1. CROPS
2. LIVESTOCK
3. FORESTRY AND AGROFORESTRY
4. FISHERIES
1.1. Background
1.2. Cereals
1.3. Roots, Tubers, Banana and Plantain
1.4. Food Legumes
1.5 Oil Crops
1.6. Vegetables
1.7. Tropical Forages
Crops and their products provide about 50% of the total value of production of agriculture, forestry and fisheries in developing countries. In Asia this share amounts to 58%, in sub-Saharan Africa 38%, in Latin America and the Caribbean 36%, in West Asia-North Africa about 49%, and in Central Asia about 32%.
Research to improve the productivity of the most important food crops in developing countries has been the central theme of the CGIAR since its inception. The CGIAR has a multidisciplinary research approach to increasing crop productivity. The research has four main objectives: to increase yield potential; to narrow gaps between potential and actual yields; to improve yield stability; and maintenance research to prevent the erosion of attained yield levels. Crop productivity research in the CGIAR consists of two sets of activities: germplasm enhancement and breeding, and cropping systems research. These two sets of activities fall into one of the five major "undertakings" called "increasing productivity". Germplasm enhancement and breeding include: pre-breeding activities; the incorporation of primitive and novel germplasm into useful material for breeding purposes; and germplasm evaluation and conventional breeding. Cropping systems include: plant nutrition; plant protection and pest management; seed production; and postharvest technology.
The payoff to crop productivity research in the CGIAR has been large, and the impact of research on rice and wheat has been particularly impressive (Anderson et al., 1988). 1 Significant farm-level impact has also been achieved through research on maize, millet (particularly in India), groundnut (in India), cassava and phaseolus beans. Although encouraging progress in the development of technology for the other crops has been achieved, evidence of impact is still largely anecdotal. Progress has been particularly slow for grain legumes.
1 Anderson, J.R., R.W. Herdt and G.M. Scobie, 1988. Science and Food: the CGIAR and its partners. Published for the CGIAR, World Bank, Washington D.C.
This section discusses important factors for assigning CGIAR priorities to particular crops. For each crop under consideration, the importance of the commodity in the diet and the production system, research opportunities and history, the strategic breeding goals, and the role of the CGIAR hitherto are highlighted.
TAC acknowledges the importance of mixed cropping systems and the difficulty of allocating priorities to the crops involved, which are often of minor importance globally but can play a significant role in particular farming systems. In addition, for many crops, particularly roots and tubers, food legumes and vegetables, the database is weak. Estimates on their value of production and yield levels are often crude guesses, and in a quantitative analysis these crops may, therefore, get a lower priority ranking than they merit.
1.2.1. Rice
Globally, rice is the most important crop in terms of its contribution to human diets and value of production. Rice provides between 35% and 80% of the calories consumed by 3.3 billion people in Asia, and 8% of food energy for 1 billion people in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean.
Of the 146 million ha harvested globally in 1994, about 142 million ha were in developing countries, producing 506 million tonnes of paddy. Asia is the primary producer, accounting for 94% of production in developing countries. Latin America and the Caribbean accounts for 4%, West Asia-North Africa for 1.5%, and sub-Saharan Africa for less than 1 %. Production in Central Asia accounts for less than 0.2% of the developing world's harvests.
Only about 4% of world rice production is traded on the international market; most countries rely almost entirely on domestic production to meet their demand. A striking exception to this is in sub-Saharan Africa where 35% of total rice consumption is derived from imports. Price formation on the international market is heavily influenced by subsidies and other protective measures. In West Africa and Latin America, rice is a relatively new staple in the diet. Per caput consumption in West Africa has doubled over the past two decades, and continues to grow by 2% annually, while in Latin America it has increased by about 20%.
Rice production increased in varying degrees in all developing regions by an average of 2.7% annually during the 1968-80 period, but since then, the growth has decelerated to 1.5% per year. West Africa saw the highest rates of increase during the 1980s at 8.5% annually. About three-quarters of the increase can be attributed to higher yield levels in irrigated rice in Asia, attained through the widespread adoption of high-yielding varieties, fertilizer and irrigation. Production increases in Latin America and the Caribbean resulted largely from the spread of new varieties. However, in sub-Saharan Africa and West Asia-North Africa they resulted from an increase in the area cultivated rather than from increases in yields. In West Africa, although yields grew at 1.9% per annum during the 1980s, area increases still represented fully 75% of the overall production growth.
Over the last 25 years, the rice areas in Asia showed a mean yield increase of 62% (from 2.26 to 3.73 t/ha). However, yields vary widely between countries in all developing regions. For example, in Asia, the average yield of rice in India, which has one-third of the region's rice area, is only 2.82 t/ha, whereas it is 5.87 t/ha in China, which also has about one fourth of the region's rice area.
Significant advances in rice production have been made over the past two decades in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). About 240 new rice varieties were released for flooded environments, with 40% coming from crosses made at CIAT, 13% at IRRI and almost all of the rest have parentage from IARCs' progenitors. Modem semi-dwarf rice varieties now account for more than 90% of all flooded rice production, itself representing 70% of total rice production in the region. Average yields in flooded areas have risen from 3 tonnes per hectare in the mid 1960s to 4.5 t/ha in 1990.
Total rice area fell from 8.5 million ha in 1976 to 6.4 million ha by 1996, as the upland rice area was reduced by more than 50%, i.e., from 5.8 to 2.8 million ha, due to stagnant upland rice yields (at 1.3 tonne/ha) compared to the already mentioned rapid increases in irrigated rice. Therefore, rice production shifted from the fragile environments of the savannas and the forest margins, particularly in Brazil, to the more stable irrigated production systems.
In the two last decades, regional rice production went up from 15 million tonnes to 20 million tonnes, allowing Latin America and the Caribbean to remain largely self-sufficient in rice consumption. With rice prices falling by 40% in real terms over the period, consumers have benefitted greatly. Rice is well established as a "wage good", and the crop has become the most important source of calories and proteins for that 20% of the region's population with the lowest incomes. Rice is preferred by the poor because it is cheap, nutritious, appealing, easy to prepare, and easy to store and transport. Rice is particularly important from the standpoints of growth and equity.
If past trends in demand continue, world rice production will need to increase by 21% by 2005, and by 65% by 2025 (1.7% annually). While Asia has achieved marginal self-sufficiency in rice for the present, further increases through higher yields or increased cropping intensity will be necessary to keep pace with demand. The leading rice-growing countries in Asia will need to increase their rice production by 100% by 2025 (2.3% annually).
These escalating demand levels will require a concerted research effort to continue the development of improved technologies for production. To date, the payoff from CGIAR investments in rice research has been large. The internal rate of return from international rice research over the last 30 years can reach at least 80%, and during this period the new rice varieties allowed for an increase in rice production which was sufficient to feed about 600 million more people (IRRI, 1991). 2 The impact of new technology has so far been confined primarily to irrigated areas - which make up some 53% of the world's harvested rice area - and to favourable rainfed areas. Further research must be conducted for these areas to protect and build on what has already been achieved. Recent work at IRRI has given strong indications that the high yield levels obtained on farms with favourable management conditions are not sustainable due to a variety of factors such as poor quality of irrigation water, the lack of micronutrients, and the vulnerability of improved varieties to pests and diseases. In order to meet the problem of yield erosion, further efforts in maintenance research, as well as in lifting the yield ceiling, will be required. However, if rising demands are to be met, other rice-growing systems will also have to receive attention. These include: shallow rainfed rice, which accounts for almost one-third of the harvested area in Asia; deep-water and floating rice, which accounts for about 13% of the harvested area in Asia; and dryland or upland rice, which accounts for 75 % of the harvested area in Latin America and the Caribbean and 50% of that in sub-Saharan Africa.
2 IRRI, 1991. A Continuing Adventure in Rice Research. IRRI Annual Report 1990-91. IRRI, Los Baños.
In 1983, 25% of total CGIAR allocations were spent on rice. In 1985, TAC recommended that the overall effort for rice be reduced and that the existing shift in research emphasis away from applied research on irrigated systems be reinforced. TAC considered that the CGIAR System's future efforts on rice should concentrate more on non-irrigated systems, and in basic research on irrigated rice in collaboration with specialized institutions.
These recommendations reflected the successes that had already been achieved in rice research, especially in the more favourable environments. Today, more than two-thirds of the rice lands of developing countries are planted with high-yielding modem varieties. Furthermore, the CGIAR System's collaboration in rice research has significantly strengthened many national research programmes, allowing them to assume an increasingly large share of the responsibility for research. This is particularly true of some of the largest rice producing countries, e.g., India, Thailand, the Philippines, Bangladesh, China and Korea.
Non-irrigated wetland and dryland rice systems comprise almost half the global area under rice. The production constraints of these systems are more complex than those of irrigated rice because of lack of control in water management and a more limited knowledge base for research. Therefore, in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as sub-Saharan Africa, CGIAR emphasis has shifted to dryland and rainfed lowland rice research. However, in LAC the Latin American Irrigated Rice Fund, mainly supported by the private sector and IARCs, has been created, to ensure continuity in rice research activities, and particularly on breeding, complementing CIAT's efforts at the regional level. This process clearly shows that Latin American rice producers are aware of the value and innovative effects of new technologies.
The 1986 TAC recommendation for the movement towards basic research and to target more difficult environments was made in the belief that the exploitation of genetic diversity was fundamental to achieving higher and more stable yields, resistance to major pests and disease, and better drought tolerance. For both irrigated and non-irrigated rice, it will be necessary to develop new and better breeding techniques, to increase knowledge of the factors determining resistance and tolerance, to raise yield potential by using biotechnology and to exploit genes from species closely related to O. Sativa. The CGIAR System should therefore emphasize strategic research. In so doing it will catalyze and support basic research in other institutes, and play an active role in encouraging the application of new techniques to the rice production problems of developing countries.
In 1992, TAC recommended a continuation of current levels of CG investment in rice research, but with a shift in focus towards more strategic germplasm research necessary to lift the yield ceiling of the crop, and to sustain current yield levels.
In considering future priorities for rice research, TAC has noted the substantial impact obtained from CGIAR efforts in rice research, in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and West Africa. The future of rice research holds exciting challenges and opportunities. Rice research aims at making significant contributions to environmental goals such as the protection of tropical forests and reduction in agrochemical use, as well as in feeding people through devoting its efforts to the development of improved rice genepools and integrated crop management.
TAC notes that while high returns from investment in rice have been obtained, according to congruence analysis, the CGIAR is under-investing in rice. The Inter-Centre Review of Rice recommended that the share of CGIAR resources allocated to rice research should not be reduced and also recommended a redistribution of its regional allocation. The Rockefeller Foundation's programme on rice biotechnology has transferred knowledge on genome mapping and gene characterizations. In addition, the CGIAR's efforts in rice research have allowed for both a strengthening of applied rice research in national research systems, as well as the development of an outstanding international rice research capacity. While there is also strong bilateral research capacity on selective aspects of rice improvement, an international effort on the genetic and ecological improvement of the different tropical rice production systems remains necessary for a crop of crucial importance to many of the poor in all developing regions. The CGIAR's efforts to address threats to sustainability of rice production in favourable environments, to raise yield ceilings and total factor productivities in favourable and unfavourable environments, to engineer new plant types, to broaden the genetic base by introgression of genes from diverse sources including transgenic lines, must continue to be at the base of the future increases in rice productivity and output.
1.2.2. Wheat
After rice, wheat is the single most important food source in the developing world. It has a special importance in West Asia/North Africa, as well as Central Asia where it is contributing more calories to diets than all other cereals combined. Wheat is higher in protein content than almost all other cereals. Within wheat, a distinction can be made between durum and bread wheats, and between bread wheats, winter, facultative and spring wheats. Durum wheat accounts for 5% of developing country wheat production, and 80% of it is grown in West Asia-North Africa.
In 1992/94, developing countries accounted for 45% of world wheat production (551 million t) and 46% of world wheat area (219 million ha). Half the total increase in production in the 1970s and 70% in the 1980s came from the developing world. CIMMYT varieties now cover at least 50 million hectares and account for 70% of improved varieties. In 1992/94, Asia accounted for 67% of the developing world's production (39% in China), West Asia-North Africa for 19%, Latin America and the Caribbean for 7%, and sub-Saharan Africa for less than 1 %. The region Central Asia contributes about 6.5% of the developing world's total.
Wheat production in the developing regions as a whole increased by 5% annually in the 1970s and by 4.3% in the 1980s. The five largest producers - China, India, Turkey, Pakistan and Argentina - raised production at an average annual rate of 5.4% in the 1970s and 4.3% in the 1980s, largely through yield increases. In the remaining developing countries, the growth rate was only 1.5% during the 1970s, but increased to 3% during the 1980s. Trends in yield levels over the past two decades have varied considerably. China experienced an increase of 75% in the 1970s and-49% in the 1980s; India 25% in the 1970s and 45% in the 1980s; West Asia-North Africa 35% in the 1970s and 16% in the 1980s, sub-Saharan Africa 55% in the 1970s and 38% in the 1980s; Latin America and the Caribbean 37% in the 1980s. Improved varieties and associated technologies have had a major impact on wheat production in the developing world, causing an absolute yield increase from 1.64 t/ha to 2.23 t/ha in the past decade. Today, some 60% of the wheat lands in developing regions are sown with modem varieties.
Wheat imports by developing countries doubled in the 1970s and further increased substantially in the 1980s. Many countries financed their purchases of wheat with limited foreign exchange, indicating the high priority assigned to wheat as a food. Even the countries that produce wheat have become more reliant on imports during the past two decades. Among countries consuming 100,000 tonnes or more annually, per caput wheat imports declined only in Turkey, India, Pakistan, Egypt and Zimbabwe.
Growth rates in consumption are closely linked to rising incomes and urbanization. The correlation with rising incomes reflects not only greater overall food consumption, but also a switch to wheat in preference to other starchy staples, and the use of wheat as animal feed. In West Asia-North Africa, where wheat originated, consumption is high at all income levels and in both rural and urban areas. Other factors contributing to increased wheat consumption are the lagging production of many other staple foods; and food aid and pricing policies, which lower wheat prices and create a bias in favour of wheat products.
For the developing regions as a whole, the annual demand for wheat is projected to grow at 3 % over the coming decade. Demand will rise particularly rapidly in sub-Saharan Africa, at 5.1% per annum, and at 2.9% in other regions.
Expansion in wheat area has declined from 1.7% per year in the 1950s to under 1% currently, and is projected at 0.8% in the future. Consequently, wheat yields will need to rise by 2.2% each year to meet the projected demand growth of 3%. Semi-dwarf wheat varieties are already sown in most of the wheat area and fertilizer applications are relatively high on much of the irrigated land. However, in most developing countries absolute yields are still comparatively low, less than half the average yield in Europe. Even the current yield levels of the five largest producers cannot be considered high: China, 3.45 t/ha; India, 2.36 t/ha; Turkey, 1.99 t/ha; Pakistan, 1.94 t/ha; and Argentina, 2.14 t/ha.
Diseases, insect pests and environmental stresses, especially drought, are important constraints, but they are not the only ones: crop and water management, socioeconomic factors and the policy environment are equally important for achieving further sustainable increases in yield. The impact of CGIAR investments in wheat research has been impressive. Varieties to which CIMMYT has contributed, now cover about 47 million ha, and between 50% and 70% of improved wheat varieties released during the last 30 years have been based on crosses made by CIMMYT.
