World Bank Document

37252 Public Disclosure Authorized INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH IN AGRICULTURE Public Disclosure Authorized

International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)

International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)

International Center of Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)

International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Public Disclosure Authorized

International Potato Center (CIP)

International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)

International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases (ILRAD)

International Livestock Centre for Africa (ILCA)

Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research Public Disclosure Authorized IC, CL INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH IN AGRICULTURE

Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research New York, 1974

CONTENTS

Preface 5 Introduction 7

International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) 16 International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) 24 International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) 34 International Center of Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) 43 International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) 50 International Potato Center (CIP) 57 International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases (ILRAD) 64 International Livestock Centre for Africa (ILCA) 67

PREFACE

Providing sufficient food to meet the needs of an ever-increasing world population is one of the greatest challenges mankind has ever faced. Although there are signs that efforts to slow down the rate of population growth are beginning to have success in some countries, and although the process of development itself eventually leads to slower growth, it is an inescapable conclusion that the world's population will double by early in the next century -and that of the developing countries will probably double by the year 2000. Food production must therefore be doubled in the same short time span just to maintain present-day levels of nutrition-and more than doubled if these standards are to be improved for the many millions of now undernourished people of the world. Most of the increase must come from the developing countries themselves, where food production and nutritional levels are low, and most of it must come by increasing the productivity of land already under cultivation. This booklet describes initiatives which have been taken by the international community to spearhead the agricultural research and training which is an essential element in achieving this goal. The purpose of the booklet is to bring to the attention of interested policy- makers, agricultural specialists, and laymen the work being sponsored by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). It describes the purposes, structure and operations of the CGIAR, and the autonomous international research and training programs (presently num- bering ten) which it supports. It provides ready reference to the specific activities carried out by each Center, so that those who are most directly concerned know where to turn for further information or to initiate collaborative work. The first chapter provides a general introduction to the structure, purpose and operations of the CGIAR and briefly reviews the historical background of international agricultural research efforts as they pertain to developing countries. The remaining chapters are devoted to concise, descriptive accounts of the work of each of the institutes. At a time when the provision of sufficient food supplies is an overriding concern of the world community and above all a day-to-day problem for hundreds of millions of people, there are still many places in the world where men till the soil in the primitive manner of their ancestors a thousand years ago. As co-sponsors of the CGIAR, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the United Nations Development Programme, and the World Bank recognize the 5 enormity of the task that lies ahead. But they are confident that the Consulta- tive Group is providing the international community with some of the tools required for new solutions to this most urgent of the world's problems, and that the research programs it sponsors are bringing new methods and higher yields to farmers in developing countries, more food to the hungry, and a better start in life to the world's children.

ADDEKE BOERMA, DirectorGeneral Food and Agriculture Organizationof the United Nations

ROBERT S. McNAMARA, President World Bank

RUDOLPH A. PETERSON, Administrator United Nations Development Programme

6 INTRODUCTION

On November 1-3, 1973 representatives of 29 governments, assistance agencies, foundations, and developing regions of the world met in the board room of the World Bank in Washington. They were there to try to put together $34 million for 1974 support of international agricultural research. They did marshal the money, up from $15 million in 1972 and $23 million in 1973. They also launched the seventh and eighth in a series of strategically located, new types of research and training centers, as well as supporting the program of rice trials which the West Africa Rice Development Association was undertaking in its 14 member countries. In November 1974 the Group met again in Washington to mobilize the $45 million needed in 1975 to press on with the research and training programs of the eight centers, and also to launch a ninth center and a new international program to collect and preserve the world's plant genetic resources. Some 200 senior scientists, together with support staff, are now engaged in the research programs of this international network. The events that led to the formation of the Consultative Group on Inter- national Agricultural Research (CGIAR) are unique in agricultural history. This booklet explains what the international agricultural centers are; what they do; why and how they came into existence; how they are governed and staffed, and how financed; how priorities are set, and proposals submitted and screened; how the supporting donors and their advisers operate; what benefits the international centers have brought and will bring to the developing countries; and how they relate to agricultural research at regional and national centers. Most farm families of developing countries are dependent for food and minimal income upon meager crop yields from long-impoverished soils. Many are subsistence farmers in areas remote from centers of commerce. Their per capita incomes are commonly low-well under national averages of $100-200 a year, far below the $3,900 average of the U.S. The subsistence farmers who depend for their livelihood on the basic food crops-cereal grains, root crops, food legumes-have been among those with the most desolate future. While governments or commercial companies have supported research for plantation crops (rubber, sugar cane, bananas, pineapple, to name a few), there had been little such attention until the 1960s to the improvement of the basic food crops in the developing countries. Yields of rice, wheat, corn, barley, sorghum, millet, field beans, chickpeas, pigeon peas, cowpeas, cassava, yams, sweet potatoes, and farm animals remained low and static at the levels of decades or centuries past. 7 * * IRRI * ILCA ICRISAT I * 1I'.l IIi 4)I i;i a iIm I,,,i ., IITA I T - IN ILRAD IRem .a )

THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTES CIMMYT Et14 , .

CIAT 0

CIP * . I, I , I JI a' . \ Il, I *I) '\ I4 I F ,1 L I [ ' , I, tI I ,i | ; ,-~ It is hoped that the era of neglect of the food farmers of the developing countries is coming to an end. There is encouraging evidence that countries can make significant progress in small-scale agriculture with the development of new technology and new types of development assistance. For instance, in Mexico by the early 1960s, the necessary technology to improve Mexico's main food crops had been worked out by scientists under technical assistance arrangements with the Rockefeller Foundation. Hundreds of technical personnel were trained and government and private sector institutes were strengthened. At the same time, it was realized that little was being done to improve rice yields for the people of tropical Asia, although rice was and is the staple food of most of Asia's millions. But there were no prospects that each nation could have a team of research scientists after the Mexican model. There were simply too few capable scientists available in Asia, and it would have been too expensive to supply them to each country from outside. The idea was developed of having one privately organized institute which would be international though sited in one location. The Rockefeller and Ford Foundations, after discussions with the Government of the Philippines, agreed to create a totally new type of institution, to be located at Los Banios in the Philippines. This was an international, nonprofit, research and training institution with an international staff. It is governed by an apolitical, self-perpetuating board of trustees with a majority of the members being eminent citizens of the nations to be served. The initial staff of 18 consisted largely of young scientists who came from eight different countries. The research staff of the International Rice Research Insti- tute now numbers about 40 scientists, two-thirds of whom are from countries of Asia. The record of IRRI is 12 years of solid success. By 1965 its breeding program had created a sturdy dwarf rice, IR 8, which, when properly fertilized and watered, gave very high yields. This variety has been succeeded by newer varieties which combine high yields with good eating quality and with resistance to the most important pests and diseases that attack rice. With the aid of the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations, an international center for the improvement of maize and wheat (CIMMYT) was established in Mexico to continue the work of Mexican and Foundation scientists. Later, again with the aid of the Foundations, an international institute for tropical agriculture was established in Nigeria (IITA) and an international center for tropical agriculture was established in Colombia (CIAT). Today, eight international agricultural research centers, each located in a developing country and each applying its skills to regional and global agricultural problems, are supported by CGIAR. They are: i The InternationalRice Research Institute (IRRI), Los Banios, Philippines, one of the two oldest international centers and the one which served as a prototype for those that followed; T The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), El Batan, Mexico, whose success in developing new strains of wheat and 10 high-lysine maize has already had dramatic impact on developing country production; X, The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (1ITA), Ibadan, Ni- geria, focusing on farming systems for the humid tropics, mostly in Africa, with special attention to the use of tropical soils; X? The International Center of Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Palmira, Co- lombia, a pioneer in effective farming systems for lowland tropical areas of the Western Hemisphere; X? The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad, India, which stresses farming systems and water conservation methods of particular benefit to small-scale farmers in hot but water-short regions; W. The International Potato Center (CIP), Lima, Peru, a one-crop institute working to expand potato cultivation in developing areas; j? The InternationalLaboratory for Research on Animal Diseases (ILRAD), Nairobi, Kenya, one of the newest centers, currently concentrating on immunological methods for controlling two major animal diseases-East Coast fever and trypanosomiasis; X The International Livestock Centre for Africa (ILCA), to be located in Ethiopia, also new, and also working to increase animal production in the developing world through improved animal husbandry techniques. In addition, the CGIAR has sponsored the establishment of the Interna- tional Board for Plant Genetic Resources headquartered in Rome and serving as a clearing house for the collection and exchange of genetic resources in agriculture. The Board, an outgrowth of recommendations made by the Stock- holm Conference on the Human Environment, coordinates the cataloguing efforts of various national and institutional gene banks and certifies that the exchange of genetic materials is disease-free. It also works to preserve genetic resources in danger of extinction. Regionally, the CGIAR is also supporting the rice research program of the West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA), an international organization of West African governments.

The concept of an international center is that it should be international, though situated in one location. It should be owned by and governed by an international board of trustees. Its senior staff should be recruited from the most able scientists in the world without regard to nationality. The host government should make suitable arrangements to enable the center to develop the facilities, including buildings and experimental farmlands, that it needs to carry out its research program. The center should have among its objectives not only the carrying out of its own research but also the development of strong linkages with national and regional research institutions in other parts of the world, and it should also have responsibility for training research scientists and production workers. The international centers have extremely close relations with the countries in which they are situated, and they develop joint research programs with national researchers in the host countries. Most centers are situated near a university with which joint scientific programs and training can be worked out. The research on which an international center is engaged is mainly di- rected to one or more specific food crops and to the development of farming systems of which these food crops are an integral part. IRRI, for instance, researches on rice and on multiple-cropping systems including rice. CIMMYT works on wheat and maize and also has a small but important program on barley. In each of the centers, the research programs are tackled by multidisciplinary teams of scientists including plant breeders, geneticists, soil scientists, agronomists, entomologists, pathologists, and others. Part of the outstanding success which these workers have already achieved in the older established centers is due to the facilities they have for working with an enor- mously wide range of genetic material. In some programs hundreds of thousands of crosses can be made and tested in a single year. In addition to the development of many crop varieties giving greatly increased yields, attention is paid to food quality, agronomic and fertilizer practices, crop rotation, maintenance of soil fertility, and in some centers to problems in the mechaniza,ion of small farms. All centers have economists as members of their research teams. An international center is expected to develop an outreach network which links it with research centers in other countries through programs of assistance or collaboration. The center will build up a library and often provide documentation services for scientific workers in the fields of concern to the center. Conferences, seminars, and workshops are organized to provide occa- sions when international scientists can meet to discuss findings. Most of the international centers are in the process of building up collections of the world's germ plasm for the crops for which they are responsible. The size of the budget of an international center varies according to its scope of work. Centers have needed between $5 and $20 million for developing their buildings, laboratories, greenhouses, experimental farmlands, and hous- ing for staff and trainees. Annual operating budgets are at the level of about $5 million. Because of the need to establish additional international centers once the effectiveness of the first had been demonstrated, the financial requirements grew far beyond the capacity of private foundations to meet them. New funding arrangements became necessary, and the Consultative Group on Inter- national Agricultural Research was formed in 1971, after many preliminary discussions among potential donors.

BACK(IOUMl Al) (O (;IAI The CGIAR is simply a group of donor countries, development banks, foundations, or agencies which accept a commitment to provide funds for international agricultural research. The sponsors of the Group are the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the United 12 Nations Development Programme. In addition to the three sponsors, the members of the Group in August 1974 included: 13 governments-Australia, Bel- gium, Canada, Denmark, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States; three regional development banks-the African, Asian and Inter-American Development Banks; the Commission of the European Com- munities; three private foundations with an impressive record of achievement in agricultural research-the Ford, Rockefeller, and W. K. Kellogg Founda- tions; and the International Development Research Centre, an autonomous Canadian organization. The five major developing regions of the world participate in the Con- sultative Group through representatives designated for a two-year period by the regions at FAO's Biennial Conferences. Each region-Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Far East, Southern and Eastern Europe, and the Middle East-has designated two countries which alternate as members at their own discretion. The members of the Group usually attend meetings in Washington at the World Bank's headquarters twice a year. On the basis of reports of progress from existing centers and on needs for new research thrust, the members agree to provide funds. A member of the Group is free to provide funds for some centers and not for others; most international centers attract funds from several of the donors; none attracts funds from all donors. The Secretariat for the Consultative Group is provided by the World Bank from its headquarters in Washington. The Group operates in a rather informal atmosphere and without much red tape. It is expected that additional donors will join the Group in the future.

'I}TF11'IA1'C1L AMI) ISMAIN C(OLNI,11'1"11,A] The Consultative Group is advised by a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) consisting of 13 eminent scientists and economists. Apart from the chairman, the members are drawn equally from developed and developing countries. TAC advises the Consultative Group on research priorities, on specific research proposals for which Group assistance may be sought, on the effectiveness of existing international agricultural research programs, and on how best to organize and conduct this research. One of TAC's first tasks was to review research needs in developing countries and recommend priorities, taking into account not only the technical requirements of increased agricultural productivity but the ecological, social, and economic factors as well. TAC recommended that priority be given to research on the important food crops of the tropics and subtropics with attention also to cattle production in Africa and Latin America. Although the international centers truly are international in scope, they also tend to have a particular affiliation to the region in which they are situated. In 1974 TAC has recommended to the Consultative Group that a new interna- 13 tional center be established to carry out research into crops that are important in the Middle East and northern Africa, including barley and certain grain legumes, and on farming systems including livestock raising and water management. This will fill what seemed to be a gap in the geographical coverage of the international centers. The Secretariat for TAC is provided by FAO at its headquarters in Rome. TAC usually meets two or three times a year in Rome or Washington. Mem- bers of TAC familiarize themselves with the work of the international centers and with research needs of developing countries by visits to international, regional, and national centers. In order to concentrate on priorities and to achieve the necessary focus in objectives, CGIAR and TAC have to be selective in deciding their support for international research. Proposals for new research centers or programs have to be channeled through a member of the Consultative Group or through one of the sponsors. It is not possible for CGIAR to respond to requests to support national research programs, but the linkage between international and national research institutes is recognized as being of great importance. Meth- ods of strengthening this linkage and of making the research work of the international centers pay off on the farmer's fields are accorded high priority, as is reflected in the following chapters on the activities of the international centers. A vital transformation of agriculture in the tropics is what the international centers, collectively, are trying to achieve. It is a transformation which involves not only new seeds capable of producing higher yields but a whole package of related agronomic practices-when and how much to plant and at what spacing and depth; if, when, and how much to irrigate; the kind of fertilizer required; when and in what amounts to apply it; the method of weed and pest control, and so on. It also involves new government services and new government policies, such as credit and marketing arrangements, technical advice, storage facilities, and other hneasures. And it requires a continuous process of scientific research and testing.

