Healing Wounds How the International Centers of the CGIAR Help Rebuild Agriculture in Countries Affected by Conflicts and Natural Disasters Surendra Varma and Mark Winslow Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research i © 2005 by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) All rights reserved. Fair use of this material is encouraged. Proper citation is requested. Recommended citation: Varma, Surendra and Winslow, Mark. 2004. Healing Wounds: How the International Centers of the CGIAR Help Rebuild Agriculture in Countries Affected by Conflicts and Natural Disasters. Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), Washington, DC. xiv + 80 pp. Dr. Surendra Varma (s.varma@cgiar.org) is Head, Communication, Documentation and Information Services at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Aleppo, Syria. Dr. Mark Winslow (m.winslow@t-online.de) is Consultant for International Development and is based in Germany. Design: George Chouha, ICARDA Cover: Left: Ruins of the Toul Kaktrap research station in Suay Rieng, Cambodia. Right: Damaged research station in Badam Bagh, near Kabul, Afghanistan. ISBN: 92-9127-153-9 This study is based on information provided by the CGIAR Centers to the authors. Some material was also drawn from Center websites, research reports, media releases and similar sources. Every effort has been made to provide citations to the published materials used. References to countries, specific areas or geo- graphic regions do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the authors or the publishers concerning their legal status, authority, frontiers or boundaries. Produced by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and published by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Single copies of this publication may be requested free of charge from the CGIAR or ICARDA. Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433 USA Tel: 1-202-473-8951 Fax: 1-202-473-8110 E-mail: cgiar@cgiar.org or cgiar@worldbank.org Website: http://www.cgiar.org International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria Tel: (+963)(21) 2213433, 2213477, 2225112, 2225012 Fax:(+963)(21) 2213490, 2225105, 5744622 E-mail: ICARDA@cgiar.org Website: http://www.icarda.org ii About the CGIAR The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) is a strategic alliance of countries, international and regional organizations, and private foundations supporting 15 international agricultural research centers (see pages 78-80) that work with national agricultural research systems and civil society organizations including the private sector. The alliance mobilizes agricultural science to reduce poverty, foster human well being, promote agricultural growth and protect the envi- ronment. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the World Bank serve as co-sponsors of the CGIAR. More than 8,500 CGIAR scientists and staff, working in over 100 countries, address every critical component of the agricultural sector including agroforestry, biodiversity, food, forage and tree crops, pro-environment farming techniques, fisheries, forestry, livestock, food policies and agricultural research servic- es. Thirteen of 15 CGIAR Centers are based in developing countries. The knowledge generated by the CGIAR--and the public and private organizations that work with the CGIAR as partners and advisors--pays handsome dividends for poor farmers through increased agricultural production and productivity, greater incomes, and sounder utilization of resources. The products of CGIAR research are kept within the public domain available to all. These include improved crop varieties and production tech- nologies suited to local conditions, better farming systems that protect natural resources, and policies/practices to combat major global challenges such as climate change. CGIAR research partnerships help achieve the Millennium Development Goals and support major international conven- tions (Biodiversity, Climate Change, and Desertification). iii Contents Foreword v Preface vi Acknowledgements vii Executive Summary ix Chapter 1: Poverty, Conflict, and Natural Disasters: Persistent Plagues 1 of the Developing World The causes of violent conflict 1 Poverty and conflict 2 Natural disasters wreak increasing havoc 3 Chapter 2: Agricultural Research and Development: A Way Out? 5 Can agricultural development reduce conflict and disaster vulnerability on a wide scale? 5 Research: a catalyst for pro-poor development 6 Chapter 3: Rebuilding Seed and Food Systems 8 Sub-Saharan Africa 8 Latin America and the Caribbean 15 East and South Asia 19 Central and West Asia and North Africa 24 Chapter 4: Safeguarding and Restoring Agrobiodiversity 32 Gene banks: priceless safety nets 32 Adding value to biodiversity 37 Chapter 5: Rebuilding Human and Institutional Capacities 42 Restoring the knowledge and expertise base 42 Rebuilding research infrastructure 49 Reinvigorating the market chain 50 Chapter 6: Reducing Vulnerability to Future Conflicts and Disasters 52 Rebuilding nations, strengthening regions 53 Adapting crops to global warming 57 Knowledge pays off 60 Chapter 7: Helping Aid Organizations Become More Effective and Efficient 64 Action rooted in understanding 64 The power of diagnostics 67 Aid made smart and targeted 70 References 72 Acronyms 76 The CGIAR Centers 78 iv Foreword Agriculture lies at the heart of the social and economic fabric of the world's developing coun- tries. Most of the world's poor live in those countries and are engaged in agriculture. When con- flicts and natural disasters strike, they not only take a heavy toll on human lives but also cause serious damage to agriculture and to the natural resources on which agriculture depends. The poor suffer most when agriculture, the main source of their livelihood, is damaged. They are also the ones whose lives are most at risk during attacks of the forces of nature or in man-made con- flicts. Research has shown that poverty and hunger breed despair and desperation, compelling the poor to make unthinkable choices. Without hope for a better future, illiterate youth are tempted into an alternative life of banditry, violence, and terrorism for pay and plunder. If poverty and hunger can be alleviated, the frequency of man-made conflicts can be greatly reduced. For nearly three decades the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) has focused its mission on helping developing countries turn agriculture into an engine of pro- poor, sustainable economic growth. Conflicts and natural disasters have often interfered with this mission, and disrupted the long-term work in strengthening human and institutional capaci- ties, establishing more productive cropping systems, and improving the sustainability of farming. Nevertheless, the CGIAR Centers quickly reworked their strategy, partnering with donors, govern- ments, emergency relief agencies, non-governmental organizations and others to ensure that emergency assistance made the best possible use of available knowledge and technology. As soon as they could, they moved on to help the affected countries rebuild their agriculture, as well as human capacity and research infrastructure so critical to long-term recovery. Over the course of dealing with crises caused by conflicts and natural disasters in at least 47 countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, the CGIAR Centers have been learning impor- tant new lessons. It became clear that by reducing poverty, pro-poor agricultural development could actually diminish some of the conditions that lead to conflict and render people suscepti- ble to natural disasters. Agricultural development and poverty reduction strengthen resilience by establishing coping and recovery mechanisms, such as international skill networks and gene bank safety nets. And a knowledge-based approach to helping countries rebuild increases the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of relief operations--an approach that has been referred to as `smart aid' in this study. These lessons have convinced us that an ongoing partnership between research and emer- gency aid can significantly improve the ability of the international community to prepare for, as well as respond to the inevitable future crises. Such a pre-emptive approach will alleviate more suffering than dealing with each emergency as an ad-hoc event, after the fact. We hope "Healing Wounds" brings this point home. The volume, indeed, brings to light an important role of the CGIAR that has remained less known and unrecognized. It reminds all of us in both the research and the emergency relief sectors of how much we need each other, and, above all, how much the poor need us, especially in times of crises. Adel El-Beltagy Kanayo Nwanze William Dar Director General Director General Director General ICARDA WARDA ICRISAT Executive Committee of the Center Directors Committee of the CGIAR v Preface The involvement of CGIAR Centers in rebuilding agriculture in countries affected by conflict and natural disasters spans nearly three decades and has benefited more than 47 countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. But the information on the role played by the Centers and the impact of their work is fragmented and dispersed. This study consolidates that information and analyzes it to extract key lessons about how to use emergency aid in the future. It should serve both as a reference source and an indicator of ways to build more effective partnerships between research and emergency aid organizations. It is not always easy to delineate conflict/disaster work from the ongoing research of Centers that contributes to preventing or mitigating these crises. Often there is no clear line between an impending or subsiding disturbance, and an emergency significant enough to be labeled a dis- aster/conflict. For this study our focus was on climatic disasters and violent conflicts, which excludes certain other types of disaster/strife that are nevertheless of enormous consequence to the poor, such as HIV/AIDS, crop disease and pest epidemics, and non-violent political instability. The first task in getting this study off the ground was to collect information from the CGIAR Centers that have been involved in rebuilding agriculture, and conduct searches to fill the gaps in the information collected. By the deadline set for material collection, we had case study reports provided to us for 31 countries by our colleagues from 12 CGIAR Centers involved in rebuilding agriculture. Therefore, our coverage of 31 of those countries should be viewed as a representative rather than a comprehensive survey. Instead of presenting the work of the Centers in chronological or geographic order, we felt that a thematic analysis of the major benefits gained and lessons learned might be more valuable. Since the themes covered in this study are interlaced, and since the major case studies con- tribute to more than one theme, they are revisited in different chapters. We appreciate readers' understanding of this inevitable repetition of the various case studies in the text. Chapters 1 and 2 review the nature of the conflict and disaster problems that face developing countries, and how the CGIAR Centers' comparative advantages and capabilities form a strategic resource for rehabilitating agriculture. Chapters 3-7 explore specific cases in which the CGIAR Centers have contributed to alleviating hunger; preserving agrobiodiversity; rebuilding human and institutional capacities; reducing future vulnerability to conflicts and disasters; and making relief aid more efficient. The study found that the CGIAR Centers' efforts to help countries rebuild agriculture have been heavily dependent on partnerships and the generous support of development investors. The contributions of those valued supporters are highlighted in this study. vi Acknowledgements This study represents one of the projects of the Marketing Group of the CGIAR, approved in 2003 and implemented working with a team of communication professionals from the CGIAR Centers. These included Fionna Douglas (CGIAR System Office), Nathan Russell (CIAT), Michael Hailu (CIFOR), Kelley Cassady (CIMMYT), Christine Graves (CIP), Eric McGaw (ICRISAT), Evelyn Banda (IFPRI), David Mowbray (IITA), Susan McMillan (ILRI), Ruth Raymond (IPGRI), Duncan Macintosh (IRRI), Ian Makin (IWMI), Savitri Mohapatra (WARDA), Helen Leitch (WorldFish), and Jason Wettstein (Future Harvest). They also helped develop the approach, provided valuable advice as writing progressed, and reviewed the drafts. We sincerely thank them all. We were also fortunate to receive inputs and clarifications on specific issues from Center staff and external partners. We thank Mohan Saxena, William Erskine, Johann Bell, Mark Bell, Tom Blake, Lydia Flynn, Annie Hamel, Peter Hazell, Eugene Hettel, Gary Jahn, Edwin Javier, Richard Jones, Roger Kamidi, Mike Listman, Cecilia Lopez, Jean- François Mercier, Jean Ndikumana, Harry Nesbitt, Michael Rubinstein, Louise Sperling, S. Srinivas, Antony van Gastel, Nasrat Wassimi, and Swathi Sridharan for their valuable help. Our grateful thanks are also due to two distinguished external review- ers who helped us improve the document considerably: Dr. Uma Lele, Senior Advisor, The World Bank; and Dr. Mohamed A. Nour, former Director General of ICARDA. Finally, we wish to thank the CGIAR Center Directors Committee and System Office for endorsing and funding this initiative. vii Executive Summary O ver the past three decades, the human and institutional capacities; CGIAR Centers have made reducing future vulnerability to these major contributions to rebuilding crises; and making relief aid more effec- agriculture in at least 47 developing tive and efficient. It highlights how the countries affected by conflicts and natu- Centers' work addresses the root causes of conflicts and disasters, in addition to ral disasters across Africa, Asia, and Latin providing immediate relief by working America (Fig. 1, page viii). In doing so, together with a diverse group of part- Center staff and their partners have ners, including donors and relief and demonstrated exemplary dedication development agencies, and by building and commitment to the mission of the bridges between the various partners for CGIAR by continuing to work in difficult implementing long-term work plans. conditions, sometimes risking their per- sonal security. As such, the value of their Rebuilding seed and food work, which has made a major differ- systems ence to the lives of millions, cannot be assessed using the currency value of Through the generosity of development investments in the CGIAR. investors, CGIAR Centers were able to contribute to a number of major partner- This study first reviews current thinking on ships for emergency relief, including: the underlying causes of conflicts and The CIAP project, which helped restore disasters, identifying poverty as a major rice production in Cambodia following driver of both. Poverty breeds frustration, the Khmer Rouge genocide (IRRI with compelling the poor to turn to violence. support from AusAID, CIDA and GTZ, Most of the poor are involved in rural 1988-95); agriculture, so pro-poor investments in The `Seeds of Hope' project to rebuild agricultural development can alleviate Rwanda after the genocide and civil poverty and thereby reduce the possibil- war of 1994-96 (CIAT convening, with ities of conflict and also contribute to CIMMYT, CIP, ICRAF, ICRISAT, IITA, ILRI natural disaster preparedness. History and IPGRI through support from DFID, shows that agricultural research is a par- SDC, USAID, IDRC, AusAid, and World ticularly high-payoff leverage point for Vision); stimulating economic growth and `Seeds of Freedom' (mid-1990s) follow- poverty reduction. ing Angola's civil war (ICRISAT conven- ing, with CIAT, CIP, CIMMYT and IITA Based on case studies for 31 countries- through USAID support); from 12 CGIAR Centers, the study then Restoring sweetpotato production describes major Center contributions after the 1997-98 El Niño crisis in Peru and lessons learned in five key areas: (CIP with INIA); alleviating hunger by rebuilding seed `Seeds of Hope II' in the wake of and food systems; safeguarding and Hurricane Mitch that devastated restoring agrobiodiversity; rebuilding Honduras and Nicaragua in late 1998 ix (CIAT, CIMMYT, CIP, IPGRI through sup- Coast insurgency (Africa Rice Center - port from CIDA and USAID); WARDA - 2003, with support from CIDA) building on earlier restoration ini- The Solomon Islands' ethnic conflict tiatives in these countries as well as and insurgency (1998)--developing Burundi, DR Congo, Liberia, sustainable small-scale coastal enter- Mozambique, Rwanda and Sierra prises to reduce unemployment and Leone (1994-2002 through support from poverty (WorldFish through support WARDA donors, particularly DFID); from ACIAR, CIDA, the EU, NZAID and the Overseas Fishery Cooperation Battling refugee malnutrition caused Foundation of Japan); by Uganda's longstanding insurgency through CIP's Vitamin A for Africa part- Rebuilding dryland agriculture in post- nership (since 2003 through support independence, post-war Eritrea (since from BMZ, the OPEC Fund, the 1998--ICARDA and ICRISAT through McKnight Foundation, The support from Denmark and IFAD); Micronutrient Initiative, Senior Family Restoring sorghum and millet seed sys- Fund and USAID); tems in Somalia, Sudan and Uganda in The `Future Harvest Consortium to the late 1990s (ICRISAT through ODI Rebuild Agriculture in Afghanistan' and USAID support); (ICARDA convening, with CIAT, CIM- Introducing true potato seed technolo- MYT, CIP, ICRISAT, IFPRI, ILRI, IPGRI, and gy to North Korea in 1999 to combat IWMI through support from USAID and famine (CIP through USAID support); IDRC); and `Seeds of Life' launched in 2000 follow- Assisting Iraq and Palestine to build ing East Timor's long independence strong research systems and conserve struggle and civil war (ACIAR support- agrobiodiversity (ICARDA and IPGRI ing and convening, with CIAT, CIMMYT, through GEF, UNDP, UN/ ESCWA and CIP, ICRISAT and IRRI); USAID support). Restoring seed and root crop systems in the Limpopo River Basin after mas- Safeguarding and restoring sive floods in southern Africa caused agrobiodiversity by Cyclone Eline (ICRISAT and IITA through USAID support since 2000); Smallholders were found to have surpris- Combating the Africa Cassava Mosaic ingly resilient local seed systems. When Virus disease that spread during the conflicts were brief as in Rwanda, those chaos of the revolution in Zaire (now systems bounced back quickly, because DR Congo) (IITA through USAID support seed supplies on-farm had not been since 2000); destroyed or exposed to long periods of Promoting sweetpotato to help Cuba decay in storage. On the other hand, recover from Hurricane Michelle and intense and/or extended conflicts such reduce vulnerability to future hurri- as the Khmer Rouge period in canes (CIP since 2001); Cambodia and the conflict in `Seeds for Life': restoring lost rice seed Afghanistan did degrade agrobio- and germplasm following the Ivory diversity significantly. x In contrast, formal seed systems were has required decades of steady support more vulnerable to disruption because to countries at risk through training, net- they depended on centralized infra- working, joint project partnerships, and structure, institutions and human technical assistance--such as in the Nile resources--assets that were often dam- Valley and Red Sea countries of Egypt, aged by forces of nature, or came Ethiopia, Sudan, and Yemen, being under direct attack during conflicts. helped by ICARDA since 1979 through These systems are critical for future agri- support from the EU, Government of cultural growth, so this vulnerability Egypt, IDRC, IFAD and the World Bank. requires special attention. Under intense time pressure to get food Regional and international networks of systems going again, the Centers built expertise and gene banks proved to be broad partnerships to accelerate the priceless safety nets that provided the speed and impact of their work. In knowledge and materials needed to Rwanda, for example, they drew in restore agrobiodiversity and re-establish regional network partners to help train seed and food production systems. For the new Rwandan staff who replaced example, gene banks helped restore those that were killed or forced to flee. varieties of rice lost to conflict in West In Cambodia, the CIAP project worked Africa and Cambodia as well as for closely with NGOs, who took responsibili- beans in Rwanda. This lesson is being ty for many outreach functions until carried forward, for example, by ICAR- national researchers killed by the Khmer DA, IPGRI and regional partners who are Rouge could be replaced and trained. gathering and safeguarding agrobiodi- versity in the conflict-prone areas of the The CGIAR Centers found that the Middle East, and working with partners restoration of community bonds is an to put it to better use for agricultural important part of the recovery process. development. These vital safety nets Refugees returning to Rwanda were deserve continuing support. resettled in areas that were unfamiliar to them; ICRAF taught them how to use Rebuilding human and agroforestry to restore the fertility of the institutional capacities degraded lands they had been allocat- ed. In the insurgency-plagued central hill Restoring the capacity of national institu- area of Nepal, CIMMYT (through SDC tions to conduct agricultural research is support) provides seed and training to vital for sustainable recovery. This has reinforce farmers' groups that collecti- been a traditional strength of the CGIAR vely manage and sell maize, stabilizing Centers, and they have applied it vigor- their incomes and food security. ously in all the crises situations described. Sometimes it meant building a national Restarting the small-scale private sector system from the ground up, as in is also crucial, especially input supplies Cambodia and East Timor. In other less and markets. In Nicaragua and dramatic but equally important cases it Honduras, Seeds of Hope II fostered the xi emergence of small-scale private seed ways to crop these areas, such as preci- enterprises. Similarly, tree nursery micro- sion farming and crop diversification. enterprises have been fostered in loca- tions as diverse as Rwanda, Palestine Disaster and conflict elevate the risk of and Afghanistan. Sustainable aqua- malnutrition, since refugees inevitably farming of black pearl, giant clam, sea face restricted food choices. CIP is cucumber and coral, and ornamental seeking to increase dietary vitamin A fish and crustacean cultivation are through the introduction of orange- being encouraged by WorldFish in the fleshed sweetpotato for refugees in Solomon Islands; these small-scale liveli- Uganda. A CGIAR-wide effort on `biofor- hoods can alleviate the poverty that tification'--breeding crops for increased fuels ethnic conflict. vitamin and nutrient content--has recently been launched. This work will Reducing future vulnerability take time, but the benefits will be espe- to conflicts and disasters cially great for peoples suffering in the wake of catastrophe. It is human nature to think of disasters and conflicts as unique events, hoping Helping countries and regions with long- they will never happen again; but the term strategic planning to reduce the unfortunate reality is that they will. How likelihood and impact of crises is another are the CGIAR Centers helping aid important role the Centers have played. agencies prepare for the inevitable? For example, through support from the Arab Fund for Economic and Social The drama that provided the impetus for Development and IFAD, ICARDA and the very creation of the CGIAR--the IFPRI have helped the West Asia/ North race to prevent massive famine in Asia in Africa region by convening international the 1970s, which succeeded brilliantly conferences and research on drought through the new crop varieties and preparedness, coping and recovery management practices known as the strategies. Steps such as the establish- Green Revolution--is a striking example ment of early-warning systems, institu- of how preventative investments in tions and systems for the efficient stock- research can pay off spectacularly. The ing and de-stocking of animal herds in same South Asia zone is currently the synchronization with drought cycles, poli- subject of another forward-looking effort, cies such as drought insurance, liveli- the Rice-Wheat Consortium for the Indo- hood diversification, and crop growth Gangetic Plains, convened by CIMMYT models to advise farmers on the best and IRRI and also engaging CIP, ICRISAT coping strategies have been identified and IWMI--made possible through sup- as potentially high-payoff investments. port from ACIAR, the Asian Development Bank, DFID, IFAD, Japan, The Another forward-looking type of Center Netherlands, and USAID. It aims to fore- assistance has been in building agricul- stall the next productivity plateau by tural systems and institutions. In addition finding more sustainable and productive to examples mentioned earlier, ICARDA, xii with support from the Asian significant gains in drought resistance in Development Bank, GTZ, IFAD, USAID, new varieties of maize, wheat and bar- and the World Bank, and in partnership ley that are spreading rapidly in with eight other CGIAR Centers (CIP, Southern, Eastern and North Africa, and CIMMYT, ICRISAT, IFPRI, ILRI, IPGRI, ISNAR in West Asia. and IWMI) is convening a Central Asia and the Caucasus (CAC) Consortium to Pests and diseases are also very sensitive help these new nations chart the course to temperature and moisture changes. ahead. The region is beset by a sobering Global warming may shift their distribu- array of challenges: widespread pover- tion, exposing crops to new threats they ty, environmental degradation, the need were not bred to resist. For example, CIP for transitioning to a new set of social research in Cañete Valley, Peru found systems and institutions, the loss of sup- that temperature increases following the port services and infrastructure formerly El Niño episode of 1997/98 triggered a provided by the Soviet Union, and many severe attack of late blight fungus and more. A long-term effort is clearly favored a more aggressive biotype of required. white fly, devastating the potato and sweetpotato crops. Steady long-term Perhaps the most massive disaster-in-the- support is needed for research on crop making is global warming. The Centers adaptation and breeding, integrated have a key role to play in helping agri- pest management, crop ecology and culture adapt to climate change. The climate change to combat this threat. degree and geographical distribution of impending climate change is still Making relief aid more effec- unclear, which makes preparing for it all tive and efficient the more difficult. Temperature and moisture changes will trigger fundamen- The knowledge and expertise con- tal, complex changes in ecosystems. To tributed by CGIAR Centers has helped handle this uncertainty and complexity, aid agencies increase their effectiveness CGIAR Centers and their partners are in crisis situations. Such `smart aid' gets developing models to predict the out- the job done better, more quickly and comes of different possible scenarios-- more efficiently. helping aid agencies and nations envi- sion the range of risks they face, and The power of smart aid was evident in options they should consider. the Seeds of Hope project in Rwanda. Rather than blanketing the country with As some areas grow drier, farmers will non-adapted seed--a practice have to shift to more drought-tolerant employed all too frequently in the haste varieties or crops. Several Centers are of emergency relief initiatives--the working hard on increasing drought Centers built on a decade of prior expe- resistance, and tangible progress is rience there to quickly draw together being made for this difficult trait. CIMMYT complementary partners and identify and ICARDA, for example, are achieving seed sources appropriate to specific xiii localities and needs. As a result, aid was efforts, the Centers' diagnostic and ana- precisely targeted. The right seed got to lytical capabilities contribute significant- the neediest people, quickly--and ly to steer aid in the right direction. The equally important, local agrobiodiversity Future Harvest Consortium in and seed enterprises were not pushed Afghanistan, for example, conducted an aside. in-depth needs assessment that reached every province of the country, talking to Extending this learning, seed aid donors thousands of farmers. The information and NGOs such as Catholic Relief fed into priority-setting deliberations by a