In the West Asia-North Africa region, where most of the wheat is rainfed (12.5 million ha of bread wheat grown under drought conditions representing 63% of global area of bread wheat grown in developing countries under drought), winter rainfall is low and erratic and crop yields are limited by biological and environmental constraints as well as by management and socioeconomic factors. In this region ICARDA works with CIMMYT to improve durum and bread wheat in mild- and cold-winter areas. Except in Turkey, research in this region has not addressed the needs of high elevation areas, which require winter or facultative wheat varieties with tolerance to a range of environmental stresses, including cold. In the lowland areas of the West Asia-North Africa, CIMMYT and ICARDA varieties of bread wheat and durum are now widely grown in countries such as Egypt, Sudan and Syria, having a major impact on production. In this region, tolerance to heat, moisture stress and salinity, as well as to cold and both pests and diseases, are required.
For the lowland irrigated areas of the semi-arid tropics and sub-tropics with summer rainfall, where the crop is grown during the cool season, varieties with better tolerance to relatively high temperatures are required. Aluminium toxicity is a constraint to bread wheat production in large areas of highly leached acidic soils in the subhumid and humid subtropical areas of southeast China. For the higher elevation areas of the cool tropics and sub-tropics with summer rainfall, spring wheat varieties with better adaptation to biotic and abiotic stresses are required. According to the ACIAR analysis, the highest payoff from future investments in wheat research can be obtained in the warm and seasonally dry sub-tropics with summer rainfall, and in the cool sub-tropics.
In its 1986 assessment of priorities, TAC considered the importance of wheat as a food crop and the increasing reliance of developing countries on wheat imports. It also considered the strong research programmes on wheat in developed countries and the growing strength of national programmes in Latin America, Turkey, India, Egypt and China, as evidenced by the remarkable yield and production increases achieved in those countries during the 1970s and 1980s. The well organized international wheat trade, the export capacity of some developing countries, and the increasing demand for wheat in countries with unfavourable environments for its production make the concept of self-sufficiency inappropriate for many areas.
In 1986 TAC considered that the trend of the centres concerned to transfer a number of research functions to national systems while continuing to provide them with technical support was reasonable and should be accelerated. This led to the recommendation that the System's overall efforts in wheat research should be gradually reduced by 10% over the following five years. TAC also recommended that research should concentrate on increasing production on marginal lands, including those in tropical areas.
The payoff from investment in wheat research has been very high, but further efforts are required to sustain the increased yield levels achieved. In 1992, TAC recommended a continuation of CGIAR efforts at current levels, but noted that in the long term the priority of wheat was likely to decline given the growing importance of alternative sources of supply.
There are interesting futures for the science of wheat which will relate to the use of marker-aided selection that will accelerate opportunities for making the yield improvements that are clearly very necessary. Although there is a great deal of research on wheat in the North and in Australia, much of it is not closely relevant to improving wheat production of resource-poor farmers in tropical marginal areas, nor to raising yield ceilings and total factor productivity of wheat in favourable tropical environments. There are new opportunities for significant breakthroughs in disease resistance through new science on wide crosses.
1.2.3. Maize
Among the food crops, maize ranks third after rice and wheat both in terms of calorie contribution and in terms of value of production. For the 1992 to 1994 three-year average, developing countries produced an estimated 43 % of world production (522 million t) from about 84 million ha (66% of total mane area). The crop is grown in all the developing regions. Of the total for all regions, China alone accounts for 44% and the rest of Asia for 14%, Latin America and the Caribbean for 30%, sub-Saharan Africa for 8%, West Asia-North Africa for 4%, and Central Asia for about 0.5%.
Where grown for human food, maize is an important source of calories for the poor. The crop is widely grown in mixed cropping systems by subsistence farmers. For all developing countries, annual per caput human consumption is only 20 kg, but in Latin America and the Caribbean (the homeland of maize) it is 80 kg, and in sub-Saharan Africa 60 kg; in some countries of both regions, per caput human consumption is as high as 100 kg per annum. Maize provides about one-third of the mean calorie intake in these two regions, but little more than 5% in the other regions. Maize stover is an important byproduct in many countries.
The use of maize for livestock feed has become increasingly important and now accounts for about 54% of consumption in developing countries. In the subtropical areas of South America, it is the main use, and it is important for this purpose in the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean, and in the West Asia-North Africa region. In the 1970s and the 1980s, the use of maize as feed in developing countries grew by 5.3% per annum, and in Asia and West Asia-North Africa it grew at three times the rate for direct human consumption. It grew at twice the rate for food use in sub-Saharan Africa, but from a low base, so that use of maize for feed is still relatively low in that region.
During the current decade, demand for food maize for the developing regions as a whole is expected to grow at 1.6% per year, for feed maize at 4.9%, and for food and feed maize combined at 3.5%. Total regional demand is projected to grow at 3.1% for sub-Saharan Africa, 3% for the West Asia-North Africa region, 3.8% for Asia and 3.3% for Latin America and the Caribbean.
During the past decade, developing countries achieved a 22% increase in yields. However, this average figure masks China's considerable gain of 50% (associated largely with the adoption of improved varieties) at one end of the scale, and a decline of almost 15% in West Africa at the other. The variation in yields per ha is equally dramatic: these range from more than 3 t in subtropical South America and China, through just under 2 in West Asia-North Africa, to about 1.6 in Central and tropical South America, about 1.5 in South and South-East Asia, about 1.1 in East and Southern Africa and India, and less than 1 in the other sub-Saharan African regions. Sub-Saharan Africa achieved some increase in production during the 1970s, but this was the result of an increase in the area harvested. During the 1980s, yield gains were 16% (from 1.96 to 2.28 t/ha) for the developing regions as a whole, 12% for sub-Saharan Africa, 7% for Latin America and the Caribbean, 38% for West Asia-North Africa and 27% for Asia.
In the long term, the global pattern of use will continue to change with rising incomes and urbanization. Although consumers in developing countries will tend to spend less on maize as they switch to other foods, maize consumption will increase because of its increasing use as feed. In the low-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, this scenario is likely to develop more slowly, and in the medium term the problem will be one of increasing demand for maize for human consumption against a background of declining per caput production. For example, in East and Southern Africa, where maize is the staple food and is grown on about 30% of the cultivated crop area, production will need to double by the year 2000 if the region is not to face massive bills for food imports. Increased production in sub-Saharan Africa will need to come mainly from increased yields.
The demand for hybrid maize has increased rapidly in recent years, particularly in Asia and Latin America.
The potential for increasing yields is quite high and the payoff from CGIAR investments in maize research has been substantial, particularly in the lowland tropics. The main constraints are environmental stresses (particularly drought), diseases and insect pests, and low levels of external inputs. Both improved open-pollinated varieties and hybrids are required, depending on local needs and the efficiency of national seed producers. In the lowland tropics, the development of better varieties and improved management practices relevant to farmers' needs and constraints would contribute considerably to improved production. In sub-Saharan Africa, low fertilizer rates and poor management currently pose a greater constraint than does the availability of high-yielding varieties. In East and Southern Africa, where there are extensive lowland and highland areas ideally suited to maize production, the payoff from the development of appropriate technology for small-scale farmers is exceptionally high, as the case of Zimbabwe shows. In some environments with bimodal rainfall, short-cycle maize outperforms both sorghum and millet.
In 1986 TAC considered that the CGIAR System's major effort in maize research was justified and should be maintained over the long term, and that some additional support should be given in the short to medium term to accelerate the promising results from work in progress. The recommendation took into consideration the crop's value as food, feed and a source of income for low-income groups and small-scale farmers worldwide; the projected increase in demand; and the expectation that strategic research could successfully address the constraints to higher yields in many developing countries. TAC recognized the urgent and specific needs of sub-Saharan Africa and recommended a shift of effort to those areas where maize is the staple food.
In future, for sub-Saharan Africa, emphasis should be placed on development of maize-based cropping systems which utilize the available resources efficiently, maintain long-term productivity of the lands, and minimize postharvest losses. Varieties with improved nitrogen and water-use efficiency, resistance to parasitic plants (Striga spp.), and resistance to storage pests (weevils and pathogens) are required for these systems. End-user requirements must be considered in breeding programmes in order to increase processing efficiency and the recovery of end products. This should enhance adoption of higher-yielding improved varieties.
In sub-Saharan Africa as a whole, perhaps one of the greatest constraints to increased maize production are Striga spp., particularly Striga hermonthica and Striga asiatica. These obligate root parasites frequently cause yield losses on cereals of more than 50%, and in many areas infestation has become so severe that cereal production has been abandoned. Maize is particularly susceptible to parasitism and yield loss. Control of Striga spp. under African farming conditions is a complex problem. Whilst host-plant resistance can contribute, sustainable control can be achieved only by integrating several control options into diverse cropping systems that involve not only maize, but also other cereals, legumes, roots, tubers, and vegetables. In this regard, legume rotations which have major effects on controlling the parasites, and additionally provide food and improve soil fertility, have tremendous potential. Maize resistance to the parasite can contribute to Striga spp. control. However, for this option to be realized, improved Striga-resistant high-yielding maize cultivars which farmers prefer for their cropping systems, even in the absence of Striga pressure, and which have consumer acceptance, need to be available. Use of Striga-resistant maize and any associated parasite control cannot be sustained without meeting this prerequisite.
In 1992, TAC recommended maintaining current efforts in maize research, but noted the rapidly growing involvement of the private sector in the maize industry, making a reduction of maize priority likely in the long term. TAC's views in this regard have not changed, and the Committee believes that private sector investment in maize research will increase greatly over the next decade owing to opportunities for breakthroughs in hybrids. Strengthening of alternative sources of supply and the advances in science as a consequence of such investment are expected. In some regions, notably Africa, there will still be need for public research in the initial stages of the transition to private sector efforts. TAC noted that the transfer and use of apomixis in maize was a future possibility, and needed to be pursued. TAC also noted the results of the congruence analysis that suggested that the CGIAR is relatively over-investing in maize research.
1.2.4. Barley
Barley is the fourth most important cereal crop. It is grown on about 70 million ha and global production is 160 million t. Developing countries account for about 18% (26 million t) of global production and 25% (18.5 million ha) of the harvested area. In most developing countries barley is a typical crop of poor farmers and of hostile, dry and cool environments. In Tibet, Nepal, Ethiopia and the Andes, it is cultivated on the mountain slopes at elevations higher than other cereals. In many areas of North Africa, the Near East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Eritrea and the Yemen, it is often the only possible rainfed crop, and therefore neither the area nor the production reflect me actual importance of the crop.
Compared with average yields of 3.7 t/ha in Europe and 3.0 t/ha in North America, yields average 0.8 t/ha in Africa and 1.7 t/ha in South America, 2.1 t/ha in Asia and 1.3 t/ha for West Asia-North Africa. West Asia-North Africa accounts for 75% of the harvested area in the developing regions, Asia for 11%, sub-Saharan Africa for 5% and Latin America and the Caribbean for 5%. About half of the production is in West Asia-North Africa, and one-fourth is in Central Asia. In no other developing regions is the crop as important relative to other commodities. Asia accounts for another 16% of production, China for 10% and India for 5%.
Barley grain is mostly used as feed for animals, malt and human food. Barley straw is used as animal feed in the Near East, North Africa, Ethiopia, Eritrea, the Yemen, in the Andean region and the Far East. Malt is the second largest use of barley, but the CGIAR System is not directly involved with improvement of malting quality. In many countries such as the highlands of Tibet, Nepal, Ethiopia, the Andean countries, North Africa, Afghanistan, India and Russia, barley is still used as human food either as bread (mixed with bread wheat) or for specific recipes. Developing hull-less barley with improved yield and resistance to common diseases offers great potential for these areas. The livestock industry accounts for almost one-third of the value of agricultural production in West Asia-North Africa, and the increasing demand for meat will mean an increased demand for barley as feed. The main constraints to improved production are environmental stresses (especially drought), insect pests and diseases, and nutrient deficiency, especially N & P.
In the dry and cold areas of West Asia significant progress has been made using a breeding methodology developed at ICARDA and based on the use of locally adapted germplasm and selection for specific adaptation. This has led to the adoption of varieties in very dry areas where it was thought breeding cannot have an impact. Consistent yield increases of about 20% have been reported by farmers who adopted the new cultivars.
Significant progress has been made in decentralizing breeding activities to North Africa. The same approach is now being gradually implemented in West Asia and in the Far East, but more needs to be done for the adoption of this breeding methodology by NARS.
In 1986 TAC recommended that the overall allocation to barley research be reduced slightly, but that the effort for West Asia-North Africa be strengthened by phasing out research for other regions. The recommendation took into account the relatively low importance of barley elsewhere (excluding barley grown for malt) and the strength of many national agricultural research programmes. In 1992, TAC recommended maintaining CGIAR efforts, particularly in areas where poor farmers are heavily dependent on barley.
The future challenge is to consolidate on past achievements and to develop a new methodology for introducing farmers' participation in breeding as a way to exploit specific adaptation and overcome constraints to technology transfer. TAC notes that there has been no increase in capacity in barley science in recent years. Like research on wheat, progress has been made on gene mapping and tagging which offer new opportunities in barley breeding for stress resistance. There is also increasing use of adjacent species which can help in breeding for resistance.
1.2.5. Sorghum
Some 70% of the world's sorghum production (60.9 million t) and 90% of its sorghum area (43.5 million ha) are located in the developing regions. Sorghum is a major crop of the lowland semi-arid tropics with summer rainfall, where it has a special importance, together with millet, as a staple food for millions of very poor people in drought-prone, high-risk areas. In West Africa, sorghum is an important crop in the subhumid areas, where it is intercropped with millet, maize and cowpea. Sorghum is also an important crop in the medium-altitude areas of Ethiopia, and East and Southern Africa. Sorghum tends to have a negative elasticity of demand, and is usually substituted by other foods when income permits. In many areas, the stalks and foliage - used as fodder, fuel and construction materials - are as or more important than the grain.
Although the average contribution of sorghum to diets may be low in most developing regions, in semi-arid West Africa it contributes 13% of calorie intake and over 11% of protein, making it the second most important food commodity after millet. In India, it accounts for almost 6% of calorie intake, but in some selected states, e.g., Maharashtra, accounts for a more significant share of calories. In Latin America and the Caribbean, most of the crop products are used for feed.
Of the area harvested in developing countries, the three-year average 1992 to 1994 shows that Asia accounts for 38%, sub-Saharan Africa for 52%, West Asia-North Africa for 8% and Latin America and the Caribbean for 12%. India, the largest single producer, accounts for 33 % of the sorghum area in the developing regions and China for 3.5%. In sub-Saharan Africa, some 60% of the sorghum area is located in West Africa, the rest being in East and Southern Africa. However, there is little correlation between area harvested and production share because of the considerable regional variation in yields: these range from 3.9 and 3.7 t/ha in Peru and China respectively to 0.95 t/ha in India and 0.9 t/ha in Western Africa, where many national averages are even lower.