INTERNATIONAL RICE RESEARCH INSTITUTE P.O. Box 583 - Manila, Philippines

As the first of the international for possible mirage-influenced the centers to be officially established, and subsequent formation of the other the first to be wholly planned from the agricultural institutes; it helped de- ground up, the International Rice Re- termine their nature, their staffing search Institute (IRRI) is often cited patterns, and the dir ections their pro- as the prototype of the international grams took. One of IRRI's primordial agricultural research institute. Early strengths was its single-minded focus in its development, it won celebrity on rice. when the release of a new tropical high-yielding rice variety named IR 8 led to a successful campaign to raise R 1 )[I" j1\ Nl(V 1A1C,. yields in the Philippines, then in other Rice is the overriding pr eoccupa- countries of the Asian rice belt. Within tion of a large proportion of the a limited sphere, the effect was dra- world's people. For Asia's poor, rice matic. A minor cultural revolution, as is virtually synonymous with food. It significant as the unprecedented rice provides a livelihood for hundreds of yields, took place on the heels of tech- millions; its growing cycle rules their nological change. Farmers not only daily lives, and an abundance or scar- caught on to the new rice-growing city of it is a measure of their well- methods-the "package of practices" being. that made the new seed perform prod- Rice is likewise the central con- igies-but in an analogous leap across cern of IRRI's rice researchers, pro- barriers of time and tradition, they duction specialists, engineers, and quickly absorbed the motives and atti- communications experts. The techno- tudes of the modern producer and en- logical improvements that doubled trepreneur. This rapid telescoping of yields were developed by interdiscipli- cultural and social evolution took the nary teams concentrating primarily international assistance community on genetic manipulation of the tropical somewhat by surprise, and brought rice plant. Agronomists, physiologists, about some strenuous rethinking in plant pathologists, entomologists, and the field of developmental program- geneticists worked together to produce ming. IRRI's experience-scrutinized a high-yielding rice that would feed for lessons and guidelines and scanned more people from the same land. Its 16 stature was changed from tall to short; its stem was strengthened so I' \('K A(41I1) TI(CI I NL()LOY that it could absorb more fertilizer and But IRRI's goal was not simply produce heavy heads of grain without to produce new rices and find the toppling over; short, upright leaves optimal conditions for highest yields; made better use of solar energy and it was to raise production levels of the allowed for denser stands; genes for rice-growing countries of Asia. There- disease and pest resistance were bred fore, as soon as the research program in and sensitivity to day length was began to show results on the experi- bred out; and the growing season was mental plots, the Institute set about reduced from about 160 days to just developing extension and demonstra- over 100, enabling the farmer to grow tion techniques to get the new seed two or even three crops a year, or to growing in farmers' fields and to teach follow his rice harvest with another them how to handle it and protect it to food crop. The new rice plants tillered get the best results. This work led to readily: they would send up extra the invention of the famous "package shoots wherever they found room, of practices"-a concept that is both which meant that with the right stim- literal and figurative. A rice-produc- ulus, every seed could give a bonus tion kit was prepared, consisting of yield of grain. two to five kilograms of seed and the This remarkable plant-breeding necessary amounts of fertilizer and feat was made possible by the collec- insecticide, plus instructions for their tion and screening of thousands of rice use in the course of the rice-growing varieties from the Philippines, Japan, cycle. The invisible part of the package and other Asian countries, plus a num- was institutional support, which ber of cultivars supplied by the United meant technical assistance and follow- States Department of Agriculture. up from the extension agent, who had IRRI's genetic resources bank cur- the resources of IRRI available to him. rently counts over 30,000 accessions; In some areas use of the package gave over half of these have been described the farmer access to credit through and their significant traits recorded. governmental programs and a guar- Each year IRRI supplies new lines to anteed selling price. In the early days, rice breeders around the world; in a the field worker himself may have typical recent year over 10,000 seed taken a course at IRRI; later on he samples were sent out to scientists in was more likely to have been taught 69 countries. At least 33 genetic lines his job by a production specialist who developed and tested at IRRI have had spent six months to a year in one been released and given local names in of IRRI's training programs. other countries. About half of the In- IRRI's first ten years left an institute's work now involves evaluating delible mark on rice production in Asia genetic resources and sending out and to some extent in Africa and Latin breeding materials in response to re- America; it also saw the charting of quests from national programs and a new course in institutional develop- rice scientists in different countries ment. IRRI's impact has been decisive, around the world. and its reputation for excellence has 17 'I, wQ -

4u4 .1- -,

Scientists seek resistanece to plant nemies.

been a practical asset in generating will coopErate wvith IRRI's teams interest in the new riice technology. of rice breeders, agronomists, and Nonetheless, a host of problems re- soil scientists in efforts to develop main to be solved. farming systems for a variety of environments, with special attention to the farmers who wvere bypassed by the I() : . )\ I ll, .I first wave of advances set in motion by Under the banner of ' getting out the Institute's new technology. Socio- of the experimenter's field and into the economic studies have been under- producer's field," IRRI h,.s taken on taken at it4 locations in six countries the challenge of bringing modern to discover why the new methods have methods to the small farrier, a com- not found wider acceptance among mitment that involves, p 'ominently, producers. improving upland and rainfed rice In all, only about 20 percent of the culture. Admittedly this is going to be rice land in South and Southeast Asia a harder pull than the work with irri- is now planted to the high-yielding gated rice, and the result,; are likely rices (as much as 50 percent in some to be less rapid and less pectacular. areas, but less than 1 percent in The significance of the effort, however, others). I f there were more high- is unparalleled, since the qt ality of life yielding varieties adapted to a wide of millions of Asia's poorest farmers variety of conditions, such as mois- is in the balance. Upland and rainfed ture regimes, gr,Dwth durations, and rice accounts for 65 to 70 percent of deep water, more ifarmers would adopt the world's rice lands; yie'ds average the new varieties. 1.0 to 1.5 metric tons per hectare. High-yielding varieties, such as Exploratory studies siggest that IR 20 and IR 26, which give up to 10 the constraints in these rice-growing metric tons per hectare in experi- areas come from man as well as mental plots, average only four to five from nature, and broad strategies tons in farmers' fields. (On the whole, are being drawn for a concerted at- that is not a bad showing, considering tack on socioeconomic nLs well as that overall average r ice yields for technological barriers to better yields Asia's developing countries are re- and higher farm income. An econo- ported to be 2.0 to 2.22 tons per hec- mist, a sociologist, and a climatologist tare.) The reasorns for this variance 18 of the yields of IRRI riices in farmers' and thus take the first step out of the fields as compared with those of ex- subsistence-poverty trap. The use of perimental plots include lack of pest newN, and cheaper chemicals and tech- and weed control, inadequate or un- niques for controlling insects is being balanced nutrients, and unreliable studied as well; for example, the place- wvater supplies. IRRI scientists are ment of selected pesticides in the root taking steps to identify specific as- zone of the plant in a single applica- pects of these constraints for which tion has been found to be superior in practical remedies can be found. For effectiveness and safer than conven- example, a study of Thai farmers rie- tional methods of repeatedly spraying vealed that some were neglecting to the pesticides on the plant. follow fertilizer recommendations, Another aim is to produce plants others were not weeding properly; in that wvill give good results using less both cases, yields were depressed, but fertilizer. IRRI's soil microbiologists when the two measures were given have found that rice plantings have a attention rice harvests met expecta- much higher nitrogen-fixing effect tions and profits went up. than was formerly believed. Soil chem- ists have identified certain mineral deficiencies in the different rice-growing regions, and correctives are being Top priority in research goes to sought, both by supplying the missing plant protection. IRRI's varietal im- elements and by breeding plants that provement teams are concentrating on have inherent tolerance to various ad- the search for genetic resistance to a verse soil conditions. wide range of plant enemies, including The curious ability of deep-water rice blast, bacterial blight, bacterial rices to adapt to the level of flooding leaf streak, grassy stunt, tungro vir'us, is a possibility for breeding into IRRI and the insect carriers of the last two, lines; an "elongation gene" permits the green leafhopper and brown plant- dwarf rices to grow taller if the field hopper. They have identified sources water level rises. of partial resistance to each of the Rice protein quality and amino- major rice enemies and have bred ex- acid balance are being stressed, in the perimental lines that combine resist- hope of breeding more nutritive ance to as many as six to eight of them. strains. Rice varieties that have 9 per- This research, in part, reflects cent protein on a milled basis are IRRI's concern to produce new kinds being developed (ordinary rice has 7 of high-yielding varieties for low- percent), and they have shown good income farmers, whether they growv results in feeding trials with animals. rice under irrigation or in upland or Two rice varieties with .5 percent rainfed areas; usually the small pro- higher-than-normal lysine levels have ducers operate at subsistence level and also been identified, out of several cannot buy insecticides. Plant protec- thousands screened. tion built into the seed is a money- Improved water delivery is being saving feature that may persuade studied in areas where irrigation sys- them to choose a high-yielding variety tems are not having the desired re-

19 sults. Investigations on a pilot basis needs, actually create employment. By are being carried out by IRRI to learn using the short-season rices and aided how to maximize the efficiency of dis- by machinery, the farmer can harvest tribution systems serving small farms. two crops a year, whereas he used to Sociologists in the Philippines are get only one. That way he can nearly looking at the farmers' use of irriga- double his production; but to do it he tion water and their stake, as they needs more hands at planting, weed- perceive it, in improving local net- ing, and harvest time. Thus, the short- works of ditches and in having a voice season rices and the newly introduced in community water management. system of cropping several crops per IRRI's experience seems to indicate year create the demand for machin- that dams and canals built by donor ery. Machines developed by Institute agencies fall short of their purpose engineers have been tried out in co- unless the program includes follow- operative programs in nine countries. through to the level of on-farm delivery of irrigation water and stimulates active involvement of the local people. 1FM)L AJIOA11 )\A IC P ( GR(R AMI Small-scale machinery with sim- IRRI's educational programs are ple replacement parts is being designed the nerve center of an expanding sys- by IRRI's engineers; it can be manu- tem of ties with rice-growing efforts factured by local labor and sold at ap- around the world. Training at several proximately one-half the cost of other levels is offered; very much in demand equipment; repairs are also cheaper from the start has been the rice produc- and less complicated. Low-cost thresh- tion course offered to candidates from ers, hand tractors, and grain driers extension organizations and research have been built by IRRI's engineers and educational institutions, chiefly and released for local manufacture from South and Southeast Asia. This and distribution. The paddy-seeder six-month intensive training program designed for small-farm use permits has proven so useful that, from direct seeding and plowing and rapid training production specialists in tillage (as contrasted with the tradi- IRRI-developed technology, it rapidly tional tedious methods of hand plant- progressed to training teachers who ing the seedlings). Such machines, far would organize and carry out training from cutting down on manpower programs, based on the IRRI tech-

Field day.s demonstratr modern farming methods.

20 , __ 9 -

4.,- niques, in their home countries. The dence at a time. Those conducting course consists of half classroom study their thesis work in connection with and half field experience and accom- one of IRRI's programs can be at the modates about 35 candidates at a time, Institute in five minutes from their with a typical class representing up to classrooms at the College. Postdoc- 15 Asian nations. A special five- toral researchers, special trainees, and month course in multiple cropping is visiting scientists add to the roster of also offered. those who have benefited from contact Classes are conducted in English, with IRRI's expert staff and access to and for those who want to brush up its experimental facilities. their language skills, there are do-it- In all, about 700 man-years of yourself courses on records, permit- training have been logged since the ting them to advance at their own Institute's establishment, and grad- pace. Although not all the students uates of the various programs have plan to work in extension, they are fanned out over most of South and exposed to every aspect of rice re- Southeast Asia-and -some as far as search and production-the different Africa and Latin America-to con- rice varieties, insect and disease prob- duct local training programs, plan and lems and how to deal with them, use administer rice research and produc- of herbicides and pesticides, experi- tion efforts, and oversee developmental mental procedures, statistical analysis, projects from key posts in government and even institutional and administra- ministries, research centers, or inter- tive problems. They learn how to national organizations. conduct field demonstrations and ex- plain the new technologies to farmers. I N V1( Nx An important feature of the training is learning to work in interdiscipli- k'>l I N¢ i nary teams, typically made up of an IRRI's international commit- agronomist, a plant pathologist, an ments have expanded as word of its entomologist, an economist, and a successes has spread throughout the communications specialist. The plan rice-growing countries of the develop- is to have them replicate the team ap- ing world. Within the international- proach in their own countries, thus institutes system, major responsibility perpetuating a concept that has been for rice work in Africa is delegated to one of the keys to IRRI's success. IITA; and in Latin America, to CIAT. Formal academic training for Rice scientists gather periodically at scholars and fellows-M.A. or Ph.D. Los Barios for symposia on technical degree candidates and young scientists problems; a number of scientific pub- specializing in some aspect of rice lications, including a detailed annual research without aiming for a degree report of research results and other -lasts from one to two years and is activities, and an extensive bibliogra- conducted in cooperation with the phy of rice literature updated yearly, College of Agriculture of the Uni- are sent out to interested institutions versity of the Philippines. About 60 to and individuals; and the library at 65 students at this level are in resi- IRRI has an active documentation

21 from these highly varied environments has been an invaluable com-

V t '-ponent of the Institute's central , tkresearch program. Varieties developed a ,in these Asian countries can be useful

*L ." .-, Xfor adaptations in Africa, the Near East, and Central and South America, wherever IRRI's help is requested.

r In the Philippines, IRRI has co- (1 .. * i i.operated closely with government ef- foirts to increase rice production, most recently in the training of production specialists for a new program called "Masagana 99" and its sequel, called "Masagana 99-2." A 28 per cent in- r crease over the 1972 rice crop was 'T, o rp)rts.(- l,WV(e ifl pr(gre.ss. achieved in the 1973-74 Masagana 99 program; it was the largest annual s- i, An outposi of t library lo- rice production in the history of the ( iIt'!Jnapan ei ends e scope of Philippines. il a \ li-i Many of the national centers are I -niotioln of i ation production able to take over full responsibility for p('I1io in. pl'Ovi' on o -onsulting research and development programs I li( s Io governl nents nd assign- within their own countries, and to ni,io )1' staff me ibers o posts as continue cooperative research with rsi,ll it pecialisl. to If plan, or- IRRI on a self-sustaining basis, thus g.nni/ aii admin' terlo I programs, releasing Institute scientists for as- ate at petts of IF RI's ternational signment to new programs. IRRI's assist inc( work. policy has consistently stressed devel- S i lanka, ndia Endonesia, opment of strong national programs I dang-dsh, Thaila id, S( h Vietnam, with built-in problem-solving capa- EoiaBurma, E)?Tpt, T laysia, and bility; in entering into assistance Pakis an. as well *.s th 'hilippines, agreements, the Institute expects its 1)i-'o leni fited froim rice search and participation to follow a curve of in- traiiig r)rograms 1raw ron IRRI's creasing, then diminishing involve- scienl fic and proi 'ssioi resources, ment, until the local program emerges Vyitli tinaicial bacl ing f in their na- as an independent entity. The national tional government- and om various units will ultimately be able to coop- (Ionor agoncies. T, sting f IRRI-de- erate with each other on a footing of Nelop d l ice lines- -for e!ld, for re- equality, in addition to maintaining sista-ti e to local pet ts an( liseases, for contact with IRRI for research, vari- stress tolerance, and f, still other etal testing, and exchange of scientific factoi,;-- is carried out u ler growing information at the international level. condi ionss found ii the imerous co- With increasing emphasis on opera ing countri- s, ai I feedback stimulating initiation of research and 22 production work at the national level may prove to be an unexpected focused on small farms and farming boon to confirmed rice eaters in systems, more decentralization of times of high prices or shortages: IRRI's assistance is foreseen for the a study made during 1973 showed future. This trend is dictated in part that poor families were using corn by the nature of the technology to be grits mixed, with rice and found it developed: in contrast with the widely a satisfactory substitute for the more adapted high-yielding varieties and costly purel rice.) Sweet potatoes packages of practices, whose uniform- planted in relay wvith rice (the pota- ity was one of their outstanding toes going ini three weeks before the assets, farming methods for rainfed rice was harvested) resulted in good and upland rice and associated crop- yields of both crops; mung beans in combination systems are expected to rotation with maize prospered, but show wide diversity, in conformity mung beans following mung beans with differing agroclimatic, socioeco- did poorly. nomic, and even political conditions in This kind of highly specific infor- the selected localities. mation, developed under the ideal conditions of IRRI's trial plots, will provide valuable backstopping for the I i P1. ' 'I A lI CN projected farming-systems program. A central dynamic in this effort is Alternate combinations of crops tested IRRI's experimental work in multiple at IRRI can be recommended for given cropping systems. This program has soils where yields of rice or other tra- attracted worldwide notice for its ditional crops are low, or where rice demonstration of the high food-pro- growing is dependent on the rains, and duction levels that can be achieved in the fields ordinarily lie fallow the rest the tropics and subtropics under con- of the year. trolled experimental conditions, using Rice, since IRRI began work a the new short-season rices in combina- decade ago, has proven itself extraor- tion with other crops commonly grown dinarily responsive to the efforts of or easily adapted in these latitudes. modern science, and rice growers as Inter-cropping, relay cropping, well as their leaders in government, and various rotations were tested, have shown themselves equal to the and the best-performing combinations challenge of putting the new technol- were sought, not only in terms of max- ogy to use in the interests of feeding imum yield, but for interactions affect- growing populations. As demand ing insect control, weed infestation, grows, IRRI's experience with rice soil toxicity, use of nutrients, and sim- and with the people who grow it will ilar factors. For example, maize inter- be invaluable in helping build strong cropped with sweet potatoes, mung national programs in the many coun- beans, or peanuts was found to be tries where better rice farming can a successful combination, each for form the basis for raising the living a different reason. (Maize growing standards of large numbers of people.

