International Durum Yield Nurseries are replicated yield trials designed to measure the yield potential and adaptation of superior CIMMYT-bred spring durum wheat germplasm that have been developed from tests conducted under irrigation and induced stressed cropping conditions in northwest Mexico. These materials have been subjected to numerous diseases (leaf, stem and yellow rust; Septoria tritici blotch) and varied growing environments. It is distributed to 70 locations, and contains 50 entries.
The Semi-Arid Wheat Screening Nursery (SAWSN) is a single replicate trial that contains diverse spring bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) germplasm adapted to low rainfall, drought prone, semi-arid environments typically receiving less than 500 mm of water available during the cropping cycle. CIMMYT's breeding approach attempts to combine high yield potential with drought resistance for ME4. The combination of water-use efficiency and water responsive traits plus yield potential is important in drought environments where rainfall is frequently erratic across years. When rains are significantly above average in certain years, the crop must respond appropriately (water responsive) with higher yields, while expressing resistance to the wider suite of diseases that appear under more favorable conditions. Constrains including leaf, stem and yellow rusts, and Septoria spp., Fusarium spp., Pyrenophora tritici-repentis tan spot, nematodes and root rots must be considered. It is distributed to 120 locations, and contains 150-250 entries.
To achieve the fallow intensification objective of Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) project, farm level data collection was designed to understand the multi-level factors affecting farm trajectories of change and potential for sustainable intensification in Southern Bangladesh. The data comprise farm household level panel data for the years 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015 from 502 samples in three districts of Southern Bangladesh (Barisal, Patuakhali and Barguna). The surveyed households belong to thirteen villages in the above three districts. The balanced panel data was compiled by combining existing information on farms with a 2015 farm survey. Farm level information of farmers continuously intervened by CIMMYT’s partner NGOs was available for years 1995, 2000, 2 005 and 2010. This unique dataset was compiled as part of the Cereal Systems Intensification for South Asia (CSISA) project implemented by CIMMYT and Analyzing Trajectories and Trade-offs for Intensification of Cereal-based Systems (ATTIC) project of Wageningen University. The data was cross-checked and validated through a series of focus-group discussions and interviews with village elders, and oldest member of the family. The village level population in the data is estimated for years 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015 based on the population growth rates and census data (1991, 2001, and 2011) provided by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), Dhaka.
The Elite Spring Wheat Yield Trial (ESWYT) is a replicated yield trial that contains spring bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) germplasm adapted to Mega-environment 1 (ME1) which represents the optimally irrigated, low rainfall areas. Major stresses include leaf, stem and yellow rusts, Karnal bunt, and lodging. Representative areas include the Gangetic Valley (India), the Indus Valley (Pakistan), the Nile Valley (Egypt), irrigated river valleys in parts of China (e.g. Chengdu), and the Yaqui Valley (Mexico). This ME encompasses 36 million hectares spread primarily over Asia and Africa between 350S -350N latitudes. White (amber)-grained types are preferred by consumers of wheat in the vast majority of the areas. It is distributed to upto 200 locations and contains 50 entries.
The International Bread Wheat Screening Nursery (IBWSN) is designed to rapidly assess a large number of advanced generation (F3-F7) lines of spring bread wheat under Mega-environment 1 (ME1) which represents diversity for a wide range of latitudes, climates, daylengths, fertility conditions, water management, and (most importantly) disease conditions. The distribution of these nurseries is deliberately biased toward the major spring wheat regions of the world where the diseases of wheat are of high incidence. It is distributed to 180 locations and contains 300-450 entries.
The purpose of the study was (1) to assess the performance of ZT wheat as compared to conventional-tillage wheat in farmers' fields in six CSISA target districts in Bihar; (2) to assess farmers’ resource endowment, risk exposure, risk preferences, and risk management practices; (3) based on (2), to identify influencing factors of farmers' awareness and adoption of ZT in wheat, including social network effects.