In the 1970s, substantial yield increases were achieved in China, Latin America and the Caribbean, and also in India from a very low level. During the 1980s and early 1990s, sorghum area in Asia declined by 25% and production by 5%. The decline in area was mainly in India and China and was offset by further yield increases. India's area declined by 21 % but production increased by 9% due to substantial increases in yields. The decline in area was not uniform, some states showing stable or increasing sorghum cultivation. China's area declined by 52% and production by 27%. In sub-Saharan Africa, sorghum area has increased by 48 % during the same period and production by 23%. In Latin America and the Caribbean, there was a decrease in area of 30% and in production of 25%. The pattern observed seems to indicate substitution of other crops for sorghum in favourable areas and consolidation or expansion of sorghum growing in rainfed areas that are not suitable for other crops.
The world's most urgent localized food production problems lie in drought-prone areas such as those of India and the Sahelian zone of Africa, where sorghum and millet are the staple food crops. The events of recent years have demonstrated as never before the extreme vulnerability of such areas, where the effects of a series of bad years have led to famine and dependence on food aid.
The main constraints to sorghum production being addressed through research are drought and biotic stresses. The former targets drought escape through earliness and evaluation of the effects of specific traits that have been associated with drought resistance. The latter include Striga spp., which cause serious losses and prejudices sustainability of production where the land is planted to successive crops of sorghum, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Grain moulds, causing severe reduction in grain quantity and quality, are a problem wherever improved cultivars have been adopted in more favourable production environments, particularly in India. Insect pests cause substantial losses in grain yield in different regions - shoot fly in the post-rainy season crop in India, midge and head bug in Western Africa, and stem borer in all areas. Foliar diseases are important constraints in Western Africa, Latin America and parts of Asia, where they affect both grain yield and stover quality for animal feed.
A major objective of varietal improvement research is broadening the genetic base of breeding materials. This is achieved by deliberate introduction of new genetic materials into resistance breeding for the constraints mentioned above. It also includes development of broad-based populations targeting improvement of specific traits that are important for sorghum in many areas. The main targets are dual purpose varieties and hybrids which combine high yields of both grain and stover. It includes forage sorghum hybrids, as forage uses of sorghum are increasing rapidly in areas of Asia and Latin America. Other research emphasizes development of management options to mitigate the same biotic and abiotic stresses and their integration into management packages suitable for small-scale farmers of the semi-arid tropics.
In 1992, TAC recommended maintaining CGIAR efforts, particularly in those areas where poor farmers were heavily dependent on sorghum. In such areas, grain mould is a major constraint to sorghum quality in the semi-arid tropics. Partially purified protein extracts from recently identified resistant genotypes were found to inhibit growth of the fungi involved in the disease. Efforts are underway to characterize these "anti-fungal" proteins, and their genetic control.
TAC notes that there may be diminishing returns in attempting to further increase yields of sorghum since, as a subsistence crop, farmers tend to reduce the area under cultivation as prices fall and shift to other commodities. Secondly, there are alternative sources of supply for research on sorghum hybrids from advanced institutions and from the NARS themselves who are already breeding for certain characteristics. The potential for alternative sources of supply from non-CGIAR sources over the next five years is considered substantial, particularly in Asia and Latin America where the crop is increasingly being used for livestock feed.
1.2.6. Millet
In Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, pearl millet is the most important crop grown under dryland conditions in the lowland semi-arid tropics and subtropical areas with summer rainfall. There it is a staple food, together with sorghum (in sub-Saharan Africa) or wheat (in Asia). Pearl millet provides food for some of the world's poorest countries and poorest people. It produces grain and fodder under conditions too hot, too dry, and on soils too poor for sorghum and maize. Its straw is a valuable livestock feed in those farming systems.
Because some countries combine their statistics for sorghum and millets, the data for millets tend to be unreliable, especially for sub-Saharan Africa. It appears that millets are harvested from about 34 million ha annually in developing countries, of which 26 million ha are pearl millet and the remainder an array of other small-seeded grasses (finger millet, foxtail millet, proso millet, tef, and other species) that are harvested for grain and classified as millets. For pearl millet, India accounts for about 38% of the area, and West Africa for about 46%. Pearl millet is the staple cereal of the Sahelian Zone of Africa. In semi-arid West Africa, it accounts for about half the daily calorie intake and one-third of the protein for local people.
Average millet grain yields are only 500 to 800 kg/ha. Yields increased moderately during the 1970s (12%), showed a more modest increase of 10% during the 1980s, and have stagnated during the early 1990s. World production of millets increased modestly (8%) during the 1970s (with a slight increase in pearl millet in West Africa), declined by 3% during the 1980s as yield increases (10%) were counterbalanced by declines in production area (12%), and stabilized during the early 1990s. In Africa, the area under production has increased by 32% since the 1960s, and this was accompanied by an 8% increase in yield. In Asia, the area decreased by 37%, but yields rose 38%, leading to a net decrease of 13% in production. Clearly, unless millet yields can be further improved and stabilized, the future for dryland food production in the semi-arid tropics will continue to look bleak. In India, ICRISAT's efforts in pearl millet improvement have met with substantial success: over 3 million ha or a third of the area is now sown to improved pearl millet hybrids and open-pollinated varieties based on parental materials of ICRISAT origin.
In 1992, TAC recommended maintaining current efforts in millet research. The main constraints of pearl millet production are the same as for sorghum: environmental stress (especially drought and soil fertility), crop establishment, birds, Striga, diseases (particularly downy mildew) and insect pests (especially stem borers).
Downy mildew is the most important disease of millet worldwide. Recently, ICRISAT and its partners have applied molecular techniques to distinguish different races, and have developed a molecular map of millet. Multiple genes are involved, and race-specific quantitative trait loci (QTLs) have been identified against several pathotypes. This work will lead to more durable resistance, obtainable in fewer years than was previously possible.
Stem borers cause significant losses each year in sub-Saharan Africa. Resistance breeding has proven difficult. Pheromone traps have been tried and found effective in eight West African countries. Wide use of these traps is expected by 1997.
TAC notes that research results for millet have not been equally promising in all regions. The Indian national programme on millet is quite effective and includes a good programme on hybrid millet. In Africa, the importance of the crop in the semi-arid tropics is expected to continue, and recent breakthrough in the CGIAR's effort in cytoplasmic diversification of hybrid parents, alternative cultivar types such as topcross hybrids that exploit heterosis but reduce genetic vulnerability compared to single-cross hybrids, identification of molecular markers for genes controlling downy mildew resistance and components of grain yield all augur well for making pearl millet an even more reliable component of agricultural systems in the harsh environments of the semi-arid tropics. These technologies, together with participatory approaches to identifying the real needs of farmers and their families in these environments, will help the people of these regions help themselves to achieve a more sustainable and self-sufficient food production system.
1.3.1. Cassava
Cassava is an important food crop in Africa, particularly in the humid and subhumid tropics. It is also important in parts of Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. Besides roots, in Africa, the leaves are eaten as a green vegetable in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa and provide a cheap and rich source of protein and Vitamins A and B. The crop is grown mostly by small-scale farmers, for whom it is a major source of cash income and food energy. It tolerates low-fertility soils, drought and can be left in the ground as a food reserve for long periods. Cassava ranks among the 15 most important agricultural commodities in developing countries with respect to value of production, and is the most important in sub-Saharan Africa.
World production in 1994, all from developing countries, was about 152.5 million t from about 15.8 million ha and a production of 159.1 million is forecasted for 1995 - some 42.7% of the total area in developing countries devoted to root crops. This represents an increase in production of 19.6% and in harvested area of 11.8% during the past decade. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for approximately 47% of world production, Asia for about 31%, and Latin America and the Caribbean for 20% (77.4% of this from Brazil). Currently Brazil, Nigeria, Indonesia, Thailand and Zaire are the world's largest producers. Thailand is the dominant world exporter. In contrast, there is very little export from Africa where production is almost entirely used as food.
Cassava is the most important root crop in Africa, where it accounts for 59.2% of the harvested root crop area. It has three main roles namely, - a major source of cash income for those households which produce and/or process the crop, a low cost carbohydrate staple for low income urban and rural consumers, and a food security crop in vulnerable areas. It is used mainly in processed forms (about 70% of total production) such as meal or flour, while the remainder is used in fresh form. It is a major source of dietary energy for over 200 million people contributing an average of more than 200 calories per day per capita. Nigeria and Zaire are the largest African producers, accounting for 55.8% (40.6 million t) of production. In Asia, there are many more end uses and all the principal producing countries have starch industries. In Thailand, cassava is produced largely for export as pellets for animal feed. However, the share of native and modified starch has been increasing significantly since the early 1990s. In Latin America and the Caribbean, cassava's principal use is as food, but an increasing amount of cassava is being processed into cassava chips and especially into starches. From the early 1980s to the early 1990s yield gains were about 5.9% (from 10.2 to 10.8 t/ha) for the developing nations as a whole, 11.6% for Africa (from 6.9 to 7.7 t/ha), 5.5% for Latin America and the Caribbean (from 10.9 to 11.5 t/ha), and 3.1% for Asia (from 12.7 to 13.1 t/ha). Current average yields for Thailand, Indonesia, India, and China are 14.0, 11.9, 22.5, and 14.8 t/ha respectively, compared with an average 7.7 t/ha in Africa.
With real incomes increasing slowly or not at all in most sub-Saharan African countries, there seems likely to be an increasing demand for cassava as a human food, at least until the year 2010. Also, the crop has a special significance as a food reserve. Enhancement of all of cassava's roles (income generation, cheap food, and food reserve) requires breeding for high yield, early bulking and processing qualities. In addition, improvements in processing technologies to achieve better quality and diversity of products, and to reduce processing labour are required, all of which will impact favourably on women. Besides the need to diminish the cyanogen content for safety reasons and to reduce processing and food preparation time required by women, cassava research in Africa should address the following principal issues: improvement of the role of cassava as a subsistence and famine relief crop; utilization of the crop's potential for income and employment generation; and the generation of marketable surpluses with significant added value to meet rising urban demand for new products. Overcoming significant biotic and abiotic constraints are the major challenge in Africa. The successful strategy applied during the 1980s for the biological control of mealy bug is currently being extended to some of the crop's other major pests.
Cassava production in Asia has increased at an annual rate of about 1 % during the past 25 years. Thailand is the region's largest producer, with about 39% of total production, and has become an important exporter of starch and cassava chips and pellets for animal feed. The market in Asia seems likely to remain healthy due to the demand-led diversification of cassava's end uses, i.e., modified starches. There exists a strong demand, especially from the industrial sector, for more high-yielding clones with superior starch contents. In addition, increasing attention is being paid to improve yields while decreasing the risk of endangering the natural resource base. The latter is being addressed through a multi-country project that aims to reduce soil erosion and improve soil fertility in upland cassava systems through an FPR approach.
Cassava production in Latin America and the Caribbean declined from 1975 to 1984 at an annual rate of 1.4%, especially in Brazil where it declined at an annual rate of 2.0%. After 1984, production remained more or less stable, decreasing slightly in North East Brazil (due to major droughts) while increasing in South Brazil and Colombia. Cassava remains a small-farm crop grown in marginal areas where soil fertility and moisture limit the production of other crops. Nevertheless, cassava farmers sell a high proportion of their production. Urbanization has led to decreasing per caput consumption of fresh cassava, but the crop is increasingly being used in animal feeds through the intervention of small-scale farmer associations producing low-cost dried cassava chips. In addition, in most countries in the region cassava starch processing has become increasingly important.
As a result of sustained training efforts in several disciplines and at a range of levels, the national programmes in sub-Saharan Africa have steadily strengthened. In addition, strong and effective collaborative links have come into place between national programmes and the CGIAR system for the realization of common research goals, especially in the fields of biological control, plant breeding and cellular biotechnology. However, national research capacity is still limited and a continued strong research input by the CGIAR system is justified. The scope of research that is required is similar to that which TAC recommended in 1986, with some alteration in emphasis. Findings from the Collaborative Study of Cassava in Africa (COSCA) showed that increased commercial opportunities for cassava drive production increases, and generate income for rural people. Therefore, future research should emphasize postharvest technology, quality of roots for various end uses, pest and disease control and to a lesser extent foliage production for use as vegetable. These issues have remained a high priority. In addition, cassava market assessment needs to indicate opportunities for improved or novel cassava-based products. This information will serve technological interventions, strengthening the gradual transformation of cassava from subsistence toward market orientation.
In Asia, demand was buoyant and national programmes, though relatively young, were strong. The main requirements from the CGIAR System seemed to be improved germplasm and consultation services on technical problems, especially production agronomy. These observations in general are still valid. However, a strong cassava market diversification, away from cassava pellets, and towards (modified) starches has taken place in most Asian countries. This, together with changing government policies, has put further pressure on improved cassava varieties, especially in terms of improved starch content. Furthermore, the continuing shift of cassava production towards more marginal areas, emphasizes the need for R&D to maintain the fragile resource base.
Since 1986, several studies carried out in Latin America and the Caribbean have shown that cassava is increasingly being used in animal feeds. The rapid increase in demand for feed, coupled with the cereals deficit, suggests considerable future demand for dried cassava. In the absence of price distortions, cassava is highly competitive with cereal grains. In addition, new technologies and new product demand have significantly strengthened demand for industrial, fermented and modified starches throughout the continent. Also, while urbanization has led to a decrease in the per capita consumption of fresh cassava, pilot studies indicate increased demand on the part of urban dwellers and new "convenience food" cassava products. Overall, the major areas for market expansion for cassava in Latin America and the Caribbean are seen to be animal feed, refined flours and starches. A series of cassava industry and market studies are being conducted to guide applied cassava research in the area of postharvest, processing and product development. Significant efforts continue to be needed in further linking small-scale cassava farmers to growth markets following the successful concept of Integrated Cassava R&D Projects. In addition, cassava productivity research aims at integrated approaches to overcome the major biotic and abiotic stresses, ensure the environmental soundness of technology options and maintain the competitiveness of the crop.
In 1992, TAC recommended a continuation of CGIAR efforts in cassava research. Cassava is a commodity which is particularly important for the poor, also for the urban poor. It is labour intensive and payoff to CGIAR investments has been high. TAC notes that market for cassava products in the food, livestock and industrial sectors is increasing. The 1995 Inter-Centre Review on Roots and Tubers recommended that cassava be given increased priority. However, on the basis of congruence analysis, the CGIAR is already over-investing in this commodity.
1.3.2. Potato
Approximately 30% (about 89 million t) of the world's potato crop is currently produced in developing countries, mainly by small-scale farmers, compared to only 15% two decades ago. Potato is a labour intensive crop. The nutrient value (including Vitamin C) of potato is high, and the crop is particularly useful as a source of energy and protein and as an infant weaning food. High yields are possible, demand is growing rapidly due to positive income elasticity of demand for the crop at low income levels, and potato has a high value as a cash crop. It ranks among the ten most important food crops in developing countries with respect to gross value of production.
In 1992/94, developing countries accounted for about 37% of the area harvested. China is the largest producer, accounting for 42% of the 89 million t of potatoes produced in developing countries for the period, while the rest of Asia accounted for 18%, Latin America and the Caribbean for 14%, West Asia-North Africa for 15% and sub-Saharan Africa for 3%. Yields vary from about 6 t/ha in sub-Saharan Africa to 18 t/ha in West Asia-North Africa, compared with an average of 20 t/ha in developed countries. During the 1980s, yields in the developing regions as a whole increased by 13%, from 10.9 to 12.2 t/ha. A further 6% increase was obtained in the first years of the 1990s, as average yields rose to 13 t/ha.