23 INTERNATIONAL = - MAIZE AND WHEAT IMPROVEMENT CENTER

Londres 40 and their material circumstances im- Mexico 6, D.F. proved. And it is a fact that after the Mexico discoveries of the past 15 years, maize and wheat will never be the same. The Inter national Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is one of the oldest and most prestigious of the international Since its official establishment, institutes. Its research base had been CIMMYT has developed its research evolving for over 20 years under a col- and training in patterns of give-and- laborative agricultural program be- take that reach out to nearly every tween the Rockefeller Foundation and major wheat and maize-growing coun- the Mexican Government, and assist- try in the world; it has collaborated ance to countries in Central and South in agr icultural projects in developing America and Asia had already been countries and has consolidated ties undertaken by its staff, when it was with research and educational institu- reorganized as an international center tions in the advanced nations. Today in 1966. Through an agreement with the Center's activities include evalu- the Government of Mexico, it assumed ation of genetic resources, breeding autonomous status under an interna- and testing of new grain varieties, tional board of directors and began agronomic research, biochemical and systematic expansion of its research, nutritional analysis of gr ain pr otein, training, and communications activ- assistance with production programs ities. and consultation on agr icultural poli- Almost tangible in CIMMYT's cies, war on plant diseases and pests, dynamics is belief in change. In its training of future wheat and maize short existence, the Center has wit- specialists, exchange of scientific in- nessed sharp changes in grain and in formation, and development of new men-its leaders communicate a con- educational techniques and materials. fidence more persuasive than zeal, that But while CIMMYT's mandate is traditional agriculture can be changed global and its current operations vir- and is changing; that planners and tually worldwiide, its center of gravity policy makers can be swayed; that is the research and training programs farmers will adopt new technologies in Mexico. That is where the wheats and that their horizons can be widened behind the record-breaking harvests 24 in Asia were developed; where exper- Today food-supply prospects and imental populations of high-protein population growth projections are maize are being worked on around the such that the need for help with va- calendar to produce viable crop varie- rietal improvement and production ties; and where triticale, the first programs is nearly universal in the man-made grain species, has been nur- developing countries, and requests for tured and developed to the level of aid arrive at CIMMYT headquarters a competitive commercial crop. more frequently than the Center can CIMMYT's wheat and maize research respond. In 1974 CIMMYT staff mem- has also generated programs on re- bers were stationed overseas to work lated crops like barley and sorghum. in wheat programs in Turkey, Tunisia, Crop improvement is the primary Algeria, and Lebanon; maize special- objective, but its ramifications are far- ists were assigned to programs in reaching. Genetic manipulation of the Pakistan, Nepal, Egypt, Zaire, and wheat and maize plants for higher Tanzania. Consultation is being pro- yields and better agronomic perform- vided annually to as many as 60 coun- ance entails refinement of manage- tries of Asia, Africa, and Latin ment techniques and productivity America. systems; a search for new experimen- In 1973 wheat and maize special- tal approaches and more precise sta- ists in 91 countries grew sample tistical methods; closer coordination batches of experimental lines at 1,429 of scientific projects and exchanges of trial sites in CIMMYT's systematic information and biological materials international programs of trial nurs- among the world's wheat and maize eries. These tests are aimed at devel- workers; and development of ways to oping superior grains, screening them reach and persuade farmers in the use for resistance to diseases and pests, of new technologies. These several and adapting them to growing condi- efforts converge toward the ends of tions in both promising and unprom- bettering the farmer's economic pros- ising spots, where they may eventually pects and upgrading the quality of add to the food supplies of underfed country and village life in the wheat populations, give farmers more sta- and maize-growing areas of the devel- bility in precarious economies, and oping world. help tide them over in hard times. Both In its first annual report, wheat and maize programs plan ex- CIMMYT professed a plain and pansion of their overseas efforts in unequivocal goal-but one with impli- countries requesting aid, a move that cations of such complexity and mag- will mean an increase in staff on for- nitude that its bounds have still to be eign assignment as well as extension set: of consultation services and technical The main purpose of CIMMYT is to support to national and regional agri- assist nations throughout the wvorld to cultural institutions and foreign gov- increase the production of wvheat and ernments. CIMMYT's assistance to maize. . . . Priority will be given to developing countries is aimed primar- those countries that need and request ily at strengthening national agencies help in increasing yields. so that they can contribute to increas- 25 ing production at home and also form The number of trainees in wheat part of the international problem- production and in maize production is solving system. about 100 a year; studies last from six months to a year and are geared to the formation of intermediate-level HA NI NI 1' ' lI' A>- research and extension specialists. Training at CIMMYT provides Candidates are given field experience concrete backstopping for this effort with wheat or maize production, by annually increasing the number of sprinkled with a small amount of wheat and maize scientists active in classroom instruction, to prepare them the developing world. The training to train teams of production special- programs have formed a growing ists, extension agents, and subpro- cadre of wheat and maize specialists- fessionals in their home countries, loyal alumni who now staff national thus creating an expanding corps of and regional agencies and lead re- field workers to answer the needs of search, education, and extension thousands of farmers engaged in both efforts all over the tropics and sub- large and small operations. tropics. These graduates keep in touch Teamwork is a hallmark of the with the Center's research and are CIMMYT work code, and it is re- often instrumental in expanding its flected in the training program. One overseas network of adaptive research approach used involves five-man on new lines of maize, wheat, triticale, teams, representing five different dis- and other grains; moreover, they ciplines, often from five different na- know they can turn to CIMMYT's ex- tions, and as likely as not receiving perts for advice and help with the support from as many or more donor problems they come up against in their agencies. They attack grain produc- own countries. tion problems and learn at firsthand how to conduct coordinated, interdis- Young maize scientists come from ciplinary research. In this way, the many parts of the world. integrated approach is automatically built into the future training pro- -- grams of the cooperating organizations, since each man will return to a : * different nation to teach CIMMYT's methods to his countrymen. Postdoctoral scientists, too, work I . * - on problems associated with CIMMYT's assistance work in their I - home countries; they conduct research and take part in the training of field technicians-there is no faster way '- - - to learn the techniques of adaptive research and production, say CIMMYT's experienced scientists, , .~ , r than by having to teach others. 26 -- , 7 basis for further research in the dif- a i - -"ferenti I maize-growing environments In Central and South America, within its precinct; the basic genetic and parts of Africa and Asia, large materials were sent out to cooperating numbers of rural people live chiefly programs for testing and selection for on maize, most of them poorly. It is local use or for crossing with the best also one of the principal grains raised local varieties. CIMMYT is concen- for animal feed, both for large com- trating on development of open-polli- mercial livestock and poultry opera- nated varieties, as contrasted with the tions and for the few animals raised inbred hybrids that have been the on the subsistence farm. But even basis for increased production in the with world maize production currently United States and other advanced reaching over 300 million metric tons, countries. there is not enough to go around. Hybrid maize was the miracle Maize production gains trailed crop of the American Midwest in the behind rice and wheat in the peak pro- 1930s, and the U.S. corn-belt states duction years of the late 1960s. Maize continue to supply nearly half the is an extremely versatile crop, and world's needs, a large proportion of it this quality is both a strength and a for livestock feed. Hybrids have been weakness. Because of its sensitivity to developed in the low-income countries environmental conditions and to day as well, but generally they are not length, a specific combination of traits practical for use by the majority of is necessary for optimal growth in farmers. Hybrid seed production is a any given locality. Over the centuries, job for professionals; the farmer must thousands of lines were evolved by obtain new seed yearly, and distribu- farmers whose survival depended on tion channels must be efficient. Small selecting the best-performing strains farmers in the developing countries, and perpetuating them. A wide range who use most of their produce to feed of color, size, and texture in the grain; their families and their livestock, have special milling or cooking qualities; no cash to spend on commercial seed; and other variations fancied by people they set aside a portion of their har- of different backgrounds and cultures vest each year for the next season's also influenced the configuration of planting as their fathers did before traits in the maizes handed down from them. remote forebears. Since the new synthetic varieties, In setting out to increase maize when properly handled, can rival the yields, CIMMYT began by collecting yields of the sophisticated hybrids, these tropical varieties from South even small commercial producers who and Central America; with later addi- have a little cash or credit are well tions from other latitudes and other advised to spend it on the inputs that continents, the total world collection help them get the best results-ferti- assembled at CIMMYT now numbers lizers, pesticides, weed killers, and the over 12,000. Breeders aimed first at like. CIMMYT maize breeders do not development of high-yielding, disease- aim to produce finished varieties; they resistant lines that could serve as a have concentrated on developing pop- 27 ulations that can either be used di- this effort are as innovative as the rectly in cooperating countries (in concept. Populations of as few as 20 which case they are released by the or as many as 5,000 plants of similar national programs and given local aspect but different genetic make-up names) or incorporated into local are planted together to allow natural breeding materials to produce adapted mixing; then the mix is tested under varieties. varying conditions. The plants that In the early phases of the maize- show desirable traits are retained, and breeding program, varieties were de- the poorly performing ones are elimi- veloped for high and low altitudes; for nated. In this way a superior popula- early, intermediate, and late maturity, tion is developed, with wide adaptation so that they could be selected accord- and a broad genetic background. ing to the length of the growing season Structural change in the maize and adjustments could be made for plant has been achieved analogous to eccentricities of rain or frost; resist- the restructuring of the rice and ance to the diseases prevalent in given wheat plants in the 1960s. By contin- areas was bred into the superior pop- uous selection of short-statured plants ulations; and when a high-quality pro- and by crossing tall tropical plants tein trait was identified, efforts to with short types, dwarf varieties have incorporate it into tropical varieties been developed with low ear placement became an important objective. But and upright leaves. The plants' new although outstanding varieties were features make it possible to increase bred, and per-hectare yields in Mexico population density from 50,000 to showed a 44-percent gain between more than 100,000 plants per hectare; 1960 and 1967, maize still ran a poor the shorter plants show less tendency third in the race to create new super to topple over as the grain ripens, and grains for crash production programs they can absorb more fertilizer and like those that featured the high-yield- use it to manufacture grain; further- ing wheat and rice varieties in India, more, the thicker stands make more Pakistan and the Philippines. efficient use of solar energy and soil However, news from CIMMYT nutrients, and they compete success- in the last two or three years adds up fully against weeds. Importantly, too, to a major breakthrough in maize that the higher yields create employment, has gone largely unheralded. Research since more hands are needed for plant- aimed at breeding short-statured ing, harvesting, shelling, hauling, and plants with wide adaptation, multiple handling the increased output. Yields disease and pest resistance, and high of such experimental varieties in the protein quality, has begun to show highland tropics have risen from 5-6 results. This is a radical departure tons per hectare to 9-10 tons, and those from past objectives, in that it aims in the lowland humid tropics, from at developing varieties for use over a 2-3 tons to 5-6 tons. wide area instead of breeding a dis- Another important achievement tinct maize type for each narrowly is the incorporation of day-length in- delimited growing environment. sensitivity into the short-statured The research techniques used in lines. This was done using the mixed- 28 population method after preliminary crosses were made between varieties chosen from different latitudes. Wide adaptation to altitude is being sought in much the same manner. Disease and insect resistance is a complicated prob- - lem in tropical maize; single-gene resistance has been identified for major diseases, and breeders are now i| working on multiple resistance, using techniques for deliberate exposure of the plants to the target enemies and selection of resistant plants.

Breeding for high-quality protein Protein Quality Lab( latory at CIMMYT in maize is one of the most significant efforts being made in any cereal pro- storage hazards were increased by its gram. Maize is notably low in protein higher sugar conlent; and further- -it has 9 to 11 percent at the most- more, people did not like the look and and the protein is low in lysine and texture of the kernels. CIMMYT tryptophan. (A protein source is only breeders attacked these drawbacks as good as its "limiting" amino acid.) and in 1970 found a way to incorporate About ten years ago, a team of scien- the high-lysine tra: t into a maize with tists at Purdue University discovered shiny, firm grain. S'eed multiplication that a mutant gene called opaque-2 and a round of international trials modifies the amino acid composition began. Populations of high-protein of maize; grain with the opaque-2 trait maize with white cr yellow grain and was soft and dull in appearance, but it with various textu res were tested in had twice as much lysine and trypto- 15 countries beginning in 1973, and phan as ordinary maize. Analytically, selections are still going on. Breeders this protein was almost as good as that believe they can increase total protein of milk solids; feeding tests with ani- content to 10 to 12 percent and retain mals and later with malnourished the high lysine and tryptophan levels. children confirmed the laboratory find- These little-publicized advances ings-opaque-2 maize alone was an in maize research are capable of adequate source of protein for growth leading to a major production break- and health. through for tropical regions. Incor- Unfortunately, the recessive poration of the highi-lysine trait gives opaque-2 gene was not easily trans- this crop a privileged place in a world ferred to tropical maize, and when where protein malnutrition is becom- this barrier was overcome, other prob- ing a universal concern. The availabil- lems arose. Yields of opaque-2 were ity of high-yielding, short-statured lower than those of ordinary maize; maize, with high-quality protein, wide 29 adaptation, and genetic disease and through in agriculture; they enabled pest resistance, may prove to be a Mexico to increase production while turning point in rural development decreasing wheat acreage and to ex- programs for maize-producing areas. port wheat for a period, whereas it had The impact that the new maizes traditionally been a net importer. The will have on small-farmer projects is new varieties could be transferred to yet to be gauged. CIMMYT's research spring-wheat areas at varying lati- is continuing to focus on development tudes and elevations and were equally of open-pollinated varieties suitable at home when planted half-way around for use in rainfed areas, with incor- the globe. They did better than tradi- poration of the high-lysine charac- tional varieties even under dryland teristic into types that are locally conditions, and under irrigation their acceptable. National agricultural yields were spectacular. Backed by agencies in many countries are work- strong government campaigns, they ing on such varieties, and expectations brought hopes of food sufficiency to are that within the next few years India and Pakistan in the late 1960s. they will be ready to promote them in Worldwide these CIMMYT wheats or national production programs. their derivatives covered about nine Introduction of high-lysine maize thousand hectares in 1956-66; in 1970 into rural development programs is they were planted on over 10 million one of the global projects being funded hectares, with India, Pakistan, and by the United Nations Development Turkey growing the largest acreages. Programme. In this effort, CIMMYT The new varieties got such a good is providing research and training as press that the public might have con- well as consultation and technical as- cluded that all major wheat problems sistance to national programs. The were solved. confluence of these two important as- The men at CIMMYT knew bet- pects of CIMMYT's maize research ter; they intensified their experi- may prove to be of the utmost signifi- mental programs, aiming for greater cance, in terms of improved nutrition stability of yield, broader disease and and increased farm income, for small insect resistance, and adaptation to farmers in maize-growing lands. drought, cold, and other stresses. They expanded their training program and lengthened the list of nations receiving \\ IE'S,^'AI LYE Il',.tA11 assistance or cooperating in research The research at CIMMYT that and varietal testing. They entered into produced the first high-yielding dwarf a cooperative effort with a number wheats in the early 1960s and led to of governments and assistance agen- their subsequent widely publicized cies in the Near and Middle East to success in Asia, set the stage for even monitor wheat diseases and to try to broader experimentation and farther- prevent epidemics. They undertook flung production programs in the cooperative research with U.S. uni- 1970s. The widely adapted varieties versities and the Government of and their associated technological Turkey aimed at developing winter packages were hailed as a major break- wheats; triticale research in coopera- 30 - 4