Services partnered with ICRISAT in the wide range of assistance entities, includ- Horn of Africa region, and with ICARDA ing Afghanistan's own Ministry of in Afghanistan, to devise smarter ways of Agriculture and Livestock, USAID, US uni- restoring seed systems. The research versities, NGOs, FAO and private sector confirmed that indiscriminate seed give- organizations. IFPRI led a similar study to aways undermine local seed enterprises. help Mozambique identify priorities for The partners devised a better way: pro- rebuilding after its long independence viding aid in the form of vouchers that struggle and civil war. poor farmers could use to buy seed from local suppliers of their choice. Supporting The advanced tools and skills of CGIAR local institutions and social networks Centers have been important elements builds local resilience and food security. of `smart aid'. Geographic information systems (GIS) and models have been In order to make its aid investment particularly useful. CIAT's `Mitch Atlas' smarter, USAID's Office for Foreign GIS dataset became the guiding light for Disaster Assistance asked ILRI to help it aid agencies in targeting their assistance break away from a `handout' approach in the wake of that `hurricane of the to a new mode that would build self- century'. ICARDA and Michigan State reliance and resilience in the conflict-rid- University are using GIS to assist den and drought-plagued Horn of Africa Afghanistan with rangeland recovery, region. Jointly with ASARECA's A-AARNET directing herders to optimum pastures to network, ILRI assessed traditional systems reduce overgrazing. Other advanced of coping with drought and elucidated techniques include CIAT's use of molec- a new set of approaches that built on ular markers to detect changes in bean traditional knowledge and skills. The new biodiversity following the Rwandan crisis, approach shifts the focus from relief to and IITA's use of virus diagnostics and tis- development: re-directing aid invest- sue culture multiplication techniques to ments towards preventative, coping and combat the African Cassava Mosaic recovery capabilities such as drought Virus. early-warning, herd size management, improved animal health services, dry- Returns on investments season fodder supplies, and training. The CGIAR's knowledge-based approach, referred to as `smart aid' When embarking on major rebuilding makes relief assistance more efficient, xiv effective and targeted. It helps aid CGIAR Center partnerships with aid agencies to achieve more relief per dol- agencies should be continuous and lar, reach the truly poor and avoid coun- organic, not formed only in haste after terproductive outcomes such as the emergencies strike. Ongoing partner- undermining of local mechanisms of ships will help prepare for, mitigate, and resilience. The CIAP effort to rebuild accelerate recovery from disasters and Cambodia's rice economy, for example, conflicts. Major institutions such as the generated an internal rate of return of United Nations, the World Bank and 32% per annum on the humanitarian many donor agencies are now con- investment, worth US$1.3 billion (Young vinced that it is more cost-effective and et al. 2001)a. The entire CGIAR System's humanitarian to invest in preventive three-decade (1971-2001) cost of US$7.1 steps to mitigate the effects of disasters billion was vastly exceeded by an esti- and conflicts, rather than just dealing mated $65 billion in benefits (Raitzer with their aftermath. Research is essen- 2003)b related to the prevention of food tial for devising these preventive, coping insecurity crises. Clearly, smart aid pays. and recovery solutions. The CGIAR Centers will continue to contribute In addition to providing relief from disas- importantly to this endeavor. ters and conflicts when they occur, it is important to attack their root causes for -------------- the longer term. Poverty breeds desper- a ation that can cause some of the poor Young, D., Raab, R., Martin, R., Sin, S., Leng, B., Abdon, B., Mot, S. and Seng, M. 2001. Economic to resort to violence. Poverty also pre- impact assessment of the Cambodia-IRRI- vents investments in structures and sys- Australia Project. Phnom Penh: Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development tems that could help protect them from Institute. disasters such as storms, droughts and earthquakes. Most of the rural poor are bRaitzer, D. A. 2003. Benefit-cost meta-analysis of involved in agriculture. Steady, long-term investment in the international agricultural support to agricultural research such as research centres of the CGIAR. Rome: CGIAR that conducted by the CGIAR Centers Science Council Secretariat, Food and contributes to poverty reduction, and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. http://www.cgiar.org/pdf/bcmeta.pdf therefore to reducing human suffering from conflicts and natural disasters. xv Chapter 1 Poverty, Conflict, and Natural Disasters: Persistent Plagues of the Developing World "When our resources become scarce, we fight over them. In managing our resources and in sustainable development, we plant the seeds of peace." --Dr. Wangari Maathi, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate D isasters and conflicts, by their shocking The causes of violent conflict nature, tend to impress us as unique, one-off events. After they end, our mind During the Cold War many of the conflicts prefers to block them out like unwelcome were `proxy wars' associated with struggles memories. But a scanning of the record between the superpowers. Conflicts since then reveals that they are all too frequent and have mostly stemmed from economic, eth- share many distressing and recurrent features. nic/tribal, and religious strife. They take such Conflicts have especially harmed the poorest forms as terrorism, warlordism, and countries in recent decades. Understanding gangsterism. the causes of conflict and disasters is the first step towards defeating them. 1 A household in Ethiopia. Photo: ICARDA Healing Wounds Scholars have examined the causes of and Nobel Laureate Jimmy Carter, and conflict. Since the Second World War, former UNDP Administrator and World four main triggers have been suggested, Resources Institute founder James as described by de Soysa and Gleditsch Gustave Speth are just a few of many (1999): distinguished leaders who have also emphasized this link (Carter 1999; Speth Modernization: Reaction against rapid 1994). The poverty-conflict linkage is one development that appears to create of the reasons the United Nations equity and cultural gaps between rich Millennium Declaration places a high pri- and poor, threatening traditional ways ority on halving the number of people of life. Many of the ideological revolu- living on less than a dollar a day by the tionary movements of the 1950s/60s year 2015 (UN 2001). were attributed to this cause. World Dependency: Rebellion against the Poverty goes beyond financial suffering. subservient role perceived to be In the developing world it usually imposed upon developing countries by involves both material deprivation and global capitalism. This theory gained vulnerability to social forces as well as to Disasters: prominence during the 1970s as multi- natural disasters (Hazell and Haddad national industries became wide- 2001). Material suffering often includes spread and influential. Developing hunger and malnutrition, squalid hous- ing, and a lack of access to sanitary Mobilization: Oppressive state actions Natural services, health care and education. the trigger disaffected groups to mobilize Social vulnerability includes unemploy- and resist. The decline of some dictato- of ment, anguish over inability to provide and rial states in Africa and Asia appears to for loved ones, vulnerability to more have followed this pattern. powerful and exploitative forces in the Stagnation: Frustration when states fail community or government, and a lack to provide ways to escape poverty Plagues of support systems to buffer against Conflict, and deprivation. This appears to be shocks such as natural disasters, health emerging as a major trigger in recent crises and income shortfalls (World Bank years, as exemplified in instability and 2000-2001). state-collapse situations in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Poverty breeds despair and desperation, Poverty, Persistent ex-Soviet Union. compelling the poor to make previously- unthinkable choices (Sen 1987). Without Poverty and conflict hope for a better future, illiterate youth Poverty is a key driver behind stagna- are tempted or coerced into an alterna- tion-driven conflicts, according to analy- tive life of banditry and gang violence ses by the Brundtland Commission for pay and plunder. For example, (1987), Brown (1996), Collier and Hoeffler hunger, poverty and hopelessness were (1998), the International Food Policy key triggers in the recent instability in Research Institute (Messer et al. 1998), Haiti, in brutal conflicts in Liberia, Sierra Collier (1999), the International Peace Leone and Rwanda, and in drug-ring ter- Research Institute, Oslo (de Soysa and rorism in Colombia and Peru (de Soysa Gleditsch 1999), and the United Nations and Gleditsch 1999; Messer et al. 1998 p. 2 (1995 and 2001). Former US President 24-25; Weiner 2004) . Poverty, Conflict, and Natural Disasters: Persistent Plagues of the Developing World If stagnant poverty is at the root of many vio- waves and droughts that threaten agriculture lent conflicts in modern times, what can be in their drier zones (Coghlan 2003). done to alleviate it? Alternatives are needed so that the poor will no longer see violence as Major parts of Africa are under constant threat the only way out. of drought. There have been seven major drought episodes on the African continent in Natural disasters wreak the last four decades: 1965-66, 1972-74, 1981- 84, 1986-87, 1991-92, 1994-95 and 2000-01. The increasing havoc 1972-74 and 1981-84 droughts in the Sahel of Global warming is expected to trigger an West Africa and in the Horn of Africa caused increasing frequency and severity of climati- massive dislocation and suffering. Morocco's cally-related natural disasters in the coming 1994/95 drought cut its agricultural production decades. Climate prediction models used by in half, and droughts frequently wreak havoc the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate in West Asian countries such as Afghanistan, Change (IPCC) suggest that the wet areas will Iraq and Syria. get wetter (and stormier) and the dry areas, drier and hotter--accentuating extreme envi- Suffering from natural disasters is a function not ronmental events such as droughts and floods only of the strength of the storm, flood, (Parry 2002). The periodic El Niño phenomenon drought, fire, or earthquake; but also of peo- (every 2­7 years), which sets off a series of ple's vulnerability to it. This can be summarized weather abnormalities and climatic disasters, in the simple equation (Delaney et al. 2003): has become both more intense and frequent during the last 20 years. This may be associat- Risk = Hazard + Vulnerability ed with global warming. The poor face a greater risk from a given haz- These trends may already be taking hold. ard due to their greater vulnerability. They lack Compared to the 1960s, major climatic natural the resources to prepare for these disasters, to disasters were three times more frequent dur- endure their onslaught, and to cope with their ing the 1990s, accelerating even more rapidly consequences. Their housing is not strong in the second half of the decade (Delaney et enough to withstand gale-force wind, rain, or al. 2003). The 1990s was the warmest decade earthquakes; they often live in flood-prone in the last thousand years. Glaciers receded areas avoided by the wealthier class; emer- throughout the world, plants bloomed sooner, gency services may not be available to them, birds laid their eggs weeks earlier, and dam- especially in rural areas; they lack paved age from storms was up eight-fold from the roads for speedy evacuation; they cannot 1970s. afford stocks of emergency food and water supplies; and so on. As the poor bear the brunt Half of the world's poorest countries are con- of each disaster, they are pushed even further sidered at high risk from natural disasters, and down the socioeconomic ladder; women and they are increasing in frequency (Freeman et children especially suffer (World Bank 2000- al. 2003). During 1990-1998, 94% of the world's 2001). This makes it even more difficult to 568 major natural disasters were in developing endure the next catastrophe. countries, as were more than 97% of all natural disaster­related deaths (World Bank 2000- Agriculture is one of the hardest-hit sectors 2001). The developed countries are also when natural disasters strike. Crops are leveled beginning to experience the effects of heat by winds, drowned by floods or scorched by 3 Healing Wounds heat and drought. Livestock perish from to new areas. Hostile/harmful species thirst and starvation. Lands are stripped adapted to the new climate may of fertile topsoil by floods and wind migrate in and displace the indigenous storms, and salinized by seawater incur- species. sion. Seed and food stores rot under water from floods or are consumed dur- While there may be little that humans ing droughts. Loans taken to plant crops can do to prevent natural disasters, cannot be repaid. Processing and there is much they can do to reduce export industries cannot meet delivery their vulnerability to these forces of obligations and lose out to competitors. nature. This is one reason why the United Yet again, the poor are the biggest los- Nations has placed development and ers since they are the most dependent poverty eradication at the heart of its on agriculture for a living and have few Millennium Declaration. The Declaration World buffer systems to cushion against these further resolves to "intensify cooperation losses. to reduce the number and effects of natural and man-made disasters" (UN The environment is also damaged by 2000). The Millennium Declaration Road Disasters: natural disasters. Trees killed by flooding Map recognizes the vulnerability issue or drought represent ecological degra- and the major conceptual shift from dis- Developing dation and loss of landscape protection, aster response to disaster reduction as well as lost income from timber and including the increased application of Natural lost sources of fuel for poor households. science and technology to prevent, miti- the Communities cut down even more trees gate and prepare for disasters (UN 2001). of to rebuild their housing, putting the land and at further risk from the next storm. Poverty reduction would mitigate many Biodiversity is lost as habitats are laid to vulnerabilities and increase resilience. waste by floods or left barren by But what approaches can effectively Plagues drought. Rapid climate change may reduce poverty on a scale large enough Conflict, outstrip evolution's capacity to adapt to to make a difference for hundreds of the new climate, or to migrate species millions of poor? Poverty, Persistent 4 Chapter 2 Agricultural Research and Development: A Way Out? "History has taught us that wars produce hunger, but we are less aware that mass poverty can lead to war or end in chaos." --Willy Brandt, Former Chancellor, Federal Republic of Germany Can agricultural development sector can provide them with a double bene- fit as both producers (through more employ- reduce conflict and disaster ment and higher incomes) and consumers vulnerability on a wide scale? (through more affordable food). In addition to weakening the underpinnings of violence, M ost poverty is rural, and most of the more remunerative agricultural livelihoods can rural poor are engaged in agriculture free up more financial resources for investing (Lipton 2002; UN 2001). Since the poor in infrastructure and systems to reduce vulner- typically spend more than half of their ability to climatic disasters. incomes on food, stimulus to the agricultural 5 An example of crop-livestock integration by an African farm family. Photo: ICARDA Healing Wounds Therefore, investments in agricultural and other factors that influence the function- rural development should be prime can- ing of the agricultural economy. From didates for poverty reduction initiatives. this understanding, new innovations Leading experts are convinced by the emerge in the fields of policy, technolo- evidence to date that agricultural devel- gy, capacity-building and institutional opment can be a powerful tool for improvement. This is the role of poverty reduction if it is carefully `research-for-development' (R4D). Out? designed to especially reach the most needy (Fan et al. 2000a, b; Hazell and R4D can produce high returns on invest- Haddad 2001; Lipton 2002; Lewis 2003; ment because it can transform agricul- Way Meinzen-Dick et al. 2003). NEPAD (New tural systems in fundamental ways A Partnership for Africa's Development), (Sachs 2002). Public-sector R4D is partic- Sub-Saharan Africa's self-developed ularly important because it focuses on plan for renewal, concurs with this view. the poor who are a low priority for the Two of its four primary objectives are to private sector. When pursued on an eradicate poverty and to place Africa international scale, the results can be on a path of sustainable growth and impressive. development. Agriculture is a priority for policy reforms and increased investment The achievements of the 15 International Development: in NEPAD's Program of Action. Agricultural Research Centers supported by the Consultative Group on and Despite this consensus of the global and International Agricultural Research the African communities, international (CGIAR) and their partners over the past aid to agricultural development had fall- three decades form a prime example. en from approximately 30% of total The System's three-decade (1971-2001) development assistance in the 1970s to investment of US$7.1 billion was plausibly Research about 10% by the turn of the century estimated to have returned approxi- (Lipton 2002). The result is that the rural mately $65 billion in benefits from just poor are left further behind in the devel- three easily-documented research opment process. This increases their vul- areas--an extraordinary 34% annual nerability to natural disasters as well as return on investment (Raitzer 2003). A sows the seeds of future violence result- large proportion of these benefits are ing from frustration and hopelessness. believed to have reached the poor, Agricultural mostly through lower food prices and Research: a catalyst for increased small-farm incomes. pro-poor development Furthermore, this estimate is believed to To most effectively help the poor, agri- be quite conservative, because (i) it cultural development must be backed considers only a subset of all impacts by a solid understanding of their liveli- (attributed against total System cost), (ii) hood systems, needs and values, the it does not include `multiplier effects,' functioning of markets, climatic con- e.g. how these impacts stimulated addi- straints and potentials, cropping systems tional growth in the non-farm economy and natural resources, ecological (Hazell and Haddad 2001); and (iii) it parameters of sustainability, government does not include a wide array of qualita- 6 policies and institutions, and a myriad of tive impacts, such as human capacity Agricultural Research and Development: A Way Out? building, adding to the scientific knowledge The returns to investment in R4D can be espe- base, building more effective national institu- cially large when helping to rebuild countries tions etc. The estimate also does not take into ravaged by conflict or natural disasters. In a account spillover benefits captured by the crisis, aid agencies are pressured to act quick- developed countries, which far exceeds their ly. When the knowledge base is deficient, aid investment cost in the CGIAR Centers is often less effective than the donors intend- (Brennan et al. 2003). ed. It is at these times when prior investments in R4D pay off handsomely, steering relief aid There is yet another dimension of the CGIAR's on a course to do the most good. Research, in work, that of rebuilding agriculture in countries other words, provides a bridge that connects affected by conflict and natural disasters. emergency actions with longer term develop- Over the past three decades, the CGIAR ment--reducing future vulnerability to these Centers have made major contributions to hazards. rebuilding agriculture in at least 47 developing countries affected by conficts and natural dis- This study assesses how R4D conducted by asters across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. CGIAR Centers is helping reduce human suf- The value of financial investments in this work fering from conflicts and natural disasters by: cannot be assessed using the currency market rates, because the CGIAR Center scientists 1. Alleviating immediate hunger and setting and staff have often carried out these activi- food production systems back on track; ties at the risk of their personal security and in difficult working conditions. This dimension of 2. Protecting and restoring damaged agri- the CGIAR's role has remained less known and cultural biodiversity; unrecognized. This volume attempts to docu- ment that role, based on case studies for 31 3. Rebuilding human capacities and agricul- countries provided by 12 of 15 Centers of the tural institutions; CGIAR. 4. Reducing vulnerability of the poor to Despite this impressive track record, the future conflicts and disasters; and CGIAR's core budget for assisting the entire developing world is just half that of a single pri- 5. Helping development agencies work vate sector company, Monsanto (Sachs 2002). more effectively and cost-efficiently. Increased investment would accelerate progress towards global food security, poverty reduction, and peace. 7 Chapter 3 Rebuilding Seed and Food Systems "There is a critical interdependence between sustainable development and human security. Mechanisms of social stability and societal justice usually develop hand in hand with improvements in living standards." --Road Map Towards the Implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration, 2001, UN Secretary General's Report, para. 34 W hen the agricultural pedestal of a Sub-Saharan Africa developing nation's economy is top- pled by conflict or natural disaster, it Rwanda: Seeds of Hope must be righted quickly, because lives depend on it. But aid must be provided in ways that Perhaps one of the best-known examples of build people's capacity to care for themselves the CGIAR's engagement in rebuilding a rather than create dependency. country shattered by war has been the case of Rwanda. The Rwanda nightmare was a bru- The CGIAR Centers have been playing an tal example of the new type of post-Cold War increasing role in helping nations rebuild their `stagnation' conflict. Poverty, political unrest agriculture after conflict and disaster over the and economic stagnation fueled hopelessness past three decades. Much of this work has and ethnic hatred (see Chapter 1 in this revolved around the restoration of seed and report, and p. 24-25 in Messer et al. 1998). The production systems of basic food crops. genocidal campaign and civil war flared most 8 Beans were vital to Rwanda's agricultural recovery. Photo: CIAT Rebuilding Seed and Food Systems intensely during the first half of 1994, although Development investors that made SOH possi- instability continued for the next two years. It ble included USAID, ODA (now DFID - UK), killed approximately 800,000 people and scat- Swiss Development Corporation (SDC), IDRC tered another two million as refugees, or (Canada), Australian Aid, and World Vision-- about a third of the total population. all building upon the steady investments of CGIAR Members prior to and continuing As one of Africa's poorest countries, with through, and beyond SOH. about 90% of the population dependent on agriculture for a living, Rwanda had received The CGIAR Centers helped Rwanda in four steady attention from the CGIAR for more major ways: than a decade prior to the calamity. When 1. Helping relief agencies find good quality the war began to subside, CIAT convened a seed of the right varieties that farmers consortium of eight CGIAR Centers, including and communities were asking for, avoid- itself, CIMMYT, CIP, ICRAF, ICRISAT, IITA, ILRI, ing the past pitfall of indiscriminate sup- and IPGRI. The Seeds of Hope (SOH) Initiative plies of seed not well adapted to the tar- was formally launched in September 1995. get zone; The national research institutions of Rwanda 2. Studied changes in seed diversity and and its neighbors--Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, household seed security in the immediate Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Democratic aftermath of the genocide, to understand Republic of Congo, and Zimbabwe-- were if and how precious biodiversity might vital SOH partners, along with some brave have been damaged; Rwandans from the Institut des Sciences 3. Multiplied seed of a wide range of indige- Agronomiques du Rwanda (ISAR) and the nous Rwandan crop varieties outside the Ministry of Agriculture, who continued to work country, so as to be prepared to restore it despite extreme duress. The NARS (National on a major scale in case of total loss (for- Agricultural Research Systems) contributed tunately, this worst-case scenario did not through the crop improvement research net- materialize, but those seeds did prove works they and the Centers had established valuable in rebuilding Rwanda's research previously: RESAPAC/ECABREN (East and capacity); and Central African Bean Research Network) for beans, PRAPACE (Research Network on 4. Helping rebuild human capacities, train- Potato and Sweetpotato in East and Central ing those who replaced those who had Africa) for potato and sweetpotato, and EAR- been killed or forced to flee. RNET (East African Root Crops Network) for cassava. The watershed SOH case touches a number of issues discussed later in this monograph. Here Involvement of non-governmental organiza- we focus on emergency actions--items 1 and tions was the third dimension of SOH partner- 3 above (see Buruchara et al. 2002 and ship, especially CARE, World Vision, Catholic Sperling 1997 for more detail). Relief Services, Swiss Disaster Relief, and Medicins Sans Frontiers. They monitored devel- It was unclear at the outset how the war opments on the ground as the war and post- would ultimately affect farmers and the poor; war recovery progressed, identifying needy a number of scenarios had to be considered locations and delivering seed aid and techni- in SOH's planning. If crops in the field were lost, cal support. desperate hunger would ensue. Farm families 9 might be forced to eat their seed stocks, Healing Wounds creating a crisis for subsequent seasons. available. Thousands of plantlets have Widespread death and displacement since been delivered to countries all might cause farmers to lose or abandon across Africa, accelerating relief and their traditional wealth of seeds, resulting impact. in a loss of precious biodiversity. Once introduced into Rwanda, another SOH acted on its knowledge to multiply cycle of multiplication was made possi- well-adapted seed in neighboring ble largely through the efforts of Service Tanzania and Uganda so that aid agen- Semencier Selectionnees (SSS), the World cies would not have to look further afield Food Programme, and NGOs such as or bring in non-adapted varieties. This World Vision International (WVI) and produced 1.5 tons of bean seed of more CARE, in collaboration with SOH. CARE than 275 different types; 7 tons of continued providing advice and assis- sorghum seed adapted to the three tance on the cultivation of these vari- major Rwandan agroecologies (low, eties for years afterwards. medium and high elevation); 152 tons of three main adapted varieties of maize; The SOH partners initially met weekly and 20 tons of seed potatoes. Within (and later monthly) to assess seed needs these efforts, the case of potato was in the country and target the right vari- Systems particularly telling. Much of the potato eties to areas most in need. Partners germplasm funneled into Rwanda by the complemented each other's knowl- PRAPACE network, derived from seed edge: NGOs knew where needs were Food that Uganda had itself received from the greatest, CGIAR Center staff knew which PRAPACE network in 1988 when it was seed was best adapted and where, and and recovering from the nightmare caused aid agencies took steps to acquire the by the Idi Amin regime. What goes seed from external or internal sources