Among the major constraints to increased production are the high costs of production, various diseases and pests, the perishability of the crop during storage, and the difficulty of developing varieties adapted to higher temperatures. As in the case of other roots and tubers, national research capacity in potato research was generally weak at the start of CGIAR activities with this commodity. Only 2% of the world's potato production is traded on international markets because of the perishability of the crop, whose high water content makes its transport over long distances risky. Quarantine regulations also restrict international trade in potato.
Potato has responded well to research, and plant breeding has already brought about significant improvements in the crop in developing countries. Virology research in the potato has advanced greatly, and the safe movement of germplasm is now a reality. The adoption of improved potato varieties is often delayed by the absence of national seed or multiplication systems. There is also a need for greater attention to the integration of potato in sustainable cropping systems.
In 1986, TAC recommended that the level of support for potato research should continue in the short to medium term, given the short history of research for tropical and subtropical regions. TAC further recommended that, in view of the stronger national programmes then beginning to emerge and the spillovers from research in developed countries, CGIAR support be reduced in the medium to long term. In 1992, TAC recommended maintaining CGIAR efforts at current levels.
To sustain production increases in the future, a coordinated effort to develop more durable host plant resistance to potato late blight is required. Although the problem of late blight poses a challenge for research on tropical potato, the new science required is well within the capacity of existing suppliers. In particular, the problem is so important for the industrial world that enormous resources will be devoted to its solution. The probability of success of this research is considered positive. However, similar research is required for the development of tropical potato cultivars with resistance to late blight and other diseases. Greater emphasis is also required, through molecular virology, in building immunity to the main viruses which are second to late blight in terms of their importance as constraints to potato production.
1.3.3. Sweet potato
Sweet potato is now widely grown as a staple food in developing countries outside tropical America, where it originated. Although sweet potato statistics are dominated by the production level of China (the world's largest sweet potato producer accounting for about 80% of production), the crop is also grown in many small countries with typically very low income levels. Sweet potato has very little research history, and outside the CGIAR only very little research is conducted on the crop. It is well adapted to warm tropical lowlands and produces relatively well under low-input conditions on good soils. Depending on variety, the crop can be harvested in three to six months. Sweet potato fits well into the multiple cropping systems of Asia. The protein content of the roots is marginally greater than that of cassava and about half that of potato and yam. Sweet potato provides large shares of calories, protein and Vitamin C, as well as Vitamin A in yellow cultivars to the diets of the poor. When eaten as a vegetable, the green leaves provide additional protein, vitamins and minerals. Production costs and labour inputs are low in terms of the yield and calories produced.
Per caput production of sweet potato has decreased during the past 20 years, and the area harvested has also diminished. As income levels have risen the consumption of sweet potato has fallen. There has also been diversification in the uses made of sweet potato. For example, in China, only about 26% of sweet potato production is now used for human consumption, as against 35% for livestock feed, 28% for industrial uses (starch and alcohol) and 11 % for seed or processed snacks.
Of the 9.1 million ha of sweet potato harvested on average between 1992 and 1994 in developing countries, Asia accounted for 82%, sub-Saharan Africa for 15%, and Latin America and the Caribbean for 3%. About 131 million t of sweet potato are produced altogether, of which 98% is from developing countries. China dominates world production, producing over 85% of developing country output, and this masks the importance of sweet potato in many small countries such as the Pacific Islands. In terms of gross value of production, sweet potato ranks eighth among the major agricultural commodities in developing countries.
The demand for sweet potato is increasing in sub-Saharan Africa, where the harvested area is relatively small. Production is estimated to have increased by 25 % in the 1970s and by 13% in the 1980s, and is now 2.6 times higher than that of Latin America and the Caribbean, where it declined during the 1970s but increased by 9% during the 1980s.
Although current yields in sub-Saharan Africa average only 6 t/ha, the crop's high yield potential has been demonstrated by the CGIAR System's research in that region, which has led to varieties that can produce more than 40 t/ha in four months when grown in the wet season. Similar results have been obtained from new Asian varieties. Current yields in the developing regions as a whole average around 14 t/ha, with an average yield of about 18t/ha in China. Substantial potential exists for an expansion of the importance of sweet potato and its foliage as a livestock feed.
Pests and diseases, such as the sweet potato weevil, stem borer, viruses and mycoplasma-like organisms, are major production constraints. Integrated pest management, including the use of transparence resistance customs, appears to show promise for the future. Unlike cassava, the crop cannot be stored in the ground beyond maturity, as it sprouts easily and is subject to pest attacks. Nor does it store well once lifted, although slicing and drying alleviate this problem to some extent.
In 1986 TAC considered sweet potato to be a neglected crop and recommended that the research effort be increased substantially. It recognized a need for greater collaboration between the CGIAR Centres and other institutions involved in research on the crop, such as AVRDC. The role of sweet potato in the development of new foods and food processing technologies could make it a highly valuable cash crop and employment generator in the medium to long term. In 1987, sweet potato was added to CIP's mandate, and in 1990, AVRDC decided to stop further work on sweet potato. In 1992, TAC recommended maintaining current CGIAR efforts in sweet potato research.
TAC notes that on the basis of the congruence analysis, the CGIAR is under-investing in sweet potato research. On the other hand, the Inter-Centre Review of Root and Tuber Crops Research noted that some responsibility currently assumed by the CGIAR could be transferred to national systems, particularly in Asia where two-thirds of the crop is used for livestock feed and industrial purposes. TAC notes that the demand for sweet potato is increasing in sub-Saharan Africa.
1.3.4. Yam
Yams are cultivated throughout the tropics, and in parts of the sub-tropics and temperate zones. They are of major importance in sub-Saharan Africa, and in the Pacific and Caribbean islands. Estimated world production is 28.1 million tonnes of which 95% is grown in sub-Saharan Africa, mainly in the West and Central regions, and in small amounts elsewhere. Virtually all production is used for human food. It is the second most important root/tuber crop in Africa with production reaching just under one third the level of cassava. Nigeria is the largest producer (about 20 million tonnes), but the crop is important wherever it is grown. By virtue of its excellent palatability, it is a high value crop and, in spite of rather limited research attention, the popularity of this food crop never wavers. More than 95% (2.8 million ha) of the current global area under yam cultivation is in sub-Saharan Africa, where the crop accounts for about 21% of the area cultivated with root crops in the continent's root-crop belt. Nigeria alone accounts for about 70% (16 million t) of the world production of yam.
Yam is a preferred food and a food security crop in some sub-Saharan African countries. The most intensive area of production is in West Africa, in the southerly part of the lowland moist savanna zone. It is also grown in certain parts of the forest zone and, over the past decade or so, it has gradually extended into lower rainfall areas of the savanna, using alluvial soils of inland valleys. Because it is highly appreciated when prepared as a fresh starchy food, it is marketed into non-producing areas thus providing employment in transportation and sales at urban and rural markets. Unlike some other tropical root/tuber crops (cassava, sweet potato and aroids), yam tubers can be stored for periods of up to four or even six months at ambient temperatures. This characteristic contributes to the sustaining of food supply, especially in the difficult (food scarce) period at the start of the wet season. In West Africa, the white yam - Dioscorea rotundata - is the most highly prized type and the one that has received most attention from the CGIAR System.
Yam production is limited by various diseases and pests. Nematodes cause serious damage both in the field and in storage. Postharvest losses also result from fungal and bacterial rots and insects as well as from increased respiration and sprouting when tubers break dormancy. A further hindrance to yam cultivation is high costs, which are a consequence of the heavy labour requirements at planting and harvest and sizeable expenditures on planting material ('seed' yams, in the form of whole small tubers or tuber pieces). The need for staking is another cost, but this is not a major limitation in the prime production ecology (the savanna) because high solar radiation obviates the necessity for staking. Production is carried out mainly with hand tools, and labour demands are high for planting, weeding, staking and harvesting. The cost of planting material is high: 20-30% of the previous harvest. In sub-Saharan Africa, mean gross yields are 10 t/ha (7-8 t/ha net, after allowing for the next season's planting material).
International research efforts on yam are fairly recent and small, but results are promising. Within the CGIAR System, non-stake lines capable of producing 20 t/ha have been produced and new techniques for the production of planting materials should reduce the drain on harvests. These techniques have already led to a small seed-yam production industry among yam growers in Nigeria. Research has also found ways of triggering flowering, thereby allowing plant breeding to begin. In recent years, yam breeding has made progress in the development of improved cultivars which achieve stable high yields and can even perform well under conditions of natural soil fertility with no staking. Yield potential of the most recent elite germplasm is in the range of 25-30 t/ha.
In 1986, TAC recommended that the effort on yams be increased to a level sufficient to make a rapid impact on production and postharvest problems. TAC viewed the increased efforts devoted to yam as a short-term thrust to determine whether the apparent breakthroughs in seed propagation and the development of non-staking varieties could make the anticipated impact on production in farmers' fields.
In view of advances made in the last five years, IITA is implementing extensive regional testing of improved germplasm. Within the next five years, with the present level of multidisciplinary research input, new pre- and postharvest technologies will be available for evaluation with farmers in selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including countries where yam is now a minor crop.
In 1992, TAC recommended maintaining CGIAR efforts, but asked that the next external review of IITA consider the future role of the CGIAR in yam research. The IITA external review recommended that the yam improvement work be maintained at the current level while seeking every opportunity to devolve more of the applied work progressively to the NARS.
1.3.5. Banana and Plantain
Banana and plantain are staple food crops for millions of people in developing countries. About 90% of production takes place on small farms and is consumed locally. Only 10%, mainly from commercial plantations in Latin America and the Caribbean, enters world trade. In terms of gross value of production, banana and plantain rank eighth after rice, milk, beef, wheat, maize, soybean and groundnut.
Banana and plantain production is threatened by pest and disease pressures, which have been increasing over the past 15 years. These include black sigatoka leaf spot disease, Fusarium wilt (Panama disease), banana weevil, a complex of plant parasitic nematodes and several virus diseases (banana bunchy top, banana mosaic, banana streak, and others). Black sigatoka disease causes such severe leaf necrosis that fruit yield decreases by 30-5. Weevil and nematode damage generally reduce plant vigour and increase susceptibility to wind lodging.
Proper management of soil fertility, including provision of soil organic matter through regular mulching, is essential for maintaining the perennial productivity of banana and plantain. In the humid lowlands of sub-Saharan Africa, the so-called 'yield decline syndrome' of plantain is observed after one or two cycles of cropping in large-scale field plantations. Whilst the reasons for this yield decline are complex, the pressure on land and the associated shortening of fallow periods and decline in soil fertility exacerbate the problem. Similarly in the banana production systems of mid-altitude and highland areas, declining yields are undoubtedly related to reduced soil fertility and mineral deficiencies arising from use of poorer soils. Postharvest losses of plantain and banana are a serious deterrent to expanding production in some countries. Surplus production during the main cropping season is the primary cause, but losses can also be attributed to poor methods of harvest, transportation and storage of the fruit.
Plantain and banana are generally considered intractable to genetic improvement due to their triploid nature which results in almost complete sterility. Nevertheless, in recent years the CGIAR system and other regional banana and plantain improvement programmes have made excellent progress in breeding hybrids with resistance to black sigatoka, improved yields and acceptable fruit quality. In addition, research in cellular biotechnology and virus diagnostics have provided ways to achieve delivery of improved germplasm on the scale necessary for achieving impact with small-scale growers. With respect to future research, it is now possible for the focus to shift away from control of black sigatoka disease to other biotic stresses (nematodes, weevil, virus diseases) using an integrated approach. In addition to high and stable yields, increased tolerance of drier soil conditions, improved plant architecture, including root systems, suckering behaviour, and reduced plant height, and postharvest requirements (preferred quality together with better handling characteristics) should also be objectives for genetic improvement programmes.
The main challenges to research include breeding for resistance to Black Sigatoka disease, Fusarium wilt (Panama disease), Bunch Top Virus and banana weevil, and the development of improved production systems.
In 1990, the CGIAR decided to extend its support for banana and plantain research beyond the humid and subhumid tropics of sub-Saharan Africa, to include Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. In 1992, TAC recommended to maintain the current efforts in CGIAR research on these commodities. In 1994, CGIAR efforts in banana and plantain research were streamlined through the integration of INIBAP into IPGRI.
TAC notes that a major scientific breakthrough was made in the development of germplasm in the resistance to Black Sigatoka, the major constraint to banana production in developing countries. More work is now needed to develop suitable varieties and to introduce these into farming systems. Research in cellular biotechnology and virus diagnostics has provided ways to achieve delivery of improved germplasm on the scale necessary.
1.4.1. Chickpea
The oldest records of the cultivated chickpea are from Turkey, and it is assumed that the crop spread out globally from that area. Generally the crop is grown on small-scale farms as both food and cash crop. The seeds are used whole, dehulled or as flour. Immature shoots and seed may be used as vegetables. In 1994, world production was 7.9 million t from 10.2 million ha, of which 97% was from developing countries. For the 1992 to 1994 three-year production average, Asia accounted for 76% of production, Africa 3%, and Latin America and the Caribbean each for 3%. Yields have shown a steady increase of about 0.5% annually over the past two decades. During 1971-73 the average yield globally was 645 kg ha-1; during 1991-93 it was 705 kg ha-1, and during 1992-94 720 kg ha-1.
The small-seeded desi types, which account for about 85% of world production, are grown on the Indian subcontinent, in Ethiopia, Australia and in parts of Mexico, Afghanistan and Iran. The large-seeded kabuli types are grown in the Mediterranean region, parts of Mexico, and to some extent on the Indian subcontinent. In the tropics and sub-tropics with summer rainfall, chickpea is mostly grown on residual soil moisture or sometimes under irrigation. In the sub-tropics with winter rainfall, the crop is generally sown during the spring. It usually receives few inputs other-than labour, insecticides and seed.
Chickpea is an important dietary item in South East Asia, India and the West Asia-North Africa region and Ethiopia. The protein content of the seed is about 20%. The average yield for all developing countries was about 720 kg/ha, but the Central American yield is almost twice as high, and experiments in India with limited irrigation have produced yields of over 5 t ha-1. Changes in yield and production reflect climatic factors and changes in agronomic practices and varieties. The area harvested globally has remained stable (around 10 million ha).
Consumption has followed production, and it is expected that demand may increase with population in India, though at a slower rate, and in West Asia-North Africa, where chickpea is consumed by all income groups. In developed countries, consumption is increasing rapidly.
The major constraints to production include disease susceptibility of local varieties, environmental stresses, drought, diseases, pests and poor crop management. CGIAR efforts have already produced significant results, notably the combination of blight resistance and frost tolerance, which has enabled winter sowing and a potential doubling of production in the low-elevation areas of West Asia-North Africa region. This has led to potential yield increases of 50 to 100%. A breakthrough has been achieved by the breeding of wilt resistant, extra-short duration varieties that can grow under the harshest conditions in Eastern Africa and Southern Asia where soil-borne diseases can be devastating and drought escape adds a main stability factor to the crop. Analysis and resolution of the "wilt complex" has enabled more targeted improvement. Higher yielding, disease and pest-resistant lines have been made available by breeders. New, more effective strains of rhizobia have been identified, leading to increases in nodulation and biological nitrogen fixation. Sources of resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses have been identified from the annual wild Cicer species and efforts are nearing completion to transfer genes for resistance to cyst nematode and cold in chickpea.
