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Biotechnology and agriculture: facing opportunity and
criticism of equal proportion
CRP 2: program news - Feb/2016
David Spielman, senior research fellow at IFPRI and PIM’s leader of the Science Policy and Incentives for
Innovation research cluster, recently participated in the International Symposium on The Role of
Agricultural Biotechnologies in Sustainable Food Systems and Nutrition hosted by the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). In his blog Walking the wire on
biotechnology at FAO, David shares his impressions about the lively and sometimes heated discussion
on the current state of agricultural biotechnologies and contemplates on what is needed to move forward
and embrace “opportunity and criticism of equal proportion” faced by the agricultural science today.
Despite the controversy, many of us settled into a tentative but comfortable consensus: one cannot
simply dismiss a technology out of hand, and no technology offers a complete solution. A really big
toolbox is needed to enhance the productivity and sustainability of intensive agricultural systems and
improve the welfare of the poor.
I came away from the symposium with this final thought. Today, agricultural science faces op portunity
and criticism of equal proportion. The way forward requires continued investment in scientific inquiry
and R&D on biotechnology tools and products; relevant and rigorous assessment of their impact on
productivity, sustainability and human welfare; and keenly informed debate on the cultural, political, and
ethical role of science in society.
Read the full blog on the IFPRI website>>
Learn more about PIM's research on technological innovation and sustainable intensification>>
Featured image: A Nigerian farmer harvesting vitamin A cassava, a biofortified crop developed
using marker assisted selection in crop breeding. Photo credit: HarvestPlus
International partnership on Cassava virus evolution
launched in Africa
Beca news - Feb/2016
NAIROBI 26 February 2016—An international partnership to tackle plant viral diseases in
Africa was this week launched at the Biosciences eastern and central Africa-International
Livestock Research (BecA-ILRI Hub), in Nairobi, Kenya.
Established with funding from the National Science Foundation Partnerships for
International Research and Education (NSF-PIRES), the partnership brings together
scientists from East Africa and US to focus on tackling the Cassava mosaic disease (CMD).
Project principal investigator (PI) Linda Hanley-Bowdoin from North Carolina State
University, US expressed her optimism that the partnership was the beginning of more
collaborative research projects. ‘This project might be studying the cassava virus, but it i s
really about building international research relationships,’ she said.
The BecA-ILRI Hub director, Appolinaire Djikeng, noted that the collaboration aligned with
the Hub’s strategy to harness international partnerships to benefit the African agricultural
research agenda. ‘The BecA-ILRI Hub is a magnet for African and international scientists to
conduct and use of high-end biosciences research in Africa, for Africa,’ he said. ‘This
partnership is a good example of north-south and south-south collaborations coming to
address an issue of importance to Africa,’ he added.
Cassava is staple food for over 250 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. Caused by
Cassava mosaic virus (CMV), CMD is responsible for between 12 and 23 million tonnes crop
yield losses (15-24% of total production) in Africa. The project will be studying the
evolution of the Cassava mosaic virus. The virus' changes over time have enabled it to adapt
to different environmental conditions and break plant resistance, confounding efforts to
combat CMD.
‘This will be one of the most detailed studies on the evolution of any virus ever conducted,’
said Sioban Duffy of Rutgers University, US, who is a co-PI of the project. ‘Our research
could lead to ground breaking discoveries on other viruses with significant economic and
health impacts like the dengue and malaria viruses’ she added.
Tanzanian scientist Joseph Ndunguru who has spent many years in cassava research
emphasized that it is not only the science community that stands to benefit from the res earch.
‘A better understanding of the virus will help us develop diagnostic tools for use by
smallholder farmers—they are the ones who should benefit the most from our research,’ he
said.
In addition to providing training and capacity building for African researchers, the new
project will enable early career US scientists to work with researchers at the BecA -ILRI Hub
and MARI.
‘Through this project, budding US scientists will have an opportunity to work with
outstanding scientists in Africa,’ said George Kennedy from NCSU who is also co-PI. ‘We
hope that their experience will inspire them to pursue international research and be a part of
the global workforce that is contributing to the resolution of the world food shortage,’ he
added.
