 1,400 Co-operating centres. source allocation/deployment at the na- (ICAR News 1/4) 16 5CGIAR FORUM 4w Leipzig: A Difficult Milestone by Geoffrey C Hawtin D -\ elegates from 150 countries the wording of the Global Plan of Action. strategies is possible, even among coun- and 54 organizations, includ- Particularly contentious issues included tries with widely different circumstances ing the CGIAR, attended the the provision of funds to implement the and views. FAO International Technical GPA and the recognition of Farmers' While delegates were generally re- Conference on Plant Genetic Resources Rights. Other issues that surfaced in- lieved that a compromise had been (Leipzig, June 17-23). The conference cluded, terms and conditions for access achieved and that the Global Plan of Ac- was the culmination of a process which to germplasm, intellectual property rights tion had been adopted, there was also a started in 1991, to take stock of plant and seed legislation. While views on fi- realization that final resolution of the genetic resources for food and agricul- nancing tended to be polarized between major political issues is still pending. ture, generate agreement on priority ac- the South and North, the demarcation of Leipzig was seen as just one step in the tion nationally and internationally, and positions on many other issues was not so evolution of a global system for plant ge- address the most pressing needs and clear-cut. In addition to discussions on netic resources rather than the launching problems. The process involved more the GPA, a considerable amount of time of a new system per se. The next step than 150 individual country studies and was devoted to negotiating the wording will be the negotiations in December, at 11 sub-regional meetings, which together of the "Leipzig Declaration." an extraordinary meeting of the FAO with inputs from a variety of technical After a difficult and sometimes acri- Commission on Genetic Resources, to re- meetings and electronic conferences, monious week of negotiation, compro- vise the International Undertaking on formed the basis of the two main docu- mise wording was finally agreed, and the Plant Genetic Resources. These negotia- ments tabled at Leipzig: Conference adopted the GPA, the tions promise to be long and difficult. * The State of the World's Plant Genetic Leipzig Declaration and the Conference The outcome of the Leipzig Confer- Resources for Food and Agriculture; Report. ence will also be discussed by the Confer- and In spite of the difficulties encountered, ence of the Parties to the Convention on * The Global Plan of Action for the Leipzig represents a significant step for- Biological Diversity, both at the meeting Conservation and Sustainable ward. It focused global attention on the of its technical advisory body (SBSTTA) Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources importance of plant genetic resources in September and at COP3 in Buenos for Food and Agriculture (GPA). and helped to increase awareness among Aires in November. It will also be pre- Immediately prior to the Conference, a a wide spectrum of policy makers. It sented to the FAO World Food Summit group of NGOs held a separate meeting demonstrated that there is global agree- in November. to coordinate their own input to the dis- ment on the nature and extent of the Leipzig provided the CGIAR with an cussions, and they actively participated problems to be addressed and the steps important opportunity to demonstrate throughout the week. that need to be taken nationally, region- the system's commitment to the resolu- The major part of the Conference was ally and internationally. It also showed tion of global issues, and its strong part- taken up with detailed negotiations over that agreement on technical issues and nerships with nations of the South and North. It also highlighted the actual and potential role of the CGIAR in providing scientific and technical support to inter- Space vvhzeat national efforts to conserve and use plant genetic resources. he U.S. National Aeronautics the CIMMYT germplasm collection. Su- In spite of some criticism of the and Space Administration per dwarf was selected for its dwarf stat- CGIAR by certain of the NGOs present, (NASA) is interested in food ure (25 cm tall). widespread appreciation for its work was crops suitable for bioregerative USU-Apogee is resistant to the severe expressed by national delegations in life support systems in space. The Utah leaf tip necrosis that occurs in wheat un- many interventions. The CGIAR also fea- Agricultural Experiment Station, Utah der rapid growth conditions, particularly tures prominently in the GPA as adopted State University, jointly with NASA, re- continuous light. USU-Apogee is shorter by the Conference, and is widely seen as cently announced the release of USU- and higher yielding than Yecora Rojo and an internatyonal insthtutlon with a major Apogee, a full-dwarf hard red spring Veery- 10, the short field cultivars previ- role to play in the Plan's Implementation. wheat cultivar developed for high yields ously selected for use in controlled envi- Geoff Hawtin is Director General of the In- in controlled environments. ronments. ternational Plant Genetic Resources Insti- US U-Apogee originated from the cross trainlPatGntcRsucsIsi Parua / Super Dwarf both obtained from (Utah Agriculture Experiment Station) tute (IPGRI) in Rome, the CGIAR 's lead center for plant genetic resources. He headed the CGIAR delegation at the Leipzig conference. CGIAR4i 17 I-I.1 FORUM Japan's New International Agricultural Research Policy by Kunio Nakamura I would like to express on behalf of Secondly, regarding our contributions We intend to increase the number of my Government its satisfaction with for 1997, 1 encourage the CGIAR's ef- earmarked projects so that Japan's contri- the renewed progress of CGIAR in forts to find new donors to stabilize its bution to the