There is active research collaboration with national programmes and advanced research institutions. Research in West Asia-North Africa has focused on increasing productivity and stability through varietal improvement for disease and cold resistance, and the development of better production technology. To upgrade the level of resistance in varieties for ascochyta blight, use of molecular marker technology has shown potential and will have to be increasingly used. Tissue culture techniques offer opportunities to enable crossing of chickpea with currently non-crossable Cicer species to unlock and use large variability for useful traits. Current research points to the possibility of increasing seed yield through increased shoot biomass and manipulation of the crop phenology. These will have to be further explored. Emphasis will have to be laid on the developing cultivars for adaptation to specific niches in different cropping systems, for which increased decentralized breeding and a participatory approach will have to be used. For Eastern and Southern Africa, research into drought and soil-borne diseases and increased productivity has resulted in recent releases of high-yielding, disease-resistant varieties of both the desi and kabuli type in suitable agroecological areas.
Using a package of materials and practices developed by a partnership including ICRISAT, farmers in the north-western Barind area are now able to harvest an additional chickpea crop worth as much or more than rice, the single traditional crop, with almost no monetary inputs. Already nearly 10,000 ha of chickpea are grown in the Barind, saving Bangladesh US$ 4 million on imports each year. The 1994 Canadian Award for International Development was presented to the Bangladesh Crop Diversification Programme in recognition of this strategic contribution of research for development.
In 1992, TAC decided to maintain the same priority for this crop over the short and medium-term. TAC notes that the CGIAR is relatively over-investing in chickpea compared to its share in value of production. Molecular marker technology and tissue culture offer opportunities to upgrade ascochyta blight resistance and to enable new interspecific crossing. Prospects for research on small-seeded chickpea grown in India and Bangladesh are less certain, although a breakthrough has been achieved with wilt resistance.
1.4.2. Cowpea
Cowpea is widely grown in the warm semi-arid and subhumid regions of sub-Saharan Africa and locally important in the Caribbean Islands, Brazil, PDR Yemen, the Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia. About 80% of the production in Africa is in West Africa, with Nigerian production accounting for about 70% of the cowpea in West Africa.
Cowpea is usually grown by subsistence farmers and in mixtures with maize, sorghum, millet and cassava. It is a pivotal crop for enhancing sustainability of cropping systems because it fixes large amounts of nitrogen for its own growth with residues returning to the soil, is quick-growing and produces an excellent ground cover to reduce soil erosion, and has the capacity, in the case of some cowpea varieties, to cause "suicidal seed germination" of the parasitic plant Striga hermonthica that attacks cereal crops, often with devastating effects. The dry seed is an important source of Vitamin B and protein (22% edible protein) and provides an estimated 6.5% of total protein consumed in semi-arid West Africa. Cowpea leaves are a preferred vegetable and an excellent source of protein in many areas of Africa. Cowpea haulm is also an important source of livestock feed.
Average yields in developing countries are about 240 kg/ha. Some countries have made progress in the release and adoption of improved varieties, e.g., Ghana, and the benefits of this are evident in national statistics (Ghana National Statistics: 1977-79, mean yields 300 kg/ha compared with 600 kg/ha in 1987-89), and a continuing upward trend is reported. However, the best short- to medium-duration varieties so far developed can yield 2.5-3.0 t/ha in field conditions on research stations, and short-duration varieties can achieve over 2.0 t/ha in 60-90 days. The major constraints to farm yields are three insect pests, flower thirps, Maruca pod borer and pod-sucking bugs. Only low levels of resistance have been found in the cowpea germplasm for each of these three insect pests.
In 1994-95, a very efficient method was developed to regenerate and produce transformed cowpea plants. This major research breakthrough has made it very probable that the CGIAR System will make significant progress in developing cowpea varieties with good levels of resistance to these three insect pests. In addition, progress in research on biological control of flower thrips, based on natural enemies, indicates that this technology may also be a feasible control measure.
The reduction in damage from insect pests is expected to increase average cowpea grain yields in West Africa and other cowpea growing regions by at least 100%. In marginal areas (the Sahel) where the rainfall is 350 mm per year or less and often soils are very poor, the damage caused by insect pests is much less than in more humid areas. Recent results have shown that relatively high grain yields are obtained from breeding lines which have been improved for tolerance to drought and heat. Future research will seek to continue to develop varieties for these ecologies, combining tolerance to drought and heat, with improved P use efficiency.
In 1986 TAC recommended that the resource allocation to cowpea be maintained for the medium term, but with an expansion of efforts in tropical America and Asia. The factors leading to this recommendation were: the importance of cowpea as a subsistence crop in sub-Saharan Africa; its qualities of genetic diversity, fast maturation, wide environmental adaptability, resistance to drought, ability to fix nitrogen, and easy placement in cropping systems which, if exploited, could make it the most valuable of the pulses in the semi-arid to subhumid tropics; the potential value in other regions of a short-duration legume; the rapid growth occurring in production and consumption; the already promising results emerging from cowpea's short research history; and the limited capacity of national research programmes. TAC also recommended that research supported by the CGIAR System continue to concentrate on increasing yields and their stability and on improving management practices.
While all of the factors cited to support the TAC recommendations of 1986 remain valid, the important role of cowpea (especially semi-determinate and spreading, dual purpose types) in the sustainability of crop-livestock production systems in marginal environments is now better understood and increasingly emphasized by national programme scientists (e.g., refer to the Second World Cowpea Research Conference, 1995 - Recommendations and Resolutions). Thus, in future research on this crop, the CGIAR System could make major contributions, not only in the needed area of insect pest management, but also in optimizing the contribution that cowpea can make to resource management.
In 1992, TAC concluded to continue the CGIAR support for this commodity in the short to medium term. TAC notes that consumption of cowpea in Africa has been growing yet IITA's research effort on the commodity has been decreasing and there are scarcely any African programmes devoted to the crop. Advanced institutions in Belgium and Japan are collaborating with IITA on the commodity. While there have been recent advances in transforming the cowpea plant through biotechnology, the prospect for a breakthrough in yields remains problematic. IITA will review its cowpea research in 1997 and decide whether or not to continue it. TAC noted that the crop was largely produced in Nigeria, although the crop was important to resource-poor farmers across several environments. Brazil has had a strong national research programme on cowpea, but its investment is declining slightly due to resource constraints; the crop, however, remains an important one for Brazil.
1.4.3. Faba bean
Faba bean is a spring crop in temperate regions and a winter crop in subtropical regions with mild winters. It is grown at high elevations in tropical and subtropical regions. Two main groups exist: small-seeded types, found in Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Afghanistan; and large-seeded types, found in other parts of West Asia-North Africa.
Developing countries account for approximately 90% of the global production of 3.8 million t. (FAO 1994 Production Yearbook). Of the developing country share, China accounts for 62%, West Asia-North Africa 17.6%, Africa 7.5%, and Latin America and the Caribbean 3.7%. The protein content is high (25% of edible portion, and faba bean is a popular food in West Asia-North Africa, though it provides 9.9% of the region's protein. Faba bean is also a source of Vitamin B. Developing country yields of mature seed average 1.3 t/ha, more than double that of many other pulses (FAO 1994 Production Yearbook). It is estimated that about 20% of the crop is consumed green and is not accounted for in production estimates. Demand is likely to increase as population rises: faba bean is a preferred pulse in North Africa and parts of West Asia, and provides variety to diets elsewhere. The crop is important in rotation in low monetary-input agriculture because of its high biological nitrogen fixation (120 by N/ha) and beneficial residual effect for subsequent cereal crops.
The constraints to production include: diseases, the parasitic weed, Orobanche, field and storage pests, poor crop management, and soil salinity in some areas.
In 1986 TAC recommended that CGIAR support for faba bean research be phased out for the following reasons: the crop is not important globally; China, the largest producer, has a strong national programme; and there are only 1 million ha under the crop in other developing countries, excluding China. The CGIAR was advised to only support the conservation and management of faba bean germplasm collections.
In accordance with these instructions, ICARDA relocated its faba bean programme to Morocco in August 1989 and had transferred the programme to the Moroccan national programme by the end of 1992, which was provided funding by a BMZ special project for a regional network on faba bean for Maghreb countries led by Morocco. There has been limited progress in this initiative. Consultation with the national programmes of the countries where faba bean is an important crop in the fanning system has revealed the need for continued crop improvement efforts on this crop in the CGIAR system. The external review of ICARDA in 1993 emphasized the fact that the devolution of faba bean improvement work to NARS was premature and the NARS wanted a review.
According to ICARDA, it is necessary that the CGIAR should continue to support faba bean improvement research for the following reasons:
1. The China national programme is not as strong as was asserted by the TAC commission on crop priorities. Its strength was greatly overestimated. ICARDA has just become involved in an ACIAR supported trilateral project including NSW Agriculture, China and ICARDA. The primary reason for the instigation of this project was the request of the Chinese national programme for an urgent need to strengthen faba bean research in the country.2. The Morocco national programme has asked ICARDA to become involved in strengthening its faba bean programme. The programme is not strong enough to work without back-up support. Also, BMZ has sent feelers for ICARDA to become reinvolved in the BMZ network project for Maghreb in backstopping the North African Faba Bean Improvement Programme because of continued weakness of NARS in faba bean germplasm and crop improvement research.
3. National programmes both within and outside WANA have been asking for back-up support in faba bean improvement and for providing nurseries of improved germplasm for their use.
4. There has been a realization also throughout Europe and Australia, that, with the largest germplasm collection of faba bean in the world, ICARDA is in a unique position to promote globally the genetic improvement of faba bean. The second International Conference on Cool Season Food Legumes held in Cairo, Egypt in 1992 unanimously recommended this.
In the past four years the ICARDA Genetic Resources Unit has collected faba bean germplasm in Morocco, Tunisia, Baluchistan in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. During the past year work was initiated on regeneration of the germplasm collections with support from GRDC, Australia. This year this Australian support has allowed disease screening to be restarted along with the preliminary evaluation of the germplasm for agronomic traits. ICARDA is requesting TAC to consider reestablishment of a fully supported faba bean improvement programme at ICARDA to meet the requirements of the region and the global mandate of ICARDA for faba bean.
In 1992, TAC recommended to keep current efforts for faba bean in the short term, while reaffirming the view that in the long term the role of CGIAR research, as for lentils, should be primarily in maintaining collections of genetic resources.
1.4.4. Lentil
Global lentil production is growing rapidly. It has risen by 112% from 1.3 million t in the period 1979-81 to 2.8 million t in the period 1993-95, due to a 54% increase in area to 3.42 million ha and an increase in productivity of 38% from 600 kg/ha to 825 kg/ha. Developing countries account for 87% of the world lentil area. The major producing regions are Asia (58% of the area) and WANA (37% of the acreage of developing countries). Lentil is the most important pulse in Bangladesh and Nepal, where it makes a large contribution to the diet. The above expansion in production and productivity in Asia has come mainly from India, Iran, Nepal and Turkey. Other significant producers in the developing world include Argentina, China, Ethiopia, Morocco, Pakistan and Syria. The expansion of production is fuelled by the rising demand of an increasing population and this trend will continue.
The crop is important for its use as a pulse and as a small ruminant feed. In the drier areas of West Asia and North Africa it is a key component of the traditional diversified farming systems integrating barley, small ruminants and lentil.
For the Mediterranean Basin, research emphasis at ICARDA was initially on the development of harvest systems to reduce the high cost of production from a hand harvest. Such systems, involving cultivars with better standing ability and height, flattened seed beds and cutter bars, have and are being transferred to NARS in West Asia. Significant on-farm adoption of improved technology has occurred in Egypt, Ethiopia, Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan, Syria and Turkey. Vascular wilt is the most important disease of lentil and resistance is now being exploited for disease control. To control the damage of Sitona weevil to lentil nodules, genetic engineering will be employed to transfer a gene for toxin production into the lentil roots.
In the highlands of West Asia, lentil is usually spring sown, but sources of winter hardiness are under exploitation. As yield increases of above 50% have been realized from early winter sowing, the focus is now on exploiting this gain on-farm.
In South Asia, a network of researchers is targeting two production systems which offer scope for a major expansion in production: the relay sowing of lentil into rice paddy and the development of early lentil to sow after long season rice. Combined disease resistance is being incorporated into genetic material for both systems. The first lentil cultivars with combined disease resistance are poised to impact on-farm production in Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Lentil production, productivity and demand are rising rapidly in the developing world and ICARDA has made a positive assessment of the potential pay-off from planned research. Consequently, ICARDA will maintain and manage the genetic resources of lentil, continue to address the role of lentil in the farming system and focus improvement research to complete the above research agenda.
In 1992, TAC recommended to keep current efforts for lentils in the short term, while reaffirming the view that in the long term the role of CGIAR research, as for faba beans, should be primarily in maintaining collections of genetic resources. TAC notes that alternative suppliers for lentils are increasing. TAC also notes that the long-term role of the CGIAR in lentil research should be primarily in maintaining genetic resources collections, although current effort could be maintained in the short term given improved prospects for impact.
1.4.5. Phaseolus Bean
Phaseolus bean, or common bean, is the world's most important food legume. Common beans are grown in two forms, as dry beans and snap beans (the green pods are consumed as a vegetable). Global production of dry beans is estimated to be 18 million metric tons annually, with a market value of US$ 10.7 billion. Dry beans account for 57% of the world's food legume production, having twice the production and market value of chickpeas, the next leading food pulse. Another 3 million metric tons of snap beans are also produced annually. Nearly 80% of dry bean production occurs in the developing countries on small-scale farms.
Latin America, the centre of Phaseolus domestication, produces nearly half the world's supply of dry beans. Brazil, Mexico, and Central America are the major producing regions in this continent. FAO production statistics for 1990-1995 show that dry bean production in Latin America is increasing by 3.4%. Most of this increase is due to higher yields (4.0%) as area under production shows a slight negative trend (-0.7%). The adoption of improved bean varieties appears to be a factor attributing to the higher yields and to the slowing down of bean expansion into marginal areas.
Africa is considered to be a secondary centre for bean genetic diversity. In Africa beans are a crop grown principally by women on small farms. About 3 million hectares of beans are planted annually in eastern, central and southern Africa, usually as mixtures of varieties. FAO statistics for 1980-1995 show that bean production is increasing at 1.2%, significantly below population growth rate. To meet future consumption demands by the year 2010, average yields will have to increase more than one-third, even if area expansion continues at the recent rate. Meanwhile, declining per capita bean production and consumption is contributing to an overall deterioration of human nutritional trends in these regions.
Beans are nutritionally rich, especially in protein and iron, and are a good source of dietary fibre and complex carbohydrates. Given their nutritional quality and high consumption levels, beans make an important contribution to human nutrition, especially for poor consumers. In addition to high quality protein, a single serving (1 cup) of beans provides at least half the USDA-recommended daily allowance of folic acid (a B vitamin that is especially important for pregnant women) and 25-30% of the daily recommended iron levels. Similarly, the same serving of beans provide 25% of the daily requirements of magnesium and copper, and 15% of potassium and zinc. Furthermore, the presence of beans in the diet significantly increases the utilization of maize and rice proteins due to complementarity in amino acids.
Beans play a very important role in human nutrition in the eastern Africa highlands, Mexico, Brazil, and Central America. In eastern and southern Africa, beans are the second most important source of protein after maize, and the third most important source of calories after maize and cassava. In Latin America beans are ranked fourth as a protein source, similar in overall importance to milk and beef, and sixth as a source of calories, exceeded by such staples as cassava, potato and beef.