around, sometimes really does come (including local and regional markets), Seed around. guided by seed `source maps' that Center staff had drawn based on their One impediment in providing relief knowledge. materials to Rwanda was the difficulty of introducing improved cassava planting The feedback from farmer assessments materials due to virus diseases that might later proved the wisdom of the strategy Rebuilding be carried within the stems of this vege- of targeted distributions of locally-adapt- tatively-propagated crop. In an effort to ed varieties. Yield measurements prevent similar bottlenecks in the future, showed that these varieties were more IITA established a Disaster Relief Unit productive for farmers than other relief within its Tissue Culture Laboratory at seed they had been given that had not Ibadan, Nigeria in 1996, with start-up been carefully chosen for its adaptation funding from USAID. This tissue culture (Buruchara et al. 2002). facility can produce disease-free plantlets quickly and on a large scale. A unique contribution of SOH was the These are kept clean in sterile test tubes research that it conducted as an inte- and can be flown to any country in gral part of the aid effort. Those studies times of need, often using IITA's own air- illuminated a number of important princi- craft when commercial flights are not ples about how seed relief could be 10 Rebuilding Seed and Food Systems improved in the future. The research revealed the fighting finally stopped in the early 1990s, that, despite the conflict, farmers had been the droughts began. ICRISAT stepped in to remarkably successful in preserving their bean help the impoverished country rebuild its dry- agrobiodiversity (Sperling 1997, Sperling and land cereal systems (sorghum and millet). It Cooper 2003). Local bean varieties persisted collaborated closely with World Vision, which because the war was of relatively short dura- was engaged in a large-scale agricultural tion and many farmers were able to harvest rehabilitation program. This program included parts of their fields, and because local seed the distribution of seed kits to returning markets continued to function, allowing farm- refugees as well as the testing of improved ers to re-stock their own varieties--if needed. crop varieties to determine which seeds Food aid also helped, because farmers did should be included in the kits. It also studied not need to eat their seeds to stay alive. how aid systems could be improved in the Rwandan farmers often use bean varietal mix- future (see Chapter 7). tures rather than pure lines, and reported satis- faction in being able to sort out the varieties And then the droughts turned into floods. In they wanted from the mixtures provided by early 2000, Cyclone Eline overwhelmed south- SOH (Buruchara et al. 2002). ern Africa. Many of that area's rivers drain into Mozambique, and the Limpopo River Basin Local seed markets quickly recovered after became a major disaster area. About 700 the war and continued supplying diverse and people died and half a million were affected, locally-adapted seeds of subsistence crops. In including many thousands displaced from their contrast, seed systems for cash crops such as homes. IITA has been intensively working since potato that were dependent on a formal seed then with national institutions and NGOs to sector were debilitated due to destruction of restore root crop farming systems that were their supporting infrastructure and institutions. washed away by the floods. A key lesson learned was that attention to seed supply channels is essential for under- Chaos in the Democratic standing the effects of conflict and disaster on agrobiodiversity (Sperling 1997). Republic of Congo During the late 1990s, the Democratic The landmark nature of the SOH success built Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire, descended the confidence that led to Center participa- into war and chaos. Government forces tion in subsequent disaster relief efforts includ- backed by Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe ing `Seeds of Freedom' (catalyzed by the battled rebels supported by Uganda and Angolan war), `Seeds of Hope II' (in response Rwanda. A fragile peace deal is finally raising to Hurricane Mitch in Central America), `Seeds hopes of an end to this nightmare, but large of Life' in East Timor, and current efforts in post- parts of the country remain unstable. Taliban Afghanistan and in Iraq. Numerous lower-profile yet equally important partnerships The conflict is believed to have contributed to between CGIAR Centers and relief agencies the spread of a new strain of the Africa continue in other conflict-prone countries, Cassava Mosaic Virus, called the Uganda building on the confidence created by SOH. Variant. Internally displaced people are believed to have transported planting materi- Misery in Mozambique al from one place to another. The cassava cri- Mozambique suffered greatly from internal sis could not have struck at a worse time. The conflict for most of the 1970s and 80s. When impoverished and malnourished refugees 11 Healing Wounds were highly vulnerable to food short- aster around for the Democratic ages; an estimated 3 million may have Republic of Congo's most important perished during the conflict period, food crop. mostly from starvation and disease. Nourishing refugees in Uganda IITA had previously developed cassava lines resistant to the disease that had A brutal insurgency plaguing northern major impact across East Africa, and Uganda since 1986 has displaced an beginning in 2000, brought this experi- estimated 1.4 million people in the ence to bear in the more difficult situa- Achioli, Teso and Lango sub-regions. tion of Democratic Republic of Congo. Houses have been burned and looted, IITA scientists made rapid assessments and civilians have been the victims of that confirmed that the Uganda Variant atrocities, involuntary conscription and was a spreading epidemic. Within forced labor. The displaced live without months, proposals were developed, sup- shelter or in camps where water, sanita- port obtained from USAID for emergency tion and health care are inadequate intervention and, in 2001, disease man- and disease is rampant, with high infant agement projects were initiated. mortality. Security risks limit humanitarian Systems Small initial shipments of plants gave farmers in Democratic Republic of Food Congo a chance to pick the varieties most suitable for them. From a starting and set of 200 genotypes, they selected 10 for rapid mul- tiplication and distribution Seed at the Mvuazi research station. These lines are expected to turn the dis- Rebuilding The devastating Africa Cassava Mosaic Virus (above) can be over- come by new resistant lines from IITA (left). Photos: ICRISAT 12 Rebuilding Seed and Food Systems and food aid to the camps; relief convoys ASARECA (Association for Strengthening have been ambushed. Malnutrition is increas- Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central ing, particularly among displaced children. Africa). Support for VITAA is generously provid- When some of the internally displaced try to ed by BMZ, the OPEC Fund, the McKnight return home to farm, they lack basic agricul- Foundation, the Micronutrient Initiative, USAID, tural inputs. and the private philanthropic organization-- Senior Family Fund. Vitamin A deficiency is one of Africa's most widespread, yet treatable health problems. It Through VITAA, more than 850,000 orange- is a leading cause of early childhood death fleshed sweetpotato vine cuttings were deliv- and a major risk factor for pregnant and lac- ered to Ugandan farmers in 2003 in the war- tating women across Africa. It weakens the torn districts of Lira and Apac. During lulls in immune system, leaving them susceptible to the fighting, farmers move beyond the camps deadly diseases such as measles, malaria, and to attend to their fields. They depend on diarrhea. extension workers from the James Arwata Foundation (JAF), a local community-based Meat and milk are good sources of vitamin A organization and VITAA member, to provide and many fruits and vegetables are rich in the planting materials, with support from beta-carotene, which the human body uses to Uganda's National Agricultural Research make vitamin A. But most of these foods are Organization, PRAPACE, VITAA-CIP, and farm- too expensive for African consumers to buy in ers multiplying vines in Uganda's Soroti district. sufficient quantities and are especially difficult to obtain in times of disaster and conflict. The Vitamin A for Africa (VITAA) Partnership, led by CIP, is helping to address malnutrition needs in northern Uganda and neighboring countries in eastern Africa. VITAA is tackling this problem through the improvement and dissemination of orange-fleshed sweet- potato. This crop is naturally high in Vitamin A, is familiar to Africans, and is relatively easy to grow. VITAA is a remarkable partner- ship of approximately 40 organizations straddling the traditionally-separated sec- tors of agriculture, health and nutrition. It is con- vened from CIP's Kampala, Uganda office to coordinate with the regional potato network PRA- PACE as well as with 13 Farmers from Luwero, Uganda explain the new orange-fleshed varieties of sweetpotato and the wide range of food products that can be made from them. Photo: CIP Healing Wounds Fat is needed in human diet to absorb devices remain today, impeding farm- vitamin A. In emergency situations, as in ers' ability to cultivate their fields. conditions of chronic poverty, diets of the poor often have insufficient fat. A peace agreement was signed in 1991 Peanuts, or groundnuts as they are also between the fighting factions, the known, are a poor person's crop that Popular Movement for the Liberation of provides a rich source of dietary fat (oil). Angola (MPLA)-led Government and Working in partnership with Catholic UNITA (Union for the Total Independence Relief Services (CRS) and the Overseas of Angola), although hostilities resumed Development Institute (ODI), a UK-based later and continued into the next millen- NGO, ICRISAT undertook a study of seed nium. In the mid-1990s, USAID launched systems in northern Uganda during a lull the Seeds of Freedom project to in the fighting in 2001, and identified an improve household food security and opportunity to introduce rosette-resistant help revitalize the agriculture sector by groundnut varieties in an area where rebuilding the seed system for high-yield- groundnuts are widely grown for food as ing and adapted varieties of important a complement to starchy staples. food crops. World Vision International coordinated the effort, which engaged CRS evaluated these materials with dis- five CGIAR Centers (CIAT, CIMMYT, Systems placed farmers, who were provided ICRISAT, IITA, CIP), four government insti- small plots of church-owned land close tutions and eight NGOs. to urban centers that are less vulnerable Food to attack. In 2002, when a rosette epi- Seed produced in the first phase includ- demic hit the region, the improved vari- ed 15 tons of pearl millet (2 varieties), 80 and eties stood out like a beacon. These vari- tons of sorghum (3 varieties), 4 tons of eties, developed by the BMZ-supported beans (4 varieties), 14 tons of maize (3 SADC/ICRISAT Regional Groundnut varieties), 15,000 pathogen-free plantlets Seed Improvement Project in Malawi, also of 16 varieties of cassava regenerated found their way to Southern Sudan and from tissue culture, 380 pathogen-tested the Democratic Republic of Congo cuttings of 17 sweetpotato varieties, where farmers have snapped them up. 1460 mini-tubers of 9 advanced potato Equally outstanding was IITA's Africa cas- clones, and a packet each of 1000 true sava mosaic virus resistant variety TMS potato seed (TPS) lines from 6 hybrid Rebuilding 30572. progenies. Angola's Seeds of Freedom In the 1996/97 season NGOs distributed 26 tons of seed to farmers (sorghum, mil- For more than a quarter of a century let, maize and beans). A total of 1390 Angola suffered mightily from a combi- on-farm trials were established and man- nation of war and drought. The brutal aged by farmers under their own condi- proxy war between the Cold War super- tions. Data were collected by extension powers also drew in regional combat- and channeled to the coordinator for ants. Two to three million people may analysis and reporting. Usable results have died, and 1.2 million were left were analyzed and farmers' preferences homeless and hungry. Hundreds of thou- were documented. Minor research infra- sands died from or were mutilated by 14 structure rehabilitation was carried out. land mines; millions of unexploded Rebuilding Seed and Food Systems During 1997-1999, the Project was constrained Somalia Aid Coordination Body to revise and by a renewal of violence in the country. expand its Agricultural Sector Strategy for However, efforts to test and disseminate seeds Somalia. continue to the extent possible. The Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG) at ODI is Rice in West Africa dedicated to improving humanitarian policy and practice in this challenging, fast-moving West Africa has been plagued by extended and sometimes controversial sector. In addi- wars and low-intensity conflicts in recent tion to its own independent research, the HPG decades: in Guinea Bissau (1962-75), Liberia publishes the journal `Disasters' (in conjunction (1989-96), Sierra Leone (1991-97), and most with Blackwell Publishers), the leading journal recently in Ivory Coast. Farmers fleeing the in the field of complex emergencies and natu- Ivory Coast conflict near the border with ral disasters. HPG also manages the Liberia, the heart of the upland rice belt, Humanitarian Practice Network (www.odih- returned only to find their homes and seed pn.org), which provides a forum for sharing stocks looted or burnt. There is an urgent need and disseminating information, analysis and to build new seed supply systems that farmers experience in humanitarian policy and can rely upon. practice. WARDA has helped countries rebuild after ODI also hosts the Secretariat of the Active conflict by providing infusions of improved Learning Network for Accountability and seed and by helping restore lost germplasm Performance in Humanitarian Assistance collections. Seeds being provided in bulk to (ALNAP). ALNAP is an international, intera- areas recovering from conflict include the low- gency forum working to improve learning, land varieties, WITA 4 and WITA 12, identified accountability and quality across the humani- as superior in wide-scale regional testing using tarian sector. Through its partnership with ODI, WARDA's participatory varietal selection ICRISAT has gained an institutional channel methodology; and the hardy new NERICA through which it can learn from, as well as upland rice varieties emerging from innovative influence those working in the humanitarian wide crosses between the African and Asian sector. rice species (Oryza glaberrima and O. sativa). Latin America and the Understanding emergency seed Caribbean interventions Embedding research/aid organization partner- Hurricane Mitch ships into their institutional fabric, ICRISAT and Hurricane Mitch was the worst natural disaster the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), a to strike Central America in the past century. It UK-based NGO established a joint staff posi- killed more than 10,000 people. Much of the tion in 2001 based in Nairobi to undertake col- damage was caused not by high winds but by laborative research on ways to improve emer- two meters of rain that fell in less than one gency seed interventions. This work also col- fateful week in November 1998. Flooding and laborates with FAO's Rehabilitation and mudslides damaged an estimated 60% of the Humanitarian Policies Unit (TCER) to examine combined agricultural land of Honduras and agricultural rehabilitation in chronic conflict Nicaragua. Bridges and roads were washed and post-conflict countries (Sierra Leone, away, complicating relief efforts. Rivers, crucial 15 Afghanistan and Somalia), and support to the Healing Wounds for irrigation and hydroelectric energy, silted up. Honduras was hit the hardest, with agri- cultural losses valued at about $800 mil- lion; but the northern mountainous areas of Nicaragua also suffered badly. Maize and beans, the two most important food crops in both countries, suffered huge losses as did other crops like potatoes and plantains. Mitch destroyed about half of the bean crop and a third of the maize in the affected areas. It also wiped out about 80% of the two coun- tries' commercial export crops, such as banana, coffee and tobacco, destroy- ing a crucial source of employment and income in poor agricultural regions. A food crisis loomed. Systems Small wooden crosses mark the spots where Honduran flood victims were washed away dur- Food ing Hurricane Mitch. Gentle streams became raging torrents, hurling trees, rocks, and villagers' huts down hillsides. Photo: CIMMYT and Seed Rebuilding Mitch brought down the roof at the La Lujosa Experiment Station in Honduras when the nearby Choluteca River rose 10 meters. It took out generators, roadways, irrigation systems, farm equipment, a storehouse and hectares of crop trials, leaving a dune- swept expanse. Photo: CIMMYT 16 Rebuilding Seed and Food Systems Bolstered by their success in emergency National researchers' seed stocks, the founda- research-for-development in Rwanda a few tion of the formal seed supply system in these years prior, four CGIAR Centers teamed up for countries, also needed to be rebuilt. DICTA lost a sequel. CIAT, CIMMYT, CIP and IPGRI joined major stores of seed. Nearly all its field plant- hands with the Directorate of Agricultural ings of improved maize, and most machinery Science and Technology (DICTA) in Honduras, and infrastructure on several key experiment the Nicaraguan Institute of Agricultural stations were also damaged. Fortunately, INTA Technology (INTA), regional research networks, came through the storm virtually intact. nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and farmer associations to launch Seeds of Hope Immediately following the hurricane, CIMMYT for Central America, or Seeds of Hope II (SOH- sent DICTA nearly half a ton of seed of diverse II). Donors underwriting the effort were the improved varieties and inbred lines chosen for Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance of USAID high yield, regional adaptation, and stress tol- and the Multilateral Programs Branch of CIDA. erance. In addition to high yield potential, the varieties carried valuable traits such as The project began with multiplication and tar- drought tolerance, resistance to foliar diseases geted distribution of seed in 1999 through net- and ear rot, and enhanced protein quality. works of researchers, development workers, and farmers. The project's most urgent task Nicaraguan Minister of Agriculture Mario De was to help multiply large quantities of seed Franco urged that the country "turn disaster for distribution among small farmers, focusing into opportunity" by introducing modern high- on bean, maize, potato, and sweetpotato. yielding crop varieties and other innovations. CIP, CIMMYT and Nicaraguan farmers are test- Supplies of bean seed were especially hard ing sweetpotato alongside maize, a practice hit, because the crop is mostly grown in the that has helped to reduce soil erosion in second season when the hurricane struck. China. SOH-II, together with nation- al partners and farmer groups in Honduras, organ- ized the multiplication of 175 tons of seed of three popu- lar improved bean varieties. The project provided farm- ers with seed, fertilizers, and cash to purchase inputs in exchange for a commit- ment to sell the harvest to the project for distribution. The bean seed was distrib- uted to about 3500 farm families by local and inter- national organizations, notably the Red Cross and the Zamorano School in Honduras. 17 Seeds of Hope II brought relief to poor hillside farmers after Hurricane Mitch. Photo: CIAT Healing Wounds As in Rwanda, regional networks per- launch a program to promote the crop's formed a vital role as safety nets for expansion for food security. The added replenishing lost Central American push from the authorities is expected to germplasm. Improved bean germplasm increase the island's output by as much was obtained from CIAT's partner, the as 30%. Collaborative Bean Program for Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean Sweetpotato has long been known in (PROFRIJOL). CIMMYT's network partner Cuba, and is grown on about 60,000 was the Regional Maize Program for hectares annually. It is easy to cultivate, Central America and the Caribbean hardy against a range of stresses, and (PRM). Both networks have been funded highly productive. It requires little fertiliz- by the Swiss Agency for Development er, and as described previously, the and Cooperation (SDC). (In an interest- orange-fleshed varieties are an excellent ing example of the safety-net value of source of vitamin A. regional networks, in 1989 the PRM com- pletely replaced strategic maize seed CIP and Cuba's Instituto de Investigación reserves lost in Panama during the US de Viandas Tropicales (INIVIT) already invasion to oust Manuel Noriega, allow- had a longstanding research partner- ing the national maize program to meet ship, and more than half of the crop's Systems farmers' seed needs within just four area was planted with varieties recom- months.) mended by INIVIT. The partners had also disseminated integrated pest manage- Food And, in another parallel with the ment principles, helping to reduce the Rwanda experience, the prior existence damage caused by weevils from 40% to and of a rich knowledge base gained 10% in just five years. through research paid off unexpectedly when Mitch hit. A digital "Mitch Atlas" El Niño in Peru Seed developed by CIAT scientists guided The particularly severe El Niño event of relief workers to the areas most in need 1997­98 caused Peru's climate to lurch (see more about this in Chapter 6). The from severe drought to torrential down- atlas indicates the condition of roads pours. Potato yields were cut by half in before and after Mitch, relief efforts many areas while pests and diseases, under way in specific areas, damage to especially late blight, surged. Rebuilding crops, the distribution of poverty, and other information crucial for targeting The severe late blight attack took its toll relief efforts. on many potato varieties, including one of Peru's rising stars, `Canchan-INIA,' Hurricane Michelle developed jointly by CIP and Peru's The Caribbean islands are frequently national potato program and released battered by hurricanes. Hurricane to farmers in 1990. However, a CIP `true Michelle swept through Cuba in potato seed' (TPS) hybrid, `Chacasina', November 2001, razing fields of upright performed well under this stress. crops such as bananas, plantains, yucca `Chacasina' is a cross between the most and citrus. With its tubers below-ground, popular local variety produced in the sweetpotato survived and provided vital central Andes, `Yungay,' and a CIP late 18 food. This prompted local authorities to blight­resistant breeding line. Rebuilding Seed and Food Systems The success of `Chacasina' continues to rise in countryside. Villages had been razed and Peru. Harvests in more than 100 Peruvian dis- human bones were stacked in the center of tricts where the variety has spread have been most of the major towns. Landmines were still exceptional. As a result, the Center has been killing and maiming farmers, and the Khmer asked to produce two more similar varieties. Rouge, although driven from the capital city, Meanwhile, in the aftermath of El Niño, CIP dis- still posed a threat in the countryside. tributed `Chacasina' to more than 5000 farm families across Peru. Agriculture had been likewise devastated. Formerly one of Asia's leading rice exporters, East and South Asia Cambodia's production fell by 84% during the reign of terror. The Khmer Rouge pursued a brutal and disastrous purging of foreign and Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge educated influences. Most of the agricultural scientists were killed or fled the country. Cambodia is a rice-dependent country. So it was natural that the International Rice Great personal courage was required of the Research Institute (IRRI) take the lead in bring- project leader and his team. A grenade was ing CGIAR assistance to that country following thrown into the project office early on, the the horrific Khmer Rouge genocide of 1971-79. project leader's house was shot at, and a The Cambodian-IRRI-Australia Project (CIAP) bounty for his life was offered by the Khmer was made possible through special funding Rouge. One of the project's first locally trained from the Australian Agency for International agricultural technicians died when the project Development. As its work progressed, many vehicle was ambushed and machine-gunned additional partners joined in, notably World Vision, the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Catholic Relief Services and Oxfam. The situation at the outset of the project in 1988 was grim. A quarter of the coun- try's people had been murdered, especially the edu- cated ones upon whom a recovery depended. Hunger, poverty and desola- tion permeated the 19 Ruins of the Toul Koktrap Research Station in Suay Rieng, Cambodia. Photo: IRRI Healing Wounds by the Khmer. There was no international vation, into a surplus producer by 1995. peace-keeping force to call upon for The dollar value of net benefits over protection. both the terms of the CIAP project (1987- 2001) and projected to the year 2020 The CIAP team obtained traditional was estimated as US$1.3 billion (in 2001 Cambodian varieties from IRRI's gene dollars), delivering an impressive aver- bank and began growing them for test- age annual internal rate of return of 32% ing, along with launching a training pro- on donors' investment (Young et al. gram. They introduced new rice varieties 2001). such as early-maturing IR66, providing a quick food crop and leaving time for a Timor-Leste second harvest the same season. To achieve the potential of new varieties, East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, the team needed to introduce declared its independence in 1975, trig- Cambodians (who were used to low- gering a long conflict with Indonesia. In input rainfed agriculture) to more inten- August 1999, a UN-sponsored referen- sive methods employing fertilizer, water dum accepted the declaration, but control, and integrated pest manage- sparked reprisals by those opposing the ment. Postharvest grain handling issues independence movement. Many lives Systems also received attention. were lost and crop seeds were stolen or burned, creating an imminent food crisis. CIAP made a major contribution to Finally, after a UN Transitional Food relieving intense human suffering (Collis Administration was installed to bring 2002). It was instrumental in transforming calm, a newly-independent Democratic and Cambodia from a rice deficit country, Republic of Timor-Leste was internation- reflected in widespread hunger and star- ally recognized in May 2002. Seed Rebuilding Many government facilities were destroyed during the East Timor conflict. Photo: ICRISAT 20 Rebuilding Seed and Food Systems The devastated country needed help. Since the new nation's Ministry of Agriculture, more than 90% of the population was involved Fisheries and Forestry (MAFF) and helped train in farming, its first priority was to rebuild agricul- its new staff. It also partnered closely with the ture and establish food security. Numerous NGOs-- Catholic Relief Services, World Vision agencies rushed assistance to the country in International and Australian Volunteers the form of seeds, but crop scientists found International. The Memorandum of that much of the seed and plant material pro- Understanding that established the partnership vided was not well adapted to the country. was the first such agreement signed by the new government, and the new president of Five CGIAR Centers joined hands to help: CIAT the country, Xanana Gusmão, was an enthusi- for cassava and beans, CIMMYT for maize, CIP astic participant at the inaugural planning for sweetpotato, ICRISAT for peanuts and IRRI meeting--demonstrating the priority the new for rice. The Seeds of Life (SOL) Project, country placed on getting its agriculture launched in the year 2000 during the UN moving again. Transitional Administration period, was made possible through support from the Australian An initial scoping mission found a wide range Centre for International Agricultural Research of soil types and rainfall patterns across the (ACIAR). SOL formed a close partnership with country. The project team concluded that an appropriately wide range of germplasm should be assembled for testing with the participation of farmers on their own lands. Farmers typically tried 1-3 varieties of a crop using their own management resources. This helped them identify the best materials to be multiplied at the village level for further use, and allowed neighboring farmers to observe as well. Their feedback helped national authorities identify the best varieties for formal release. Timor-Leste's first President, Xanana Gusmão addressing the United Nations (above), and with the Seeds of Life team at the inaugural planning meeting (below). Photos: ICRISAT 21 Healing Wounds The project team also advised the government on setting up a central seed multiplica- tion farm to accelerate seed production. Improved varieties were impressive in the trials, espe- cially when com- bined with bet- ter manage- ment tech- niques. Cassava lines from CIAT yielded almost twice as much as the local varieties, while CIMMYT maize Systems outpaced the local types by 50% and was more lodging- Food resistant. Groundnut is the most important Timor-Leste's Prime Minister, Mr Mari Alkatiri cuts the ribbon to inaugurate the and food legume in Timor- Betano Research Station, where the main Seeds of Life activities in the south Leste, and varieties took place. The entire Cabinet attended this ceremony, underscoring its provided by ICRISAT importance. Photo: ICRISAT Seed proved far more pro- ductive than the local varieties in tests across four diverse locations. At Bacau (a lowland Rebuilding site), farmers were stunned to see the sweetpotato supplied by CIP yielding six times as much as local varieties. They and Timorese leader Xanana Gusmão as well took note because it was previous- Left: Local peanut; right: ICRISAT variety. ly believed that sweet- Photo: ICRISAT potato wouldn't grow well there. In Aileu, a 22 mountain town, the Rebuilding Seed and Food Systems farmers carried away most of the sweetpotato cuttings. Rather than being perturbed, Project staff saw that as a compliment. Orange- fleshed sweetpotato varieties that could help alleviate vitamin A deficiency--a significant problem on the island, especially for children-- will also be introduced. Drought severely damaged crops in early 2003, and Timor-Leste's Minister of Agriculture wrote to ICRISAT asking for help in reviving sorghum culture, a crop that is well suit- ed to dry conditions and is currently found mainly in the north around Liquiça. It is known as `tall corn' in the local language, reaching a height of about 4.5 meters. Sorghum is eaten mixed with maize, and is also fed to cattle. Timor-Leste farmers were amazed to see the six-fold advantage of CIP sweetpotato varieties. Photo: ICRISAT India left homeless, and the economic basis of the state was ravaged. The collision of the Indo-Australian and the Eurasian Plates of the earth's crust has given To restore critical planting material in this rise to the magnificent Himalaya mountain parched area, ICRISAT rushed 500 kilograms of range of southern Asia. Unfortunately, people seed of a high-yielding pearl millet hybrid vari- sometimes get caught in the middle of this ety to the Gujarat Seed Producers' Association titanic duel. which, with a local NGO (VRTI) distributed it to 350 of the neediest farmers. Due to its loca- On 26 January 2001 an earthquake registering tion, more quakes are inevitable in the 6.9 on the Richter scale struck the state of decades to come. To reduce the poverty that Gujarat in northwestern India. The epicenter underlies vulnerability, ICRISAT is collaborating was close to the small desert town of Bhuj. An with the Gujarat Agricultural University and estimated 20,000 people were killed and 15 VRTI to multiply and distribute seeds of million (half the region's people) were affect- improved groundnut, sorghum, and pigeon- ed in some way; hundreds of thousands were pea. ICRISAT is also planning to assist in the 23 Healing Wounds proposed Fodder Bank for Kutch, which will help meet the demand for high qual- ity fodder in this largely cattle-centered region. Seed aid was wel- come relief in the grim aftermath of the earthquake in Gujarat, India. Photo: ICRISAT North Korea of the agricultural environment: shortage Systems of arable land, water scarcity, and a lim- North Korea has suffered greatly from ited market for local products. famine in recent years. Three million lives Agriculture plays an important role in the Food may have been lost. Two-thirds of the Palestinian economy by both feeding potato crop has been lost due to the population and providing jobs. drought caused by El Niño and because and Livestock contribute roughly 40% of agri- of diseases. Potato is the third most cultural income in the West Bank and important crop in the country after rice 25% in Gaza. Activities to strengthen and maize. Seed agriculture promote peace through greater economic security. At the country's request in 1999, CIP came to help establish true potato seed The capacities of Palestinian agriculture- (TPS) technology. World Vision, the related agencies and departments (the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance of National Agricultural Research Center-- USAID, Potato Production International Rebuilding NARC--and the Directorate of Extension (a private company based in California), and Research) are limited. ICARDA is SDC and national program partners from assisting in the rehabilitation and sustain- Vietnam and China worked in partner- able development of the Palestinian ship to introduce the technology. agricultural sector. Since 1994 ICARDA has worked with the Ministries of Central and West Asia and Agriculture and Environment and the National Center for Agricultural Research North Africa in testing improved crop varieties, capacity-building, and joint project Palestine implementation. ICARDA has facilitated Palestine faces many difficult problems many training and conference-atten- that require a sustained effort. Chronic dance opportunities for Palestinian 24 conflict aggravates inherent limitations scientists. Rebuilding Seed and Food Systems Within the framework of the regional initiative for dryland management facilitated by ICAR- DA, techniques are being promoted that ensure more efficient utilization of water in the Palestinian territories. The project has already tested different water-harvesting techniques and has found two to be exceptionally promis- ing: V-Shaped micro-catchments and perme- able rocks. The permeable rocks technique is traditionally used, while the V-shaped micro- catchment technique is new to farmers. Iraq Agriculture in Iraq has suffered because of wars and drought, economic sanctions, and other internal and external factors. Agricultural ICARDA is implementing V-shaped micro-catchments and per- inputs are scarce and land resources such as meable rocks techniques in Palestinian Territories to enhance irrigation facilities are difficult to maintain. agrobiodiversity conservation. Photo: ICARDA Growing populations and shrinking resources are forcing farmers to follow exploitative pro- and the IPA Agricultural Research Center, Abu duction practices. Feed resources have been Ghraib, Baghdad. ICARDA held its ninth bien- reduced by overgrazing, cultivation of range- nial coordination meeting with Iraq in lands for crop and tree production, removal of November 2003, in which the partners jointly vegetation for fuel wood, and soil erosion. determined the immediate actions needed to Veterinary services and vaccines are in short restart agricultural research and rehabilitate supply. Iraq is in need of substantial humanitar- the agricultural sector. Priorities include: (i) the ian, rehabilitation, and reconstruction multiplication and delivery of high quality seed assistance. of adapted varieties, (ii) for the longer term, provision of technical assistance in the devel- Since its inception, ICARDA has worked closely opment of sustainable agriculture, and (iii) with Iraq, particularly its Ministry of Agriculture development of a strategy that will ensure a Coordination meeting between Iraqi and ICARDA scientists, held in November 2003 in Jordan, to develop joint work plans. Photo: ICARDA 25 Healing Wounds close integration of relief, rehabilitation back on its feet. Afghanistan once pro- and development projects. To jump-start duced enough to feed its people and seed production, ICARDA provided over even exported some surplus. A long peri- 20 tonnes of improved seeds of cereal od of war and four consecutive years of and legume varieties known to be drought have brought the country to its adapted to Iraq's environmental condi- knees. One-third of the population fled tions in 2003. ICARDA and Iraq are imple- during the wars, with Pakistan and Iran menting a program of large-scale on- sheltering more than 6 million refugees. farm demonstrations with improved vari- Less than a third of the population can eties of barley, wheat, chickpea, lentil read or write; the population growth rate and vetches under different agroeco- exceeds 3% but the average lifespan is logical conditions during the 2003/2004 just 40-46 years. The great majority are cropping season through support from desperately poor, earning less than a USAID. dollar a day. Agricultural productivity has declined sharply and food has Better livestock management options become scarce. include the introduction of improved breeding stock, practices to enhance Only a small part (12%) of Afghanistan's fertility and lambing rates, early wean- land, mostly in scattered valleys, is suit- Systems ing, on-farm feed production, alternative able for farming. The diverse topography feed sources, and better management results in tremendous diversity of agricul- of small ruminants. New varieties of bar- ture. Systems range from arid pastoralism Food ley, oat, vetch and triticale adapted to to intensive small-scale irrigated produc- harsh environments have been tested tion, to sub-mountainous systems of rain- and and adopted by farmers. Fodder shrubs fed cereals, legumes and fruit trees. and cactus are widely used to augment Because of the dry climate, most of the feed resources. Feed-blocks made from farmland requires irrigation. Water from Seed agro-industrial by-products have springs and rivers is available, but irriga- become an integral part of the feed tion has been developed on less than a calendar of small ruminants in Iraq, and third of the arable land area. In large are produced entirely by the private valleys crop productivity is often con- sector. strained by water supply, and conversely in narrow ravines steep slopes limit the Rebuilding Longstanding ICARDA/Iraq collaboration quantity of arable land. on crop improvement includes joint research, plant genetic resources con- Today, with the situation relatively quiet, servation and capacity building. farmers are returning to their home- Improved varieties of barley, spring steads and villages to take up agricul- bread wheat, durum wheat, lentil, and ture again. But getting agriculture back chickpea have been released to Iraqi on its feet will not be easy, given the vir- farmers and are being grown on large tual collapse of supporting institutions, areas. the neglect of human resource develop- ment and the scarcity of inputs. The Afghanistan country's entire agricultural production system has been disrupted; local seed After years of armed conflict and 26 and crop improvement programs do not drought, Afghanistan is struggling to get Rebuilding Seed and Food Systems Two major challenges confront Afghanistan's agriculture today: addressing immediate hunger and food insecurity, and put- ting the country's agriculture on a sustainable growth path for the longer term. In this chapter we present the emergency actions being engaged by the Future Harvest Consortium; the longer-term activities are addressed in Chapters 6 and 7. Wheat and maize Wheat is the most important crop in Afghanistan, covering 80­85% of the farmland or about 4 to 8 million hectares annually. It is the main staple cereal in the diet. Wheat seed was quickly distributed in many provinces in Afghanistan in 2002 by the ICARDA-led Future Harvest In late 2001 and early 2002, there was world- Consortium, and picked up by farmers at local distribution wide concern about the possibility of starva- points. Photo: ICARDA tion in Afghanistan. The 2002 planting season loomed just three months after the Future function; research stations have been exten- Harvest Consortium was launched. The sively damaged, equipment has been looted Consortium needed to act fast. Fortunately, it and staff members have left the country or do had a deep base of experience to draw from; not have the financial means to carry out CIMMYT and ICARDA, for example had been research and development activities. evaluating wheat germplasm there with national partners for years. To help Afghanistan with these daunting chal- lenges, ICARDA spearheaded the formation of By early April 2002, 3500 tons of seed of the a Future Harvest Consortium to Rebuild CIMMYT/ICARDA wheat varieties, `Inqilab-91' Agriculture in Afghanistan during 2001/02, and `MH 97' were procured by ICARDA in made possible through support from USAID Pakistan and transported by the United and IDRC as well as the CGIAR core investors Nations World Food Programme to NGOs and (ICARDA 2003b, p. 9). Participating CGIAR village shurahs (community groups) for distribu- Centers include CIAT, CIMMYT, CIP, ICARDA, tion to farmers. The seed reached an estimat- ICRISAT, IFPRI, ILRI, IPGRI, and IWMI. Non-CGIAR ed 70,000 farm families in the provinces of partners include a number of international Badakhshan, Bamian, Ghazni, Lowgar, Kapisa, research and development organizations, the Parwan, Wardak, and Uruzgan (ICARDA Food and Agriculture Organization of the 2003a, b, p.12). Afghan partners provided criti- United Nations (FAO), US universities, several cal insights on where the most needy farmers international and local NGOs such as the could be found, and worked around the clock Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and the to distribute the seed in time. The International Afghan Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) later sup- 27 (MOAL). Healing Wounds plemented the seed with fertilizer distri- CIMMYT's efforts in Afghanistan have butions through a voucher system. To recently been strengthened by the avoid creating dependency, no inputs Australian Government through AusAid were provided free of charge; farmers and ACIAR. The project, called Seeds of paid for the seed with wheat grain from Strength, is delivering locally-adapted their harvest. wheat and maize seed that can be sown right away. As a condition of "If I had not received this seed, I would receiving the seed, the farmers are not have sown any crop this season. We asked to give a portion of the grain they ate everything we had. Nobody could produce to neighbors who did not have get a job to earn money and we could access to the seed in the first year of dis- not buy seed," said farmer Chariaka tribution. On-farm participatory testing of Hamidullah from Maidan District. Many the imported seed is identifying the best ponder the fate of others who were not cultivars, allowing for their local multipli- fortunate enough to get seed. "We cation and distribution. Particular atten- received the ICARDA seed and could tion has been paid to yellow rust resist- plant, but another village did not get this ance in wheat and to promoting seed, and could not plant. We have to improved agronomy along with help them with what we will harvest," improved cultivars. Systems said a farmer in Bagram. Through the Seeds of Strength project, For the autumn 2003 planting, the CIMMYT distributed seven improved Food Consortium arranged the production maize varieties along with fertilizer to 500 and delivery of more than 5000 tons of farmers in seven provinces with the help and wheat seed. All of this seed was pro- of a number of national and internation- duced locally by leading farmers follow- al NGOs. Three hundred tons of seed of ing a rigorous program to ensure quality, the locally-adapted wheat variety MH- Seed including field inspections, the removal 97 were distributed to 9,000 farmers in of off-type plants, post-harvest treatment four provinces in time for 2002 fall plant- against disease, and proper packaging. ing. A winter wheat called SOLH 02 The seed reached more than 90,000 (`Peace 02') imported from a farmers in 11 provinces. This high quality, CIMMYT/ICARDA Winter Wheat disease-resistant wheat seed produced Observation Nursery in Turkey and tested Rebuilding at least 100,000 tonnes of food in 2003. by FAO in Afghanistan was also distrib- 28 Elite wheat seed being multiplied at ICARDA's principal research station for distribution to Afghanistan farmers. Photo: ICARDA Rebuilding Seed and Food Systems uted. The project alleviated the 2002 seed for a larger national seed policy and regula- shortage, and a favorable 2003 harvest is tory framework for the country. expected to boost seed stocks. Pest management saves crop in To encourage the formation of seed enterpris- es, seeds of a large number of varieties of Helmand, Afghanistan wheat, barley, lentil, chickpea, and vetch In the summer of 2002, wheat grown on about have been provided to Afghanistan by ICAR- 200,000 hectares in Afghanistan was rendered DA for evaluation and multiplication in coop- useless after being infested by Eurygaster inte- eration with farmers (ICARDA 2004). Land race griceps, an insect commonly known as Sunn (farmer's traditional) varieties from ICARDA's pest. This disappointment would have been gene bank are included in the test material. repeated in spring 2003 if not for the good CIMMYT shipped 35 international nurseries to effort of the Central Asian Development Afghanistan for testing throughout Afghanistan Group (CADG) to save the crop. CADG, a in 2002 and 2003. These materials mark the member of the Future Harvest Consortium, was beginning of a seed sector in Afghanistan. able to save 12.8 million dollars worth of wheat in Helmand Province using Sunn pest manage- A code of conduct for ment information provided by ICARDA. Sunn pest injects chemicals that cause wheat seed support gluten in the grain to break down. If as little as The crisis in Afghanistan has attracted consid- 2% of the grain in a lot is affected, the entire erable aid interest, and many international lot is rendered unsuitable for baking. and national organizations and donor agen- cies are assisting in the rebuilding of the coun- try's agricultural sector. Genuine as these efforts are, such activities come with risks such as the import and distribution of inappropriate varieties, or seeds that carry new diseases, pests, and weeds. To reduce these risks, ICARDA organized a meeting of Future Harvest Consortium partners in May 2002 to develop a Code of Conduct for all those involved in seed pro- duction and dis- tribution in Afghanistan. The Code is being finalized with sup- port from FAO and is expected to form the basis 29 Developing a Seed Code of Conduct for Afghanistan. Photo: ICARDA Healing Wounds Potato seed dominated commodity systems, and needed to reorient and diversify to meet Tuber seed quality, especially the local food needs through a market absence of diseases and pests, is vital to economy. If nothing was done, a the success or failure of a potato crop. descent into hunger, chaos and even- CIP initiated an emergency program to tual conflict appeared likely. speed up the supply of quality potato seed to Afghan refugees returning from But where to begin? The once-impressive Pakistan. official research and development insti- tutions had collapsed along with the rest From the outset, the intention was to of the Soviet structure. Many researchers help Afghanistan's farmers produce their were earning less than a dollar a day own potato seed rather than import it. In and had almost no operational support September, project staff received 22 or materials to work with. tons of commercial "starter" seed-- enough to plant seven hectares. Ninety The CGIAR responded to this major percent of the shipment was brought in geopolitical development by formally by road from Pakistan through the recognizing CAC as target for increased Khyber Pass, with the remainder coming System activity. With its close proximity to Systems in as air cargo from India. To ensure that CAC and its pre-existing partnerships the imported starter seed would be well and experience in the area, ICARDA used, seed production training programs took the lead during 1995/96 to develop Food were initiated for staff from Afghanistan's and convene a CAC Consortium. The Ministry of Agriculture, local NGOs, and CAC Consortium now includes nine Kabul University. Course graduates, work- and Centers: CIP, CIMMYT, ICARDA, ICRISAT, ing alongside CIP scientists and IFPRI, ILRI, IPGRI, IRRI, and IWMI. researchers from Pakistan, in turn trained a small group of local farmers. Seed The Consortium took a systematic approach, first strengthening the part- Building a new paradigm in nerships that would be vital for buy-in Central Asia and the Caucasus and progress. They met with CAC lead- ers and researchers for joint assessments The collapse of the Soviet Union forced of priorities. With CGIAR approval and Rebuilding wrenching change on the nations of funding, the Consortium established a Central Asia and the Caucasus, or CAC Program Facilitation Unit in Tashkent, (Central Asia consists of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan housed in ICARDA's regional Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and office there to enable strong partner- Uzbekistan while the Caucasus includes ships and communication. Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia). With the disintegration of state-provided CAC countries and the CGIAR Centers in inputs, guaranteed product outlets, sup- the Consortium developed joint research porting institutions, infrastructure and proposals and obtained donor support policies, the region was thrown into from the Asian Development Bank, IFAD, poverty and disarray. Food production USAID, and the World Bank to launch fell by 15-45% while populations contin- their ambitious plans to reinvigorate the ued to increase. Agriculture could no 30 agricultural base of the region's eco- longer depend on a few massive state- Rebuilding Seed and Food Systems nomy for the long term. The partners currently released in CAC countries. For example, from collaborate under five major themes: produc- the nurseries provided by the Turkey-CIMMYT- tivity of agricultural systems; natural resource ICARDA wheat project, a promising winter conservation and management; conservation wheat variety `Dostlik' was released in and evaluation of genetic resources and bio- Uzbekistan in 2002. With support from ICARDA, diversity; socioeconomic and public policy 1000 tons of seed of this variety was planted in research; and strengthening national pro- 2003/04 for seed multiplication and distribution grams (Beniwal and Varma 2000). to farmers. Livestock are very important to the agricultural As part of the Consortium effort, CIMMYT is economies of the CAC region, with its large contributing technology and training to help steppe areas that are ideal for grazing and rescue national research systems. One project herding, and its mountainous areas where sponsored by the World Bank's International sheep and goats can navigate the rough ter- Development Fund in Kazakhstan focuses on rain and generate a living for poor rural folk. developing national strategies to reform the The region once had highly-developed live- agricultural research system and build up its stock industries producing wool, pelts, hides capabilities. Another, financed by GTZ, aims to and meat. The export channels for these prod- help Tajikistan's national program, torn apart ucts largely collapsed when the main buyer, by civil war. CIP has expanded its efforts in the Soviet Union, disintegrated. Through IFAD Asia to include Central Asia and the support, ICARDA has been helping these Caucasus, where potato is an important com- countries strengthen their feed and livestock modity. Germplasm is being introduced and systems and identify new market opportunities. national scientists are being trained. Several new crop varieties have been 31 Uzbek scientists, development officers and farmers visiting a demonstration site of the new wheat variety `Dostlik' in Kashkadariya Region, Uzbekistan. Photo: ICARDA Chapter 4 Safeguarding and Restoring Agrobiodiversity Our fathers planted gardens long ago... Whose fruits we reap with joy today; Their labor constitutes a debt we owe... Which to our heirs we must repay; For all crops sown in any land... Are destined for a future man. --Arab poet, Nizami N atural disasters and/or conflicts can seri- Gene banks: priceless safety nets ously damage agrobiodiversity both in the field and in gene banks. With nearly 700,000 accessions of crops, for- Agrobiodiversity can also be under threat ages and trees in their gene banks, the CGIAR when new seeds are imported on a massive Centers are strategic global assets for the scale as urgent emergency aid in crises situa- preservation of agricultural biodiversity. Time tions. The CGIAR Centers have been attentive and again these resources have provided the to this issue, applying their research knowl- last safety net against the irreversible loss of edge and tools to gain a better understanding valuable germplasm. of how agrobiodiversity is threatened in these situations and how it can be protected. Rwandan farmers' amazing bean diversity. Photo: CIAT 32 Safeguarding and Restoring Agrobiodiversity Every bean has its place before the stations could be looted. One hero- ic Rwandan field assistant, Alexis Rumaziminsi, in Rwanda kept bean field trials going throughout the Rwanda is geographically and ecologically war, storing the seed at the Rwerere highland diverse, and this is reflected in its crop and station. Regional network holdings were also varietal diversity. It is an important secondary updated. As soon as it became possible, the center of genetic diversity for common bean, available seed was planted for rejuvenation with some 600 distinct varieties being grown. and multiplication through critical support from World Vision International. During fol- Fortunately, the CGIAR Centers had estab- lowup impact surveys, seed samples were also lished a substantial knowledge base on agro- collected from farmers as a safety backup biodiversity issues before the Rwandan con- measure. flict--not knowing how valuable this would turn out to be during reconstruction. CIAT, for Some 1260 bean samples were collected and example, had documented how farmers characterized in neighboring Uganda. They develop diverse local mixtures of bean vari- were compared against holdings in the CIAT eties suited to their differing agroecological gene bank in Cali, Colombia to assess gaps conditions (Sperling et al. 1993; Voss 1992). In and duplicates. The set has since been addition to helping guide seed restoration returned to Rwanda for further study and use. activities, this information became a crucial baseline in assessing the effects of the conflict. Rescuing the rice homeland Cambodia lies within the swath of Asia where Prior to the Seeds of Hope (SOH) Initiative in rice first evolved and its diversity is greatest, so Rwanda, emergency aid operations typically degradation of biodiversity due to conflict in imported massive shipments of just a few vari- this sensitive area is a major concern. In con- eties that could be located quickly, without trast to the quick and resilient outcome much regard for diversity and adaptation. observed in Rwanda, agrobiodiversity losses SOH broke new ground by focusing on were significant during the long period of farmer's own agrobiodiversity and seed sys- Khmer Rouge rule in Cambodia. Farmers grew tems (Buruchara et al. 2002). SOH proved that a wide range of traditional varieties before the aid agencies can successfully move an Khmer Rouge came to power (Javier 1997). impressive range of farmer-appreciated vari- Varietal diversity helps rice farmers reduce dis- eties in the heat of a crisis--if they have eases and address specialty markets (Zhu et access to the requisite seed system knowl- al. 2000). The Pol Pot regime suppressed culti- edge and insights into specific sources (for vation of varieties they thought primitive, espe- example, regional markets). Careful followup cially deepwater rice varieties. Many of these surveys and field trials demonstrated that this have been lost forever. approach gave farmers what they really wanted and resulted in higher and more