Role of international collaboration towards improving crop productivity in the context of climate change and food security in Central Asia – an overview

REGIONAL RESEARCH CONFERENCE

AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION AND FOOD SECURITY IN CENTRAL ASIA

Role of international collaboration towards improving crop productivity in the context of climate change and food security in Central Asia – an overview

Ram C. Sharma and Jozef TurokInternational Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry

Areas (ICARDA), Tashkent, Uzbekistan

9 April 2014, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Scope of presentation

• International collaboration • NARS, ICARDA and CIMMYT• International Winter Wheat Improvement Program (ICARDA,

CIMMYT, Turkey)• Successful outputs related to food security, also relevant to

climate change• Policy reforms needed for efficient development and delivery

of new varieties to the farmers

Different cereals produced in the CAC region

Crop Area (mil ha)Production (mil t) Yield (t/ha) Seed (mil t)

Barley 2.181 3.968 1.820 0.374Buckwheat 0.067 0.038 0.562 0.003Cereal, nes 0.143 0.170 1.186 0.000Maize 0.390 1.798 4.616 0.036Millet 0.042 0.051 1.227 0.002Mixed grain Oats 0.151 0.271 1.794 0.022Rice 0.198 0.711 3.589 0.030Rye 0.025 0.041 1.672 0.020Sorghum 0.004 0.015 4.175 0.000Triticale Wheat 17.361 35.969 2.072 3.220Total 20.561 43.033 2.093 3.707

Wheat vs. other cereals in CAC, 2011

Wheat Others Total Wheat (%)0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

17.4

3.2

20.6

84%

36.0

7.1

43.0

84%

Area (mil ha) Production (mil t)

Are

a (m

il h

a),

Pro

du

ctio

n (

mil

t)

Area, production and yield (all cereals ), 2011

CAC West Asia Eastern Europe

0

50

100

150

200

250

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

20.6 20.1

78.5

43.0 51.2

237.7

2.09

2.55

3.03

Area (mil. ha) Production (mil. t)Yield (t/ha)

Are

a (m

il.

ha)

, P

rod

uct

ion

(m

il.

t)

Yie

ld (

t/h

a)

Climate Change and Major Crop Production Constraints in Central Asia

• Winter• Autumn • Spring

• Drought

• Wet

• Heat

• Dry

• Wet

• Dry

• Mild

• Wet

• Yellow

rust

• Leaf

rust

• Dry

• Yellow rust

Salinity

What is being done to address constraints?

• Climate resilient crop germplasm

• Climate resilient crop management practices

• Partnership for efficient delivery

• Climate resilient policy (needed)

Climate resilient crop germplasm from CG Centers• >1000 new, improved germplasm introduced each year of

• Wheat • Dryland cereals (barley, millets and others)• Food legumes (chickpea, lentil, faba bean, grasspea)• Rice• Maize• Potato

• Specific climate resilient traits in new germplasm• High yield and improved quality• Tolerance to abiotic stress – drought, heat, salinity• Tolerance to biotic stresses – diseases and pests

Climate resilient resource management practices – introduction and promotion• Conservation agriculture• Other resource conservation practices• Efficient water and nutrient management practices• Sustainable land management practices• Knowledge management

Capacity development

• English language training• Short term training• Long-term training (> 3 months)• Involve students (undergraduate and graduate)• Farmers’ training• Seed producers training• Observations tours (all actors)• Participation in regional and international conferences• Gender considerations• Focus on youth (young researchers )

• Limited infrastructure development

International collaboration with CGIAR on germplasm exchange and improvement

• Germplasm introduction• Germplasm evaluation and release of new varieties• Capacity development

Germplasm introduction though international collaboration (1995-2011)

Armen

ia

Azerb

aija

n

Georg

ia

Kazak

hstan

Kyrgyz

stan

Tajik

ista

n

Turkm

enis

tan

Uzbek

ista

n0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

Total Bread wheatDurum wheatBarleyChickpeaLentilFababeanGrasspeaN

um

be

r o

f a

cc

es

sio

n

Crop varieties released through international collaboration• Winter Wheat - 23• Spring wheat - 11• Barley - 11• Chickpea - 14• Lentil - 5• Grasspea - 1• Trriticale 2

• Total 67

Wheat yellow rust problem in Central Asia

Nota2010, Tajikistan

Kroshka2009, Uzbekistan

Krasnodar-992013, Tajikistan

Six yellow rust epidemics since 1999 1999, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2013