CIMMYT helps develop sbtr(tegicxfo .'niallf0'nw?es. tion with the University of Manitoba resistance to diseases and insects; was accelerated; and studies on pro- breeders are using innovative tech- tein levels in wheat were launched in niques that include selection of the cooperation with the University of best lines of resistant material over Nebraska. several growing cycles, inoculation CIMMYT scientists are xvell with various pathogens or deliberate aware that in order to fill the world's exposure to insects, and testing under bare cupboards and empty breadbas- a wide variety of environments, first kets, high-yielding wheats must be in Mexico and then in the interna- bred and farming practices developed tional nurseries program. The con- for a great many different environ- tinual addition of new genetic material ments-not only areas previously ne- has succeeded in developing a series of glected by science, but those where new wheat varieties resistant to rusts; changing climates and soil conditions attention is being focused on Septoria create a whole new set of problems, or leaf spot, mildew, and scab. Sources of where new diseases and pests invade resistance are being incorporated into overnight or old plant enemies sud- the breeding program, and some re- denly appear in new and lethal muta- sistant lines have emerged. tions. Wheat improvement, whether Crosses of spring and winter on the experiment station or in the wheat are being made in the expecta- wheat-growing world, is an open- tion of improving the root system of ended pursuit. And systematic promo- the spring bread wheats so that they tion of improved wheat technology in will be more tolerant of drought; the the many countries where it has not breeders also hope the crosses will yet penetrated is still a virtually un- result in transfer of cold tolerance and tapped resource for increasing world disease and pest resistance to the supplies. spring wheats. In the same operation Current top-priority aims of they are aiming to transfer traits such wheat research are to stabilize disease as dwarf stature, responsiveness to resistance, to spread the use of im- fertilizer, and disease resistance to the proved seed and agronomic practices, winter wheat lines. Early tests of to raise protein and lysine levels, and spring-winter crosses show promising to find sources of drought tolerance. A results. primary factor in yield stability is A program to improve durum

31 wheat has been under way since 1968. the kinds of barley that are used for Durums are used for a wide variety human food. Sources have been found of macaroni-type products and for for breeding in high protein and lysine Arab couscous, which are important levels as well as good agronomic char- in the Mediterranean area and the acteristics. Four lines were found Middle East. Durum wheat is also having over 20 percent protein-about raised in India, the United States, double that of wheat and almost as Canada, Argentina, Chile, and the high as the protein in grain legumes. USSR. High-yielding, fertilizer-re- Superior varieties will be important sponsive dwarf lines of durum have as both food and animal feed in areas been bred, and genes for resistance to of North Africa, the Near East, the major diseases have been identified. Himalayas, the Andes, and Eastern CIMMYT's milling and baking labo- Europe, wherever low rainfall, high ratory is testing the lines for indus- elevations, cool temperatures, and trial quality, and breeders have sent short growing seasons make wheat out nurseries to be grown in over 30 raising hazardous. countries. One of CIMMYT's superior As a general principle, CIMMYT lines showed record yields in Turkey scientists believe in developing alter- and was released as a commercial nate cereals like barley and triticale variety. for areas that are marginal for wheat, and sorghum for lands where maize is Iii'FVXl \N) l l 1vulnerable. Barley and sorghum have many of the same uses as the grains Triticale, a cross between wheat they replace, and offer the grower the and rye, is being improved along the highly valued advantage of greater same lines as wheat: genes for dwarf- security. ing have been introduced, and the shorter plants can absorb more nitrogen and yield up to six or seven tons Al;\\ I)IJA1,(,I1 1NS per hectare. The drawback of shriv- In addition to improvement of elled grain is being overcome, and these crops, breeders are experiment- triticale is already being grown coming with wide crosses on the order of mercially for food in Eastern Europe, the wheat-rye cross that produced for forage in the U.S., and for dis- triticale. Such research might be long tilling whiskey in Canada. It has bet- in producing concrete results, but the ter tolerance of cold and drought than chance of creating hardier and more wheat has, and some experimental prolific food grains for future genera- lines show higher protein and lysine tions cannot be overlooked. For exam- levels than either of the parent species. ple, some preliminary work with Barley is eaten by some 200 mil- maize, sorghum, and Tripsacum-a lion people, but most research has been wild relative of maize-seems to hold focused on the hulled types that are promise. CIMMYT is growing a Trip- used for animal feed and for brewing. sacum garden to multiply the genetic Now CIMMYT is using the same tech- resources available to breeders. Other niques applied to wheat for improving crosses that are receiving considera- 32 tion include wheat and barley, wheat of the earth together to talk wheat and and oats, and wheat and wild grasses. maize or national production plan- CIMMYT will encourage universities ning, agricultural education, world and other basic research centers to food-population balance, and other probe further into the possibilities of topics that exercise the best minds in wide crosses and other "radical" re- the field. Through many channels- search it considers promising. cooperative research; the training In this, as in its major programs, program and alumni network; con- CIMMYT's role as an international sultation services; resident overseas clearing-house for exchange of scien- staff; official contacts with govern- tific information and airing of vital ments, universities, donor agencies, agricultural questions will prove use- other international institutes, and ful. CIMMYT's technical publications regional and national programs; as in Spanish, English, and French are well as professional ties of its staff circulated to wheat and maize scien- members with other scientists - tists; its conferences and symposia CIMMYT has a finger on the pulse of bring experts from the four corners world agriculture.

33 INTERNATIONAL - - INSTITUTE OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURE P.M.B. 5320 Ibadan, Nigeria

The International Institute of and challenge the highest efforts of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) was modern scientific agriculture. The formed in 1967 through an agreement food-producing potential of these with the Government of Nigeria, lands is unknown-some estimate it to which provided about 1,000 hectares be very great. There is no doubt that of land near the University of Ibadan, they could produce substantially more one of Africa's finest modern centers than they do, provided research were of learning. Improvement of the qual- focused on their outstanding problems ity and quantity of the major food and the proper inputs made available. crops of the lowland humid tropics is The solar energy and heavy rainfalls IITA's stated objective, but this broad are not the unalloyed assets they purpose has been sharpened in con- would appear to be; to turn them to formity with the principle of focusing good account, a number of obstacles intensive interdisciplinary research must be overcome, first among which on a limited range of projects. A fairly is the difficulty of handling tropical large number of crops is important in soils and maintaining their fertility this agroclimatic zone, and each one under regimes of sustaining cropping. could doubtless contribute more to The way small rural communities food supplies if given the benefit of have managed the soils in the past has modern research and production been to use them for a period of one to technology. three years, then abandon them to wild The popular vision of the tropics vegetation and let nature restore as a perpetual garden of green grow- them - the time-honored practice of ing things, with plants always in shifting cultivation with its long in- flower and fruit, ripening in the equa- tervals of "bush fallow." In the days torial sunshine and freshened by when land was plentiful, the fallow abundant rains, forms a grim contrast period could last up to 20 years or with present-day actuality. The fact more. This regime is prodigal with is that the countries in the humid land and labor-sometimes as many as tropics are finding it harder and 15 hectares are needed to feed one per- harder to grow enough food for their son, and every few years a new era of people. But there is enough truth be- thick jungle growth has to be cleared, hind the fiction of the bountiful trop- mainly by hand, before crops can be ical paradise to stir the imagination planted. The land is never fully 34 clealred, since the larger trees are gen- eties as well as farming methods. erally left standing. The system sus- IITA is concentrating its efforts tained life for centuries under the in four central research programs. hostile conditions of the tropics, but Three are crop-centered, dealing with it also absorbed most of the energies improvement of cereal grains, grain of the people who practiced it. legumes, and roots and tubers; the In recent times, however, rising fourth is focused on farming systems. populations have forced rural com- The materials and methods developed munities to put idled land back into in the crop programs are used in the use before the wild growth has had farming-systems research to help de- time to restore the soil to its primal fine the most advantageous use of strength. Under continuous cropping, available resources, and results are in the abundant sunshine and rainfall turn fed back to the crop programs to soon become a liability, tending to ag- serve as a guide in the development of gr avate soil erosion, leaching, and improved varieties and agronomic nutrient depletion. The r esult has been practices. The small farmer's needs deterioration of the soils, decreased are considered paramount; the coor di- crop yields, and lower-quality and nated research of all four major pro- scarcer food supplies. grams is aimed at developing Cr'op Since the Second World War, the combinations and rotations and farm agricultural situation has progressive- management systems that are w ithin ly worsened, adding its toll to the his economic and ecological compass. mounting political, social, and eco- Soils are the keystone of the nomic burdens the African nations farming-systems research. The chal- have had to face. Efforts have been lenge to modern science is to find undertaken to improve existing knowl- methods that work as wvell as the sys- edge about growing conditions for tem evolved by early Iron Age man, food crops as well as for commercial which has been used successfully down and export crops in various parts of to our own generation by small rural the humid tropics, and progress has communities dependent on subsistence been made in a number of areas. Soon farming. If the practice of shifting after its establishment, IITA began to cultivation is to be superseded-and form cooperative ties with many of pressures on land and food supplies the existing programs, so as eventu- r ule that it must be-new means have ally to develop collaborative crop re- to be found to conserve moisture, research and testing mechanisms and store organic matter and preserve soil to take advantage of the experience fertility, prevent erosion and leaching, gained by others who have worked control weeds, keep down insect and wvith the different soils and climatic nematode populations (all of which conditions in the humid tropics. Ex- the bush fallow achieves), and in addi- tension training efforts are also plan- tion support continuous cropping and ned in cooperation with public and produce higher per-unit yields. private organizations in various Afri- Better-quality diets also figure on can countries as IITA's research IITA's priority list; for this reason programs develop improved crop vari- emphasis is being placed on the food 35 legumes, especially cowpeas, which mental change has to be made in Afri- are high in protein, on high-lysine can agricultural systems in the humid maize, and on rice with better- tropics. It involves not only the use of quality protein. Calorie needs are high-yielding, adapted crop varieties important, too; the root and tuber and the accompanying package of im- program is aiming for higher yields proved practices, but in some cases an per hectare and higher carbohydrate assault on the farmers' concepts of content in cassava, sweet potato, and land use and possibly of proprietor- yam-all excellent energy sources. ship-a modification not only of their IITA's long-range mission is be- patterns of cultivation but of their ing tackled by a dynamic leadership way of life. and professional staff. The Institute For the present, IITA's interdis- seems to thrive on challenge; its ac- ciplinary teams are working chiefly on complishments in the areas in which the technological aspects of farming it has concentrated its energies are practices for continuous cropping. One considerable-in the judgment of ex- precept that has been repeatedly vali- perts in the field, some have the dated by experience with agricultural valences of breakthroughs. development programs is that in mak- Highlights from the research pro- ing recommendations which involve grams include the discovery that slight radical changes in working habits or variations in soil temperature deter- folkways, one must be certain the new mine whether or not maize seed will practices will bring palpable benefits. germinate and whether seedlings will Soils are receiving thorough survive; and the development of local- study from the point of view of struc- ly adapted varieties of high-lysine ture, fertility, chemistry, and physics, maize. Tillage and mulching tech- and some remarkable facts have come niques have been designed that mate- to light. A study of soil profiles in rially affect soil moisture, temperature, Nigeria and neighboring countries has and topsoil retention. New vari- identified alluvial soils with high pro- eties coming out of the legumes ductive potential for year-round crop- program have the potential of produc- ping. IITA scientists estimate that ing one-third more under controlled West Africa has millions of hectares conditions than the best varieties that could be turned into productive tested, and they could probably give farmlands at relatively low cost. eight times the average yield achieved Soil management for maize grow- in farmers' fields. Progress made in ing has been studied, and simple, eco- the root and tuber program has made nomical methods have been worked possible genetic improvement of yams out, including fertilization, proper through crossbreeding-a difficult and plant population, weed control, and rare accomplishment. protection against insect invasions, with a view to maintaining high yields under continuous cropping. On the [AI{MI 1(; ,9\ ,SL\IS farm, these practices could give good In order to reverse the downward maize yields from the same land over trend in food production, a funda- several years, in the opinion of IITA's 36 scientists. (However, whether experi- yields. IITA works in close coopera- mental-farm technology, however sim- tion with IRRI and CIMMYT, which, ple and practical, can be efficiently respectively, have major responsibil- moved out into the growers' fields is ity for rice and maize-the major still in the realm of conjecture at cereals grown in the humid tropics. IITA, and methods and approaches are IRRI rice varieties can be used being thoughtfully deliberated before directly for irrigated fields in this any predictions are made.) region, so IITA has concentrated on Weed control research for differ- developing rice for upland farms, ent crops has identified the most effec- which account for about 80 percent of tive chemicals for use with root and the crop grown in West Africa. Using tuber crops, rice, and cowpeas. Weed IRRI breeding materials in combina- competition studies yielded data on tion with local rices, IITA scientists optimal timing of weeding, or use of have developed locally adapted varie- contact herbicides, for highest crop ties, and promising lines are now being yields. tested in different ecological zones. Mulching and minimum tillage, in The West Africa Rice Development combination with weed control meas- Association (WARDA), an organiza- ures, have been found to have several tion sponsored by 13 African govern- advantages, including keeping topsoil ments, is cooperating in these regional in place, holding moisture reserves in trials. the upper layer of cropped soils, and For the upland areas where lowering soil temperature. Marked drought is a problem, IITA is seeking benefits were recorded in both yam early-maturing types with high-yield and maize crops. potential; two varieties have been Leaving crop residues on the identified which yield more than 4,000 ground after harvest, or treating wild kilograms per hectare and have a vegetation with contact herbicides and growing cycle of 100 to 107 days. Afri- sowing the new crop through the layer can varieties with resistance to local of felled weeds, are variations of the races of rice blast and tolerance to same approach. Like mulching and drought have been combined with ma- zero tillage, they mimic the bush fal- terials that have the IRRI plant type, low system, and are, of course, a good and the progeny are being tested at deal handier. This tactic has given IITA and regionallythroughWARDA. good results with maize, but problems Minikits developed at IITA for upland arise with small-seeded plants like rice production are also being tested rice, whose shoots are too fragile to through the Nigerian Accelerated penetrate a thick layer of plant Food Production Program. IITA has residues. helped train rice extension workers for WARDA and for the Nigerian food CEEA IMP1 ROVEMENTn program at both professional and pre- professional levels. Over the past 25 years, continu- High-yielding maize composites ally expanding rice and maize acreage based on CIMMYT materials are has compensated for consistently low being tested at IITA and show prom- 37 a lb I $