sta- Instead, farmers were forced to plant exotic ble yields due to better crop adaptation and varieties from China that did not grow well in disease resistance. Cambodia. Farmers were relocated from one area to another, often carrying their traditional The nimble response of SOH involved a num- seed with them, which was not necessarily well ber of timely decisions and actions. An inven- suited to their new location. They had no tory of seed holdings within the national pro- backup reserves when the crops they planted gram, ISAR (Institut des Sciences Agrono- did not produce a seed harvest. Farmers 33 miques du Rwanda), was urgently carried out Healing Wounds abandoned fields far from their homes Twelve of those were traditional varieties because of security concerns. Traditional that had been recovered from IRRI's knowledge of cultivation methods and gene bank (Javier 1997). varietal adaptation was lost on a large scale (Javier 1997). CIAP promoted low-impact cultivation methods such as integrated nutrient IRRI held 55 Cambodian rice varieties in management and integrated pest man- its gene bank in 1972. By fortunate coin- agement (Urwin and Wrigley 2001). cidence, IRRI collected another 756 These approaches are also likely to have accessions in 1973, just as the Khmer reduced the damage to biodiversity that Rouge era was getting underway. The would otherwise have occurred had less CIAP (Cambodia-IRRI-Australia Project) careful policies been followed in the team recognized the agrobiodiversity restoration of rice production. For exam- crisis that the Khmer Rouge had perpe- ple, low rates of safer pesticides, applied trated, and worked with the Department on a needs-only basis help prevent the of Agronomy, Provincial Agriculture loss of valuable predatory insects that Offices and NGOs to rescue traditional control insect pest populations. varieties as soon as the security situation Agrobiodiversity allowed. A total of 3846 traditional vari- Safeguarding West Africa's rice eties were collected during the 1989-97 CIAP period (Javier et al. 1999). In addi- WARDA has helped countries rebuild tion, 1097 accessions of wild rice (Oryza their rice agrobiodiversity across Africa. nivara and O. rufipogon) and their Even low-intensity conflict probably had Restoring hybrids and progenies with cultivated major effects on rice agrobiodiversity, rice were collected. These precious col- because it altered social cooperation lections have been repatriated to including seed systems (Richards and and Cambodia, and will benefit the entire Ruivenkamp 1997). WARDA, whose gene rice-consuming world over time. bank holds 28,000 rice accessions, rec- ognizes the chronic nature of this threat A 2001 review investigated the biodiver- and takes a `preventive germplasm col- sity impacts of the IRRI-led CIAP lection' approach. Data characterizing Cambodia rehabilitation project (Urwin the collection sites is compiled in a geo- and Wrigley 2001). In the course of the graphical information systems (GIS) Safeguarding rebuilding effort, CIAP tapped IRRI's database to aid in restoring traditional gene bank to restore what native biodi- varieties to their locations of origin as versity it could. soon as possible. CIAP released a number of varieties par- From 1994 to 2002, about 10,000 rice ticularly suited to the country's different varieties were restored in West Africa rice-growing environments, which range (Liberia and Sierra Leone). In 2002, over from the well-drained uplands through 3500 rice varieties/lines were sent to various levels of water depth, controlled Burundi, the Democratic Republic of and uncontrolled, and including deep- Congo, Mozambique and Rwanda. In water ecosystems. Over its course of Côte d'Ivoire, about a thousand culti- work, CIAP recommended 32 different vars were collected in the year 2000 in rice varieties for formal seed multiplica- an area that was later engulfed in civil 34 tion and use by Cambodian farmers. war. Safeguarding and Restoring Agrobiodiversity Somalia's seed lifeline Guarding the cradle Despite the difficult political situation in The Fertile Crescent zone of the Near East is Somalia, people have to continue with life. often called `the cradle of civilization', where ICRISAT has been working with the Somali many crops are believed to have been first Agriculture Technical Group (SATG), an associ- domesticated. They continue today to be a ation of Somali professionals and friends of strategic source of agro-biodiversity for many Somalia that strives to preserve the country's of the crops that humanity depends on. Crops global resource of knowledge and expertise. originating in the Fertile Crescent provide An electronic forum has identified the about 38% of the human diet globally, espe- improved sorghum and mung bean varieties cially for the temperate latitudes. Their wild rel- that were recommended by researchers and atives and land races are of enormous impor- adopted by farmers in the 1980s before the tance as a genetic resource. disruption caused by the civil war. These vari- eties are now being repatriated by SATG and Turmoil and conflict, high population growth ICRISAT through a wide range of development rates, limited arable land resources, droughts partners, notably CARE International. and intensive grazing pressures combine to create grave risks to agrobiodiversity in this Afghanistan's gene bank looted zone. A GEF/UNDP-funded project is acceler- ating work to conserve agro-biodiversity in Scientists reported in 2002 that looters West Asia. It is jointly coordinated by ICARDA, destroyed Afghanistan's largest crop collec- IPGRI and the Arab Centre for Studies of the tion. The collections were stored in plastic jars Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD). and hidden in houses in the northern city of Ghazni and the eastern city of Jalalabad. Begun in 1999, the project is implemented in Ironically, the looters took only the plastic con- Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority tainers and left the seed behind, reported Dr and Syria. It seeks sustainable ways to con- Nasrat Wassimi, Executive Manager of the serve land races and wild relatives of species ICARDA Office in Kabul, and Coordinator of of global significance originating from this the Future Harvest Consortium to Rebuild area including wheat, barley, lentil, onion, sev- Agriculture in Afghanistan. eral annual forage legumes, olive, fig, pista- The looters destroyed hundreds of samples of Afghanistan's rich agro-biodiversity heritage. These included samples of wheat, barley, chickpea, lentil, melons, pistachio, almond, pomegranate, other fruits, and pasture crops. Many of the seed samples were of traditional farmer-varieties, bred over generations to prosper under local conditions, and tailored to the tastes of Afghan consumers. Responding to this emergency, ICARDA, ICRISAT and CIM- MYT multiplied seed of several crop species, collected from Afghanistan in the past and saved in their gene banks, and repatriated it to Afghanistan. 35 Overgrazed rangeland in Hebron, Palestinian Territories. Photo: ICARDA Healing Wounds chio, plum, and almond. In the past four genetic resource accessions to ICARDA years, the project has been able to in the 1990s for backup safekeeping in its assess the status of local agrobiodiversity gene bank. The number of accessions of and the factors leading to its degrada- Iraqi origin held in major gene banks out- tion, and has demonstrated technologi- side Iraq is limited; the largest collection cal options for its preservation. is at the USDA (1,113 accessions). The project targets especially troubled ICARDA holds 1,003 accessions spanning areas in Palestine (Jenin and Al-Khalil) fifteen species and wild relatives. There where its activities are carried out by the are 403 accessions in the N. I. Vavilov Ministry of Agriculture and the UNDP Scientific Research Institute of Plant Programme of Assistance to Palestinian Genetic Resources in Russia. ICARDA has People (UNDP/PAPP). The project has made three joint collection missions to helped in drafting national policy and Iraq over the last decade, and had re- legislation for agrobiodiversity conserva- supplied 1,501 accessions to Iraq for use tion and is working with the Ministry of in its crop improvement programs Education to include biodiversity conser- (ICARDA 2003b, p.28). vation in the school curriculum (ICARDA Agrobiodiversity 2002a). Safeguarding Vavilov's legacy In 2002 the project distributed more than With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 60,000 thyme (Thyme vulgaris), 6,000 1991, its scientific institutions were thrust Salvia (Salvia divinorum), and 12,000 into crisis. One of the priceless jewels was Restoring chamomile (Chamemilum nobile; the Vavilov Institute, known to every Matricaria recutita)seedlings to about plant breeder as the world's first gene 120 women farmers. In addition, over bank, and one of the most extensive and 1,200 seedlings of fruit trees were distrib- and valuable. The Vavilov Institute holds uted in Sa'eer and Daheria. The project 380,000 accessions of 2,500 species in 19 also established nurseries of important experiment stations, six of them located indigenous tree varieties that are toler- outside of Russia. ant to water stress, early-maturing, and economically profitable. These include One important station, known as the local land race varieties of olives, figs, Central Asian Branch of the All-Union Safeguarding almonds, and apricots as well as a Research Institute of Plant Industry (CAB- promising peach variety from Texas. VIR) is located near Botanica in the Through the project, ICARDA repatriated Kibrai district of Tashkent Region. It has 1,006 accessions of Aegilops, barley, been a focal point for collecting and durum wheat, primitive wheat, wild safeguarding germplasm in the Central Hordeum and wild Triticum to Palestine Asian region since 1965. for rebuilding their gene bank and for use in breeding. In 1988, ICARDA and CAB-VIR estab- lished a partnership that fostered Iraq also lies within the Fertile Crescent germplasm and scientific exchanges. and has been a long-time research part- Following Uzbekistan's independence in ner of ICARDA. Fearing the possibility of 1991, this Branch was renamed as the war, which did take place in 1991, Iraq's Uzbek Research Institute of Plant Industry 36 national program provided hundreds of (UzRIPI). The newly-independent country Safeguarding and Restoring Agrobiodiversity lacked the resources to adequately support to regenerate more than 10,500 accessions to this priceless gene bank; the world was in dan- date. Many of these no longer exist in farmers' ger of losing an irreplaceable resource. fields, so LAMP rescued them from extinction. Storage facilities, records, and the viability of Their traits have been characterized and seed plant accessions were deteriorating rapidly. is available to the world. Duplicates of 7,000 collections are being conserved in CIMMYT's ICARDA helped UzRIPI computerize its data, gene bank and at the US National Center for which had previously all been hand-written. It Genetic Resources Preservation. Born out of co-organized (with IPGRI) a regional training emergency, LAMP was so successful that it course on conservation and use of plant continues to function even today. genetic resources, emphasizing documenta- tion skills. UzRIPI's current collection of over Adding value to biodiversity 35,000 accessions is much safer now as a result Poverty can force people to exploit biodiversi- of improved documentation (Khalikulov et al. ty to meet their immediate needs rather than 2000). protect it for the longer term. In other cases they may recognize no value from biodiversity ICARDA and UzRIPI also carried out joint col- and it may vanish from neglect, e.g. due to lecting missions and evaluation of the new habitat loss. The CGIAR Centers are finding materials. ICARDA helped UzRIPI design ways to create value from the sustainable upgrades of its seed storage facilities for management of biodiversity, so that commu- longer, safer storage. And ICARDA is leverag- nities will care for these precious resources for ing this relationship to broaden its collabora- the longer term. tion on genetic resources conservation with other nearby countries (Street and Lifting the Solomon Islands Bounejmate 2000). The Solomon Islands have been deeply trou- Recovering from the lost decade bled by ethnic conflict in recent years. The people of Guadalcanal resented settlers from During the 1980s, economic woes thrust many one of the other major provinces, the island of Latin American countries into recession and Malaita, who they saw as taking land and jobs stagnation, contributing to unrest and conflict. from them. Fighting broke out in 1998 on It became difficult for governments to ade- Guadalcanal; about 20,000 people had to quately support their national gene banks. flee their homes and return to Malaita. Maize originated in Latin America, and vital maize land races throughout the region were Thanks to the intervention of the Regional at risk. Seed was losing its viability; duplication Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), of gene bank holdings was difficult to afford, spearheaded by Australia and New Zealand, so there was little insurance against cata- peace, hope and business confidence are strophic losses. In 1992, CIMMYT helped to rem- returning to Solomon Islands. The challenge, edy this situation by collaborating with gene however, is to create new livelihoods through- banks in 13 countries of Latin America to out the country, otherwise the civil unrest and regenerate and share thousands of endan- insurgency may re-ignite. Through support gered maize seed collections. from ACIAR, CIDA, the EU, NZAID and the Overseas Fishery Cooperation Foundation of The Latin America Maize Project (LAMP), which Japan, the WorldFish Center has been devel- drew on support from USAID, USDA, and the oping small-scale aquatic enterprises that can private sector has enabled member countries 37 help the poor lift themselves out of poverty. Healing Wounds Farming black pearls is the second most nology for catching and growing the important source of foreign exchange in blacklip pearl oyster from Polynesia to French Polynesia and Cook Islands, a Solomon Islands. WorldFish has also oper- US$200 million per annum industry in ated a demonstration pearl farm to French Polynesia. Over the past nine show that high quality black pearls can years, WorldFish has transferred the tech- be produced in Solomon Islands at costs far lower than else- where in the region. The estab- lishment of just one major pearl farm in the Western Province of Solomon Islands is expected to pro- vide annual incomes of US$2,000 for at Agrobiodiversity least 100 house- holds. The tropical marine aquarium trade is a Restoring US$300 million per annum industry providing income and for thousands of coastal dwellers across Asia, the Pacific and the Caribbean. Most of the colorful fish and invertebrate Safeguarding species are collect- ed from coral reefs. Environmental groups are lobby- ing consumers to only buy fish from suppliers that use responsible prac- tices, or who cul- ture fish rather than collect them from reefs. 38 Pearl farming--a promising new livelihood option in Solomon Islands. Photo: Mike McCoy Safeguarding and Restoring Agrobiodiversity WorldFish has been working with the Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources in the Solomon Islands to find remunerative yet sustainable options to help the islanders bene- fit from their coral reef biodiversity. They have developed methods for sustainably farming giant clams and corals, and for the sustain- able capture and culture of postlarvae of valuable aquarium fish and crustaceans for the aquarium trade. These methods provide farmers with more options and solidify their position at the high-value end of the interna- tional aquarium market, where consumers are willing to pay for environmentally responsible products. As villagers come to see the eco- nomic value of their biodiversity, they will be more motivated to protect and sustain it. WorldFish is also working with local communi- ties to add value to wild harvests of sea cucumbers, and to alert them to the dangers of overfishing. During the ethnic tension, when distribution networks for cocoa and copra were dismantled, collection of sea cucumbers, a commodity that can fetch a wholesale Village-based giant clam farming in price of more than US$70 per kilo, was the only Solomon Islands for the marine aquarium source of income for many coastal communi- trade. Photo: Mike McCoy ties. The cultivation of marine crus- taceans can provide the poor with a remunerative income. Photo: Cathy Hair 39 Coral farming in Solomon Islands, a new income-earning opportunity for villages to supply an environmentally-friendly product. Photo: Jane Harris Healing Wounds However, sea cucumbers are easy to harvest and stocks have been over- exploited. Also, in their desperation for cash, villagers do not always process sea cucumbers in ways that maximize their value. WorldFish is helping communities identify other livelihood options to allow stocks of sea cucumbers to recover to more productive levels; developing sus- tainable harvest practices such as catch limits; and training villagers in better pro- cessing methods so that they obtain higher prices. Alternatives to poppy in Afghanistan Following the departure of the Taliban Agrobiodiversity regime, poppy production in Afghanistan has rebounded to levels that re-establish the country as a leading producer of opium for the illegal drug trade. Poppy earns approximately eight Restoring times more income than wheat per unit Sea cucumbers are marine animals belonging to and the phylum Echinodermata, which also encom- passes sea urchins and sea stars. Many species of sea cucumbers are processed and traded as `beche-de-mer' (dried body wall). They are a major source of food and income throughout the Indo-Pacific. Photos: J-F Hamel & A Mercier (SEVE) Safeguarding 40 Safeguarding and Restoring Agrobiodiversity land area. Farmers grow poppy to offset debt A new initiative is being launched to build incurred by drought-inflicted losses of other partnerships all along the `market chain' for crops. The high value of poppy allows farmers, high-value export crops that fit Afghanistan's particularly returning refugees, to raise capital competitive advantages. The Western to buy livestock and other inputs. If farmers Afghanistan Agribusiness Program (WAAP), a have other ways to support their families, a joint effort of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), transition out of poppy might be possible. ICRISAT and CIAT, funded through USAID's Rehabilitation of the Agricultural Markets Expanded production of fruits, nuts, vegeta- Program (RAMP), aims to help small farmers in bles, food legumes, forages and feed grains Herat Province ease their poverty without hav- can enhance farmer incomes in Afghanistan ing to resort to poppy cultivation. WAAP is ini- and support food, dairy, meat and hide indus- tially focusing on saffron and cumin. In the first tries. These alternative crops can create addi- year, gains in economies of scale and collec- tional employment and market opportunities tive marketing are projected to increase farm that the staple grain commodities are unable incomes by about 25%. to provide. In the second year, additional gains by con- Fruits and nuts hold considerable potential for necting more effectively to export markets improving the nutrition and incomes of farm should rise to about 100% over what farmers households, and could provide an alternative are currently receiving from local traders. to poppy cultivation. Efforts are underway Based on what is learned, more crops will be through the Future Harvest Consortium to added in the future. restore grape, fig, olive, pomegranate, almond, mulberry, apricot, peach, orange, lemon, and walnut cultivation. Afghanistan's gene bank is being restored and local varieties are being evaluated. Afghanistan is the country of origin for over 60 varieties of almonds. There may be consider- able value in protecting and developing these unique almond varieties for international markets. Vegetable seed production at the six agricul- tural research stations rehabilitated by ICARDA and Future Harvest Consortium partners includes carrots, onions, turnips, tomatoes, and okra. The grain and legume crops at these sta- tions include barley, new wheat varieties, faba bean, chickpea, and mung bean. Improved potato varieties and production practices being introduced by CIP are an important addition to the Afghan agricultural scene. 41 Badakshan farmer extracts resin from poppies. Economic alter- natives are being explored to replace poppy. Photo: ICARDA Chapter 5 Rebuilding Human and Institutional Capacities Rarely have so many opportunities and dangers been bound up in a single moment...Lasting peace and security depend on development that eliminates great disparities and great hardships, that binds societies together, and offers hope for the future. --James Gustave Speth, UNDP, 1994 H uman capacities take time to build, but Restoring the knowledge and the need for skilled agriculturalists is expertise base even more urgent in the aftermath of disasters or conflicts. In crises situations caused Rwanda by conflict and natural disasters, the Centers realized that they needed to quickly re-estab- Tragically, the majority of scientists and techni- lish capacities all the way to the farmer level, cians working in Rwanda's national agricultur- working closely with the private, NGO, and al research organization, ISAR (Institut des government sectors. They had to help save Sciences Agronomiques du Rwanda), were and restore local knowledge, and ensure that either killed or forced to flee the country dur- knowledge flows did not bypass women and ing its genocide and civil war in 1994. A large refugees. They had to keep a continuous numbers of women were left on their own as focus on the immediate bottom line--increas- heads of households, responsible for all the tra- ing food security--while also investing in peo- ditional chores--raising children, fetching fire- ple and institutions for the longer term. wood, cooking--and now, the entire spectrum 42 Rebuilding Rwanda's potato research capacity. Photo: CIP Rebuilding Human and Institutional Capacities of farming as well. In addition to extensive ICRAF focused on the masses of returning looting of facilities and infrastructure, this dev- refugees that were being resettled in commu- astated the accumulated knowledge and nities called `umudugudu' scattered through- expertise base of the country. When the war out the country. It trained students, field tech- ended, a huge, long-term challenge nicians and lead farmers (including women) remained. Newly-recruited staff needed to who had the responsibility to rehabilitate the regain the country's lost expertise and knowl- land. edge, along with the research materials and infrastructure. One of those umudugudu on a steep, eroded hillside in the Gishamvu commune, about 140 Fortunately, more than a decade of partner- kilometers south of the capital, Kigali, serves as ship with CGIAR Centers had built up effective an example. It became home to 60 families, regional research networks that now stepped each allotted only a tiny 30 x 30 meter plot. in to help the country recover (Bururchura et The scene was lifeless, bare and depressing. al. 2002). The Seeds of Hope (SOH) Initiative Wind swept unchecked down the hillside and played a central role in helping Rwanda tap nothing grew but short grass, a sure sign of this reservoir of expertise, materials, and impoverished soils. With ICRAF's help, farmers goodwill. soon began planting trees such as Calliandra calothyrsus, Leucaena diversifolia, Grevillea CGIAR Centers, NARS (National Agricultural robusta and to protect and enhance soils and Research Systems), and the crop commodity provide fodder, firewood, and plant support networks of the Association for Strengthening stakes for beans, a mainstay of the rural diet. Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Women traditionally gather fuelwood across Africa (ASARECA) all contributed to helping Africa so they especially appreciated the fuel- the new Rwandan staff re-start many impor- wood-producing attributes of agroforestry. tant research activities, and initiate new ones Some have also begun cultivating orange, required to rebuild the country. Through SOH lemon, papaya and passion fruit trees to gen- coordination and guidance, new Rwandan erate income, while others are producing avo- researchers gained skills in seed production, cado seedlings for sale. plant breeding, statistics, and methods for conducting socio-economic, on-farm, and Hundreds of Rwandan women have received participatory research, as well as technology training from the Agroforestry Research dissemination. Network for East and Central Africa (AFRENA) through funding from the European Union, ICRAF, for example had been working with learning techniques such as grafting and mix- Rwanda since 1987, but the changes wrought ing manure with soil. Much of the work is done by genocide and war meant it had to start through seven community-based nurseries that almost from scratch again in 1997, reshaping the project helped farmers establish around its priorities and approaches to fit new realities. the country to provide a supply of tree It teamed up with national researchers and seedlings. with NGOs, such as CARE and Trocaire, to launch a collaborative agroforestry program Since human capacity takes a long time to that has provided more than 30 internships. build, many of these support activities contin- WARDA sent a team of scientists to train ued for years after the war ended. These national partners on rice breeding, testing, included follow-through visits to field sites and selection. where the re-established research agenda 43 Healing Wounds was being implemented. The continuity isolated from peers and progress. provided by the CGIAR Centers and Women were especially denied educa- regional research networks has proved tional opportunities. As international agri- vital for reinforcing stability for the longer culture advanced to meet the demands term. of the global marketplace, Afghanistan was left far behind. Afghanistan Now, the central government and its Decades of conflict and stagnation in institutions are struggling to gain the con- Afghanistan devastated the knowledge fidence of the Afghan people. ICARDA and expertise base. Children were sepa- and other partners of the Future Harvest rated from the wisdom of their ancestors; Consortium are upgrading the skills of professionals left to find jobs in other Afghan researchers, including degree countries; and those that remained were training. The immediate focus was to Capacities Institutional and Human Seed training course in Kabul, offered by ICARDA. Photo: ICARDA Rebuilding establish capacities to manage seed systems, identify superior crop varieties, improve soil, water, livestock, rangeland, and integrated pest management, operate and manage research stations, and to improve communications skills. More than 850 Afghan researchers, extension personnel and farmers had been trained by these partners by 2003. 