Consumption of beans is high in large part because beans are a relatively inexpensive food. In Brazil, the world's largest consumer of beans, the cost of calories from beans is less than from rice or cassava, and only maize is a cheaper source. Beans are the cheapest source of calories and protein in Uganda and Rwanda, and the least expensive source of protein in Tanzania.
In Latin America and Africa, the demand for beans is tied to food markets, both rural and urban, and small-scale bean farmers are increasingly producing for the market. As women are the primary producers of beans in many regions of Africa, bean marketing represents an important source of income for the family.
Beans are not, however, simply a food for the poorest of the poor. Per capita bean consumption in the United States rose from 2.6 kg/year in the period 1976-1978 to 3.4 kg/year in 1991 according to USDA data. Increased consumption reflects a nutritional move away from high-fat animal products to low-fat, high-fibre products like beans.
Major research options for improving bean productivity in Latin America and Africa have focused on public sector breeding efforts. There is little private sector interest in bean seed production outside Argentina, Brazil and the United States. International research on beans at CIAT has traditionally concentrated on improved resistance to diseases and pests, and more recently on tolerance to drought and low soil fertility, and improved yield potential.
Improved, CIAT-based varieties are grown over 800,000 ha, most of which is in Latin America where CIAT has been working longest. Nearly 40% of the bean production area in Central America is now planted to varieties resistant to the devastating bean golden mosaic virus. In Brazil more than 200,000 ha of CIAT-based new bean varieties are being grown in four states alone. Even in Africa, with more recent CIAT involvement, nearly 45% of the Rwandan farmers (primarily women) were growing improved climbing bean prior to the civil war.
In recent years, international bean research led by CIAT began to seek non-genetic solutions to difficult production problems, in addition to the development of improved varieties. Pilot integrated pest management studies in the Andean region of South America have been successful in reducing pesticide applications by more than 50% in targeted regions. The use of climbing beans in Rwanda, and more, recently in Uganda and Kenya is giving greater support to agroforestry efforts as stake production has become a new market business in these regions. In part of Uganda and Kenya, farmers are seeing advantages in use of green manure fertilizers to combat not only declining soil fertility, but associated problems with root rots and bean stem maggots. Additional work in the Andean region addresses problems of land degradation and soil nutrient depletion through building on existing farmer knowledge and using farmer participatory approaches.
In the area of building national programme capacity for bean research, CIAT pioneered a strategy for grouping countries into regional research networks to facilitate the development and transfer of new technologies in a more efficient and economical manner. The first regional network (PROFRIJOL) was begun in 1978 in Central America, followed by three networks (RESAPAC, EABRN, and SADC-Beans) in Africa (during 1984-1986), and in the Andean region of South America (PROFRIZA) in 1987. The initial coordination of the networks was managed by CIAT, but as the networks grew stronger and regionally established, the coordination responsibilities were devolved to the region. By the end of 1996, all the regional networks were locally managed. The African networks are managed by their respective regional association of NARS, and linked by a Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance. CIAT remains as a full research partner in the networks.
In 1992, TAC proposed to reduce modestly the emphasis on this commodity. TAC notes that the capacity within the CGIAR has decreased and is about equal to that of outside suppliers, which has remained constant. There are impending breakthroughs in the areas of multiple disease resistance and breaking the yield plateau. There is now a better understanding of genepools and of new plant types better suited for mechanical harvesting. Molecular marker maps have been developed and plant transformation and genetic engineering have now proved possible. There are, therefore, new opportunities for achieving scientific and technical breakthroughs.
1.4.6. Pigeonpea
Pigeonpea is widely grown by subsistence farmers in the warm semi-arid and subhumid tropics. It is often grown on poor soils and with few inputs. It is an important food in India, and is popular in parts of East Africa and Central America. The seeds are used whole, dehulled or as a flour; and in the Caribbean and South America, immature seeds and pods are used as a vegetable. The woody stem is valuable as firewood, thatch and fencing, and the leaves are an important source of nitrogen for the soil.
World production of dry seed is about 2.7 million t, most of which is grown in developing countries. The crop is an important source of protein (20% of mature seed) and Vitamin B. India accounts for about 91% of world production, followed by sub-Saharan Africa (6%). The remainder comes from Latin America and the Caribbean, and from Asia. There is limited international trade. Agro-industry has developed for canning green pigeonpea for export from Ecuador and the Dominican Republic, and for dehulling and split pea (dhal) production for export from Malawi and Kenya.
Average developing country yields are about 700 kg/ha, but vary from 500-600 kg/ha in central and southern India, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia to 1.0-1.2 kg/ha in northern India and Central America when the crop is grown as a sole crop. The plant has food, fodder and fuel uses, but the main production constraints are variable yields associated with abiotic stress, diseases and pests and subsistence production conditions. The crop's potential for wider use hi semi-arid areas with high temperatures and poor soils is considerable, as a complement to phaseolus bean or cowpea in the drier and more marginal areas of Eastern and Southern and equatorial Africa, and Central America. Countries in Asia and in Eastern and Southern Africa have shown an active interest in exploiting pigeonpea's multipurpose potential in farming systems where drought and heat tolerance are important considerations.
Globally, traditional pigeonpea farming systems have developed around medium-and long-duration cultivars (maturity in 180-280 days), often intercropped or mixed with cereals such as maize, sorghum and pearl millet. This cropping system has contributed to the sustainability of farming systems and to intensification of land and moisture use in rainfed areas. ICRISAT has collaborated with the national programmes in collection, characterization, and conservation of the biodiversity of landraces and wild related species. Source of disease resistance and tolerance to insect pests have been identified, and are being used by the NARS for genetic enhancement of medium- and long-duration pigeonpea. The potential of this material for agroforestry and alley-cropping on degraded land resources, and for crop-livestock systems, is clear.
In 1992, TAC recommended to diminish significantly the CGIAR efforts in the medium term, and to reduce the activities progressively in the long term for the maintaining of genetic resources collections. TAC noted that the crop is grown primarily in India where it is particularly well adapted to the soil, but has not been diffused elsewhere to any significant extent. Its international public goods dimension is therefore questionable.
Development of short-duration (100-150 days to maturity) and short-statured pigeonpea types by ICRISAT in collaboration with the NARS has greatly broadened the adaptation of pigeonpea into new production environments, and significantly increased productivity per unit area and time. Recent adoption of this material in the intensive rice-wheat cropping system areas, is contributing to the sustainability of the cereal productivity. There has been widespread adoption of disease resistant short-duration cultivars by drought prone area farmers in peninsular India, and there is significant potential in other countries. Development by ICRISAT of the first hybrid pigeonpea variety and hybrid seed production technology has led to release of hybrid cultivars by the private and public sectors in India. Improved technology for hybrid seed production of cytoplasmic male sterility is in development by a collaborative research network with the NARS and private industry. Introgression of genes from medium and long duration landraces, and from the wild relatives using transformation, embryo rescue and tissue culture, is designed to broaden the genetic base and resolve the major biotic and abiotic constraints of short-duration pigeonpea. Active research collaboration with the national systems is used to achieve spillover of technologies and materials internationally.
Traditionally, pigeonpea is a long-season crop, but short-duration varieties developed by ICRISAT in collaboration with the Indian NARS have triggered a 15% increase in the area sown over the last five years. This germplasm is also beginning to find application in Asia outside of India, and in southern and eastern Africa and Latin America. The latest research success is that the pigeonpea hybrid has been developed which will contribute to productivity increase and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. ICRISAT plans a 1997 review of its pigeonpea programme at which time a decision will be made in consultation with the Indian national programme regarding its future.
1.4.7. Soybean
Soybean was originally domesticated in China, and is now cultivated throughout East and South-East Asia, the Americas (particularly the USA and Brazil) and to a very limited extent in sub-Saharan Africa and West Asia. In the northern hemisphere, its cultivation now extends from the tropics to 52°N.
Soybean has high protein (38%) and fat (18%) contents. The crop provides nearly 5% of protein consumption in China and south-east Asia. Its fat contribution to diet is 20% in Brazil, 6-7% in China, India and Thailand, and 4-5% in Indonesia. The crop's main use is for oil and protein products in the food industry. The residue after oil extraction is used for flour, protein products and animal feed. Although soybean is an important food crop and an inexpensive source of protein and Vitamin B in East Asia, efforts to introduce it as a food crop elsewhere have met with limited success. However, it is gaining importance in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. For example, in Nigeria the use of soybean flour has become very popular. It is used to fortify traditional foods and in most dishes requires no additional labour or cooking time. The final products are highly acceptable and the women who have been exposed to the appropriate methods to incorporate soybean into traditional foods now use it almost every day. This has had a major impact on the nutrition and health of children in both rural and urban areas. While Nigeria currently serves as the best example in Africa of a country where soybean is commonly used as a food, it is also gaining in popularity in Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Benin, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. In these countries, today soybean is no longer considered to be a crop that is unpalatable and difficult to process.
About 56% of the global area harvested is in developing countries. Tropical and sub-tropical South America produces 63% of the developing country share (61% of this from Brazil, which has a large export trade), China 24%, temperate South America 14%, and south-east Asia 4%. Latin America and the Caribbean produces 36 million t of soybean annually. In the past decade the region's area under soybean increased by about 1.4% per year while yields increased at 2%, reaching 2.1 t/ha (more than the world average of 2.0 t/ha). Among the major constraints limiting production in Latin America and the Caribbean are acid soils, aluminium toxicity, photoperiodism, and pests and diseases. Yields vary considerably, from 1.1 t/ha in sub-Saharan Africa to 2.1 t/ha in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Demand for oilseeds in developing countries is expected to grow at 3.7% annually until the year 2010, and production will need to increase accordingly. In sub-Saharan Africa, vegetable oil is already in short supply, and several countries of the region imported substantial quantities of both soybean cake and soybean oil during the 1980s. Most countries in Latin America and the Caribbean also have a deficit in vegetable oil. Furthermore, soybean has substantial potential as a source of livestock feed, particularly for poultry. In sub-Saharan Africa locally produced soybean is used as a raw material in large- and medium-scale oil mills especially in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. Most of these mills began using soybean during the past six years.
Soybean research has been underway for some time outside the CGIAR System, with AVRDC working on both vegetable and grain type soybean breeding and production with a focus on Asia and INTSOY working on processing and utilization. The System's own work is based in sub-Saharan Africa, and has progressed well in both crop improvement and postharvest processing and utilization. Breeding lines have been developed, tested by NARS, released and are now being grown by farmers in Nigeria, Ghana, Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Uganda. These varieties have the ability to nodulate with naturally occurring rhizobia, improved seed longevity and improved levels of resistance to pod shattering and the major pests and diseases.
The main objectives of future research related to crop production is to develop soybean varieties that give a maximum contribution to the productivity and sustainability of the cereal-based cropping systems of the moist savannas of Africa. Major traits which are under improvement are the ability to cause "suicidal germination" of seed of Striga hermonthica, nitrogen fixation and phosphorus use efficiency. Cropping systems research will be conducted to develop appropriate technologies to increase productivity and sustainability including resistance to pests, diseases and pod shattering. Another objective of future research is to develop a better understanding of the relatively new disease, Red Leaf Blotch, that is found only in Africa and to develop the appropriate disease management strategies.
The major thrust of the processing and utilization research in the future is to work with more African NARS using the successful research and technology transfer methods that were developed with NARS in Nigeria.
In 1986 TAC recommended that research support for soybean be increased, with efforts continuing to focus on sub-Saharan Africa, and this is still justifiable. The needs of Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean were being successfully met by strong national programmes. This recommendation was based on: the crop's importance, given increasing oilseed demand in sub-Saharan Africa and globally; the high level of interest in and apparent potential for the crop in sub-Saharan Africa; the high payoff from the modest research effort to date; and the excellent potential for developing solutions to some of the more important production problems in the tropics. In 1992, TAC again recommended that higher priority and more resources be allocated to soybean research in the CGIAR.
TAC notes that there may be real opportunities for soybean production and processing in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly among small producers. A recent scientific breakthrough on the crop could improve its appeal for consumption and there is scope for diffusing soya processing techniques developed in Southeast Asia to other continents, particularly sub-Saharan Africa. IITA has a major programme thrust on soybean. However, the commodity warrants only a restrained increase in priority because presently its economic value derives primarily from industrial rather than food consumption uses and there is a large number of alternative suppliers. The external review of IITA recommended that IITA increase its effort on producing improved soybean germplasm for the moist savanna and mid-altitude areas, either by redeploying existing resources or by seeking additional resources.
1.5.1. Coconut
The coconut palm is a pan-tropical crop, grown on approximately 9.3 million ha in 82 countries. Many of the producing countries are small islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans and also the Caribbean. Coconut is both their primary subsistence crop and their only significant source of export earnings. There are few, if any, alternative crops which can substitute for coconut in these countries. Coconut is the major tree-crop component in several agroforestry systems throughout the world, although its wide use in home gardens is probably not reflected in official production statistics.
At least 96% of the total world production of coconut comes from smallholdings with about 70% of the crop consumed in the producing countries. Coconut can be grown in harsh environments such as atolls and tolerates high salinity, drought and poor soils. It plays an important role in sustaining often fragile ecosystems in island and coastal communities and is used as a source of food, drink, fuel, animal feed and shelter. It is also a cash crop, used to produce many items for sale at either the local, national or international level. The main internationally traded products are copra, coconut oil, copra meal and desiccated coconut.
In 1986 TAC identified coconut as a priority commodity for support through international research. Following that, the CGIAR requested TAC to explore the desirability of establishing an international research initiative on coconut, and the form such an initiative might take. Subsequent studies undertaken on behalf of TAC identified several constraints and opportunities in coconut production which could be addressed through this research effort.
There are four major constraints to increased coconut production in developing countries: the low productivity of many coconut trees, due to old age and poor nutrition; the failure of many replanting programmes; fluctuating productivity due to variable environmental conditions; and inefficient handling and processing, with low farm-gate prices to smallholders. The productivity of the crop can be increased by the use of locally adapted, high-yielding, pest- and disease-tolerant varieties in replanting or new planting schemes. To increase the productivity of existing plantations it would be necessary to apply better agronomic practices, including the control of diseases, insects and weeds and also the use of fertilizers, plus identify and promote profitable and sustainable intercropping systems. Furthermore, there is a need to develop improved methods of handling and processing coconut, and to further diversify the coconut products traded.
Coconut breeding in several countries over the past 30 years has demonstrated that several improved varieties and hybrids are capable of yielding up to 3 to 6 t copra/ha/year under favourable conditions and this could potentially be tapped to increase the average world yields of 0.5 t/ha/year. Progress has also been made in identifying the causal agents of diseases of previously unknown etiology, such as cadang-cadang disease in the Philippines and lethal yellowing disease in the Caribbean and further nutritional studies have shown that coconut responds well to fertilizer application, particularly potassium and chloride. Intercropping and the grazing of cattle under trees have shown that the total productivity of coconut lands can be improved, without threatening the long-term sustainability of the system.