The purpose of the study was (1) to assess the economic viability of custom-hire service for ZT in CSISA's target districts in Bihar, the development of ZT service provision businesses over time, and constraints to further business expansion; (2) to assess service providers’ resource endowment, risk exposure, risk preferences, and risk management practices; (3) based on (2), to identify influencing factors of engaging in ZT service provision, including influencing factors of th e scale of the service business operation.
The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) was launched in 2009 with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) . CSISA's objective is to develop and deploy more efficient, productive and sustainable technologies for the diverse rice-wheat production systems of the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) that ultimately improve food supply and improve the livelihoods of the poor in the region. The CSISA Baseline Household Survey was conducted in late 2010 and early 2011 across eight of the hub domains in which CSISA was operating during its initial phase. The household survey was designed to inform CSISA management as well as to establish a priori conditions (farming practices, farmer livelihoods, etc.) against which the social, economic and livelihood impacts of CSISA will be evaluated. Pursuant to these objectives, a structured questionnaire was developed in a joint effort of socio-economists from different centers of the CGIAR, as well as agronomists and hub managers. In all, the baseline household survey collected data on 2,567 households across the CSISA hub domains of Haryana , Punjab , eastern Uttar Pradesh , Bihar and Tamil Nadu in India; Dinajpur and Gazipur in Bangladesh; and the Terai region of central Nepal. Analysis of the baseline data finds that: The CSISA coverage area is highly diverse in terms of climatological and agro-ecological conditions, cropping patterns, livestock management, land holdings, production practices, yie lds and other variables. This reinforces the initiative’s site- and context-specific approach to effecting change, but complicates the evaluation of impact across the entire coverage area. CSISA targeting is generally reflective of the surrounding population in the hub domain. However, evidence of more explicit targeting (e.g., of women-headed households or other vulnerable groups) was found only in the Gazipur hub. Whereas findings suggest that labor-saving technological change may be a priority in the northwestern hubs (Punjab, Haryana), productivity-enhancing technological change that intensifies production on small landholdings may be a priority for most othe r hubs. Poverty and inequality measures indicate significant levels of vulnerability in the Nepal Terai, Bangladesh, eastern UP and Bihar. This may indicate a need for some re-prioritization of CSISA work in favor of Nepal, provided that CSISA’s technologies and approaches are appropriate to its needs. The role of women in agriculture varies widely across the CSISA hub domains, and is determined largely by social status and social constructs. In general, women provide vital inp uts into agricultural production, both in terms of labor as well as decision-making. The complexities of these issues suggest the need for more rigorous analysis regarding gender gaps in access to technical knowledge and information, inequalities in participation in key decision-making processes, as well as the impacts of the RCTs that are being promoted under CSISA. This may necessitate the collection of gender-disaggregated data for constraints analysis, technology prioritization among different household types and careful consideration in the design, implementation and evaluation of impact assessments. Familiarity with RCTs is most limited in Bihar and other eastern hub domains, suggesting the obvious potential for expanding CSISA activities in these areas. That said, sources of information on RCTs are quite domain-specific and vary significantly between CSISA, input retailers and friends/neighbors. There is evidence from the baseline survey to suggest that while non-adoption is largely driven by insufficient information about several RCTs, disadoption driven by poor yield p erformance and other factors is a non-trivial phenomenon in the CSISA domains.
The Semi-Arid Wheat Yield Trial (SAWYT) is a replicated yield trial that contains spring bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) germplasm adapted to low rainfall, drought prone environments typically receiving less than 500 mm of water available during the cropping cycle. The combination of water-use efficiency and water responsive broad adaptation plus yield potential is important in drought environments where rainfall is frequently erratic across and within years. Stripe rust, leaf rust and stem rust, root rots, nematodes, and bunts are the key biotic constraints. Typical target environments include winter rain or Mediterranean-type drought associated with post-flowering moisture stress and heat stress such as those found at Aleppo (Syria), Settat (Morocco) and Marcos Juarez (Argentina), all classified by CIMMYT within Wheat Mega Environment 4 (Low rainfall, semi-arid environment; ME4: SA). It is distributed to 150 locations, and contains 50 entries.