;enti.t8su (ldevel piniy ;1 -yni iin 'icc to i

i ing results. TwN ) yea of 1. ee( Ig tl.at i I g i cr( i.11 4 K' .t I[TA hree Yenei -ions ,an be giow n i t can i ni I I owin in a year y tal ng ad ini Nge 01' 1 nŽ J ion ii p the two rainy ;easo * and i ri it- Nv)rld,, c, n I Jllioi a e 0i ;g during the d -y se. ;Dri) I ave *e- Al'ri, a. I .a1-ials pi ol ~ Ited in yield i npro, ?ment of 30 imna t e . t. i in y.- b a , Ircent, as well ;s in igher ])pO in seve a. 3 1,¼, leg n 3s t !ea ntent. Nigeriai com os-tes lai ig inirpc ia i ;his ype KN i i n rt t e opaque-.2 gei e ha, bee] de A1- or that L iead ipte( .it ii a . C ed, and some o, the I ies ha, e - rd croppi .lt teni . W cW- .ic 1 -rne material. peas uil 1 e,nnl is bt li i c; ;r '2 t Ihe effect o: high soil t niip a- on a rA; a aia sVjs, b,t. It t re cn maize ge mina ion ard e; ily have c.c i Lerabt( pol i a JIE.C lo owth has been inpoi ted, a: t s ie Afri.an n rie; as f 1ci (1 - I i-ogress has beei mad tcwa>d i( n- bean . . Iso I e gr) 1; . ii ai:e I t 'ying maizes t tat t, .rate ILig ier envilo0n a t' as ;t cawl r( p 'c t mperatures. Th re is orne ezid( ce produltt and -tiimaI f 3d t at inheritlance f thi trait rra3 De It g c1n. plasm Dle .i( of i latively simple, penhi , up tl ! pc i3- food lk2 i5 s nfu] ribers I i.w ze I Hlity that maiz gro ing i,,.ay De and ',O(l it 'ies: over -,tI C v i,: ec e ten(Ied to hottei clim, i;es. of cowpm 1 t, )00 oFpigit p( a; 6, of' Sources of g?neti( resistinci to soybc:an, i ic i20) of lini: b,ai i tave s -m-borers of ri e ar( being iou [ht been ,(r Ad,i in.it Iditio o )u m as i wild rice as ve' l as ir ]RRI';:[R . 0. examnp. o ;hei ulss s , s . ,itC )'umeresistance t )mai E!stenrl-bo] rs collectio Tofrt- i beiul2 Ui d A in,: i<.s been found. It sect )pulatio((s ire in west i, aid ,ontral .,fi.c: itli 1iii ing raised by I TA's -ntoma1Dg *ts the a:nm i ssembl)ing al ile ail 1Wi f r use in screening p ,3nt miter . ls genetic . r ity in a tinl,Tein ol in- f Jr their reaction to pet .onsla ugh . digenoi rume species. Coal iw is the legvir ie r-C:e a I priority . eirch attenticm lie ;LI it ! I Il t 1contains ]j rh protein le -:s,Iv itl] ;i I]-TA has m, jor w orld r , ,poi- highes-; 1).i centage of rm 'thioi iii o bility for cowpea impri vement, si ize all the f' legurnes. It i a v AIE 38 crop, growing in some areas during diseases and pests. The work on pigeon the rainy season, in others on residual peas will be coordinated with the pro- moisture at the end of the rains, and gram at ICRISAT, which has major in some areas as an irrigated crop. responsibility for this crop in the in- Cowpeas are eaten as green pods, dried ternational-institute network. beans, and sprouted seedlings; crop residues are fed to livestock. Produc- tivity should be susceptible to consid- I{( )I )N!'I 1TIBJ 1 1 erable improvement, since average Starchy roots and tubers, chiefly yields are now about 370 kilograms cassava, sweet potato, and yam, are per hectare in Africa, whereas IITA the major energy foods of the African has achieved yields six times as high. humid tropics. About 50 million tons Institute scientists estimate that pro- of these crops are grown annually, duction worldwide could be increased including 30 million of cassava. IITA's by at least a million tons a year. aim is to improve yields, adaptation, The cowpea breeding program and food quality in the three crops and has developed improved varieties to overcome specific restraints to pro- which are being sent out in uniform duction in each one. trials to cooperating stations around In cassava, the main problem is the world. A team made up of plant disease. Cassava mosaic and bacterial breeder, physiologist, agronomist, en- blight can substantially reduce yields; tomologist, plant pathologist, and bio- in Zaire and Nigeria bacterial blight chemist is aiming to develop a cowpea has been known to cause crop losses plant type suited for the humid tropi- of up to 60 percent. Sources of resist- cal growing environment, with high ance to mosaic have been found in yielding ability, good grain quality, material acquired from Nigerian optimal performance in cropping com- breeders; over a hundred thousand binations, and resistance to diseases crosses have been made, and several and insects. Genetic sources have been hundred plants with resistance to the found for erect growth, prolific pod- disease have been grown. ding, neutrality to day length, and A new breeding technique is being resistance to several major diseases, used, based on natural cross-pollina- as well as for tolerance or resistance tion in populations containing a wide to thrips and other pests. Some im- diversity of genetic materials. Large proved varieties are ready for testing numbers of recombinations are evalu- on farms. The grain legume team is ated, and selections are made for veg- also studying plant density, spacing, etative propagation. fertility levels, soil conditions, and Another goal of the cassava work time of harvest as they affect plant is to produce varieties that have a low development and productivity. level of cyanide. A rapid screening test Progress has been made with has been devised, and a number of pigeon peas, lima beans, and jack low-cyanide lines have been found. beans; the research holds promise for Sweet potato research has pro- increased yields, improved resistance duced high-yielding clones which can to drought, and freedom from serious give 40 tons per hectare in the rainy 39 season and over 30 tons in the dry, in each case within four months time. The chief constraint in this crop is the IITA's presence as a center of ex- sweet potato weevil, and after screen- cellence is beginning to benefit the ing thousands of lines, a few with countries within the area of its man- resistance to weevils have been found. date; in addition to cementing coop- Breeders are also trying to lower the erative relationships with a number sugar content of sweet potato varieties of countries in preparation for long- that originated in Asia or South range programs, IITA has received America, to make them more like the requests for consultation and assist- types preferred by Africans. Im- ance with urgent local problems. A proved varieties are ready for field recent instance was the success of a testing, and IITA is working through team of IITA scientists who went to the extension networks of various Zaire at the request of the Government private and governmental organiza- to identify the cause of the devastating tions to get the crop planted by Niger- "candle disease" of cassava and to find ian farmers. IITA is also trying to means of controlling it. This is an out- develop better storage methods and standing example of how top-flight to breed sweet potato varieties that scientific resources can be brought in keep well. to deal with an immediate, crucial A tissue culture program has problem. IITA feels, however, that it been started as a step toward produc- best serves the countries of the humid ing disease-free vegetative breeding tropical zone by long-range planning materials that can cross national and for research and production pro- continental boundaries without run- grams, and that emergency efforts ning up against plant quarantine should not become an excessive drain restrictions. Using this technique, ex- on its resources. tensive distribution of cassava and With support from a number of sweet potato materials to national donor agencies, IITA is undertaking breeding programs is planned for the cooperative programs and consulta- future. tion with several nations at the request Yams (Dioscorea spp) grown in of their governments. It is working the humid tropics do not lend them- with CIMMYT in Zaire's national selves easily to genetic improvement, maize program, and it has been coop- because they rarely flower or set seed. erating in the Nigerian Government's However, the IITA breeding team has Accelerated Food Production Pro- managed to grow 600 seedlings, which gram, along with scientists from IRRI will make hybridization possible. A and CIMMYT. Similarly, it is offering collection of genetic materials is under consultative services on maize and way at the Institute, starting with grain legumes in Tanzania, with the African varieties. Material from cooperation of CIMMYT. IITA per- Southeast Asia and the West Indies sonnel are now posted in Liberia and will also be acquired, but with Sierra Leone to assist with rice difficulty because of the restrictions on cultivation. Ghana has also made con- importation of vegetative plants. tact with the Institute for cooperative 40 research on soil conservation and ero- several levels. Research training is sion control. offered for candidates from developed In addition to these activities, and developing countries who will IITA holds,conferences which bring eventually assume responsibility for specialists to Ibadan for short semi- national and regional production re- nars on topics of concern to workers search programs in the tropics. The in tropical agriculture. Past confer- training includes one to two years of ences have dealt with soils, irrigation, instruction and field experience; can- cassava mosaic, grain legumes, and didates submit written reports, pre- root crops. sent their findings at seminars, and A Communications and Informa- prepare papers for publication. Their tion Unit prepares and disseminates projects are integrated with IITA's reports on IITA's programs and re- ongoing research, and some of the search to interested organizations, trainees have already made valuable government agencies, and individual contributions to its work. Emphasis is scientists. Publications in both French placed on production-oriented think- and English will serve the two major ing and techniques, since many of language groups in the African trop- the participants come to IITA with ical zone. academic training but little field The Library and Documentation experience. Service is acquiring current publica- IITA also offers opportunities for tions related to IITA's major research higher-degree candidates from uni- activities. Annotated bibliographies versities in Africa, Europe, and North are being prepared of the research America who want to conduct their literature pertinent to tropical agri- thesis research in a tropical environ- culture; a retrieval service is being ment. The Institute already has co- organized so that the publications operative relationships with eight listed in the bibliographies can be institutions, and plans to enter into made available to scientists in other similar arrangements with others. countries. IITA also accommodates a few post- I N doctoral scientists who are doing I \research relevant to the Institute's Resident training programs in program. tropical agriculture are operated at Production training programs,

Maize production specialistsare trained in the field. : l f ID

t41

iq' which may last from three months to people of the lowland humid tropics. a year, are offered to give practical ex- It can concentrate intensive research perience to trainers and supervisors on a limited number of key problems, who will in turn teach extension while national and regional programs agents in their home countries. They necessarily cover a broader field. The learn how to handle a given crop and two approaches complement each how to run an accelerated production other, and their interaction should campaign. The program of training in benefit the farmer and the consumer. rice production, in particular, is ex- Reciprocity is a basic theme in IITA's panding and ultimately may be able thinking and action: its leaders expect to handle as many as a hundred the Institute to act as a catalyst in participants. effecting changes in technology and promoting agricultural development; IITA is an added dimension in the they emphasize that it can succeed in efforts of the African nations to im- its objectives only by working hand in prove the agricultural outlook for the hand with existing organizations.

42 INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF r TROPICAL AGRICULTURE r Apartado Aereo 6713 Cali, Colombia

The International Center of Trop- all have such distinctive features, ical Agriculture (CIAT) represents a arising from both natural endowment departure from the crop-centered ap- and human intervention, that a pro- proach to agricultural improvement gram aspiring to benefit agricultural typified by CIMMYT and IRRI. Its production and foster rural welfare primary focus is on a region-the low- must proceed in several directions. land tropics of the Western Hemi- And it must pioneer, as little in the sphere-and within that framework way of scientific exploration has pre- on the key factors that influence the pared the way. development of a productive farm CIAT's geographical province lies sector under given agroclimatic and below the well-favored highland pla- socioeconomic conditions. Some of teaus; it includes undeveloped lands of CIAT's programs are commodity cen- fair to good potential, where agricul- tered, while others deal with farming turists believe modern technology can systems and the development of proto- effect substantial change, as well as type uhits for crop or livestock raising jungle and desert areas, where agri- or for mixed farming, with emphasis cultural development is a long-range on the small family farm. CIAT's con- but challenging possibility for the cern with extension and outreach is future. cardinal; from the start the Center Yields are low in every major was conceived as a hub for stimulating crop, except for the few export com- the work of national and regional agri- modities, such as cotton, coffee and cultural efforts and working through sugar, that have received attention them to disseminate research findings and investment because of their hard- and technological improvements. currency value in world markets. The tropics of Latin America are Maize, rice, cassava, and beans-the marked by sharp contrasts and end- foods that sustain the people-gener- less variations. The high-elevation ally make a poor showing; beef cattle savannahs with good farmland and and swine bring low returns except on favorable climate, the harsh Andean modern commercial ranches. Small slopes, the infertile lowland plains landholdings account for the great with alternating droughts and floods, bulk of food and feed production, and the rich river valleys and marshy much of it is for home consumption. In deltas, the impenetrable rainforests- this milieu, farming is geared at the 43 lowest level of investment, innovation, with their nitrogen-trapping mecha- and risk-not because farmers are nism. Soil research or breeding of illiterate or backward or slow to sense tropical forage legumes and grasses, the winds of change, but because in the search for adapted food-crop spe- their experience of the hazards and cies for the leached-out soils of the caprices of nature and the market- Llanos (the plains of eastern Colombia place, that is the most practical way to and western Venezuela), or work on insure survival from one year to the drainage and flood control for the next. And survival even at subsistence coastal plains, has to be done with level in a rural population that is some knowledge of the type of farm growing at an annual rate of about family that will choose to settle in 3 percent requires diligence, and each these desolate areas, and what their year becomes more problematic, needs will be in terms of access to in- Such considerations have shaped puts, services, and markets as well as CIAT's major programs. Agricultural food and shelter. In fact, CIAT leaders research projects in the Latin Amer- believe that the multidisciplinary, in- ican tropics must be at once discrete tegrated research program on small- and interlocked: there is no single farm units may turn out to be one of obstacle or constellation of constraints the Center's most important contribu- whose removal would assure progress. tions to agricultural development in For example, animal diseases, animal much of Central and South America. nutrition, and livestock management CIAT has four food-crop pro- must be investigated separately by grams: cassava and field beans specialists, but unless livestock raising (Phaseolus vulgaris), for which it has is economical for the small producer assumed major responsibility in the and fits into a workable pattern which international-institute network; and permits him to obtain the necessary rice and maize, for which it has charge supplies and services and to sell his on a local basis, with backstopping products at a fair profit, the vast ma- from IRRI and CIMMYT. jority of growers will not benefit from Livestock programs deal with the scientists' work. The same holds beef cattle, a major CIAT thrust, and true in crop production; no single crop with swine, a more modest program. dominates throughout the region- cassava may be the major food in one area, maize in another, and rice in a \ third; beans are common as a protein The starchy root cassava, or source. yuca, is a favorite with the people of Genetic improvement and agro- Latin America and the Caribbean, nomic practices developed for beans who cook and use it in dozens of ways. and maize have to be meshed with the It is also a staple food in many parts development of methods that take into of Africa and South Asia. Although account the prevailing practice of low in protein, it is a good energy sup- planting these two crops together, plier. Dried or fresh cassava can be the maize stalks serving as bean-poles used as the carbohydrate fraction in and the bean plants enriching the soil animal rations. Three-month-old 44 leaves contain between 21 and 30 percent protein, on a dry-weight basis, and are being used at CIAT in swine feeding experiments. Cassava is also grown in Africa and parts of Asia, where it was introduced from the 5 , Western Hemisphere, but yields are 1l generally low (7.7 tons per hectare in I- Africa, 9.5 in Asia, 14 in Latin America). Experimental trials sug- gest that yields could be raised to 50 -: tons per hectare by selecting for high productivity and disease resistance and using good agronomic practices. CIAT is working on simple storage techniques for fresh roots as well as on drying methods for longer Cass

A field day helps spi eadl, ewn rice varieties.

tation, herd mnanagement, and related cos Lhe training Iv-ogram for - factors. A sin iilar study concentrating duc i n specialists :-r the low d on the effects of warious pasture sys- trol i s has include( s(ientists f n tems is projected Economic analysis Co]l t ibia, Ecuador, I ta, Costi I ) , of the data wxill cmntrib)ute to develop- Pai uay, and Boliv a. < nd witl t ,e ment of practical husbandry tech- trai i d scientists c it.Icach plOj -S niques and beef produ,tion systems. are i w being develo oil!d in all oi t ie cou 1 ries.