Yellow Rust Epidemics – 2013, TajikistanSeed Multiplication Field

Natural epidemics of yellow rust in winter wheat nurseries in Tajikistan, 2013

Natural and artificial epidemics of yellow rust in winter wheat nurseries in Uzbekistan, 2013

New, improved wheat varieties, resistant to yellow rust – ready for deployment

Chumon

Wheat varieties that survived three yellow rust epidemics (2009, 2010, 2013)

Hazrati BashirGozgon

Wheat variety that escapes terminal heat stress, also resistant to yellow rust

Hazrati Bashir (Uzbekistan)

Suitable for autumn and spring planting

Lower grain reductions than other varieties when plantedLate in autumn and in spring

Climate resilient wheat varieties

Source: Yuldashev et al. 2013 (ongoing experiment)

3-24% reductions in grain yield due to late planting

Wheat variety more efficient to water use, also tolerant to yellow rust

Variety

Irrigation

100% 75% 50%

Commercialpopular

100%yield

57%yield

32% yield

Elomon 100%yield

82%yield

56%yield

ElomonUzbekistan

Chumon (Tajikistan) Resistant to yellow rust during 2010, 2013 epidemicsResistant to leaf rustResistant to tan spot

Seed multiplication of stripe rust resistant varieties: 2013-2014

Variety Uzbekistan (ha)

Tajikistan (ha)

Hazrati Bashir 100Elomon 150Gozgon 100Bunyodkor 200Yaksart (a cross with IWWIP line in Uzbekistan) 500Chumon 7Alex 558Ormon 435

Total 1050 1000

CRP WHEAT – Partnership grant

Farmers’ Field Day – 4 June 2013Wheat Seed Multiplication, Tajikistan

Salinity and frost tolerant wheat

Khorezm, Uzbekistan

17 of 150 germplasm: salinity and frost tolerant

CRP Dryland Systems: Khorezm site (salinity, frost, and heat) - Uzbekistan

Salinity, frost, heat and drought tolerant wheat

2013Seed multiplication

2014

2011: 120 Varieties evaluated

2012

Dashoguz Turkmenistan

International Winter Wheat Traveling Seminar 20-15 May 2013, Uzbekistan

Beat the heat by planting chickpea prior to winter

Planted on 19 Dec, crop maturity in May

Autumn vs. spring planting

Winter-kill of susceptible lines

Out-scaling cold tolerant chickpea in Tajikistan (2010-2012)

Varieties: Sino, Hisor-32

Improved barley varieties for food security – (drought and heat tolerant)

New Initiatives on crop improvement

• CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs)• Dryland Systems• WHEAT• Dryland Cereals• Grain Legumes

•

CRP WHEAT – outputs relevant to the Central Asia region• More productive wheat varieties with package of traits:

• High yield• Improved quality (end-use, market)• Improved input-use efficiency • Stress tolerance

• Abiotic – drought, heat, salinity, frost, cold• Biotic – yellow rust, leaf rust, Septoria, tan spot, Fusarium, Sunn Pest,

Russian Wheat Aphid, Hessian fly

• Seed sector improvement • Conservation agriculture and other resource conserving

technologies• Capacity development

Policy reforms needed

• Free movement of crop germplasm in the region

• Reduce the number of years from introduction to release of variety to the farmers : (reduce from 9 to 5 years)

• Farmers’ participation in selection of new varieties

• Harmonize varietal release and seed policy for the region

• Promote replacement of low yielding, disease susceptible varieties with high yielding, disease resistant varieties

• Diversify and intensification of cropping system

• Technologically, each country in Central Asia could produce enough wheat for home consumption, but with right policy

Priorities identified by partners in Central Asia for WHEAT CRP

TraitsPriority ranks

NARS IAR

Better Varieties 1 1

Disease and pests resistance 2 2

Dought and heat tolerance 2 2

More and better Seed 2 3

Capacity development 2 2

Central Asia highlighted in WHEAT CRP Report 2013: outcome and impact

• Zero-till scale-out and -up in Kazakhstan

• WHEAT competitive partner grant for Uzbekistan and Tajikistan (where wheat crops have suffered three major yellow rust outbreaks in the last five years), multiplied seed of resistant varieties on state farms and farmers’ fields, and in 2014/15 more than 20,000 ha of winter wheat will be planted to prevent future damage from yellow rust

Summary

• International collaboration in Central Asia • Climate resilient, stress tolerant crop varieties ready for

deployment• Opportunities in CRP WHEAT for Central Asia• Policy reforms need

Acknowledgement• National partners in Central Asia• ICARDA• CIMMYT• IWWIP• IFPRI – invitation and support for participation

Acknowledgement to partnership

Thank you!