CGIAR are clearly visible. the last two years. We hope these ef- budgetary situation. I would even em- We intend to play the role of financial forts will result in the beginning of a new phasize that it is not realistic to expect balancer as one of the largest donors, as era for CGIAR. On this occasion, I Japanese funding to replace reductions by one of the CGIAR family, through con- would like to briefly explain our newly- other donors. We hope that all donors sultations with relevant colleagues, and established position: will continue to meet their commitments specifically including systemwide and Firstly, we are delighted to announce in the same manner as in the past. In this ecoregional programs. that Japan and the United States agreed regard, taking into account the outcome We have carefully studied ways of at the Summit held in Tokyo last month of this meeting, we have carefully exam- avoiding any overlapping of Japan's con- to cooperate in the promotion of interna- ined the following criteria for 1997: tributions with those of international or- tional agricultural research. This initiative We would like to continue to be one of ganizations. is to find solutions to global food supply the leading donors and try to contribute Finally, we intend to establish a moni- problems within the framework of the in a stable and predictable manner. toring system for projects to which we common agenda for cooperation in a glo- We would like to give priority to have contributed. bal perspective. Those projects included projects within the agreed research agenda. in the agenda have set the pace for ex- However, any special projects which Japan Excerpts from a statement by the head of ploring ways to tackle the challenges of already funds will be supported until those Japan's delegation to the May 1996 the 21st century. activities are completed. CGIAR Mid-Tenn Meeting in Jakarta. Found on the Internet: Information Systems for the Future "Let's assume that poor and rural people in developing developing, installing, customizing, shipping, distributing, uti- countries are faced with similar, if not identical problems. Af- lizing, supporting, and maintaining computer software and ter consulting with potential users, it is feasible that a set of hardware in rural areas of developing countries. Many NGOs, generic information systems can be developed to accommo- GOs, Volunteer, Not for Profit, international, and other orga- date a broad spectrum of high priority informational needs of nizations with interests in rural development and poverty alle- poor and rural people in developing countries. These generic viation can form such a consortium. They are expected to par- information systems can then be customized to accommodate ticipate in such an effort because the objectives of these local languages, country specific data, and other geographical information systems coincide with their goals, and because and cultural variations when deployed to specific regions or they do have the necessary hardware and technical staff to countries. Agriculture, health, nutrition, education, and com- implement these information systems in rural areas of devel- munication are important areas where the usefulness of such oping countries, at least on testing phases. information systems can clearly be realized. "Once prototypes of these systems are successfully devel- "Since the major income source of poor people is agricul- oped, implemented, and deployed, it will become "profitable" ture, information systems can provide poor people with a to "invest" in distributing such information systems (along with wealth of information that they lack in production techniques the trained staff) in all rural areas of developing countries. and strategies, marketing, and agricultural extension. New ag- These systems will provide the seed of information that is abso- ricultural practices that have been researched and proven ap- lutely necessary to ensure continual development and an ever plicable to developing countries can be delivered through in- brightening future." formation systems. On-line access to local, national, and international volumes of agricultural production, prices, and Abubakr Y. Alkhalifa weather, can empower poor farmers in marketing their har- University of South Alabama vest and planning next seasons' crops. School of Computer & Information Sciences "I would like to suggest that a consortium be founded to aalkhali@CIS.usouthal.edu coordinate the efforts of obtaining, integrating, transferring, "The information age has provided tools such as the Internet and GIS mapping to promote a learning revolution in agriculture. Extension information should be dis- semitnated through computer-aided information shops operated by village youth. Vocational polytechnic institutes may be established for the rural poor." Madras Declaration of the Science Academies Summit (July 8-11, 1996) 18 4VCGIAR FORUM The Land Quality Indicators Initiative J n many developing countries, fears that land degradation and by Email, and to be available stand-alone as well (CD- threatens food production capacity has stimulated projects and ROM and diskettes). The system will document on what data policies to encourage more sustainable land uses practices. are stored with which agencies, comment on quality and However, setting priorities and taking action to improve natural reliability of the data, and show how the data can be accessed. resource management is hampered by a shortage of reliable, easily Emphasis will be on land suitable for cultivation and forestry, accessible information on the nature and extent of land degradation biological production potentials, current land management problems. technologies, and other information necessary to monitor In recognition of this constraint, a coalition of international changes in land quality. agencies-including the World Bank, FAO, UNEP, UNDP and * Assessments of