One hundred mi]lion swine are Se 1'A t [PAlS found in the 0owLand tropics, up to 90 1 utting across thlc lines of e percent of themi:o- subsistence farms. croi Lnd livestock yr ! grams, C( I 's Poor nutrition and management as sm. I farm systems t' am is wonr g well as substandard sanitation are the on i i ? analysis of sr tall-farm d ra a i- maini barriers -to efficient production. ics i d the factors 1hat influence Le The small farmer's talke from his herd fart nr's decisions i n tne cont 3x )f is only a seventh or an eighth of what agr iltural instituti )tIs and eccnr Ic is usual in commerci.l operations in poli at the national [

48 the reasons for adoption or rejection couraging national universities to in- of new technologies as well as identi- troduce field experience into their fication of gaps in available knowledge undergraduate curricula, although ed- provides guidelines for determining ucators schooled in this approach are CIAT's own program priorities. The still in short supply. small-farming systems work also aims at defining methods of analysis and evaluation that ultimately can be used ( '[)l I F1\ by national programs in Latin Amer- Direct consultation with govern- ican countries for introducing techno- ments and agricultural agencies that logical improvements and monitoring request help from CIAT's scientific their effects on the rural sector. staff has also been an important activity from the start. Notably, Ecuador's beef cattle and swine production proj- T 1 XI N1I N; ects have been backstopped by CIAT CIAT's training program is fun- in both research and training, and an damental to the concept of the Center agricultural developmental effort be- as a nucleus of research and informa- ing organized in Guatemala is cur- tion, extending its influence through rently receiving help from CIAT staff. cooperative programs with national Seminars, workshops, and profes- organizations in the Latin American sional conferences figure importantly tropics. CIAT has built up this level of on CIAT's calendar. Around the year activity to include some 200 trainees professional groups meet in the con- a year. Twelve-month courses for pro- ference rooms and amphitheatre to duction specialists are divided between thrash out problems of national and field work and academic work; post- international production and research, graduate in-service trainees from var- arrange for scientific exchanges, de- ious agricultural agencies, advanced- fine priorities, eliminate overlapping degree candidates conducting research efforts, and generally sharpen the projects, and special trainees in var- focus of expert opinion on the barriers ious fields are also in residence for to agricultural advance. varying periods of time. CIAT's Communication, in the largest alumni are vital links in a growing sense of the word, is a goal that network of professionals dedicated to CIAT's leaders and staff work hard at; accelerating agricultural growth and designed as an international meeting- change in their own countries. ground for men and women of influ- The Center views "training ence in the sciences, education, and trainers" in integrated research-and- public affairs from all over the Amer- production methods as one of its most icas, the Center fills a quasi-diplomatic important functions, since a practical role that is essential for agricultural orientation is largely foreign to tradi- and economic progress in the area of tional agricultural science education its mandate, and, indeed, to under- in Latin America. Recently, CIAT standing and cooperation on related leaders have had some success in en- issues throughout the hemisphere. 49 INTERNATIONAL CROPS RESEARCH w INSTITUTE FOR -- THE SEMI-ARID TROPICS tent here as in other parts of the devel- 1-11-256 Begumpet oping world. The increases have come Hyderabad 500016, A.P., India mainly where irrigation can be part of the package. The dryland farmer of the world's The need for increased output by semi-arid tropics tackles a stern en- the dryland farmer, who is dependent vironment with limited resources and upon the rain which falls on his land, long odds against him. continues unabated. One reason is sim- His soils are old and worn. He ply larger populations. Another reason seldom has enough fertilizer. His seed is the worsening situation of protein varieties have come down from ages nutrition: the Green Revolution of selection for ability to produce brought more cereals. Those cereals- some yield in the worst of times-the and more are still needed-are short defense against starvation; such vari- in some of the essential amino acids eties don't produce truly high yields which compose protein. Improved nu- in the best of times. His power is usu- trition for the people demands more ally human or animal, and both are livestock protein and, especially in subject to the poor, plodding perform- resource-poor countries, more grain ance of the undernourished. legumes to balance the added cereals. But most limited is the resource "Re-designed" cereals with upgraded water: limited in amount and limited quality and quantity of protein offer in distribution in these lands of a short another possible means of improve- rainy season and a longer dry season. ment. A major part of the food supply The dryland farmer, and through of some 400 million persons rests on the him the vast populations of the semi- success of the dryland farmer of the arid tropics, is the focus of the rapidly semi-arid tropics. These persons are developing scientific mission of found in parts of Australia and South- ICRISAT, the International Crops east Asia, India, the Middle East, two Research Institute for the Semi-Arid wide belts in Africa, areas of South Tropics. The Institute's scientists be- America, and much of Mexico. lieve that concentrated work can pro- It is true that "miracle varieties" duce varieties of food crops and and new packages of technology have methods of managing the soil and boosted food supplies to a limited ex- water resources for the dryland 50 farmer which can substantially improve the size and dependability of his harvests. Sorghum is grown in both tem- In mobilizing high-level scientific perate and tropical latitudes, with resources for an all-out effort to im- yields in the developed countries about prove the productivity of arid lands five times as high as those in the tropics. and the potential of dryland crops, Although the crop originated in the ICRISAT's leaders are determined to region of Ethiopia and the Sudan and keep the Institute's sights fixed on the is widely grown for food in much of small cultivator of humble means. Africa and in India, the highest level They are developing technology that of technology has been achieved in the will make sense to him in his world advanced nations, where it is grown hedged in by poverty and fear of risk. for livestock feed. But at the same time, the crop varie- Where sorghum is a food crop, wide ties and farming techniques evolved variations exist in the plant types used may have ramifications of far-reach- by farmers; moreover, consumer tastes ing significance. differ with respect to grain size, tex- ICRISAT has primary responsi- ture, and color. (Sorghum color ranges bility for two cereals and two pulses, from pale to dark red or brown.) Most all major crops of semi-arid tropical of the varieties now in use in devel- regions: sorghum, pearl millet, pigeon oping areas do not respond to intensive peas, and chickpeas. Also, ICRISAT technology. In Africa, sorghum is the has committed itself to a parallel ob- dominant crop in areas with low rain- jective of finding systems of farming fall, whereas in regions with more that will produce higher output and reliable rains, both maize and sorghum more dependable results from year to are raised. The sorghums used in year. The program is still new, and Africa are sensitive to day length, both physical facilities and research which limits the seasons for successful projects are in the formative stage. crops. Breeders take factors like these However, the cereals improvement into account when they make selec- work in sorghum and pearl millet can tions for the different sorghum-grow- draw on years of research in India, ing regions. Bred-in resistance to pests the Near East, Africa, and the United and diseases is also important to small States. Some work on pigeon peas has farmers who cannot afford pesticides. also been done in India, Puerto Rico, Intensive breeding research has the West Indies, Brazil, and Australia, been under way in India for a number and on chickpeas in India, Pakistan, of years. A world collection of sor- Iran, and other Near East countries. ghum germ plasm, which now num- In addition to consolidating the results bers upward of 16,000 accessions, is of these and similar efforts, ICRISAT housed near the site of ICRISAT, at is forming ties with national and re- the Andhra Pradesh Agricultural Uni- gional centers engaged in related versity. ICRISAT sorghum improve- research in the semi-arid regions of ment teams are using the collection to the world in preparation for reciprocal identify superior lines for given en- program activities. vironments as well as specific genes

51 for traits they want to incorporate limited value for use among poor sub- into their best genotypes. sistence populations. Many countries Exchanges of genetic materials in dryland areas do not have the capital and trial nurseries, along with inter- or technical personnel needed to build national testing of varieties, are plan- up a seed industry and distribution ned as routine activities of the system. Nevertheless, as the lower- sorghum program. Characteristics income countries progress in economic being sought include genetic resist- development and increase the number ance to witchweed, or Striga, which of trained technicians in the service attacks the root system of the plant; of their agriculture, they may want resistance to downy mildew and other to introduce high-yielding hybrids and diseases; and resistance to shootfly, advanced agronomic practices. For stem-borer, and midge, which head the the high-yielding sorghums, physiolo- legions of insect enemies that attack gists and agronomists are working on the plant in the field from the time of such factors as optimal use of solar seed germination through the appear- energy; improvement of cultural prac- ance of the young shoots, flowering, tices, including time of seeding, use of and grain ripening, then after the fertilizers, and chemical plant pro- harvest cause damage to the grain in tectants; and moisture-conservation storage. Resistance to mold in storage techniques. is also important if the newly harvested grain has to be kept through the rainy season. Other traits on the l LAf' l I LLL[ wanted list are higher yielding ability; Pearl millet (Pennisetum typhoi- shorter stature, to permit denser plant des) is only one in a large family of populations; nitrogen responsiveness; millets; it was selected for special day-length insensitivity; better ap- concentration at ICRISAT because of pearance and texture of grain; higher its widespread use as food in South protein content with higher lysine Asia and Africa, and also its superior levels; greater cold tolerance for the performance under adverse condi- high altitudes in the tropics; and tol- tions. Pearl millet tolerates drought erance to periods of drought. and low soil fertility better than Certain high-protein sorghums sorghum, and in addition it possesses from Ethiopia hold promise for im- the ability to tiller profusely and to proving nutritional quality; Purdue produce two or three ratoon crops in University researchers have spotted succession. ICRISAT scientists have lines having up to 17 percent protein, found that, when sufficient moisture is with a high percentage of lysine. present, the first and second growth ICRISAT is multiplying these lines may be cut for forage and the third for use in crosses and incorporation crop can still produce mature grain. into its trial populations. Breeders' goals-improved yield, Superior hybrids previously de- stress tolerance, disease and pest re- veloped in India have some of the sistance, higher protein quality, and traits being sought by ICRISAT's acceptable kind and color of grain- breeding program, but hybrids have are similar to those defined for sor- 52 ghum. The chief diseases that attack development of synthetics, using the the crop are ergot, downy mildew, and method of selection over several gener- rust, and the millet team is trying to ations from a composite population. find sources of genetic resistance and Such populations are being tested at incorporate them into the best strains ICRISAT for yield, agronomic per- in their working collection. As with formance, grain quality, and disease other grains, broad-based, or "hori- resistance; and selections are being zontal" resistance is their goal. Chem- made to suit the environmental char- ical controls are also being tested, with acteristics of different regions or emphasis on low cost, environmental the needs of local cropping patterns. safety, and maximum efficiency. Many Yields of over three tons per hectare kinds of birds are fond of millet, and have been achieved at ICRISAT, and strong measures must be taken to dis- much higher yields are thought to be courage them in some areas. possible, given good growing condi- The germ plasm collection of tions. (For people who live under the pearl millets counts 6,600 entries from intermittent threat of famine, how- a number of countries, including a ever, the prize trait of millet is that it wide variety from India, and addi- will produce some kind of harvest in tional sources of genetic stocks are the worst of conditions.) known to exist, chiefly in Africa. A systematic collecting effort will be made as ICRISAT's program pro- J1AI() PEAS ceeds, so that breeders can develop Pigeon pea is grown on nearly synthetics and hybrids having desired three million hectares worldwide, characteristics for various uses and about 90 percent of them in India. for different growing conditions. World yields average around 600 kilo- Protein quality in millet varies grams per hectare. Experimental from 11 to 20 percent, and little work plantings have demonstrated, how- has been done to date to incorporate ever, that the yield potential of this high protein into the best-performing crop is much higher; up to 5,000 kilos lines. Hybrids with high yielding po- per hectare and more have been grown tential have been bred, but they are under controlled conditions, using extremely vulnerable to downy mil- local Indian varieties. With genetic dew; the program is now aiming at research concentrated on improve-

Short-duration, higher-yielding millets are being developed.

53 ment of plant type, it is reasonable to the grain-pulse combination is nutri- expect that even higher yields could tionally valuable in semi-arid regions be achieved. Total protein can also be where rural people's diets are gener- increased, since cultivars that range ally insufficient and protein levels in from 18 to 32 percent in protein con- particular are below minimum re- tent have been found. quirements. Agronomic practices At present, many of the varieties adapted to the inter-cropping combi- grown in India take up to 300 days nations are also being worked on by from planting to harvest, but high- ICRISAT's multidisciplinary teams. yielding experimental plantings have been grown in 150 days. Short-season varieties could be extremely valuable CH(.I 1< A for climates where double cropping is India grows about three-quarters feasible. of the world's chickpeas, and Pakistan Pigeon peas in India are tradi- another 10 percent. Other producers tionally interplanted with sorghum or include the countries of the Near millet; they grow slowly at first, then East, southern Europe, Africa, and shoot up after the companion grain is Latin America. Between six and seven harvested, and then take another five million tons are produced annually on months to reach maturity. In addition some 10.8 million hectares. Yields in to the dry peas, which in India are India and Pakistan average 300 to 400 used chiefly in dal (a kind of split-pea kilograms per hectare, whereas exper- sauce or puree), the green pods are imental yields as high as 3,000 kilos edible, and the wood can be used for have been obtained in Iran. fuel. The tall plants also have the ad- Both seeds and pods are eaten; vantage of a deep root system, which the dry peas are also ground into flour makes them tolerant to drought, and and the foliage used for livestock they are fairly resistant to pests and fodder. Varieties with large, light- diseases. Plant population density, colored seeds are most familiar in the however, is low, a condition further Mediterranean region and the West, aggravated by the widespread use of whereas in the Middle East a small- large woody plants that grow to a seeded, black variety is popular. In height of eight to ten feet. India and Pakistan, brown and green Recent development of dwarf peas of medium size are preferred. types with determinate growth habit Total protein in chickpeas is about 20 has opened up possibilities for higher to 22 percent, but as in most pulses, plant densities and improved plant the protein is low in sulphur amino types with a higher ratio of grain to acids, especially methionine. foliage. Breeders also have hopes of In India, chickpeas are a winter- improving growth in the early stages season or rabi crop, grown on residual and developing better resistance to moisture after the main crop has been diseases and pests, especially pod- harvested. It is a plant that thrives in boring insects. Short varieties that dry weather, and is likely to suffer can be used to advantage in inter-crop- from a type of fungus blight if too ping systems are being sought, since much rain falls; soil conditions can 54 make a difference in yield. Most vari- ship is ill-defined, and semi-nomadic eties in use in the developing countries people farm an area for as long as it have a low genetic potential and are will feed their families and flocks, then susceptible to wilt and blight. In addi- move on. The timing of the monsoons tion, a major constraint seems to be and the amount of rain they bring, the neglect. The crop is customarily types of soil and the shape of the ter- planted on marginal soil and given a rain, as well as the local customs and minimum of care. Farmers used to the availability of labor, implements, getting low yields and suffering losses and power, all influence the choice of of up to 50 percent do not think it crops sown and determine when and worth their while to invest in insecti- how the planting is done, how well the cides, soil improvement, or irrigation. crops are cared for, and what becomes This profitless cycle might be broken, of them after the harvest. however, if disease-resistant varieties To develop basic farming pat- were available-more dependable terns that can be recommended for prospects for a decent return might reasonably wide areas, ICRISAT is persuade farmers to put more effort conducting research at its headquar- and money into the crop. ters site and is also seeking the collab- ICRISAT's program is aiming for oration of agricultural centers in other resistance to wilt, blight, and anthrac- countries for assistance in gathering nose as well as altered plant type and information, testing various cropping higher protein. The ultimate goal is to combinations and agronomic prac- combine in a single plant the traits tices, and eventually, disseminating that will give increased production, research results. dependability, and high nutritional A common denominator through- quality. out the area is the need for efficient water management. Low rainfall and IARA(WN SYSTE'SilXwater scarcity are the most conspic- uous drawbacks, but short periods of Over vast stretches of land in the excess rain, especially on soils with seasonally dry, semi-arid tropics on poor drainage, can ruin crops, carry three continents, the traditional farm- off topsoil, and leach out nutrients. ing systems are as diverse as man's Monsoonal climate is by definition un- hard-pressed ingenuity can devise. predictable and given to extremes. Basic differences stem from both na- Excessive rainfall at the wrong time tural and social conditions. Small can bring insect infestation or virus landholdings, subdivided over the disease just when the plants are most course of generations into minuscule vulnerable to them; dry periods occur- sub-plots, predominate in some areas, ring in the middle of the rainy season while in others communally worked can wilt the monsoon crop, or too much lands are more usual; in others, ten- rain in winter can damage the dry- ants work fractions of large estates, season plantings. a part to pay their rental fee and a Practical water catchment and part for their own needs. There are drainage systems that could be eco- still other regions where land owner- nomically and simply built would do 55 much toward mitigating the effects of in agricultural engineering from Pun- uncertain rainfall. ICRISAT is start- jab University were recruited to work ing with a series of experiments on on farm layout and land development small watersheds, using catchment in the summer of 1973. Short and long- ponds and grassed waterways, and term arrangements for scholars, vis- comparing the effects on two major iting scientists, and trainees will soil types-red, lighter-textured soils eventually be integrated into and heavy, black soils-which pre- ICRISAT's schedule of activities; liai- dominate in rainfed farming areas. son with a number of institutions has Soil and agronomic research include already been established for this work on erosion and nutrient loss; purpose. weed control, mulching, and shallow tillage following the harvest; double cropping and relay cropping. Land ()1 lI,A( :t- shaping and flat or ridge planting on Extension of the results of graded contours are being tried as aids ICRISAT's research, exchanges with to water retention in the soil and con- other centers, and field projects in co- trol of erosion. operating countries are likely to take Since ICRISAT's program is on major importance as the Institute's beamed toward capital-scarce econo- work gains momentum. ICRISAT is mies that have an excess of rural labor, already in contact with a number of the technological recommendations centers in India, the Near East, and will be scaled accordingly. A prime ob- Africa; and a UNDP global project jective of the production package has in sorghum and millet is supporting to be dependability, since the many research and training projects aimed hazards of arid-land farming have at improving these crops and provid- conditioned producers to prefer prac- ing production assistance wherever tices and crops that entail little risk, they are grown. even though they do not promise ex- traordinary rewards. The indispen- ICRISAT's programs are focused sable requisite, from the Institute's on what have been, up to now, ne- point of view, is that the package elicit glected crops, neglected regions, interest and willingness to cooperate neglected rural populations. Interna- on the part of farmers. tional support, top scientific talent, and advanced technological resources are being marshaled to serve needs TIRAI N\l G that are none the less crucial for hav- A training program is planned ing long been disregarded. The task is in connection with research. In difficult, bearing the unmistakable ICRISAT's first full season, students stamp of high challenge.