These findings suggest that a well organized and adequately funded international research effort could yield a high payoff. The long-term nature of coconut research and the likely benefits to smallholder producers, make coconut particularly suitable for an international research initiative. The TAC/CGIAR identified priority research areas for such an initiative to be: germplasm conservation and improvement; disease and pest control; sustainability of coconut-based farming systems; postharvest handling and processing; and the socioeconomics of coconut production. It is to be noted, however, that in a number of countries, research on coconut is funded by the private sector through levies on producers.
To enhance the sustainability of coconut production, there is an urgent need to promote the effective conservation of coconut genetic resources and their efficient utilization in breeding programmes. Thus among the five priority areas for international collaboration, germplasm conservation and improvement was identified as the research activity to be initially supported.
Upon the recommendation of 15 coconut-producing countries, and the support of the TAC/CGIAR and its donors, in 1993 IPGRI established the International Coconut Genetic Resources Network (COGENT) as part of its programme. The main objective of COGENT is to strengthen national programmes in the conservation and utilization of coconut genetic resources and establish the foundation for collaboration on the broader aspects of coconut research and development. The networking approach was selected because it reduces duplication of work, encourages sharing of limited resources and promotes complementation and synergy of research activities in national programmes and advanced research institutions.
The current research priorities of COGENT include: the development of an international coconut genetic resources database to enhance dissemination of genetic resources data to breeders worldwide; collecting to secure germplasm in areas which are threatened by genetic erosion and to fill up gaps in national collections; conservation in national and regional field genebanks; germplasm evaluation to identify suitable varieties for farmers; development of other complementary conservation methods and molecular methods for assessing genetic diversity and promoting safe germplasm movement. To complement these efforts, a strong training programme is being pursued to increase the number and upgrade the skills of researchers in national programmes.
The future research priorities include: application of research results to promote efficient genetic diversity assessment, safe germplasm movement, and effective conservation and exchange; plus strategic utilization of coconut genetic resources to support the development of varieties and hybrids with high productivity and adaptation to biotic and abiotic stresses. In the near future, research projects will also address users' perspectives to promote multipurpose uses and increased competitiveness of the coconut and the gender issues related to sustainable germplasm conservation and utilization.
TAC notes that the CGIAR's work on coconut relates primarily to genetic resources conservation and networking. Coconut is a high value crop which attracts a good deal of research in the private sector where alternative suppliers are plentiful.
1.5.2. Groundnut
About 21.7 million ha are cultivated to groundnut in the world, of which 13.8 million ha are in Asia (India 8.5 million ha; China 3.6 million ha), 6.8 million ha in sub-Saharan Africa, and 0.5 million ha in Central and South America. The production area in WANA is less than 100,000 ha. Groundnut is grown under a wide range of environmental conditions in areas between 40°S and 40°N of the equator. Most of the crop is produced where average rainfall is 600 to 1,200 mm and mean daily temperatures are more than 20°C. The main use of seed is as a source of edible oil, but the high oil (45-50%) and protein (26%) contents also make it an important food crop. Since the mid-1970s, edible groundnuts have increased in importance in both domestic consumption and export trade. Large quantities are consumed in the areas of production.
As a combined oilseed and food crop, groundnut ranks second only to soybean. It is a valuable source of B Vitamins (particularly niacin which is low in cereals), and its cake after oil extraction is a high protein animal feed. With proper processing, the cake also is utilized for making products such as biscuits and baby or invalid foods. The green haulms provide good quality fodder and can be made into hay. In drier parts of the semi-arid tropics, groundnut fodder is valued as highly as pod yield. Groundnut is a valuable cash crop for millions of small-scale farmers in the semi-arid tropics. It generates employment on the farm and in marketing, transportation, and processing. It is a valuable source of foreign exchange when exported. It is an important component of the fat content of diets in India, Myanmar, and China, and of the protein content of diets throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
Asia contributes 71.6% to the annual world groundnut production (FAO, 1994). China is the largest producer (34.1%), and India the second largest producer (29.5%). Sub-Saharan Africa produces 18.6%, Central and South America 2.6% of the world production. WANA accounts for 0.5% of production and Europe and Oceania contribute less than 0.2%. About two-thirds of the world groundnut production is used for oil extraction. China, the USA, and Argentina are the leading exporters of the crop. In India, most of the crop is processed for oil, with the oilseed cake used mainly for animal feed. In sub-Saharan Africa groundnut is a major food crop and only part of the produce is marketed.
Average productivity is highest in the region of South America (1.83 t ha-1), followed by Asia (1.48 t ha-1), and Africa (0.78 t ha-1). In most countries of Africa and many countries of Asia, average productivity remains below the world average of 1.31 t ha-1. China has shown a dramatic increase in productivity (2.69 t ha-1), while the average yield in India remains below 1.0 t ha-1 in spite of marginal improvements in recent years.
The main constraints to productivity in Asia and Africa are diseases and insect pests, unpredictable and unreliable rainfall, low soil fertility, lack of improved agronomic practices and production technology, lack of technology-responsive cultivars adapted to local conditions, low financial inputs, and lack of suitable small-scale farm implements and of the infrastructure to supply quality seeds of the currently available improved cultivars. Aflatoxin contamination in the field and during storage reduces the marketability of the produce.
Foliar diseases (rust, early leafspot, and late leafspot; all worldwide), virus diseases (groundnut rosette virus and peanut clump virus in Africa; peanut stripe virus and peanut bud necrosis virus in Asia), aflatoxin contamination of the produce (particularly in the semi-arid tropics), foliar and soil pests (leaf miner, Spodoptera and white grub in Asia; millipedes, termites and aphids in Africa), nematodes (in Asia and Africa), drought, and low soil fertility are priority research targets within the target production systems of the semi-arid tropics.
There is close research collaboration in Asia and Africa between ICRISAT and the national programmes and advanced research institutions. Impact at the farm level is reflected by release of improved cultivars - 26 by 16 national programmes outside India; 19 other varieties undergoing on-farm testing in 8 countries; 17 cultivars in India, including 4 developed from segregating material supplied by ICRISAT. Improved packages of cultivation practices have been developed in collaboration with national programmes in India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. In Malawi, a large-scale on-farm demonstration programme has been launched in collaboration with an NGO and the national programme to popularize CG 7 cultivar among the farmers.
After 14 years of collaboration, on-farm testing of Africa's short-duration, rosette-resistant varieties began in 1995. Preliminary observations are extremely positive, with rosette incidence just 0-2% on resistant lines, as opposed to 40-60% in the control varieties. Authorities in Malawi want to shortcut the release process to get these breakthrough materials to farmers.
A strategic research commitment by the CGIAR to groundnut improvement is justified by the crop's important dietary contribution, its importance as a cash crop and income generator, its potential in meeting part of the global demand for vegetable oils, its secondary value as animal feed and fodder, its contribution to the sustainability of mixed cropping systems; and the evidence that major production constraints can be resolved through research. In 1992, TAC recommended that the priority given to groundnut research be increased moderately.
TAC notes that ICRISAT has had success with breeding for drought resistance in West Africa. Adjacent species have been used successfully for virus, rust, and nematode resistance, and there are improved prospects for interspecific hybridization for the development of oligogenic resistance. There has been little change in NARS capacity for research on this commodity. France recently cut its groundnut programme severely for lack of results.
Many vegetables are grown in developing countries, and the kinds vary considerably from place to place, with strong social preferences dictating the choice of species used. Vegetables provide a valuable source of income to producers near large urban areas. As a group, they are high-yielding and are well adapted to small-scale operations if markets are close, and to large-scale operations as infrastructure improves and transportation and cold storage become available. All income groups need and prefer them as supplementary foods, and demand in developing countries is expected to increase by 3.4% a year throughout the 1990s.
Of the current production of 333 million t in the developing regions, Asia accounts for 72%, West Asia-North Africa for 17%, Latin America and the Caribbean for 7% and sub-Saharan Africa for 5%. Production during the past two decades has been growing at 3.2%. The four most important vegetables in terms of area harvested in the developing regions are tomato (1.6 million ha), onion (1.3 million ha), peppers (0.9 million ha) and cabbage (0.8 million ha).
Inclusion of a vegetable initiative in the CGIAR System would complete the commodity portfolio from a nutritional point of view. The major constraints are diseases and insect pests, and there is much scope for varietal improvement. Poor marketing facilities are also a constraint given the perishability of many vegetables. Modest increases in production can lead to temporary gluts, and a major research need in many areas is to extend the production period.
In 1986 TAC indicated that highest priority among new ventures within the CGIAR System should be assigned to research on vegetables. Research should be directed at the potential for increased vegetable production in both tropical and subtropical areas, with special emphasis on indigenous tropical vegetables. In 1988 TAC recommended that the CGIAR create and support an international entity which would help establish and coordinate regional collaborative vegetable research networks in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. CGIAR support was to be limited initially to tomato, pepper, onion, and leafy green vegetables. However, TAC also recommended that studies and consultations with relevant institutions be carried out to determine me importance of other commodities such as okra and eggplant, and to identify the major constraints to production increases and marketing, as well as their research ability. The new entity would then have the flexibility to phase new research topics into its programme as necessary.
TAC further recommended that the highest priority be assigned to supporting research for tropical environments, with activities for subtropical environments to be initiated once those for tropical environments had become operational.
Two important operational considerations in TAC's deliberations were the integration of this new initiative with the System's current efforts on commodities which either are vegetables (green bean, vegetable cowpea, potato, sweet potato and soybean) or produce vegetables as byproducts (bean leaves and cassava leaves); and the complementarity of a CGIAR initiative with the work of AVRDC.
In 1990 TAC recommended that vegetables were an appropriate subject matter for inclusion in the expanded CGIAR effort, and that collaborative vegetable research networks in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean be implemented.
Grasses and legumes are intermediate products that contribute directly to livestock production and indirectly to more sustainable land use.
Among the major agricultural commodities, the gross value of production of meat and milk from ruminants ranks 1st in Latin America and WANA regions, 2nd in sub-Saharan Africa and 4th in Asia. The major constraint to production is the quantity and quality of feed. Forages are the main feed source in Latin America, WANA and sub-Saharan Africa, while in Asia, forages are used to supplement crop residues.
Tropical grasses and legumes are also used widely for uses other than feed. There is widespread use of legumes as ground covers in tree and fruit plantations, as green manure crops and in natural fallows for soil improvement and weed control. Grasses and shrub legumes are used as barriers for controlling soil erosion. Pastures are used in rotation with crops with the aim of improving soil biological, chemical and physical properties in addition to providing feed for livestock.
Forage improvement programmes based on collection and evaluation of wild grass and legume species for direct use as animal feed or for soil improvement have identified a number of genera of commercial importance for the subhumid and humid tropics. These include, among the grasses - Andropogon, Brachiaria, Cenchrus, Panicum, Paspalum and Urochloa, among the herbaceous legumes, perennial Arachis, Centrosema, Desmodium, Pueraria and Stylosanthes, and among the shrub legumes - Calliandra, Cratylia, Gliricidia, Leucaena and Sesbania.
The introduction of selected wild accessions of Andropogon gayanus and Brachiaria spp. into the native savannas of Latin America has resulted in a 12-16 fold increase in livestock productivity with improved grasses being used over 20 to 80 percent of the farm area. Monitoring of well managed grass and grass-legume pastures has demonstrated beneficial effects on soil properties. Nevertheless, legumes such as Arachis pintoi, Centrosema spp. and Stylosanthes spp. have found wider adoption as cover crops than for improved legume.
Limitations have emerged as some of these natural species have become widely adopted and enhancement programmes based on traditional recombination and selection have successfully been carried out to overcome them. They have focused on overcoming specific limitations such as susceptibility to insect (spittlebug in Brachiaria spp.) or disease tolerance (anthracnose in Stylosanthes spp.) attack while maintaining adaptation to infertile soils and high feed value.
The present focus of research is to develop forage components for specific agroecosystem niches in Latin America and South East Asia where a demand has been identified, e.g., ground covers for tree crops, legumes for fallow improvement on hillsides, short-term pastures for crop-livestock systems, dry season fodders for dual-purpose cattle and multipurpose grasses and legumes for intensive farming systems.
2.1. The Livestock Sector in Developing Countries
2.2. Research Issues
2.3. Research Organization in the CGIAR
2.4. Research Priorities and Current Activities
Livestock and their products contribute about 29% to the total value of production of agriculture, forestry and fisheries in developing countries. In sub-Saharan Africa their share amounts to 19%, in Asia to 28%, in West Asia-North Africa to 35% and in Latin America and the Caribbean to 38%. However, these figures underestimate the substantial contribution that livestock frequently make to crop production through draught power and manure.
Livestock products provide 6% of calorie intake and 19% of dietary protein consumed in developing countries. Animal products are reliable sources of vitamins, zinc and iron. Meat and milk are highly income-elastic products. Their consumption increases with incomes and urbanization. Given economic growth and technological improvements in developing countries, livestock's contribution to agricultural production can therefore be expected to increase.
Cattle are especially important in Latin America and the Caribbean, and in the warm semi-arid tropics and cool tropics of sub-Saharan Africa and India (for milk). Sheep and/or goats are important in West Asia-North Africa, East and Southern Africa, semi-arid West Africa and temperate South America. Although small ruminants provide only a small proportion of the global production of meat and milk, the aggregate data mask their importance in some regions. It is estimated that they provide 30% of the meat consumed in West Asia-North Africa and 20% of that consumed in sub-Saharan Africa. Small ruminants are also important generators of cash income.
Milk accounts for 26% of the value of sub-Saharan livestock production, beef for 37%, sheep and goat meat for 14%, pigmeat for 5%, and poultry for 8%. During the past two decades, increases in production have resulted largely from the expansion of herds and flocks, rather than from improved animal productivity.
Domestic animals enhance the economic viability and sustainability of farming systems. They diversify production and management options, increase total farm production and income, provide year-round employment, and provide insurance in times of need. Sales of livestock products provide funds for purchasing critically needed crop inputs and for financing farm investments. Livestock often form the major capital reserve of farming households.
Among domestic livestock species, ruminants have special importance because they convert into edible products crop residues, byproducts, weeds and other biomass that cannot be directly consumed as food by humans. Ruminants provide the only practical means for using vast areas of natural grasslands in regions where low, unreliable or seasonally limited rainfall combined with poor, acid soils, or rugged/hilly and steep land make crop production impractical. In crop-producing regions, traction raises crop productivity, while manure enriches the soil. In addition, ruminants provide farmers with the economic incentive required to plant nitrogen-fixing forage crops and maintain pastures in crop rotations, which reduce erosion, conserve soil moisture and enhance soil fertility. The key to enhancing these positive aspects of livestock production is good policy and management. Policies leading to the expansion of grasslands have been mainly associated with deforestation in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Poultry and swine account for almost half the monetary and nutritive value of livestock in developing countries. However, TAC has not considered their research needs to be of sufficiently high priority to justify their inclusion in the form of commodity improvement programmes in CGIAR activities. Evidence from Asia and from Latin America and the Caribbean indicates that, as the demand for chicken and pigmeat increases, more intensive production systems are adopted, and technology from developed and other developing countries is rapidly and effectively applied in these systems. Both the poultry and pig sectors also benefit substantially from private sector research.
TAC has recognized the importance of the domesticated buffalo in areas to which it is climatically adapted. However, since 85% of buffalo are found in only five countries of Asia, TAC's position to date has been that the research needs for this species could best be met through regional efforts. Similarly, TAC has recognized the importance of the camel in arid and semi-arid environments. Again, TAC feels that the research needs for these species could best be met through network activities or by regional institutions. TAC considers that the CGIAR has no comparative advantage to initiate activities on buffalo or camel research.