trends in land quality for various AEZs for use CGIAR-initiated the Land Quality Indicators (LQIs) initiative in at sub-national and national levels, permitting a global 1994. The LQI initiative seeks to develop a set of natural re- assessment of the condition of land as a function of its use. sources indicators, or statistics or measures, that help characterize Some activities have been initiated: the condition of natural resources related to land at national and * The development of the Land Quality Indicators Information sub-national scales. The LQI initiative is not a new program sepa- System (LQI-IS) set up on line and on diskette for rate from the on-going efforts of many agencies, but an effort to environmental and project monitoring and reporting: CIESIN, coordinate the many existing and new initiatives on land resource in close working relationships with UNEP-GRID and the LQI management. coalition, has been contracted to develop the system. This Following several workshops (at CIAT, ICRAF and UNEP) and activity involves access to a first set of data bases, such as coordination meetings (at the World Bank, and FAO) a detailed FAOSTAT, WRR etc. and the development of a meta-data (a work plan for the LQI initiative has been jointly developed, fo- catalogue describing data bases) on land related data currently cused on three main objectives: being stored by CG Centers and various international and * developing a set of harmonized LQIs for managed ecosystems national agencies. LQI-IS will provide guidelines and (agriculture and forestry) in the major agroecological zones documentation for use of the data to develop some national (AEZs) of tropical, sub-tropical and temperate environments, level LQIs, as well as analyses of data quality, compatibility, * identifying sources of data and information and developing voids in information, and what additional data are needed. common methods for analysis, aggregation, and application of A prototype of the system wuill soon be available, and a demo is the results, and planned for International Centers Week (October 28 - November 2). * disseminating essential findings among major institutions * Development of some sub-national and national level LQls responsible for the collection of LQI data and reinforcing through case studies in representative AEZs. IFPRI and WRI institutional capacity building needed for setting and have been contracted to construct indicators using only data implementing land and natural resources priorities, policies that are already available in selected countries. National LQIs and technologies at sub-national and national levels. are being developed for Niger, Honduras, and Vietnam, and The expected outputs are: district level LQIs for the Central Hillsides of Honduras and * Harmonized LQls to be used by decision-makers. LQI Source Jhabua District in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. Tables will be prepared for each country and locally updated. Country case studies in Burkina Faso, Senegal and Tunisia are * Appropriate targets and thresholds for the state LQls to starting, which include identification and measurement of provide guidance towards more sustainable land management LQIs and development of a national information system on for the different eco-regions. land related issues, in collaboration with NARS and other * A comprehensive information system on land related issues national organizations. (metadata and data sets) accessible on the World Wide Web (LQI Coalition) (Continued from page 1) Toward Global Partnerships search centers in and outside the CGIAR, mid-1996, decisively influenced the de- agricultural research capacity in the face and from the CGIAR itself velopment of the Global Forum's agenda of the daunting list of poverty, food secu- The Global Forum culminates a long by discussing NARS/NGO/CGIAR rela- rity and natural resource problems that series of study panels, preparatory meet- tions in the reality of the regional con- lie ahead. In the proposed Declaration ings and regional and sub-regional fora. text. Klaus Winkel (Denmark), Andrew and Action Program, a wide range of in- IFAD played a strong leadership role in Bennett (U.K.), Abbas Kesseba (IFAD), terests, ideas and trends will converge organizing, as part of the CGIAR renewal Cyrus Ndiritu (Kenya) and William Dar into a single expression of determination. process, consultations in late 1994 and (Philippines) were among the main ac- If adopted it will be submitted to the No- early 1995 on the NARS vision of inter- tors in the process that is about to culmi- vember World Food Summit in Rome by national agricultural research. The second nate in the Global Forum. CGIAR Chairman Ismail Serageldin. consultation developed an action plan, In essence, the upcoming Global Fo- later adopted by the CGIAR, that pro- rum manifests the resolve of the interna- Alexander von der Osten is the Executive posed holding a series of regional fora. tional community to integrate its best sci- Secretary, CGIAR. These fora, held between late 1995 and entific talent in order to maximize its CGIAR . 19 The CGIAR CGIAR Centers CGIAR Chairman - CIAT-Centro Internacional de * IFPRI-International Food Policy Ismail Serageldin ~ . - Agricultura Tropical Research Institute - \- rr.3.~ru:. ......... o 6"713 - x . 1200 17th Street, NW < . CJ, d.<-' -,, Washington, D.C. 20036-3006 USA Cosponsors * *'.--- - . --'- - Tdh-(52')2-4450-000 . . Tel. (1)202-862-5600 Fax (1)202-467-4439 -" Fax (724450-273 \ Food and Agriculture Organization/of the Uftifed\ United Nations Developmentr * CIFOR-Center for Internatioalnal Irrigation United Nations EnvironmentProgramme-(IUNEP),\ / Forestry Research anM,agement Institute The World Bank / 7 ( P.O. Box 6596 P.O. Box 2075 / { ^ JKPWB Jakarta/10065, Indonesia lombo`,Sri Lanka Tel. (62)25 1 .r. Tel I(94) 1-867404 CGIAR Members 7 P, . 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