56 INTERNATIONAL r' < . POTATO CENTER

Apartado 5969 Lima, Peru

El Centro Internacional de la imental station in the conventional Papa (CIP), the International Potato sense and as a center participating in Center, is a one-crop institute; its research and action programs around mandate is to improve potatoes and the world. For this reason, it is putting potato growing in developing coun- a smaller proportion of resources into tries and to extend the potato's range developing its headquarters facilities of adaptation to new territory, in- and investing more of its energies and cluding the lowland tropics. The po- funds in research and production pro- tato in question is the white or Irish grams in other countries, both devel- potato, the tuber-bearing species oping and developed. This approach Solanum. involves less in the way of initial in- CIP is relatively new in the insti- stallations and equipment, and greater tute network, but it has precursors emphasis on building coordinative, ad- 10 and 20 years old. The oldest is the ministrative, and strategic capability. Rockefeller Foundation's Interna- tional Potato Program, a collateral descendant of the cooperative agricul- STIAEtE11 eY tural program in Mexico that led to CIP's approach is in three dimen- the establishment of CIMMYT. That sions. The first is research into ten program was merged with a potato major problem areas, the program research effort which had been under thrusts to which CIP has committed way for a number of years in Peru in its energies and resources. The second cooperation with North Carolina State is outreach activity in geographical University, under a USAID contract. zones of the developing world, each Both these forebears provided CIP one mapped for potato problems and with a legacy of research results, potentials. The third is the research trained people, ongoing projects, and projects conducted by CIP staff and valuable biological materials on which by other scientists under contracts to build its program. Since its estab- with the Center, which form a mosaic lishment in 1971, CIP has integrated of individual and team efforts closely these assets into a wholly new battle related to the major program thrusts plan. and the designated priority zones. The Center's leaders have de- CIP's professional staff conducts signed an innovative scheme in which research at the headquarters station CIP figures both as a high-level exper- at La Molina, just outside Lima, and 57 at two other locations in Peru, one at potatoes in the developing world; late an elevation of 10,000 feet, at Huan- blight, the number-one potato disease; cayo, and the other at sea level in a bacterial wilt; potato quality; resist- tropical rainforest environment, at ance to potato cyst nematode; cold San Ram6n. In addition, the Center resistance; and utilization of genetic contracts with institutions in the resources and seed production tech- United States, Mexico, the United nology for developing countries. At Kingdom, and countries of Western the conferences, five-year plans are Europe for work on specific projects drawn for coordinated activities in the that are relevant to its sharply focused particular aspect of research under research objectives. Adaptive research discussion; a review after the first will be conducted in developing coun- three years ensures continuing rele- tries through the outreach program. vance and flexibility of specific proj- Eventually this aspect of the work will ects and of the general orientation of comprise a network of cooperating the investigations. national and regional potato efforts, An important consideration in the coordinated through a system of local determination of program priorities centers manned by teams of CIP sci- is the possibility of establishing entists. CIP expects to have staff sta- bridgeheads-for example, the immi- tioned in most of the key locations by nence of a breakthrough in a specific the end of 1974. line of research or the likelihood of CIP's plans are drawn in consul- making a significant impact on pro- tation with the world's top potato men. duction in a given geographical, zone. Periodic planning conferences or Food needs and developmental needs workshops are held under the Center's in the various nations are weighed auspices, at which world authorities realistically against known restraints, analyze the status of research and the such as a lack of trained technicians, outstanding needs in their specialized a top-heavy bureaucracy, or an unco- fields. In this way high-level scientific ordinated agricultural sector. CIP's knowledge and expert judgment are forces are limited, and its leaders funneled into the Center's evolving intend to use them to the utmost strategy, and other institutions are advantage. able to define their objectives and plan long-range programs on the basis of the pooled data. These summits, at- 1'4 )TATIlE, tended by CIP senior scientists and Potatoes are the world's fourth about 10 to 15 invited specialists from most important crop, after rice, wheat, other countries, help determine where and maize. They are grown chiefly in program emphasis will be placed- the temperate-zone, advanced coun- what projects, research areas, and tries, where they are the staple food regions will receive immediate prior- of the poor as well as an important ity in terms of funds, staff time, and element in the diet of the whole popu- outreach effort. Planning conferences lation. Technologists have devised new have dealt with the key problems and ways of processing and preserving potentials for increasing the use of potatoes, which have extended their 58 usefulness and versatility for con- potato varieties now widely cultivated. sumers in the industrialized nations; The potato has made very little in most developing areas, however, progress in the world's hunger belt, they are still known as a luxury food. where it could add substantially and Like a great many of the world's advantageously to food supplies with major agricultural products, potatoes its high food yield per acre, its ample have attained their widest use and carbohydrate content, well-balanced importance in lands far from their protein, and high levels of Vitamins C place of origin. They were first intro- and B. In hot climates, however, dis- duced into Europe by the Spaniards eases and parasites are major draw- in 1570 and have been selected and backs to production, particularly adapted over the years for the growing where chemical protectants are too conditions in the cool-climate coun- expensive for farmers to use; tropical tries of northern Europe, the British conditions make storage difficulties Isles, the USSR, and North America, greater for potatoes than for grains but their native place is the Andes or legumes; and tuber seed multiplica- mountains. Potatoes originated, scien- tion and distribution present technical tists believe, in the intermediate and and economic problems in countries high-elevation slopes and plateaus of that lack the necessary training base Mexico, Central America, Colombia, and infrastructure. Nevertheless, po- Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Untapped tato research and technology are genetic resources, both wild and cul- rapidly approaching the stage where tivated, still exist in this region, but accelerated production programs can they are slowly being eroded, in part be mounted in key areas, and from by expanding agricultural develop- there, CIP's strategists project, they ment and other harbingers of progress could be systematically extended to -roads, airfields, human settlements. neighboring countries. Logically enough, the research thrust at the head of CIP's list is collection, classification, maintenance, and dis- h ' tribution of all tuber-bearing Solanum The research areas defined by CIP species. Only about 5 percent of the for major concentration begin with genetic variability of Solanum has development of the world potato col- been used in the development of the lection. Accessions in the germ plasm

Phlysiology work is carriedout at La Molina laboratory.

, - collection now number more than fungus that causes it. Almost every 5,000. These are chiefly cultivated known strain of the pathogen exists clones from the Andean area, although in the Toluca valley of Mexico, where 700 examples of wild species are also the Rockefeller Foundation's potato part of the world collection. CIP had program screened thousands of potato two collecting teams in the field in varieties and identified material hav- 1973, and five expeditions have been ing multi-gene resistance. Further planned for 1974. Approximately breeding using these sources of resist- 8,000 samples from the collection have ance is being carried out in developed been sent out to scientists in 31 countries, and some commercial vari- countries. eties having this trait are coming into This genetic material is being use. Screening is in progress at Huan- screened and the information coded cayo and San Ram6n as well as in for computer retrieval. The collection Mexico. is maintained in clonal form by re- Control of the bacterial diseases planting yearly; it is also being is focused primarily on studies of converted to disease-free true (or bacterial wilt. A source of resistance botanical) seed, for storage over peri- to this disease was found in Colombia, ods of 20 to 25 years. and it now forms the basis of material The second research thrust is the that has been multiplied at the Uni- development of breeding techniques to versity of Wisconsin for international provide better adapted potato varie- testing. The first trials have gone out ties for use in developing countries. to stations in Peru, Costa Rica, Colom- Research at CIP headquarters is bia, and Brazil. coordinated with projects at North A project at the University of Carolina State University, Cornell Wisconsin is aimed at combining re- University, and the University of Wis- sistance to late blight and to bacterial consin. The breeding programs are wilt in a single potato clone. The aiming to synthesize the diverse ge- diseases often occur together, consti- netic resources into potentially useful tuting a major obstacle to potato genetic combinations. Their goal is to production in most lowland tropical produce populations from which regions. Promising lines with resist- clones may be selected for a wide range ance to both diseases have been sent of environments. Some of the traits to 18 countries for testing, and new that are the object of the research in varieties may soon be released. these four locations are frost resist- Viral diseases and insect vectors ance; high energy content of tubers; are another major research area. resistance to major diseases, insects, There are 20 known virus diseases of and nematodes; wide adaptation to potatoes, and many more unidentified. day length; and high yielding ability. High priority is given to screening for Control of fungal diseases, de- viruses that may infect breeding ma- fined as the third major program terial. Seven viruses head the list, and thrust, is focused chiefly on the search of those potato virus Y and leaf roll for genetic resistance to late blight are under intensive study. To date and studies of the various races of the 2,500 clones from the germ plasm col- 60 lection have been evaluated to detect more protein than the major cereals. the presence of the major viruses. Potato protein quality is good, and Nematodes, in particular the cyst clones with 11 to 12 percent protein nematode (Heterodera), attack pota- on a dry-weight basis have been identi- toes in many areas. At least ten strains fied in the CIP germ plasm bank. The of this pest are present in Peru, and potential for breeding potatoes with it is prevalent throughout the Andean even higher protein content is con- area. CIP has undertaken a screening sidered excellent: clones with 20 to 25 program of materials from its germ percent of the dry matter as protein plasm collection as well as from inter- are known. ested countries. The testing involves Seed production technology must four strains of the nematode, and ma- be evolved for developing countries terials are rated for both resistance before accelerated potato production and tolerance. Other nematodes under programs can be contemplated. For study are the false root-knot nematode this purpose, CIP is working on tissue (Nacobbus), which is a nuisance in culture for disease elimination and on cold climates, and the root-knot nema- measures that will permit rapid multi- tode (Meloidogyne). plication and distribution of new Attention is also being given to clones. Seed of varieties that are free development of potatoes with wider of viruses are being multiplied, and adaptation to environmental stress clones resistant to wart disease, blight, and resistance to insect pests. The and several fungal and viral diseases role of insects in virus transmission is are ready to be processed. In many being studied at CIP, where the germ countries, training in seed production plasm collection is being screened for will be necessary to build up local tech- sources of resistance to the main vec- nical capacity for seed industries. tors, such as the green peach aphid and the potato aphid. Other insects under study include leaf hoppers, leaf I1l( )JI( ITS miners, and weevils. Both cold toler- CIP counts the projects under ance and adaptation to the hot, humid way both at home and abroad as part tropics are being sought, the former of its core program. In funding re- through studies at high elevations in search at experimental centers in the Peru and Colombia, and the latter, developed countries, CIP can draw on through the experimental work at San a broad range of expertise and can Ram6n. For potato growing in cold benefit from sophisticated equipment climates, a solution might be found and experimental facilities it would through the development of early- not otherwise have access to. This col- maturing varieties which can be laboration offers reciprocal advan- harvested before the onset of frost. tages, since findings in any one of Clones with a 100-day season have CIP's research areas may be of value been grown in Peru. (Normally 150 to to potato growers in the developed 180 days are required to grow Andean countries as well as to the advance- varieties.) ment of CIP's program goals. Per hectare, the potato produces CIP keeps close track of research 61 11't /tmincs( cnduct field trials at Tolt ca, Mexico.

Maprogress, both internal and con- Middle East r'ioji ' itly held tiactual, through periodic program in Egypt. Bnoadil(l gn irogram lX Xiews, in-house seminars, and evalu- thrust includ(d I -search ationi of written records and reports. adapted to 1hc vearious Projects may be carried out by one regions,trainingo itists and esearcher or several; most involve technicians, and efli, tribution move than one specialist and more and utilization Ot i levelop- Hian one discipline. As a result, each ing countries. So( 1a ( i i studies CII'scientist is usually engaged in two will eventually be 1 tle out- or three ongoing projects. The team reach planning offo, i tlarly in (IlawVs up a detailed outline, spelling view of the need tI . t itnlto tech- out its needs in terms of staff time, nology to the ieeii-, iX -tnall sub- materials, land, and other resources, sistence farmer. an(l in the course of the work submits CIP has divil d ! Neloping i-eports on its activities and progress. world into sevei ml - ws which cover both hemispi. i'Fich. zone has been assessed l'h i i wteristics that have a bear intm i t produc- The outreach program is one of tion, from climate - -ile' of in- the most important aspects of CIP's terest in agricu1tlliciia X-,lopment, work. For the present it is in the and further investitlm.,-ili mare being formative stage; preliminary surveys focused on specific t ,i such as of the target countries have been ecological conditiois. , rlmmer pref- ma(le, and CIP staff members have erence, marketing 1<.ai ites, and been assigned to several overseas similar considerationts l,itz are im- regions, where they are working with portant in determ iiti i I types of national leaders toward development germ plasm to be s, (dl or trial in of local programs. Training courses, various areas. Cll"s iiltl iionl is not generally dealing with the use of simply to produce X iit., Ihut to fur- disease-free breeding materials, seed nish materials for t( I a:d further multiplication, and commercial potato development in each zc ill , so that local improvement, have been held annually programs can ultimnatt - c lease and since 1972 in Peru, Mexico, and Kenya. name their own1 vat iti S The first annual training school for the When the out) 'eali1I pl'ogram is 62 fully operative, a program center in Similar arrangements with institu- each of the seven zones will have a tions in developed countries allow skeleton staff from CIP. Its primary Ph.D. degree candidates to do a major mission will be to cooperate with local portion of their thesis work at CIP. leaders in strengthening national ca- Postdoctoral scientists are also accom- pabilities, so that the countries in the modated in CIP's laboratories for region can benefit from the new tech- work on projects related to the Cen- nology and improved germ plasm ter's objectives. made available through CIP. Training for national potato program leaders and technicians for the developing world is being conducted '1; ', I N I N (' at the outreach centers; formal class- CIP has an agreement with the room instruction linked to firsthand Agrarian University, located near its planting-to-harvest experience in headquarters in La Molina, under growing a potato crop is the basic which Master's degree candidates can formula around which the educational do their thesis research in connection programs designed by the Center are with one of the Center's programs. structured.