Participating institutions include Auburn University, North Carolina Agricultural and
Technical State University, North Carolina State University and Rutgers University in US;
the BecA-ILRI Hub, Kenya; and the Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute (MARI) and
Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology, Tanzania.
___________________________________________________________________________
__________
View pictures from the project launch here.
Read related story: $5 Million NSF PIRE Grant Will Fund Research on African Crop
Disease
ILRI Nairobi – Lost Money
Latest ILRI announcements - Feb/2016
If you lost your money before lunch time come for it. I picked it from the ladies washrooms located near
the snooker room. I am in Lab 2 , Ext. 3393.
Regards,
Charity Muteti
CIMMYT-Ethiopia New Staff – Solomon Alemu
Latest ILRI announcements - Feb/2016
CIMMYT-Ethiopia is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Solomon Alemu who joined
CIMMYT as a Research Associate for CIMMYT-Ethiopia/Socioeconomics Program, based in Addis
Ababa, effective December 1st, 2015.
Solomon has MSc degree in Economics from University of Trento, Italy (March, 2013) and BSc degree
in Agricultural Resource Economics from University of Hawassa (June, 2006). He has more than six
years of experience as a Consultant, Research Assistant, Teaching Assistant, Training Supervi sor and
Research Associate. His past experience included, worked as Research Assistant in Ethiopian Institutes
of Agricultural Research (EIAR); Data Management Personnel in International Food Policy Research
Institutes (IFPRI); and Teaching Assistant in Yardstick and St. Mary University Colleges. Before joining
CIMMYT as a Research Associate, Solomon has been working in our organization as a Consultant on
two projects entitled ‘Adoption Pathway’, implemented in five countries and Drought Tolerant Maize
for Africa-Seed Scaling (DTMA-SS) project implemented in seven countries in eastern and southern
Africa.
Currently, he is sitting inthe FOGERA building (ex-Research Bldg. 2) first floor (office # 44) ;andyou
can reach him on ILRI’s Ext. # 2311, his cell phone #: 0934-474228 and CIMMYT’s direct tel. nos. 011646 2324/26/27.
Please join us in welcoming Solomon to CIMMYT’s team & the ILRI campus!
Aklil
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Mass vaccination, immunity and coverage: modelling
population protection against foot-and-mouth disease in
Turkish cattle
ILRI Market Opportunities Theme: Animal health and food safety for trade - Feb/2016
Mass vaccination, immunity and coverage: modelling population protection against foot-and-mouth
disease in Turkish cattle Knight-Jones, T.J.D.; Gubbins, S.; Bulut, A.N.; Stärk, K.D.C.; Pfeiffer, D.U.;
Sumption, K.J.; Paton, D.J. Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Turkey is controlled using biannual mass
vaccination of cattle. However, vaccine protection is undermined by population turnover and declining
immunity. A dynamic model of the Turkish cattle population was created. Assuming biannual mass
vaccination with a single-dose primary course, vaccine history was calculated for the simulated
population (number of doses and time since last vaccination). This was used to estimate population
immunity. Six months after the last round of vaccination almost half the cattle aged <24 months remain
unvaccinated. Only 50% of all cattle would have received >1 vaccine dose in their life with the last dose
given ≤6 months ago. Five months after the last round of vaccination two-thirds of cattle would have
low antibody titres (<70% protection threshold). Giving a two-dose primary vaccination course reduces
the proportion of 6–12 month old cattle with low titres by 20–30%. Biannual mass vaccination of cattle
leaves significant immunity gaps and over-reliance on vaccine protection should be avoided. Using more
effective vaccines and vaccination strategies will increase population immunity, however, the extent to
which FMD can be controlled by vaccination alone without effective biosecurity remains uncertain.