44 Afghanistan's future. Photo: ICARDA Rebuilding Human and Institutional Capacities Restoring effective water management is seen by the Future Harvest Consortium as key to reinvigorating agricultural production in Afghanistan. More than 100 Afghans have already been trained in water management by Cornell University, the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), the Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees (DACAAR) and ICARDA. Candidates recommended by DACAAR will return to Afghanistan to be integrated into the agency's rebuild- ing strategy with an integrated agricul- tural development objective. Practical and theoretical sessions of seed potato production training in Bamyan, Afghanistan, organized by CIP, ICARDA, and Solidarite, a French NGO, in August 2004. Photos: ICARDA Radio broadcast technology is a key tool for disseminating information across the vast, dif- ficult and sometimes danger- ous terrain of Afghanistan. Partly due to the low literacy rate, Afghans depend heavily on radio for information and their connection to other provinces and to the central government. Potato has a special requirement for virus-free propagation. Clean seed is valuable because Through the Future Harvest Consortium and it greatly increases yields. The production of with Afghanistan's Ministry of Agriculture, ICAR- virus-free potato seed can be a business DA communications experts mounted a five- enterprise in itself. Training in virus-free seed day workshop in Kabul on agricultural journal- multiplication has already been conducted for ism. Radio reporters from 13 provinces visited more than 725 Afghans in eight provinces by agricultural research stations and leading CIP. Ministry researchers and agronomists have farms. Journalism, interview and media pro- been trained by CIMMYT at both in-country duction techniques were taught. Participants courses and in Turkey and Mexico. conducted interviews with agricultural experts and edited a three-minute story that was 45 Healing Wounds recorded on CDs. At the conclusion of the workshop, the reporters were pre- sented with 17 broad- cast-ready programs to take back to their home radio stations. The programs, recorded in Dari and Pashto, were entitled "Dialogue in Agriculture." The work- shop was a beginning, not an end; the mentoring relationship con- Capacities tinues to this day. Afghanistan's Minister of Agriculture (above, right) and farmers (left) being interviewed for a weekly farm radio program by a Future Harvest Institutional Consortium communication expert. Photos: ICARDA and Human for International Agricultural Research Iraq (ACIAR), is considering to launch a Iraq is a very different case. It has three-year project (expected to start long had a well-trained cadre of agri- in April 2005) in partnership with cultural scientists, many with Ph.D. ICARDA and the Iraqi Ministry of Rebuilding degrees from Europe and the USA. Agriculture to introduce and promote ICARDA trained over 350 Iraqis since improved varieties of wheat, barley, collaboration began in the late 1970s. and pulse and forage legumes With the chaos of war and the disrup- among farmers in the dryland crop- tion of institutions, this capacity has ping regions of northern Iraq; identify, been scattered and immobilized. develop and promote improved agri- culture systems suited to dryland farm- A program called Agricultural ing in the country; and develop the Education and Development Project capacity of Iraqi scientists to identify AHEAD), funded by USAID, has been and evaluate potentially valuable launched to cover workshops, visiting germplasm and better crop/soil man- scientists and graduate students. agement technologies and promote 46 AusAID, through the Australian Center their adoption by farmers. Rebuilding Human and Institutional Capacities With support from the Economic and Social Eritrea held great promise in the first five years Committee for West Asia of the United Nations after gaining independence from Ethiopia in (ESCWA), ICARDA has created a database of 1993. But another devastating war in 1998 and the expertise of Iraqi nationals around the prolonged drought conditions led to displace- world. Iraqi nationals can register to help ment and food insecurity for nearly two-thirds research and development agencies find of its population. Since the end of the war in them for consultancies and full-time positions 2000, Eritrea has been trying to rebuild its in Iraq. economy and ensure food security for its 3.5 million people. Nile Valley and Red Sea countries Through the NVRSRP, ICARDA is helping Eritrea ICARDA has fostered a longstanding partner- re-establish agricultural research capacity and ship (since 1979) with Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, increase food production. Major areas of col- Sudan, and Yemen through the Nile Valley laboration include disease control in cereals, and Red Sea Regional Program (NVRSRP). The promotion of conducive seed polices, and pioneer investor in NVRSRP was IFAD, later building the capacities of Eritrean scientists. For joined by IDRC, the Government of Egypt, the example, a joint seed security assessment in European Union, Italy and the World Bank. The drought-prone areas conducted by ICARDA Program has delivered major impacts in during 1996-98 led to a project, supported by improving agricultural production and building BMZ/GTZ to raise the efficiency and effective- human capacities for agricultural develop- ness of seed delivery systems for small farmers ment in this troubled zone. in West Asia and North Africa. With DANIDA support, ICARDA is working with Eritrea's Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Sudan were part of an national agricultural research system on an ICARDA-led study on seed security assessment integrated disease management strategy for in drought-prone areas conducted in 1996- cereals. Over the past 20 years, about 90 1998 to find ways to mitigate food insecurity Eritrean scientists have received training at by restoring or maintaining the food produc- ICARDA. tion capacity of farmers in disaster-stricken environments. With DFID support, ICARDA also created valu- able new non-toxic types of grasspea (Lathyrus sativus), known as Gilban in Sudan and Egypt and Guaya in Ethiopia. Grasspea is an extremely hardy legume crop that is often the only edible plant left standing during the frequent droughts and conflicts that ravage the agriculture of this region. It contains a neu- rotoxin that does not cause harm in small quantities, but when eaten as the staple in the diet, as happens under these types of duress, it can cripple adults (especially males) or cause mental retardation and even death in young children. 47 An Eritrean researcher from the Department of Agricultural Research records a farmer's views about new barley varieties. Photo: ICARDA Healing Wounds Most will recall the terrible drought that hit the Horn of Africa in 1984/85 and filled television screens with images of mass starvation. Since that horror, agri- culture in Sudan has improved consider- ably. Working closely with ICARDA to develop and test new cultivars and management practices, the country is now nearly self-sufficient in wheat and has significantly improved its production of faba bean and chickpea. Sudanese researchers studying seed systems. Since 1979, ICARDA has partnered with Photo: ICARDA Sudan's Agricultural Research Capacities Corporation (ARC) in a wide spectrum of human resource development efforts, rebounded quickly even in the face of such as training, development of link- severe infrastructure deficiencies and ages, strengthening of facilities for on- continuing security risks. farm and on-station research, and access to publications. As of 2003, All told, the CIAP project trained more ICARDA had provided training opportu- than 1,600 individuals through approxi- Institutional nities to over 400 researchers from Sudan mately 6,000 training opportunities, in key areas of agricultural research, including 48 B.Sc. and 12 postgraduate and including biotechnology, geographical degrees. The seeds of a new future had information systems and remote sensing, been sown; these trainees generated a biometrics, information technology, and wave of training impact. By 2000, CIAP information management. Policy makers alumni working within the Cambodian Human have also been involved through field Agricultural Research and Development visits and briefings on research results. Institute (CARDI) had provided training events for another 35,000 individuals Cambodia (Raab 2000). Many aid organizations working within Cambodia, such as FAO It would be difficult to imagine a more tapped this new resource to create devastating loss of knowledge and Rebuilding major impacts through their own devel- expertise than what Cambodia experi- opment initiatives. enced under the Khmer Rouge. The educated class was ruthlessly extermi- Timor-Leste nated. Human resources for agricultural research were virtually nonexistent when Similarly in Timor-Leste, the challenge the CIAP project (Cambodia-IRRI- was to build a new government from Australia Project) began. scratch. A priority for the Seeds of Life team was to help develop technical The Australia-supported CIAP project capacities within the new Ministry of addressed these needs through close Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (MAFF). partnerships with NGOs and a practical, They focused on germplasm evaluation, hands-on approach. Farmer resiliency seed production and seed distribution. 48 proved remarkable as rice production Rebuilding Human and Institutional Capacities Nepal's Tuki the grain harvested by members, coordinating its sale in the marketplace to ensure sta- Ten million people in the central mid-hill ble good prices. They also help mem- area of Nepal depend on maize as bers with agronomic and farm man- their staple food crop, but armed agement advice and child educa- insurgency hampers farmers, result- tion. CIMMYT ensures that the Tuki ing in chronic shortages. Access to have access to the best a formal seed sector is difficult, so modern varieties and CIMMYT and the Nepal seed production prac- Agricultural Research Council tices. Tuki seed produc- (NARC) with SDC support have ers receive 50-100% higher been helping farmers' groups prices for seed than they called `Tuki' organize their would for grain, and own seed production. A obtain double or triple third of the Tuki are led the average maize by women. Women do yields in the region. most of the farming in Household incomes the area on plots less and nutrition have than a hectare in size. increased substantial- ly, providing a coun- The Tuki both terbalance against provide the Women play a key role in the the insecurity that sur- seed and buy Tuki of Nepal. Photo: CIMMYT rounds them. Rebuilding research infrastructure These stations are now able to develop, test and multiply seed of new crop varieties for dis- Afghanistan tribution throughout the region. Farmers and While the restoration of human capacities is paramount following disasters and conflicts, people need facilities and materials to work effectively. Afghanistan was virtually devoid of agricultural research and development infra- structure when the Taliban were removed. With financial support from USAID through the Future Harvest Consortium and working with staff from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MOAL), ICARDA and its Consortium partners including FAO, Iranian, Japanese, French and Italian groups have played a lead role in rebuilding six research stations in five Afghan provinces (Kabul, Baghlan, Kunduz, Ruined station in Baghlan Province, Afghanistan. Takhar, and Nangarhar). Photo: ICARDA 49 Healing Wounds seed entrepreneurs visit the stations to select lines best adapted to their needs and learn better management prac- tices. Seed health and testing laboratories are being renovated at each station along with meteorological equipment to pro- vide accurate weather data. According to the Code of Conduct for Seed agreed upon by the Consortium and the Government of Afghanistan, all seed Badam Bagh research station near Kabul before imported into the country must meet (above) and after refurbishing (below). good standards to be certified. The Photos: ICARDA Capacities Badam Bagh station in Kabul is now fully equipped with seed health and quality testing facilities. It will serve as Afghanistan's national seed testing and seed health laboratory. These standards will foster safe national and global exchanges of seed. Institutional Rwanda and In Rwanda, the Seeds of Hope project did not have sufficient financial resources to rebuild much of the agricul- tural infrastructure that had been lost spreading pathogens. This requires care- Human during conflict, but subsequent donor ful phytosanitary procedures using sterile investments greatly assisted the country tissue culture facilities and processes that with this need. SOH was able to help were disrupted by the country's devas- with some of the highest priorities such as tating war. IITA is helping the Democratic the rehabilitation of a tissue culture labo- Republic of Congo re-establish tissue cul- ratory at Ruhengeri, greenhouse facilities ture facilities so it can introduce and Rebuilding at Rubona, and a tree center in multiply improved, disease-free clones. Ruhande, and the purchase of some Seedlings to initiate the multiplication second-hand vehicles and computers. process are being supplied. ICRAF also helped rebuild a tree seed center at Butare, including both equip- Reinvigorating the market ment and staffing. chain Inputs, services and markets are essential Democratic Republic of Congo for a sustainable agricultural economy. Cassava, the Democratic Republic of Across the many rebuilding situations Congo's most important staple crop, is involving the CGIAR Centers, a top vegetatively propagated so disease-free objective has been to get the private 50 planting material must be used to avoid sector moving again--with special Rebuilding Human and Institutional Capacities emphasis on small-scale local entrepreneurism scale seed enterprises. With help from DICTA to ensure equitable, bottom-up development. (Directorate of Agricultural Science and Technology, Honduras) and INTA (Nicaraguan The refurbished agricultural stations in Institute of Agricultural Technology), courses Afghanistan are serving as launching points for were organized for 60 farmers and technicians new village seed enterprises being encour- from 17 collaborating institutions. The techni- aged by the Future Harvest Consortium. The cians in turn trained another 200 people, half seed testing laboratories being built by the of whom were farmers. Consortium are invaluable components to the creation of a commercialized seed potato David Montes Romero, a farmer in Honduras industry. The Consortium members are working said "Now, I know how to treat improved with farmers to develop a certification process seed. And I've already begun sharing what that will be recognized by seed potato pur- I've learned with my community." César chasers nationwide. This will create new mar- Romero, president of the Local Committee for kets for virus-free potato seed and build farmer Sustainable Development in the Watershed of confidence in the crop. the Tascalapa River said, "We no longer think about the present but about the future." He These enterprises will help introduce new crops and other farmers have decided to form a and open new markets, accelerate crop microenterprise for bean and maize seed improvement, facilitate information and tech- production. nology exchanges, and create employment and learning opportunities for Afghan farmers Investing in human capacity is innately an act and rural folk. of optimism, because the payoff is long-term and difficult to precisely forecast. The threat of The tree nurseries established in Rwanda by seeing it all washed away due to disaster and ICRAF/AFRENA (Agroforestry Research Network conflict has not deterred the CGIAR Centers. for East and Central Africa), and those estab- They have remained vigorous and innovative lished by ICARDA/IPGRI/ UNDP/PAPP in the under some very difficult situations. It was not Palestinian Authority (both described in uncommon over the past quarter-century to Chapter 4) have stimulated the emergence of meet scientists training at Centers while their small tree seedling enterprises. A wide range home country had erupted in conflict--in of tree species having different advantages some cases, rescuing them from possible tor- enables these village entrepreneurs to meet ture and death, preserving a safety net for diverse needs, such as fuelwood, plant staking their country's agricultural future. By building material, soil fertility rehabilitation, and food regional and global networks, CGIAR Centers production. have nurtured a form of insurance that has helped countries recover from some of the Seeds of Hope II in Central America also worst nightmares that humankind has developed human capacities to launch small- experienced. 51 Chapter 6 Reducing Vulnerability to Future Conflicts and Disasters Natural hazards will always challenge us. But it is within our power to ensure that poverty does not turn hazards into unmanageable disasters. --Kofi Annan, Secretary General, United Nations, Message on the International Day for Disaster Reduction, 2001 W hen disaster strikes, the immediate reduction management is better approached need for relief takes center stage. Yet through pre-emptive measures--by prevention many are realizing that constantly and preparedness--rather than by managing putting out fires is not the only, or even the the emergency." best way to handle disasters and conflicts. A recent UNEP Workshop (UNEP 2003) engaging In Resolution 58/214 the United Nations predi- African subregional organizations, the United cates its International Strategy for Disaster Nations, other international organizations, and Reduction by emphasizing that "disaster experts in the field concluded that "disaster reduction, including reducing vulnerability to 52 Severe drought stress on maize in southern Africa. Photo: CIMMYT Reducing Vulnerability to Future Conflicts and Disasters natural disasters, is an important element that Rebuilding nations, strengthening contributes to the achievement of sustainable regions development" and "recognizing the urgent need to further develop and make use of the existing scientific and technical knowledge to Regional unity to combat drought and reduce vulnerability to natural disasters, and emphasizing the need for developing coun- promote sustainable development in tries to have access to technology so as to West Asia and North Africa tackle natural disasters effectively" (UN 2004). The West Asia-North Africa region is plagued World Bank policies on disaster and conflict by frequent drought crises (De-Pauw 2002). management now emphasize prevention and Since 1995, IFAD and the Arab Fund for post-disaster recovery (World Bank 2004a, Economic and Social Development have 2004b). USAID's Global Development Alliance helped to integrate this zone in a regional is built on the strategy that connecting poor approach to drought management. The countries with market opportunities can spur Mashreq-Maghreb project led by ICARDA has sustainable development and counteract the taken an integrated approach to the problem hopelessness and instability that lead to including policy, institutional, and technologi- conflict. cal issues. The CGIAR Centers understand how important As part of this initiative, drought preparedness long-term investments in vulnerability reduction in West and North Africa was the subject of an and prevention are. In fact, disaster preven- international conference organized by tion provided the original impetus for the cre- ICARDA and IFPRI in 1998. Participants con- ation of the CGIAR System. Catastrophic cluded that there was a vital need for better famine in South Asia, which many thought information and sharper definition of the most would be inevitable by the early 1970s was vulnerable areas, and for the establishment of averted when India and Pakistan doubled holistic national drought management strate- wheat production between 1966 and 1972. gies and infrastructure. Emphasis was placed This was made possible by planting fertilizer- on the need for early-warning and monitoring responsive, higher-yielding wheat varieties systems, water resource development, diversifi- developed by the Rockefeller/Mexico wheat cation of land use, closer crop-livestock inte- improvement program--the forerunner of the gration, mechanisms for efficient destocking CGIAR. The achievement earned Norman and restocking of animal herds in drought Borlaug a Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 (Hanson emergencies, the judicious allocation of emer- et al. 1982). gency feed, the examination of crop insur- ance options, support to community self-help This chapter describes how the CGIAR Centers measures, and actions to upgrade the earning have helped countries and regions strengthen capacity of low income people both on- and their defenses against the risks of conflict and off-farm. natural disaster; how they are helping the world prepare for the major looming disaster The pain of drought in the region is illustrated of global warming; and how they are applying by the severe North African drought of 1994- strategic science and knowledge manage- 95. It reduced Morocco's agricultural gross ment to pre-empt such catastrophes. domestic product by 45%. In collaboration with the national program of Morocco, ICARDA demonstrated the potential of com- 53 Healing Wounds puter-based crop growth models under Resolving fundamental environmental stress to aid in drought productivity problems in the planning and response (ICARDA 2000). These models helped to identify times for Indo-Gangetic Plain sowing different crops, define strategies A vast swath across the Indo-Gangetic for supplemental irrigation of wheat, Plain of highly-populated South Asia quantify the gap between potential depends on rice and wheat grown in crop yields and those currently achieved rotation for its food supply. This area Disasters by farmers, and analyze environmental includes the troubled border area factors limiting crop production. A cli- between India and Pakistan, where con- and mate database was developed, along tinuing low-level conflict has spread fear with a soil map covering most of the and insecurity. Nepal and Bangladesh agriculturally-productive areas of have also endured their share of con- Morocco. Morocco is now much better flicts and disasters. prepared to combat drought in the Conflicts future. This zone had become a showcase for improved agricultural production, thanks A new future for Afghanistan to the new wheat and rice technologies The CGIAR's assistance to alleviate the introduced during the Green Revolution Future immediate food crisis in Afghanistan has of the 1970s/80s. But in 1990, studies by to already been described. Strategic IRRI and CIMMYT revealed some worri- longer term assistance focuses on build- some findings. Yields were leveling off or ing formal seed systems; soil and water even beginning to decline, suggesting management; livestock, feed, and deterioration in the natural resource rangeland improvement; and horticul- base under such intensive cropping. ture. A central objective is to involve What was the cause, and how could it Afghan partners closely to create owner- be fixed? Vulnerability ship, strengthen their capabilities, and ensure that research priorities and prod- Several CGIAR Centers (ICRISAT, IWMI, ucts are appropriate to farmers' interests and CIP, led by CIMMYT and IRRI) and means. teamed up with these national partners to form the Rice-Wheat Consortium in As in other rehabilitation settings, infor- 1994. Their work was made possible Reducing mation can play a crucial role. Satellite through support from the Asian remote sensing and GIS technology is Development Bank, the government of being applied in Afghanistan by ICARDA The Netherlands, the Department for and Michigan State University, a Future International Development (United Harvest Consortium member, to assist in Kingdom), the International Fund for rangeland management. Landsat and Agricultural Development, the United MODIS images and existing GIS are used States Agency for International to determine and display grass cover, Development, the government of height, and total forage amounts in Japan, and the Australian Centre for grass-dominant rangelands in the coun- International Agricultural Research. try. These maps help farmers direct their herds to optimum pastures and reduce The project is succeeding in finding ways 54 overgrazing. to help farmers implement more sustain- Reducing Vulnerability to Future Conflicts and Disasters able practices. One approach is known as in the NARS (National Agricultural Research `precision farming'--applying inputs only Systems) succeeded more rapidly because of where they are needed, rather than blanket- this steady, long-term approach to develop- ing entire fields with high rates of inputs. A sim- ment. ple leaf color chart is helping farmers deter- mine whether they need to add nitrogen fertil- Assessment of poverty in Mozambique izer, and at what rate. A study found that 175 farmers in India's Haryana State were cutting Mozambique was in turmoil from 1966 to 1992 their fertilizer rates by up to 20%. Controlled- due to its independence struggle and an release and deeply-placed fertilizers have ensuing civil war. It emerged from this long era increased nutrient efficiency by another 30%. of conflict as one of the poorest countries in Reducing rates of input usage also saves big the world. It held its first multi-party elections in money--one of the main attractions that moti- 1994, and the new government realized that vates farmers to change. poverty reduction needed to be at the top of the new agenda. IFPRI was asked to assist the Other land-saving topics under study include Ministry of Planning and Finance and Eduardo salt and water balances; the cultivation of rice Mondlane University to develop Mozambique's on raised beds; weed management in rice- first national poverty assessment and train wheat systems; crop diversification, including Mozambican researchers in policy analysis. potatoes; and the introduction of legume crops into rice-wheat systems. Efforts to The assessment found that almost 70% of improve water use are also paying off. In some Mozambicans lived below the poverty line in cases, water savings of up to 40% have been 1996-97, and were deprived in such vital areas observed. Techniques such as cultivating rice as health, education, and food security (Simler on raised beds are contributing to these et al. 2003). The research concluded that savings. reducing poverty hinges on increasing educa- tional levels, stimulating sustainable economic growth, raising agricultural productivity, Long-term partnership pays off improving rural infrastructure, and reducing in Rwanda the number of dependents in households through family planning. Sometimes the rebuilding of nations is most successful when it begins in advance. These guideposts are invaluable for research Although the Rwandan genocide and civil and development priority-setting in war took the world by surprise, a decade of Mozambique. They also provide valuable prior CGIAR and partner investment made a guidance for national policy development. By quick rebound possible (Buruchara et al. identifying the problems and priorities first, 2002). Through the Seeds of Hope project, this Mozambique has increased the likelihood and prior experience was quickly galvanized. speed of a successful recovery. CGIAR and regional network scientists knew about crop agrobiodiversity sources that Building a new Cambodia Rwandan farmers valued, and where to find replacement seed when needed. Regional The CIAP (Cambodia-IRRI-Australia Project) networks held the knowledge base acquired team knew it had to invest in rebuilding the over years on germplasm characteristics, and knowledge base of Cambodian agriculture were able to quickly restore it to the battered before it could design appropriate interven- country. The restoration of human capacities tions. That knowledge base had been virtually 55 Healing Wounds destroyed in the Khmer Rouge years. with training workshops. It became an CIAP launched a number of baseline sur- important tool used by NGO and gov- veys and economic assessments. It also ernment technical staff in assessing rice developed frameworks for farmer partic- soils and problems across the country, ipation in gathering traditional knowl- and a reference point for estimating the edge before it was permanently lost likely types and amounts of soil fertility- (Raab 2000). This inclusive approach to enhancing amendments that would be the recovery and growth of national most effective in a particular location. Disasters `knowledge capital' was a farsighted investment. Similar efforts built invaluable knowledge and and expertise in integrated pest man- This effort quickly paid dividends. When agement. CIAP studies established base- fertilizer aid to Cambodia from Eastern line data and developed means of European countries stopped in 1990 with communicating with farmers to under- the fall of the Soviet Union, the new set stand their practices and their pest con- Conflicts of Western donors came to CIAP to ask straints (Jahn et al. 1999). By their nature, for guidance in the types and amounts pest outbreaks tend to be unpredictable of fertilizer to provide to the country in countries that lack sufficient monitor- (Norris 2001). CIAP filled this crucial need ing skills and tools. CIAP developed Future at just the right time through technical those tools and trained NGO and farmer advice to FAO which was coordinating practitioners, resulting in more effective to fertilizer imports. By 1996, the country was control actions and avoiding dangerous- strong enough that private sector fertiliz- ly inappropriate pesticides. er dealers were filling this need. Community action is often needed since But the researchers did not stop there. pest outbreaks need collective