63 INTERNATIONAL LABORATORY - I FOR RESEARCH ON ANIMAL DISEASES

P.O. Box 47543 as well as domestic stock succumb, Nairobi, Kenya making a valuable resource for both food and export products virtually South of the Sahara Desert are unexploitable in over a third of the vast stretches of range and grassland, continent. Estimates hold that the but cattle raising in these areas is territory occupied by the tsetse fly hazardous. Two diseases, trypano- could support 200 million head of somiasis and East Coast fever, afflict cattle. livestock in over four million square About 30 developing countries lie miles across a wide belt that spans the wholly or partially in the infected African continent from the Indian area. Control of these two diseases Ocean to the Atlantic and reaches could make a radical difference to their southward from the Sahara to roughly economies and improve the lives of the level of the Zambezi River. Tryp- thousands of their people. A number anosomiasis infects three-quarters of of methods are currently in use-tick the area, and East Coast fever an esti- dips, insecticides, bush clearing, mated one-fourth. Both are blood- slaughter of wild animal hosts, pre- borne parasitic infections, the first ventive drugs-but none has been carried by the tsetse fly and the second completely effective. A vital break- by ticks. Exposure of susceptible cat- through would occur if vaccines tle to either one can mean famine for against the two diseases could be de- nomadic herding societies that depend veloped. The progress of immunology on cattle for their food, or ruin for in recent years holds out real hope that small ranchers whose animals are this can be done. their livelihood. In Zebu cattle, which are fairly F , - , resistant, East Coast fever can take a ( > I l'>l {(II routine toll of up to 15 percent of the In 1973 the Consultative Group on calf crop in endemic areas, with the International Agricultural Research adult population immune; in suscepti- concluded a Memorandum of Agree- ble stock, entire herds can be wiped ment with the Government of Kenya, out. Trypanosomiasis takes several establishing the International Labora- different forms; it can be swift or tory for Research on Animal Diseases lingering, and in either case it can be (ILRAD), to be located in Nairobi. fatal. Certain wild species of animals ILRAD's primary and most urgent 64 purpose is the development of immu- ties for success in understanding and nological procedures for the preven- overcoming the problem of antigenic tion of trypanosomiasis and East modulation, toward the ultimate goal Coast fever, which are so destructive of providing safe and practical to cattle. vaccines. Heretofore, attempts to control The laboratory is being organized these two major hemoprotozoan infec- into five departments: Zoology; Im- tions have met with limited success munochemistry and Cellular Im- because of gaps in our knowledge of munology; Molecular Biology and the causative organisms, their patho- Genetics; Cultivation; and Pathology genicity, and the host responses. For and Ultramicroscopy. In support of example, variation in the antigenicity the research program, ILRAD will of trypanosomes makes it possible for have specialized facilities at its dis- these organisms to survive and multi- posal, including veterinary and radio- ply even after the hosts have developed biological services, a library and an immunological response to the orig- documentation center, and audiovisual inal invading forms. Trypanosomes and biometric services. apparently possess the capacity to change their surface coat, thus be- coming insensitive to the effects of antibodies. There are several new and In pursuit of its objectives, fundamental approaches to this prob- ILRAD will conduct basic and applied lem, and some very hopeful leads for research; test results in the field; pub- potential immunization have been lish and disseminate research find- developed. ings; and establish contacts with other Recent advances in the immunol- laboratories and research groups in ogy, molecular biology, and ultrastruc- order to exchange information, avoid ture of these organisms have raised the hope that trypanosomiasis can Immunization research is of fundamental ultimately be eradicated from large importance in fighting the tsetse fly. areas of Africa, provided that intensive research can be conducted on the basic biological aspects of these parasites. Although many investigators in different parts of the world are conducting active research on these diseases, the solution to these problems will be greatly facilitated by the existence of a coordinated, multidisciplinary, intensive program conducted in a single institute located in one of the endemic areas. The combined knowledge of zoologist, biochemist, geneti- h cist, immunologist, and pathologist will doubtless increase the probabili- 6

65 duplication, and determine priorities Africa and other parts of the world in animal health problems. It will also and with other research centers that organize discussion groups, seminars, have similar objectives. Provisions workshops, and conferences; conduct will be made to accommodate estab- formal and on-the-job training of sci- lished investigators who wish to de- entists and specialized technicians; vote their sabbatical years to studies and assist other institutions in ap- that fall within the purview of plying the research results of the ILRAD's objectives, as well as visiting laboratory. scientists assigned to specific projects, Research and educational organ- and graduate and postdoctoral stu- izations already exist in many parts dents who seek advanced training in of Africa, and ILRAD will seek to de- animal parasitic diseases. velop close working relationships with A basic operational principle is to interested institutions where facilities provide scientific and training assist- permit. In particular, an active re- ance to help develop and strengthen search program on East Coast fever is national institutions and ongoing currently in progress at the East programs. ILRAD also will serve as a African Veterinary Research Organ- link between African research centers ization (EAVRO) in Muguga, Kenya, and the highly specialized laboratories supported jointly by the UNDP, FAO, in the developed countries. The com- and East African Community. bined efforts of ILRAD and the new Training at the postdoctoral level International Livestock Centre for is among the major proposed activities Africa (ILCA), are expected to im- of ILRAD. Although the laboratory prove Africa's livestock production will not be a degree-granting institu- through a sustained assault on the tion, it will work with universities in major production barriers.

66 INTERNATIONAL LIVESTOCK CENTRE FOR AFRICA P.O. Box 5689 - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

In 1974 the Ethiopian Govern- dustries. The average per capita ment and the World Bank, acting on consumption of meat in Africa was behalf of the Consultative Group, reported by the FAO to be 9.4 kilo- signed an agreement for the establish- grams in 1970; it is expected to rise ment of the International Livestock by little more than one kilogram in 10 Centre for Africa (ILCA). ILCA's years, to reach 10.8 kilograms in 1980. purpose is "to assist national efforts Even if the growth rate of meat which aim to effect a change in the production (which was 2.7 percent a production and marketing systems in year in the 1960s) could be raised to tropical Africa so as to increase the the target level of 4.3 percent set as a total yield and output of livestock goal by FAO's Provisional Indicative products and improve the quality of World Plan for Agricultural Develop- life of the people in this region." ment, shortages would still amount to ILCA's three main areas of activity over a million tons of meat and 700,000 are formally defined as research, train- tons of milk. A dynamic livestock in- ing, and documentation. dustry could contribute much to eco- The livestock population of trop- nomic development of the countries of ical Africa includes about 130 million tropical Africa as well as to improved cattle, 100 million sheep, and 80 mil- nutrition of their populations. General lion goats, but production levels are avenues of approach include opening far below the industry's estimated up unused land for ranching; improv- capacity. Animal production neverthe- ing the feed base, including grazing less represents an important element lands and pastures; and upgrading in the economy; its value has been es- herds and management practices. timated at over U.S.$1 billion annu- ILCA's activities will ultimately em- ally, or about 5 to 6 percent of the gross brace interdisciplinary programs domestic product of the region. With aimed at all these objectives. urbanization and economic development, added to growing populations, the demand for milk and meat is rising PR)D1TCTlNOi PR(i)BLLA1S rapidly, foreshadowing severe short- On all but a few modern ranches, ages within the next decade unless animal production throughout Afri- energetic measures are taken to ac- ca's tropical latitudes exhibits a fa- celerate the growth of animal in- miliar combination of shortcomings. 67 L

! -, 4 -15

-. mp,.- -- --.. African scientistsic1h1 tribute to ILCA's program.

Calf mortality is hi:j1; animals are There still remains, howev 'r, the poorly nourished --s- ne are semi- problem of trypanosomiasis tick starved in the dry ea,- n-and growth borne disease, and in particula Eas- rates are slow; r coi health and ex- Coast fever, which prevents the devel posure to environ me - .al stresses re- opment of a large cattle industry ii sult in low mark, t ', lights and low the humid areas of Africa. annual offtakes. IEeOX rnining the ele- Traditional techniques are inabb ments of proper liz est -,k management to cope with the increasing dem, nd for for tropical Afric i's iverse environ- meat due to the growth of popU ation ments and persum dii.; cattle owners and at the same time, owing to the to adopt them are nal trs of consider- development of agriculture, le,-:s lan( able complexity. is available for livestock raising) In spite of ilhy cal, biological, The recent drought has ;howi. and economic liimiitions, Africans dramatically that something ha; to bo produce meat by i tis g cattle, sheep, done. Technical solutions to t le im and goats. Their te hni'lues are simple, provement of livestock pro uctiol but they contain t c-rtain degree of have been discovered in Africa anm. adaptation to unf..vo able conditions. other tropical areas, but they hav Nomadism and tr, nslitimance are dic- been applied in only a very I mite(. tated by the cyclE s (I the rainy and way, possibly because their al)plica. the dry seasons; 'he Everstocking of tion involves factors that ha,e no; old cattle is a vay of preserving been integrated into the total -ystenm stocks, as only str Ing aLnimals survive of production. drought and dise, ses and are able to To improve animal proc uctioii reproduce. and animal health, it will be necessar- The widespre Id -:;e of very effec- to modify considerably the out ook o tive vaccines agai ist rlnderpest, pleu- the owners, and to motivate thlem to) iopneumonia, and practically all viral make the necessary changes. To and bacterial dis(asc; has permitted achieve this, multidisciplinary team., a much larger griwvtL in the number will be required, involving s. wide of cattle during tl e la t 30 years than range of specialties including breed- during the perio( IS.'0-1920, during ing, nutrition, and herd managment; which time more than three-quarters conservation and improvement ot of the herds died romn these diseases. grazing lands; analysis of eci)nomi

-- ,U, . - - factors bearing on livestock opera- A number of organizations and tions, including marketing and governments have carried out cam- processing of animal products. An- paigns to develop production systems thropological and sociological studies for limited areas and to teach pastoral- will be necessary to help devise train- ists and ranchers to conserve water, use ing, demonstration, and extension tac- their grazing lands more rationally, tics that will be meaningful and protect their animals from disease, persuasive to herdsmen and ranchers. and observe simple rules of good hus- New approaches will have to be found bandry. Research has also been carried for working with herding societies; out in numerous institutions in both their way of life has been disrupted by the English and the French-speaking the evolution of crop and industrial zones, demonstrating that the poten- agriculture, and they have not yet tial exists for a greatly improved ani- found the means of dealing with this mal industry. No attempt has been disruption. made, however, to assemble the results For the most part, the land de- of such training, extension, or re- voted to the cattle industry in Africa search programs into a collective cannot be used for cropping, owing to documentary resource, or to integrate the absence of agricultural soil, insuf- them to form a matrix for policy for- ficient yearly rainfall, or the lack of mulation or action programs. deep water in the dry season. In these Some of these efforts have had regions, particularly the Sahel, men considerable local impact. For some could not live without livestock. years the need has been felt for a coor- Under such conditions it is not dinative agency with high-level sup- surprising that in many places deteri- port and prestige, which could assist oration of range land has occurred and national livestock programs; supple- water resources are endangered. The ment and strengthen ongoing projects severe drought of the last ten years without duplicating the work already has resulted in overgrazing, which has done; make existing knowledge avail- led to severe erosion of range lands; able to workers in the field in both the vegetative cover in some places is major languages; stimulate research now so sparse that it may be years and action where possibilities for im- before it can be regenerated. proved performance are recognized; The application of available tech- and make a systematic effort to iden- nology could considerably improve this tify additional areas that have good situation, although certain problems, potential. such as those arising from climate and water scarcity may be next to impos- sible to overcome; others, like the IA. V 1 ( i^ \\I prevalence of tropical diseases (trypa- ILCA's mandate covers both the nosomiasis, tick-borne fevers) may biological and organizational con- require long and expensive research; straints to improved livestock produc- cultural patterns and deeply ingrained tion in the tropical countries south of attitudes also take years to be recon- the Sahara. Its staff is assembling and ciled with the forces of change. evaluating the available information 69 in the animal sciences as a preliminary ies will be applied to the development step to designing a research strategy of integrated models for different that will fill the gaps in present knowl- types of range management. edge. It is analyzing the elements ILCA's role in training animal necessary for undertaking multidisci- scientists for the African tropics is of plinary studies and incorporating the paramount importance. The numbers team concept in projects to be initiated of professionals in veterinary medi- under its auspices. This is a bold step cine and animal health are growing in in a field that is relatively isolated most countries of the region, but from other branches of the agricul- Africa needs more training at uni- tural sciences and within which indi- versity level in animal production, vidual disciplines are traditionally range management, economics, mar- self-contained and compartmentalized. keting, and related fields. Scientists ILCA's leaders plan to coordinate the and technicians are needed in every efforts of animal scientists, sociolo- branch of livestock production in gists, ecologists, economists, and every African country; moreover, others engaged in studies of the man- training of leaders with an interdisci- animal-environment complex. plinary orientation and a broad under- Two types of program will be standing of developmental objectives sponsored: integrated projects organ- in the livestock industry is of the ut- ized by ILCA, in which the efforts of most importance. Young scientists will researchers from different disciplines be associated with ILCA-sponsored will be orchestrated to achieve a clear- research programs, and studies in rel- ly defined objective; and associated evant fields will be promoted at the projects, which will be proposed and undergraduate and graduate levels carried out by cooperating institu- through cooperative arrangements tions in the various African countries. with universities in Africa and abroad. Projects in the animal sciences will Seminars, conferences, in-service include genetics and physiology, nu- courses, and similar activities carried trition, reproduction, adaptation to out under ILCA's auspices will con- climate, and epidemiology. Environ- tribute to education, exchange of in- mental studies will be conducted on formation, and airing of problems at weather and soils, the ecology of different levels and in different areas range lands, and range and pasture of interest. ILCA will also offer con- improvement. The socioeconomic com- sultative, documentary, and statistical ponent of the program will focus on services to national, regional, and in- the geography of livestock raising; the ternational organizations dealing with social structures, cultural attitudes, improvement of animal production in and value systems of pastoral socie- Africa. Contacts will be maintained ties; economic analyses of livestock with the International Laboratory operations, marketing systems, and for Research on Animal Diseases the relationships between producers (ILRAD), whose program objectives and consumers. Data from these stud- complement those of ILCA.

FwORLD BANK

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