Mass vaccination, immunity and coverage: modelling
population protection against foot-and-mouth disease in
Turkish cattle
Our latest outputs - Feb/2016
Mass vaccination, immunity and coverage: modelling population protection against foot-and-mouth
disease in Turkish cattle Knight-Jones, T.J.D.; Gubbins, S.; Bulut, A.N.; Stärk, K.D.C.; Pfeiffer, D.U.;
Sumption, K.J.; Paton, D.J. Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Turkey is controlled using biannual mass
vaccination of cattle. However, vaccine protection is undermined by population turnover and declining
immunity. A dynamic model of the Turkish cattle population was created. Assuming biannual mass
vaccination with a single-dose primary course, vaccine history was calculated for the simulated
population (number of doses and time since last vaccination). This was used to estimate population
immunity. Six months after the last round of vaccination almost half the cattle aged <24 months remain
unvaccinated. Only 50% of all cattle would have received >1 vaccine dose in their life with the last dose
given ≤6 months ago. Five months after the last round of vaccination two-thirds of cattle would have
low antibody titres (<70% protection threshold). Giving a two-dose primary vaccination course reduces
the proportion of 6–12 month old cattle with low titres by 20–30%. Biannual mass vaccination of cattle
leaves significant immunity gaps and over-reliance on vaccine protection should be avoided. Using more
effective vaccines and vaccination strategies will increase population immunity, however, the extent to
which FMD can be controlled by vaccination alone without effective biosecurity remains uncertain.
Marsabit household survey round five data now available
ILRI Blogposts - Feb/2016
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Finding niches for legumes in smallholder farming systems
ILRI Blogposts - Feb/2016
Thursday, February 25, 2016
N2Africa Ethiopia review and planning meeting focuses on
public-private partnerships
ILRI Blogposts - Feb/2016
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Finding niches for legumes in smallholder farming systems
Enhancing Livelihoods of Poor Livestock Keepers through Increased Use of Fodder: Project
news - Feb/2016
Followers of the N2Africa project (in which ILRI leads work in Ethiopia) do not need convincing
about the benefits of legumes to smallholders.
However, legumes mean different things to different people. Agro-foresters may think of tree legumes,
livestock specialists may interpret legumes to mean forages, while to crop agronomists legumes tend to
be grain legumes.
Legumes are indeed a diverse class of plants – they are diverse in form: from the mighty Acacia to the
diminutive white clover. They are also diverse in function and contribute multiple benefits to farmers:
food, income, feed for livestock, fertility for following crops, protection of soils from erosion and so on.
Making sense of this diversity of form and function among legumes could help us to match up different
legumes with the needs of smallholder farmers. And this could improve adoption of legumes by farmers
from the current low base.
This targeting of legumes to niches in smallholder systems is the core objective of the Legume
CHOICE project. Better targeting could help us get away from the prevailing fragmented approach to
legume development in Africa. This could lead to legumes playing a more prominent role in farming
systems by providing protein nutrition for families, improved feeding for livestock and environmental
benefits through improved soil fertility.
As part of this work, ILRI has been leading the development of a decision support tool (also called
Legume Choice) as one component of the Legume CHOICE project. The evolving tool is essentially a
list of different legume options. Each option has been scored by experts for its contribution to a series
of functions in smallholder systems: food, income, feed, soil fertility and so on. This is the supply side.
The tool includes a community needs assessment where farmers can express their demand for the
various benefits that legumes can provide. Matching scores for supply and demand allows prioritization
of legumes into a shortlist of promising options that can then be tested with farmers. Th e diagram below
shows an illustrative output from the tool – showing that legumes serve different functions for different
people.
The prototype tool has been applied in Ethiopia, Kenya and DRC as part of the Legume CHOICE
project. Preliminary feedback shows it to be useful but points to the need for a further component
where agro-ecological suitability of legumes is also assessed. This component will be develop ed in this,
the final year of the project.
The Legume CHOICE project is funded by BMZ and led by IITA with ILRI, ICRAF, OARI, KALRO
and Catholic University of Bukavu as key partners.
Original story published on N2Africa web site
Marsabit household survey round five data now available
IBLI News - Feb/2016
Are you a researcher, student, or simply a curious mind? Do you want to explore the specifics of how
Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) affects households in northern Kenya? If so, check out the
Marsabit household survey round five data that became public today…click here
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