action to They realized that accurate soil nutrient bring them under control, so this was a information was critical for economically special focus of the socio-economic Vulnerability efficient rice farming, yet there was no team of CIAP. Major cases included the systematic information available on control of rats (Cox and Mak 1999), rice Cambodian soil nutrient status. So they bug, and army worm outbreaks (Norris launched a major survey of the nutrient 2001). CIAP also helped guide govern- management practices of 1,730 house- ment policy on the control of dangerous Reducing holds across the country in 1993. It was and unnecessary pesticide imports. followed up by a national workshop in 1995 to devise a new system for classify- Perhaps CIAP's most visible legacy will ing rice soils in Cambodia. Broad partici- be its success in establishing institutional pation was encouraged, including NGO capacity at the national level. It helped staff as well as soil scientists, agronomists, create the Cambodian Agricultural land surveyors and other relevant Research and Development Institute experts. (CARDI), inaugurated in November 2000. CARDI has developed into a first-class The resultant Cambodian Agronomic Soil facility well-staffed by competent and Classification was a landmark achieve- motivated scientists trained largely ment that was widely disseminated through CIAP. through publications and followed up 56 Reducing Vulnerability to Future Conflicts and Disasters In addition to government institution-building, altered distribution could be one of the first CIAP helped non-governmental organizations. indicators that global warming is taking hold. While the government sector was being rebuilt, much of the agricultural extension load Climate change will favor invaders over native was carried by NGOs ­ estimated at 45% of species. Pests vulnerable to high temperatures total technical assistance in 1997 (Norris 2001). may decline in numbers or move to higher lati- NGOs tend to have only local scope and tudes or altitudes. There could be population short-term development goals, though. CIAP explosions in species that respond to higher reinforced them with a broad blanket of train- rainfall or drought by increasing their feeding ing, information, and technical support. NGOs and/or breeding behavior. New biotypes and in turn provided CIAP with an `ear to the species could evolve. Some bio-insecticides ground', feeding back insights from farmer cannot tolerate increases in temperature and experiences at remote locations all over the ultra-violet radiation. Some natural control country. mechanisms could "decouple" as the popula- tions of pests and predators react differently to Rice production has already increased by 70% changes in rainfall and temperature. Changes since the start of the CIAP program. Now agri- in the populations of insect vectors of plant culture is diversifying, and living conditions are viral diseases may alter disease incidence. improving steadily. The rice surpluses since Climate could also induce changes in the inci- 1995 have been sustained, even allowing the dence of fungal diseases. start of a small export trade. This wide range of risks implies a need to Adapting crops to global improve capabilities for detection of early signs of changes in pest pressure. More effec- warming tive communication with farmers is needed so The looming threat of global warming can researchers can learn from farmers' observa- have unprecedented effects on agriculture. tions on their crops--and both parties can This is a major disaster in the making, unless work together to handle problems as they steps are taken to prepare for it and reduce arise. vulnerability. Since new technologies may take a decade or more to be developed, test- In a case that might be an example of what ed and reach the farm, the time to invest in to expect from global warming, CIP studied research is now. A wide range of research the causes behind the drastic decline in yield related to this imperative is underway across of sweetpotato in Peru's Cañete Valley follow- the CGIAR Centers. Some selected examples ing the El Niño weather phenomenon of illustrate the kinds of approaches being tried, 1997/98. Temperatures increased by 3 to 5 and their potential. degrees while torrential downpours ravaged areas that had suffered from drought for more What are the flies telling us? than a decade, causing an outbreak of harm- ful pests and diseases such as late blight. Predictions of how global warming will affect integrated pest management are fraught with One striking development was the spread of a uncertainty as might be expected. Yet scien- more aggressive biotype of the whitefly, tists agree that the current balance of insect Bemisia tabaci. According to farmers, it populations is almost certain to be upset. arrived during the El Niño year when the cli- Some insects react strongly to relatively small mate in this area was hotter and drier than changes in temperature and rainfall. Their 57 usual. But instead of disappearing when the Healing Wounds weather reverted to normal, the pest Improving the use of scarce water apparently adapted to its new environ- ment, where it is now inflicting severe In poor rainfed areas likely to increasing- damage. Even worse, another whitefly ly suffer from drought due to global species, B. afer, had also arrived in the warming, farmers will need to use the valley. This species is even more aggres- limited amounts of water that are avail- sive than B. tabaci and is normally able more efficiently than ever before. restricted to the hotter, drier climates of More water will need to be channeled Disasters Africa; it had never been reported through the plant rather than lost as before in the Americas. runoff or percolate down past the root zone. CGIAR Center research has shown and Models to predict change that improving soil physical and nutrient conditions can remarkably increase Models are powerful tools for analyzing water harvesting and storage in the soil, the effects of drought and the potential and make it more accessible by plants. effects of climate change. They are Conflicts being developed in several CGIAR For example, research at ICARDA and Centers to help anticipate the effects of ICRISAT has shown that many sub-tropi- variables such as climate, management cal and tropical dryland soils are phos- choices, and policy interventions. A Future phorus-deficient. Correcting this defi- process-based model for interpolating ciency by adding P fertilizer stimulates to weather data in highland terrains, for root growth, which helps the plants to example, has been created by CIP using exploit subsoil moisture reserves. It also data collected in Peru. A powerful inte- hastens crop maturity, avoiding late-sea- grated assessment tool known as the son drought. Both yield and yield stability Tradeoff Decision Support System pro- are greatly improved. vides a framework for assessing interde- pendencies in diverse areas, including Plant breeding for drought Vulnerability crop and livestock production, soil pro- ductivity, water quality, and human resistance health. The Tradeoff DSS assists politi- The impact of a current prolonged cians, agricultural and environmental drought in southern Africa may be a research planners, and development taste of an unwelcome future. Southern specialists in decision- and policy- Reducing Africa has been in the grip of a tena- making. cious drought over the past several years. The subregion is highly dependent Joint modeling efforts by CIAT and ILRI on maize for food, but maize requires suggest a potential 10% decline in maize ample moisture for good production. production in developing countries due to global warming in the coming 50 Breeding research is making significant years if no preventative or coping steps advances in increasing the drought tol- are taken. In southern Africa, CIMMYT erance of maize, particularly by reduc- coordinates the Risk Management ing the anthesis-silking interval so that Project, which combines crop modeling more seeds are able to successfully polli- with participatory on-farm trial results to nate despite drought stress (Bänziger et help farmers learn how to deal with vari- al. 2000). This will reduce the risk of maize 58 able rainfall over years and locations. cultivation in areas where moisture is lim- Reducing Vulnerability to Future Conflicts and Disasters iting for the crop. Yields are reduced under drought stress but the new vari- eties show a 30-50% advantage over previously-grown varieties. In the excitement over this accelerat- ing impact, though, it is often forgot- ten that this breakthrough required more than 20 years of drought research by CIMMYT. This is yet anoth- er example of the counter-intuitive but Left: Maize ears produced under drough stress in south- important lesson that many emergen- ern Africa. Right: Ears of new drought-tolerant maize cies are best handled through long- varieties are larger and have more grains reflecting bet- term investments in research and ter pollination. Photo: CIMMYT development. water-efficient plants, and its association with More than 50 development agencies are molecular markers could lead to more effi- accelerating the testing and distribution of the cient selection for drought-adaptive features new varieties as part of the Southern African in durum wheat (Nachit 1998). Drought and Low Soil Fertility Project. Cooperating organizations include the Breeders will break through species barriers in German Agency for Technical Cooperation, search of drought tolerance genes (Sorrells et GTZ, which has decided to supply farmers al. 2000). Recent advances in GIS and satellite exclusively with seed tested under project aus- remote sensing have made it possible to asso- pices. The initiative is funded by the Swiss ciate the distribution of wild relatives of plants Agency for Development and Cooperation with their local climatic environment to spot (SDC), the Rockefeller Foundation, and the US likely sources of such genes. In one such case, Agency for International Development data on 67 climatic and four soil variables (USAID). By early 2004 the new varieties were generated for 391 germplasm collection sites being grown on an estimated 250,000 ha in in Syria successfully identified wild relatives of southern Africa and 32,000 ha in eastern wheat adapted to drought (Valkoun 2002). Africa. Wide crosses will move such genes into culti- In a similar vein, collaboration with Sudan and vated crop gene pools. Crosses with goat other countries involved in the Nile Valley and grass, a wild relative of wheat, have for exam- Red Sea Regional Program, ICARDA has ple endowed new CIMMYT varieties with established a Thermo-Tolerance Network to important drought tolerance traits. The new enhance wheat productivity by improving its varieties have exhibited up to a 30% yield adaptation to high temperatures. advantage under drought in two years' tests so far. They have spreading leaves that Breeders will need to apply `new science' to reduce evaporation of water from the soil sur- adapt crops to changing climatic conditions. face so that more of the scanty moisture Drought tolerance will be one of the most remains available to the plant. Seedlings of important traits. For example, carbon isotope these varieties can also be planted deeper discrimination may be able to identify more where there is more moisture, because they have greater vigor to push their way up 59 through a thicker soil layer. Healing Wounds Government of Italy, OPEC Fund and the World Bank; and sustained through the core contributions of the CGIAR Members. Biotechnology will make it possible to move drought tolerance genes across widely-separated species. Several Disasters Centers are attempting to transfer the A drought-tolerant barley developed at ICARDA DREB gene from the Arabidopsis plant yielded more than 500 kg/ha under 200 mm and annual rainfall at a dry site in Syria in 1999 and into their mandate crops. The DREB 2000, when other barley varieties completely gene, provided by JIRCAS (Japan failed. Photo: ICARDA International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences), appears to ICARDA, jointly with Syrian farmers, has increase tolerance to drought, salinity, developed an extremely drought-hardy Conflicts and freezing in some plant species. barley line from a cross between a land race and a wild barley (Hordeum spon- Knowledge pays off taneum) line from Palestine (Ceccarelli et al. 2004). It yielded over 500 kilograms CGIAR Centers invest heavily in adding Future per hectare in each of the severe to the world's store of knowledge in to drought years 1999 and 2000 while local- ways that may only pay off many years ly-grown varieties failed to yield any- into the future. But when it pays, it pays thing. This was one of the driest periods well. And sometimes the payoff comes in the zone in many decades, and might sooner than expected. be a harbinger of things to come if glob- al warming induces climatic change. Geographical information systems (GIS), for example, are vital modern tools for Vulnerability To poor farmers in this zone, harvesting plotting the geographic distribution of 500 kilos means not being important agricultural parame- forced to sell off the fami- ters such as crops, weather, ly's livestock or not hav- markets, roads, and many ing to leave farming other pertinent charac- altogether. Farmers' teristics. This requires Reducing observations of years of painstaking locally-specific data collection and adaptation to analysis. drought were key to identifying The CIAT scientists these super- who constructed a hardy lines. GIS map for Central ICARDA's farmer- America could not participatory have imagined how approach was cat- valuable it would alyzed by support from become when disaster BMZ/GTZ, IDRC of struck. Developed over 4 60 Canada, DANIDA, the years with support from the The Mitch Atlas guided relief efforts following Central America's `Hurricane of the Century'. Photo: CIAT Reducing Vulnerability to Future Conflicts and Disasters Swiss Agency for Development and and the potential impacts of the solution. Cooperation (SDC) and the Netherlands' Scientists from the University of Michigan (USA) Ecoregional Fund to Support Methodological and CIP estimated that some 50 million chil- Initiatives, it was perhaps the most compre- dren under the age of six stood to benefit. In hensive biophysical and socioeconomic data- conflict-prone countries such as Rwanda, base on Honduras ever compiled. Its formal Burundi, and Uganda--where sweetpotato release, accompanied by a training workshop, production is already high--85 to 95% of the was in October 1998, just 3 weeks before population most in need would receive the Hurricane Mitch--the Storm of the Century-- "full impact" level of 40% of the recommend- struck. ed daily allowance. Even in countries such as Ethiopia, which is not a major sweetpotato The database proved invaluable in helping producer, about 30% of the at-risk population aid agencies gather and integrate information would enjoy partial benefits. to guide emergency measures. Within a week the GIS data had been matched with satellite Conventional wisdom held that African con- images of the devastation. Other key informa- sumers would not accept orange-fleshed tion was quickly added, such as the geo- sweetpotato because of its relative moistness graphical distribution of important crops, the and sweetness compared to the drier, white- location of key public and private institutions, fleshed types that they were used to. But a and the sites of major drinking water sources. study conducted by researchers from CIP and This created a series of maps that emergency from the International Center for Research on workers used to target their assistance. For Women (ICRW), a VITAA partner, demonstrat- example, the Atlas ensured that the most ed that African women readily accepted needy farmers received seed aid of the right orange-fleshed varieties if they were sufficient- crop varieties for their local areas. ly high in starch and low in fiber, and when they were introduced through community- Attacking malnutrition at its roots level education programs focusing on the health of young children. Public health agencies have in the past often addressed vitamin A deficiency by providing Orange-fleshed sweetpotato is high in beta children with capsules of supplementary vita- carotene. The body uses beta carotene to min A. The strategy has helped millions but, for synthesize vitamin A. Questions have been financial and logistical reasons, cannot reach raised, though, about the efficiency of this everyone, especially the most marginalized conversion and stability during cooking. and isolated poor. These programs are often Efficacy studies are being carried out by South interrupted when conflict or disaster strikes. Africa's Medical and Agricultural Research Refugees crowded into camps for the dis- Councils (MRC-ARC) in coordination with the placed usually cannot access a diverse range University of Wisconsin and CIP. In the first of foods necessary for good nutrition, as for study, involving primary school students in a example in northern Uganda as discussed in rural area of KwaZulu-Natal Province, daily Chapter 3. This is why CIP is working on the consumption of 125 grams of boiled sweet- long-term challenge of increasing the vitamin potato contributed nearly 250% of the recom- A content of sweetpotato through its Vitamin mended daily allowance of vitamin A for 4- to A for Africa (VITAA) Partnership. 8-year-old children (van Jaarsveld et al. 2003a). In a complementary retention study, To succeed, VITAA had to develop an under- MRC-ARC researchers demonstrated that 61 standing of the magnitude of the problem, sweetpotato retained 70 to 90% of its beta- Healing Wounds Disasters and Conflicts Future to Based on current sweetpotato consumption levels, this map shows the large areas in Africa that could potentially receive a major part of their daily Vitamin A requirement by consuming orange-fleshed varieties high in pro-vitamin A. Photo: CIP Vulnerability carotene when boiled (van Jaarsveld et competitors on the Kampala market al. 2003b). and is in high demand. Researchers working for the commercial feed com- To be sustainable, orange-fleshed sweet- panies UGACHICK and NUVITA in potato must attract the interest of rural Uganda conducted studies to determine Reducing agro-enterprises so that inputs, markets the value of orange-fleshed sweetpota- and other necessary supplies and servic- to in commercial animal feeds. es become available. VITAA partner organizations are involved in commer- The VITAA case is a particularly com- cializing the new varieties towards this pelling example of a growing range of end. In 2002, VITAA's initiative led to the `biofortification' research being con- release of a highly nutritious porridge by ducted across the CGIAR Centers. A the Maganjo Millers, a local food proces- new cross-Center Challenge Programme sor. The new high-protein, high-beta- focused on the topic will pool resources carotene product, known as Nutri- and share expertise across crops. This Porridge, is made from a combination of long-term approach will no doubt pay orange-fleshed sweetpotato, maize, and off in many a future emergency 62 peanuts. It is reportedly outselling all of its situation. Reducing Vulnerability to Future Conflicts and Disasters Fighting Drought-Related Paralysis vested the first grass pea lines that can be in Ethiopia eaten without fear of paralysis. This was accomplished by crossing grass pea from the Although the drought-caused famine of 1984- Middle East--many of which have naturally 85 in Ethiopia remains well known, the country low toxin levels (average about 0.1% )--with has suffered less serious but significant African and Asian varieties. The new ICARDA droughts in 1987, 1988, 1991-92, 1993-94, 1999, hybrids contain between 0.02% and 0.04% of and 2002. When neurotoxin, and are drought hits, all crops perfectly safe for fail except one--grass human consumption. pea (Lathyrus sativus). To accomplish The survival of the that objective, the sci- poor, therefore, entists used a tech- depends on this crop. nique known as While harmless to somaclonal variation humans in small to force the plant to quantities, a steady mutate and to diet of grass pea express genes that seeds over about a A victim of lathyrism in Ethiopia. were formerly dor- three-month period Photo: ICARDA mant. Among these can cause a neuro- dormant genes were logical disorder that frequently results in irre- the genetic codes that controlled the plant's versible paralysis of the leg muscles. This is neurotoxins. ICARDA's improved grass pea because the grass pea seeds, although tasty lines produce 1.5 tons of seed per hectare and rich in protein, contain a neurotoxin even with less than 200 mm (8 inches) of called -N-oxalyl-L--B-diaminopropionic acid rainfall. (B-ODAP). The disorder caused by this neuro- ICARDA scientists are now training toxin has several names, including paraparesis, researchers from Ethiopia and other affected lathyrism, and neurolathyrism. Under certain areas to develop locally adapted selections conditions, eating grass pea can lead to retar- and to begin seed production of the dation and death in young children. The improved varieties. African grass pea types contain 0.7% or more Funding for ICARDA's grass pea of this neurotoxin, much higher than the safe research was provided by DFID. levels (below 0.2%) for human consumption. Thousands of people who frequently confront drought and crop failures in Ethiopia face permanent paralysis of the legs from eat- ing grass pea. The poor people know the effects of eating grass pea but live under such desperate conditions that they have no other option but to eat it. A legume crop--part of the family to which peas and beans belong--grass pea is also grown in Bangladesh, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. It is similar in appearance to mung bean, with small green seed. New, low-neurotoxin grass pea lines developed by ICARDA, safe 63 Researchers at ICARDA recently har- for human consumption, are now being shared with Ethiopian researchers for testing and release. These lines will both prevent the occurrence of lathyrism and help in fighting drought. Photo: ICARDA Chapter 7 Helping Aid Organizations Become More Effective and Efficient "...investment in the CGIAR has been the single most effective use of official development assistance, bar none. There can be no long-term agenda for eradicating poverty, ending hunger, and ensuring sustainable food security without the CGIAR." --Report of the Third System Review of the CGIAR T he involvement of CGIAR Centers in Action rooted in understanding rebuilding agriculture in countries affected by conflicts and disasters adds an analyti- Emergencies require quick action, but too cal dimension that can benefit aid organiza- often that action exemplifies Benjamin tions. Lessons can be learned from research Franklin's warning that `haste makes waste'. By that helps partners improve each time they building an understanding of the dynamics tackle a new emergency. This chapter discuss- behind conflict and disaster, aid agencies can es some major lessons learned so far. be better prepared to act quickly and appro- priately. Research can help provide this impor- tant baseline knowledge. Better livestock and health care can play a significant role in sustaining the pastoral way of life. Photo: ILRI 64 Helping Aid Organizations Become More Effective and Efficient The Horn of Africa In a survey of critical areas along the Ethiopia- Somalia border the team began by applying Several of the world's poorest, driest, most Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technol- conflict- and disaster-prone countries are ogy to construct a detailed picture of the located in the Horn of Africa. This zone is home infrastructural, relief-resource, security, and to societies in transition as well as in turmoil. food-security conditions of the zone Traditional pastoralism is under pressure as (Ndikumana et al. 2002). They focused the populations increase and other activities com- study further through participatory interaction pete for land use, such as urbanization and with pastoralists to understand the social and roads, crop agriculture, communal grazing bio-physical constraints. ranches and wildlife reserves. Greatly aggra- vating these factors is the increasing frequen- They learned how sales of livestock forced by cy of drought. As the drought intervals shorten, drought can erase years of hard work, pastoralists are squeezed ever tighter. They do because prices tend to drop at these times as not have time to recover and prepare before large numbers of simultaneous sellers create a the next crisis strikes, suffering more each time situation of distress sales. Migrating herds and as they scale down the poverty ladder. herders are plagued by livestock rustling and general insecurity, shortage of human food, Much relief aid has been provided during and and water and pasture for livestock, and after the frequent crises that hit this zone, but occurrence of livestock diseases. Pastoralists they have tended to be of a simple `handout' traditionally reserve some lands for grazing nature that fosters a culture of dependency during drought, but the practice is becoming rather than development (Ndikumana et al. more difficult as land pressure increases. Even 2002). Seeking to break this pattern, USAID's where grazing reserves exist, the movement of Office for Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) herds past the obstacles posed by other land has been supporting a project appropriately uses (roads, urban areas, farms, nature entitled `Crises Mitigation in Livestock Systems: reserves etc.) is often difficult. Exhausted and From Relief to Development' executed by the malnourished livestock easily fall prey to dis- ASARECA Animal Agriculture Research eases. During the 1995-97 drought, one-third to Network (A-AARNET) and the International one-half of all cattle died across many pas- Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). USAID is look- toral communities of southern Ethiopia and ing to this research-led initiative to place their northern Kenya (Ndikumana et al. 2002). assistance model for the zone on a more effective long-term trajectory of sustainable development. The series of studies began by seeking a better understanding of how pastoral- ists and agro-pastoralists in the Horn of Africa perceive, prepare for, cope with, and recover from drought, ani- mal disease and related disasters. The peoples of this zone are highly dependent on livestock, which pro- vide 20-30% of GDP and up to 70% of the income of typical rural inhabitants. 65 Participatory surveys uncover the dynamics of livestock man- agement in the Horn of Africa. Photo: ILRI Healing Wounds In a second survey carried out with the trade and handicrafts, often imple- additional partnership of USAID's Global mented through micro-credit. Livestock Collaborative Research Improve human health and nutrition, Support Programme (GL-CRSP) Livestock Efficient including better prenatal and birth Early Warning Systems (LEWS), the team care, child immunization, malaria pre- focused on how pastoralists traditionally vention and treatment, and supple- and identify the onset of drought, and how mentation of diets with Vitamin A. they prepare for and cope with it. By building on pastoralists' indigenous USAID/OFDA's progressive vision of knowledge and systems they are com- evolving from an emergency aid to a fortable with, the project intends to over- sustainable development approach in Effective come the limitations of past approaches the Horn of Africa is taking concrete that imposed solutions from outside that shape through knowledge generated were often not appropriate. from thorough systems research carried More out by ILRI in partnership with ASARECA From the rich baseline of information and others. As this knowledge is imple- gained through these studies, the A- mented, pastoral communities that have AARNET/ILRI/LEWS partnership has devel- in the past been passive recipients of aid oped a number of specific recommen- Become handouts will find that the international dations for USAID/OFDA action that community has changed its approach could make relief aid more effective to one that empowers them to reduce than in the past: their own vulnerability by building on Implement early-warning systems that their indigenous knowledge, skills and complement traditional knowledge resilience. with scientific meteorological tools. Burundi Stem the degradation of rangelands Organizations through herd size management, Burundi, a small and crowded country, employing new policies devised and has been embroiled in an ethnic civil Aid implemented in partnership with local war for the last decade. Adjusting to the institutions. scarcity of farmland, farmers have a long tradition of mixed farming, integrat- Improve animal health services and ing livestock such as goats and dairy monitor potential epidemic risks. Helping cows with crops. In addition to food and Improve dry-season fodder supplies income, animals provide vital manure for through better agronomic practices in maintaining soil fertility for the crops. the riverine areas, including improved water management and harvesting. Livestock systems in Burundi have been decimated by the conflict. A large pro- Assist in the transition to agro-pastoral- portion of animals perished from disease, ism by providing improved cropping starvation and slaughter for emergency technologies, knowledge and skills. food needs. This has shattered one of Diversify livelihoods to include horticul- the underpinnings of sustainable agricul- tural and non-agricultural options, such tural livelihoods in the country. as gum tree cultivation, incense pro- duction, salt collection, meat, milk and As a consequence, A-AARNET and Relief 66 dairy product microenterprises, petty International initiated a project on Helping Aid Organizations Become More Effective and Efficient restocking of small ruminants in two zones ices, medicines, good breeding stock and highly affected by the civil war. It was imple- other essential foundations need to be inte- mented by these two partners in collaboration grated with re-stocking activities. Herds need with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Institut to be upgraded through careful breeding and des Sciences Agronomiques du Burundi better health care. This requires cooperation (ISABU). The impacts of these efforts were sub- and interaction among farmer groups, govern- sequently investigated by A-AARNET, which is ment institutions, and foreign aid providers. coordinated by ILRI. In order to achieve this, farmer groups need to Beset by infrastructural, economic and psy- be strengthened. This will also give them chological scars from the war, farmers had power in the marketplace as they share become accustomed to passively accepting demand/price information and take control free donations of animals from donors. Many over their marketing channels. Such associa- donated animals were sold to meet emer- tions will also become conduits for the gency food and income needs rather than exchange of inputs, knowledge and tech- being used to rebuild herds. Since farmers niques for improving herds and for gaining needed to sell at any price, this perpetuated added value from the sale of better-quality the cycle of poverty. Aid donors often bought by-products such as skins and dairy products. animals for restocking from the same mer- chant channels, creating an illusion of re- Donors need to know when their well-inten- stocking versus a reality of recycling the same tioned gifts are failing to achieve their desired animals--with merchants as the main benefici- result or even becoming counterproductive to aries. Collective action by farmers to bypass agricultural development. The case of Burundi merchants was made difficult by the break- illustrates how research into the dynamics of down of farmer organizations due to mutual aid processes can identify serious problems mistrust in the wake of the civil war. The col- and help steer future aid into more effective lapse of the animal health sector also con- directions. tributed to poor survival of re-stocked animals. The power of diagnostics These findings led AARNET-ILRI to recommend ways to make re-stocking aid more effective Seeds of Hope in the future (de Treville 2000). Veterinary serv- It is important that aid interventions properly diagnose the problems and needs of commu- nities under stress from natural disasters and conflicts. From the beginning, the Seeds of Hope (SOH) Initiative implemented a continu- ous diagnostic process in parallel with its emer- gency aid actions. These diagnostics provided the guidelines to keep aid activities on track and productive. The diagnostics measured and monitored the quickly changing seed situation on the The size and condition of cattle reflect the stress of many ground; evaluated activities soon after they challenges faced by herders in East Africa, including were carried out (such as seed distributions); drought, insufficient feed sources, encroaching land set- and guided the next steps on the action 67 tlements, and rustling. Photo: ILRI Healing Wounds agenda. Providing technical advice to An important finding from these diagnos- aid agency staff, NARS and NGOs, the tics was that while good seed of basic researchers' experience helped the aid food crops remained available despite agencies find sources of needed seed in warfare, many could not afford to buy it. Efficient nearby countries or in distant gene In other words, the problem was one of banks; establish conditions for its quick access, not availability. Poverty was and and effective multiplication; and target severe in Rwanda before the war but it to the right environments and to the was exacerbated by the conflict, with areas within Rwanda. those on the lowest rungs of society suf- fering the most. The diagnostics helped SOH participants Effective understand the nature, causes and The lesson from this experience was that effects of seed aid on farmer welfare rather than giving away free seed, aid and on biodiversity. SOH analyzed monies in such a situation might be bet- More whether the aid seed was sown, whether ter invested in bolstering local seed sys- it was adapted to the environment and tems. One innovative way of doing this, valued by farmers, and whether and pioneered by Catholic Relief Services, is how the seeds were incorporated into to provide the needy with seed vouch- farmers' continuing operations in subse- ers to purchase the seed locally that Become quent seasons. they need and want (Sperling and Cooper 2003). NGOs can organize seed For example, the diagnostics found that fairs where buyers and sellers meet and good seed of basic food crops contin- vouchers are accepted, providing one- ued to be available through local mar- stop access to a wide range of diversity kets despite the war. There were two while ensuring that the vouchers are main reasons for this. First, this war was applied to the intended purpose of seed brutal but relatively short, and shifted relief. Organizations among different locations around the country, so that damage was localized A third major finding from the diagnos- Aid and a good portion of the crops in the tics was that, in contrast to the resilient field could be harvested. Second, a rel- supply of seed of basic food crops, seed atively quick restoration of political sta- of new cash-generating crops and of bility after the war gave farmers confi- new varieties such as potato and the Helping dence to replant their own diverse seeds new climbing bean types was seriously quickly and, equally important, made it impeded by the conflict. Such new possible for people to come together to enterprises are key to longer term agri- buy and sell their seed in their communi- cultural growth and poverty reduction in ty settings. Such conditions will not the smallholder sector. These new mate- always pertain in other conflicts, but rials and the young industries supporting where they do, these lessons imply them were still being nurtured by the important choices of action (Sperling state sector and international agencies. 1997; Sperling and Cooper 2003). Third, Since these agencies and their infra- food aid provided by international structure were hard hit or could not donors helped farm families avoid hav- function effectively during the war, the ing to resort to eating their seed flow of these newer types of seed dried (Sperling 1996). up, along with the inputs needed to 68 cultivate them. Helping Aid Organizations Become More Effective and Efficient This illustrates the need to target aid differently The soil and water needs assessment identified for different crop and variety sectors. potential for expanding irrigated crop land. Intervention to help fledgling new-crop enter- Afghan farmers need more information on prises would be appropriate to prevent major effective management of water resources setbacks in agricultural growth and develop- and use of fertilizer, which dropped off precipi- ment. Such interventions could include seed tously in the 1980s. The greatest constraints list- and input supplies, infrastructure and train- ed by the soil and water assessment team ing--perhaps carried on in neighboring coun- were the lack of credit for farmers, nutrient tries as long as the conflict rages, followed by deficiency, seeds, and water transfer into the country as soon as possible. (ICARDA 2002b). The farmers expressed great concern over locusts, which did plague their Lessons learned from diagnostic research dur- crops in the following growing season. ing emergency aid operations can make seed aid more effective and efficient in the future. The crop improvement and seed survey report These gains probably more than compensate stated that in normal times Afghan households for the relatively small cost of including a were able to produce about 86% of their food research component within aid operations. needs, but drought had caused considerable shortfalls recently (ICARDA 2002c). Debt inse- Afghanistan curity averaged about US$800 per household with very little capacity for repayment. The power of diagnostics is well illustrated by Increased crop productivity at the household the needs assessments carried out by the level could considerably reduce rural poverty Future Harvest Consortium in post-Taliban and hunger (Kugbei 2004). The survey identi- Afghanistan. They covered four main areas: fied that improving farmers' access to irrigation soil and water management; livestock and water, quality seed of crop varieties, and fertil- rangelands; seed systems and crop improve- izer was of utmost importance. ment; and horticulture. Armed only with pene- trating questionnaires, survey teams visited every province, talking to thousands of farm- ers. When asked if Afghan farmers were reti- cent or suspicious about the questions, Joachim Mueller, a survey team member said, "After a short peri- od and with the aid of abun- dant tea, in all cases we achieved good participation." The hard-won needs assess- ments data were studied at a workshop held at ICARDA in 2002 by representatives from the Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MOAL), United States universities, NGOs, FAO, the private sector, and participating CGIAR Centers. 69 Afghan farmers participating in the livestock and rangelands needs assessment. Photo: ICARDA Healing Wounds The assessment report also stated that The report's recommendations included the focus in seed should be on quality conserving existing genetic resources; enhancement and not on quantity, conducting a market analysis to identify since households meet a high proportion trade opportunities and establish the Efficient of their seed needs from sources within framework for a viable, horticultural sec- their communities including own produc- tor; and developing human resource and tion and other farmers. Alternative seed programs as well as programs to systems should be developed within enhance horticultural production these communities to produce high capacity, quality, and postharvest han- quality seed and make it available to dling systems (ICARDA 2003c). local farmers. Effective The Afghanistan case shows how the The livestock, feed and rangelands power of diagnostics, leveraging CGIAR assessment recommended six project Center expertise, can help aid agencies More ideas with potential for short- and long- identify key development needs in a term impact. The ideas include institu- quick, focused, and practical way. tional strengthening/human capacity building; improving dairy production; Aid made smart and integrated small-ruminant production; Become integrated animal health management; targeted animal power for tillage and transport; Research and development need not and village women's poultry production. occur separately or sequentially. The Development assistance should help Seeds of Hope (SOH) project crossed restore marketing structures and encour- conventional institutional divides to show age the export of goods such as car- that a blend of these elements can pets, for which Afghanistan has a com- deliver `smart aid'. parative advantage (Thomson et al. Organizations 2003). Aid agencies had in past emergencies Aid typically relied on massive seed ship- The horticulture and marketing assess- ments from abroad, often of insufficient- ment pointed out that in the past, horti- ly-tested, maladapted varieties. SOH culture provided 30-50% of Afghanistan's helped them understand how risky this export earnings and presents the best was, and the damage that could follow Helping potential for replacing poppy produc- when farmers' seed stocks are replaced tion. However, global competition is by varieties that are not resistant to local increasing for traditional Afghan horticul- diseases, pests and stresses or suited to tural crops and global preferences are local market demands. also changing, rendering many of the Afghan cultivars and practices less com- Rather than the one-size-fits-all petitive. The rebuilding of the country's approach, SOH identified and multiplied horticulture will provide a critical source many local and improved varieties, and of nutrients, employment opportunities, provided seed to just those areas where and significant income at the farm level it was adapted and needed. Since the and foreign exchange at the national conflict shifted to different parts of the level. country over time, SOH partners partici- 70 pated in regular weekly seed meetings Helping Aid Organizations Become More Effective and Efficient so that researchers, donor agencies and because they tended to compete with the NGOs could share information on seed needs farmers' traditional seed exchanges. They rec- and priorities. This knowledge was document- ommended that focus be shifted towards ed in technical bulletins summarizing critical strengthening local seed systems so they could issues and recommended actions. supply seed during tough times, rewarding local seed producers rather than displacing Donors carried this lesson forward to the them (Jones et al. 2002; Longley et al. 2001). Greater Horn of Africa. They had become To ensure that the poor also benefit from concerned about the effectiveness of tradi- growth opportunities, local seed systems tional emergency seed relief operations and should also link to the formal seed sector in the dependency that `free giveaways' appropriate ways (Rohrbach and Kiala 2000). appeared to be creating there. They asked ICRISAT to assess the situation and provide rec- This lesson had to be re-learned, though, fol- ommendations. With USAID Office of Foreign lowing the devastating flood of February 2000 Disaster Assistance and European Union sup- in Mozambique. The government became port, ICRISAT partnered with Catholic Relief concerned that the repeated distribution of Services and ODI to investigate seed relief free seed was undermining the development cases in southern Sudan, northern Uganda, of the seed trade, and as a result was pleased Somalia, and later in Mozambique. when ICRISAT proposed to undertake research USAID/OFDA also funded CIAT (partnering with to test alternative seed interventions. CRS, CARE and a range of African NARS) to Mozambique is now implementing the Seed compare and contrast different kinds of seed Fair approach (see next section) and is sup- aid interventions in seven African countries, as porting ICRISAT to institutionalize a seed needs well as to develop better Seed System Security assessment methodology developed under Assessment (SSSA) tools in order to prepare an the project (Longley et al. 2002). These investi- appropriate relief and recovery response from gations are also being extended to Zimbabwe the beginning. through support from DFID and FAO. In all cases, the researchers were impressed by These cases show how research can make the resilience of traditional seed systems com- relief smarter, better-targeted, and less likely to pared to the formal sector (Sperling and cause unintended negative consequences. By Longley 2002). They concluded that seed helping steer aid along the most appropriate donations, albeit well intentioned, could be and effective course, research can make all destructive in the medium and long term the difference in project success. 71 References Bänziger, M., Mugo, S. and Edmeades, G. O. 2000. Collier, P. 1999. On the economic consequences of civil Breeding for drought tolerance in tropical maize­con- war. Oxford Economic Papers 51: 168-183. Oxford: ventional approaches and challenges to molecular Oxford University Press. approaches. 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Nature 406: 718-722. 75 Acronyms A-AARNET ASARECA Animal Agriculture Research DICTA Directorate of Agricultural Science and Network Technology (Honduras) ACIAR Australian Centre for International DSS Decision support system Agricultural Research EARRNET East African Root Crops Network ACSAD Arab Centre for Studies of the Arid Zones ESCWA Economic and Social Committee for and Dry Lands West Asia of the United Nations AfDB African Development Bank ESRI Environmental Systems Research Institute AFRENA Agroforestry Research Network for East EU European Union and Central Africa FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the ALNAP Active Learning Network for United Nations Accountability and Performance in GIS Geographic information systems Humanitarian Assistance GL-CRSP Global Livestock Collaborative Research ASARECA Association for Strengthening Agricultural Support Programme (USAID/Texas A&M Research in Eastern and Central Africa University) AsDB Asian Development Bank GTZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische AusAID Australian Government Overseas Aid Zusammenarbeit BMZ Federal Ministry for Economic HPG The Humanitarian Policy Group at ODI Cooperation and Development ICARDA International Center for Agricultural (Germany) Research in the Dry Areas CAB-VIR Central Asian Branch of the All-Union ICBA International Center for Biosaline Research Institute of Plant Industry Agriculture CAC Central Asia and the Caucasus ICRAF World Agroforestry Centre CADG Central Asian Development Group ICRISAT International Crops Research Institute for CARDI Cambodian Agricultural Research and the Semi-arid Tropics Development Institute ICRW International Center for Research on CGIAR Consultative Group on International Women Agricultural Research IDRC International Development Research CIAP Cambodia-IRRI-Australia Project Centre (Canada) CIAT International Center for Tropical IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Agriculture Development CIDA Canadian International Development Agency IFDC International Fertilizer Development CIMMYT International Center for Maize and Center Wheat Improvement IFPRI International Food Policy Research CIP International Potato Center Institute CRS Catholic Relief Services IITA International Institute of Tropical DACAAR Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Agriculture Refugees ILRI International Livestock Research Institute DANIDA Danish International Development INIA Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agency Agraria, Peru 76 DFID Department for International INIVIT Instituto de Investigación de Viandas Development (UK) Tropicales (Cuba) Acronyms INTA Nicaraguan Institute of Agricultural PROFRIJOL Collaborative Bean Program for Central Technology America, Mexico, and the Caribbean IPGRI International Plant Genetic Resources R4D Research for Development Institute RAMP Rehabilitation of the Agricultural Markets IPPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Program, USAID Change RAMSI Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon IRRI International Rice Research Institute Islands ISAR Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du RESAPAC/ East and Central African Bean Research Rwanda ECABREN Network ISABU Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du SADC Southern African Development Burundi Community IWMI International Water Management SATG Somali Agriculture Technical Group Institute SDC Swiss Agency for Development and JAF James Arwata Foundation, Uganda Cooperation JIRCAS Japan International Research Center for SOH Seeds of Hope Initiative (Rwanda) Agricultural Sciences SOH-II or Seeds of Hope for Central America LAMP Latin America Maize Project SOH-CA LEWS Livestock Early Warning System (GL-CRSP SOL Seeds of Life project (Timor-Leste) subproject) SSS Service Semencier Selectionnees MAFF Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and SSSA Seed System Security Assessment Forestry (East Timor) TPS True Potato Seed MOAL Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, TCER FAO's Rehabilitation and Humanitarian Afghanistan Policies Unit MODIS Moderate Resolution Imaging UNDP United Nations Development Programme Spectroradiometer UNDP/PAPP UNDP Programme of Assistance to MPLA The Popular Movement for the Liberaton Palestinian People of Angola UNEP United Nations Environment Programme MRC-ARC Medical and Agricultural Research UNITA Union for the Total Independence of Councils (South Africa) Angola NARS National Agricultural Research Systems USAID United States Agency for International NEPAD New Partnership for Africa's Development Development USAID/OFDA USAID Office for Disaster Assistance NGO Non-governmental organization USDA United States Department of Agriculture NVRSRP Nile Valley and Red Sea Regional USGS US Geological Survey Program (ICARDA) UzRIPI Uzbek Research Institute of Plant Industry NZAID New Zealand's International Aid and VITAA Vitamin A for Africa Partnership Development Agency VRTI Vivekanand Research and Training ODI Overseas Development Institute (UK) Institute OPEC Organization of the Petroleum Exporting WARDA The Africa Rice Center Countries WAAP The Western Afghanistan Agribusiness PRAPACE Research Network on Potato and Program Sweetpotato in East and Central Africa WVI World Vision International PRM Regional Maize Program for Central America and the Caribbean 77 The CGIAR Centers CIAT CIP Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical Centro Internacional de la Papa (International (International Center for Tropical Agriculture) Potato Center) www.ciat.org www.cipotato.org Headquarters: Cali, Colombia Headquarters: Lima, Peru Founded: 1967 Founded: 1971 Joined the CGIAR: 1971 Joined the CGIAR: 1973 Mission: To reduce hunger and poverty in the Mission: To reduce poverty and achieve food tropics through collaborative research that security on a sustained basis in developing improves agricultural productivity and natural countries through scientific research and relat- resource management. ed activities on potato, sweetpotato, and other root and tuber crops and on the CIFOR improved management of natural resources in the Andes and other mountain areas. Center for International Forestry Research www.cifor.org Headquarters: Bogor, Indonesia ICARDA Founded: 1993 International Center for Agricultural Research Joined the CGIAR: 1993 in the Dry Areas Mission: To contribute to the sustained well- www.icarda.org being of people in developing countries, par- Headquarters: Aleppo, Syrian Arab Republic ticularly in the tropics. This is achieved through Founded: 1977 collaborative, strategic and applied research Joined the CGIAR: 1977 and by promoting the transfer and adoption Mission: To improve the welfare of poor people of appropriate new technologies and social and alleviate poverty through research and systems for national development. training in dry areas of the developing world, by increasing the production, productivity and CIMMYT nutritional quality of food, while preserving and enhancing the natural resource base. Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maïz y Trigo (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center) ICRISAT www.cimmyt.org International Crops Research Institute for the Headquarters: Mexico City, Mexico Semi-Arid Tropics Founded: 1966 www.icrisat.org Joined the CGIAR: 1971 Headquarters: Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, Mission: CIMMYT acts as a catalyst and leader India in a global maize and wheat innovation net- Founded: 1972 work that serves the poor in developing coun- Joined the CGIAR: 1972 tries. Drawing on strong science and effective Mission: To help developing countries apply partnerships, CIMMYT creates, shares, and uses science to increase crop productivity and knowledge and technology to increase food food security, reduce poverty, and protect the security, improve the productivity and prof- environment. ICRISAT focuses on the farming itability of farming systems, and sustain natural systems of the semi-arid tropical areas of the resources. developing world, where erratic rainfall, low soil fertility, and extreme poverty are formida- ble constraints to agricultural development. 78 The CGIAR Centers IFPRI IPGRI International Food Policy Research Institute International Plant Genetic Resources Institute www.ifpri.org www.ipgri.org Headquarters: Washington, DC, United States Headquarters: Maccarese, Rome, Italy of America Founded: 1974 Founded: 1975 Joined the CGIAR: 1974 Joined the CGIAR: 1980 Mission: IPGRI aims to conserve and use the Mission: To identify and analyze policies for sus- genetic variation in plants to create crop vari- tainably meeting the food needs of the devel- eties that are more productive, stronger, and oping world. Research at IFPRI concentrates more nutritious. These varieties contribute to on economic growth and poverty alleviation better agriculture that can help sustain fami- in low-income countries, improvement of the lies, build prosperity, improve health, and well-being of poor people, and sound man- renew the earth. agement of the natural resource base that supports agriculture. IFPRI seeks to make its IRRI research results available to all those in a posi- International Rice Research Institute tion to use them and to strengthen institutions www.irri.org in developing countries that conduct research Headquarters: Los Baños, Philippines relevant to its mandate. Founded: 1960 Joined the CGIAR: 1971 IITA Mission: To improve the well-being of present International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and future generations of rice farmers and www.iita.org consumers, particularly those with low Headquarters: Ibadan, Nigeria incomes. Founded: 1967 Joined the CGIAR: 1971 IWMI Mission: IITA's mission is to enhance the food International Water Management Institute security, income, and well-being of resource- www.cgiar.org/iwmi poor people in sub-Saharan Africa by con- Headquarters: Battaramulla, Sri Lanka ducting research and related activities to Founded: 1984 increase agricultural production, improve food Joined the CGIAR: 1991 systems, and sustainably manage natural Mission: Improving water and land resources resources, in partnership with national and management for food livelihoods and nature. international stakeholders. WARDA ILRI West Africa Rice Development Association International Livestock Research Institute www.warda.org www.ilri.org Headquarters: Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya Founded: 1970 Founded: 1995 Joined the CGIAR: 1975 Joined the CGIAR: 1995 Mission: WARDA's mission is to contribute to Mission: The International Livestock Research poverty alleviation and food security in Africa, Institute (ILRI) works at the crossroads of live- through research, development and partner- stock and poverty, bringing high-quality sci- ship activities aimed at increasing the produc- ence and capacity-building to bear on pover- tivity and profitability of the rice sector in ways ty reduction and sustainable development for that ensure the sustainability of the farming poor livestock keepers and their communities. environment. 79 Healing Wounds World Agroforestry Centre World Fish Center www.worldagroforestrycentre.org www.worldfishcenter.org Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya Headquarters: Penang, Malaysia Founded: 1977 Founded: 1977 Joined the CGIAR: 1991 Joined the CGIAR: 1992 Mission: To improve human welfare by Mission: To promote sustainable devel- reducing poverty, improving food and opment and use of living aquatic nutritional security, and enhancing resources based on environmentally environmental resilience in the tropics. sound management. Centers CGIAR The 80