As mentioned in Chapter 2, demands for livestock products are expected to increase substantially in the coming decades. Ruminant production in developing countries tends to be less responsive to increasing demands, because of the long reproduction cycles, low feed conversion efficiencies, and low degree of specialization. In their April '93 report on Priorities and Strategies for Livestock Research in the CGIAR TAC indicated that a holistic approach was required, and identified seven main research areas for future involvement of the CGIAR. Although all of them were considered to have research dimensions fitting both the global and ecoregional domains, TAC considered that the seven areas could be grouped as follows, vis-à-vis their geographical scope:
· Areas for global research:- animal health;
- animal nutrition/biology;
- animal genetics.· Areas for global and ecoregional research:
- feed resources.· Areas for ecoregional research:
- livestock production systems;
- natural resources management;
- policy analysis.
Given the CGIAR focus on ruminant production in developing countries, three of these areas appear as the ones with greater potential to have impact across agroecological zones: feed resources, animal genetic diversity, and animal health, including nutrition.
Seasonal shortages and low nutritional value of feed resources are the most widespread technical constraints for livestock in developing countries. Studies in Africa indicate that for both pastoral and village livestock systems in different agroecological zones intensity of livestock production is closely related to intensity of human activities, and only weakly related to the distribution of natural grazing resources. 3
3 Wint, W. and D. Bourn, 1994. Anthropogenic and Environmental Correlates of Livestock Distribution in sub-Saharan Africa. Environmental Research Group, Oxford.
These findings suggest that a trend exists for livestock systems to become less dependent on the availability of extensive rangelands and for livestock production to be more closely related to the more secure feed resources associated with proximity to human settlements and water.
Though pasture and forages remain the most important animal feedstuffs in the developing world, their supply is increasing at too slow a rate to meet increasing demands for livestock products. The closer integration of livestock into cropping systems, the establishment of improved fodder crops, including shrubs/trees, and of local processing plants for the better utilization of crop byproducts are then required to offset the increasing use of imported feed grains, caused by intensive ruminant production and the expansion of poultry and swine production.
Only a few livestock species, and a large number of special breeds, are used to produce meat, milk, skins and draught power under different environments. It is the genetic diversity contained in such breeds that holds the key for future improvements in the efficiency of livestock production. The CGIAR is playing a leading role in the conservation, improvement and utilization of plant genetic resources and advances in molecular biology to open new opportunities to further improve on the successes achieved through breeding. Similar opportunities may arise in the animal world, by applying progress made in genetic mapping to the identification of genes governing important traits in domestic animals to increase their productivity. Furthermore, due to the extremely high cost of conservation of animal germplasm, the CGIAR has a key role to play in developing methodologies to determine which resources justify conservation.
In developing countries the major diseases can be grouped into three categories: i) the largely viral, such as foot and mouth; ii) the vector-borne parasitic (e.g., trypanosomiasis), for which control measures may exist but are not applicable; and iii) intensification diseases (e.g., mastitis). The major disease constraint in Africa remains trypanosomiasis, the only disease that precludes the introduction of non-tolerant cattle without some preventive measures. Unlike Africa, Latin America is free from major bovine diseases, with the exception of foot and mouth. Asia is also free of major infectious animal disease problems in cattle and buffalo.
Vector-borne diseases and internal parasites remain two of the most important animal health constraints in developing countries. Among the former, tsetse-transmitted trypanosomiasis, which is a major constraint in large parts of sub-Saharan Africa, and a form of theileriosis. East Coast fever, a major constraint in East and Southern Africa are the most serious. Although most indigenous cattle possess some natural resistance to ticks and tick-borne diseases, exotic Bos taurus breeds are acutely susceptible. Progress being made in understanding the biology of these diseases, the nature of host defence mechanisms and novel means of vaccination provide a basis for developing improved methods of control for other economically important livestock diseases worldwide.
Following a major re-evaluation of priorities and strategies for research in the CGIAR, it was perceived that the System should integrate its efforts and expertise for the benefit of livestock research. Both donor-led and technical analyses proposed the need for a more "holistic" strategy for research on livestock, implicating the established expertise of both ILCA and ILRAD with other CGIAR initiatives in crop, pastures and tree improvements, as well as natural resources management and policy research. To focus this new vision, in 1993 the Group accepted the recommendations of a Steering Committee on Livestock Research to establish a new research entity, which was later named International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). It was expected to integrate research on livestock within the CGIAR in an integrated multidisciplinary fashion, in partnership with national agricultural research systems, international agencies and advanced institutions, according to their comparative advantages. ILRI was supposed to undertake both globally relevant research - having application and spillover effects for many regions and production systems - and ecoregional research, applied to the agroecological circumstances of the regionally defined agroecological zone.
In the above-mentioned progress report on Priorities and Strategies for Livestock Research, TAC recommended to:
· focus research on productivity of milk, meat by cattle, sheep and goats, and traction by cattle, giving greater emphasis to a holistic approach in the context of crop-livestock/agroforestry systems - balancing efforts between health and animal production research as present (i.e., 1/3 and 2/3 respectively);· address the relative imbalance of resources between those allocated to sub-Saharan Africa and other regions, redistributing the current concentration in sub-Saharan Africa to both global end ecoregional programmes;
· give higher priority to integrated crop-livestock research in i) the subhumid tropics and highlands of sub-Saharan Africa, ii) in the upland rice production systems of Asia, and iii) in ecoregionally oriented production systems research in the other regions;
· develop an inter-centre framework for the coordination of livestock research among the CG Centres and between them and other research institutes - fostering complementarities and synergies between global and ecoregional research.
Following those strategic recommendations, the Group decided to organize a special Task Force on Livestock, with the purpose of proposing a strategic plan for the new Institute. In their August 1994 recommendations they envisaged ILRI:
· following new approaches to develop Integrated Health Management systems that maximize productivity by reducing the impact of some key animal diseases;· broadening the programme in animal genetics to adapt new developments in molecular biology to methodologies for characterization, utilization and conservation of animal genetic resources, and techniques to identify superior genetic characteristics in tropical livestock;
· re-orienting animal physiology to strengthen research on animal genetics, nutrition and health;
· giving new emphasis to feed resources, by integrating Systemwide research on forage genetics and feeds nutritional value with regional activities on the production of feed resources;
· strengthening research on livestock-related systems in an ecoregional context in close interaction with NARS, including increased emphasis on economic and social research, as well as on natural resources management.
The above recommendations provided a strategic basis for the new ILRI to set up mechanisms to operationalize its research programme, including:
2.3.1. A Global Research Agenda
The main purposes of a global agenda are to i) establish regional and international priorities for livestock research in tandem with NARS; and ii) identify opportunities for different suppliers, including ILRI, working individually or in consortia. The expected outcomes include, inter alia, the definition of priority production systems, and the identification of individual components requiring international assistance.
The initial consultation held in January 1995 identified the following research components, which would qualify for international assistance:
· Feed resources: improvement and utilization;· Production Systems Research: improved methods for analysis of crop-livestock systems;
· Biodiversity: characterization, conservation and improvement of forage and animal genetic resources;
· Animal Health: epidemiology and genetic resistance;
· Livestock Policy and socioeconomics;
· NARS strengthening: research on delivery of technologies.
2.3.2. Common Themes
They refer to potentially "systemless" research themes, the benefits of which cut across ecoregional boundaries. Rumen ecology has been identified as one such theme. It is of particular relevance in the context of overcoming the limiting effects of anti-nutritional factors (ANFs) common in leguminous fodder trees/shrubs which, because of their high non-degradable protein content, would otherwise have a unique potential as supplements to the poor quality fibrous feeds which constitute the tropics most abundant ruminant feed resources.
For this particular theme, the following resources confer ILRI a comparative advantage to carry out research on rumen ecology: i) strategic and analytical capabilities responsive to locations and problems in developing countries; ii) access to adapted tropical ruminants and their microbial flora; iii) access to tropical feed resources including a wide source of plant genetic resources; and iv) knowledge on characterization of feed resources and their utilization by livestock.
2.3.3. Systemwide Livestock Initiatives (SLI)
The SLI present a concept for research that builds on, interprets and extends the results from individual ecoregional studies involving mixed farming systems, to develop unifying principles. Through collaboration with ecoregional research consortia, the SLI will superimpose a global research agenda on ecoregional studies, to develop research outputs that can be broadly applied across ecoregions. As one example, the SLI will evaluate the utility of socioeconomic and environmental indicators for determining the sustainability of production systems involving livestock on a global basis.
There are four major avenues through which the common livestock research agenda is being implemented by the CGIAR and its global partners: a) ILRI's core activities; b) core activities by other CGIAR centres; c) ecoregional initiatives; and d) the SLIs.
a) ILRI Core Activities
ILRI's activities comprise:
· Lab and experiment station based research in Kenya and Ethiopia;· Collaborative genetic resources and production systems research with NARS and IARCs, including ecoregional initiatives;
· Collaborative research with advanced institutes (e.g., bovine genome);
· Collaborative policy research;
· Collaborative training activities.
They are organized around the following six priority programmes:
Biodiversity (Conservation, Characterization)· Animal genetic resources;
· Forage genetic resources.Production Systems Research
· Production systems analysis and impact assessment;
· Integrated crop-livestock systems:SSA Highlands;
Desert Margins;
Humid Asia;
Semiarid Asia;
LAC;
WANA.Utilization of Tropical Feed Resources
· Rumen ecology;
· Nutritional evaluation of tropical feeds;Animal Health Improvement
· Genetics of disease resistance;
· Development of disease control technologies;
· Implementation of disease control technologies.Livestock Policy Analysis
Strengthening NARS
· Training and information services;
· Collaborative research networks.
b) Core Activities of other CGIAR Centres
· CIAT: forage genetics and evaluation;
· ICARDA: small ruminant production systems;
· ICRAF: agroforestry.
c) Ecoregional Initiatives
Carried out by IARC/NARS consortia on livestock production in mixed farming systems and related natural resources management research.
d) Systemwide Livestock Initiative
In collaboration with ecoregional consortia, work initially focused on the production and utilization of feed resources.
3.1. Background
3.2. Current Status of Forestry and Agroforestry Research
3.3. Global Issues and Research Needs
3.4. Priorities and Current Research Activities for Forestry and Agroforestry in the CGIAR
Tropical forests cover only one-seventh of the earth's land area, yet their importance is greater than this implies. In addition to wood, forests supply many non-timber products including foods and beverages, fibres, resins, building materials, fodder, ornamentals, medicines and fuel. More importantly, they provide environmental services, notably watershed protection, climate regulation, protection and improvement of soils, and provision of habitat for wild plants and animals. A wide range of cultural, spiritual and recreational benefits are also derived from tropical forests. They are an important component of the earth's global carbon budget and the repository of perhaps half of all species of living things.
Thus the potential of forests to contribute to rural and urban welfare, economic growth, sustainable agricultural development and global environmental functions is vast. Yet it is constrained by accelerating deforestation and degradation of forest lands. About 15.4 million hectares of tropical forests and woodlands were converted to other uses or destroyed each year between 1980 and 1990 (0.8% p.a.); 4.6 million hectares of this was tropical rain forests. By 1990, 1,756 million hectares of tropical forests remained; 52% in Latin America, 30% in sub-Saharan Africa and 18% in Asia-Pacific.
The pressures on the remaining forests to provide ever-increasing volumes of timber, fuelwood, non-timber products and land for agriculture and other uses continue to grow - seemingly exponentially. Simultaneously, the importance of tropical forests to the well-being of the rural poor, in regulating the global climate, and as a reservoir of biodiversity is increasingly recognized. The need to do more with less, while at the same time conserving a substantial area of tropical forests as a heritage for all people, is a fundamental problem which must be faced if these forests are to be successfully managed for the sustainable production of multiple goods and services.
Two decades ago, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimated that slash-and-burn agriculture was practised on 30% of the arable soils of the world and provided sustenance for 250 million of the world's poorest people. It has been suggested that the 200 to 500 million slash-and-burn farmers account for about two-thirds of global forest clearance annually. Slash-and-burn agriculture remains the dominant land use at the margins of the humid tropical forests, and empirical evidence suggests that the numbers of people engaged in slash-and-burn agriculture may have doubled.
Agroforestry technologies have the potential to provide sustainable alternatives to the practice of shirting cultivation and to ameliorate the secondary forest fallows and grasslands that follow in its wake. In subhumid savannas and woodlands and the semi-arid tropics, they can also play a decisive role in increasing the agricultural productivity and sustainability of small-scale farming systems. In these agroecological zones, agroforestry technologies can prevent soil erosion, bring a halt to deteriorating soil fertility, and provide food, fuelwood, building material, fodder and numerous other valuable products that have the potential for generating additional income.
3.2.1. Forestry Research
Investment in forestry research and the human resources available to conduct research in developing countries are both low in comparison to the agricultural sector and in comparison to the value of goods and services derived from forests. Pardey et al. (1991) 4, however, assert that "comparison...between the share of crop research in agricultural research and crop production's share of value-added in agriculture (AgGDP).... [indicates] that forestry research absorbs a larger share of research capacity than agriculture" However, this analysis ignores the fact that a large proportion of research effort in forestry is not directed towards outputs or outcomes that can be readily captured by crude aggregated indicators such as AgGDP, nor does AgGDP capture the many and varied 'non-tradeable' goods and services provided by forests. In addition, the number of forestry researchers active in research areas that have a direct 'commodity orientation' in developing countries would be less than 50% of the research cadre. Reliable current estimates for regional/global investment in forestry research are not available and therefore the summary presented by TAC (1994) 5 remains, in the absence of more recent information, the most reliable source:
"Expenditure on forestry research in developing countries in 1981 amounted to US$ 186 million, of which 60% was allocated to Asia, 21% to sub-Saharan Africa and 19% to Latin America and the Caribbean (Mergen, 1988). More recent data are not available, but if past trends are an indication, current annual expenditures may be in excess of US$ 200 million.Developing countries account for only 12% of total investment in forestry research worldwide. Forestry research intensity in developing countries is considerable less than one-tenth of agricultural research intensity. Forest research expenditures as a percentage of the value of production have been estimated at 0.019 for low-income developing countries, 0.059 for middle-income developing countries and 0.070 for semi-industrialized countries. The corresponding ratios for agricultural research expenditures were estimated at 0.451, 0.863 and 0.816 respectively." (Mergen et al., 1988) 6
4 Pardey, P.G. and J. Roseboom, 1991. Agricultural Research Capacity in a regional and agro-climatic perspective. Background paper prepared for the Standing Committee on Priorities and Strategies of the TAC/CGIAR. ISNAR, The Hague.5 TAC, 1994. Review of CGIAR Priorities and Strategies. TAC Secretariat, FAO, Rome.
6 Mergen, F., R.E. Evenson, M.S. Judd and J. Putnam, 1988. Forestry Research: A Provisional Global Inventory. Economic Development and Cultural Change 37(1): 149-171.
Current statistics that assess the number of forestry research institutes and qualified researchers within them are available. FAO (1995) surveyed 764 forestry research organization in 112 countries, 7% of which were located in sub-Saharan Africa, 3.8% in West Asia North Africa, 13.4% in Asia Pacific and 14.7% in Latin America and the Caribbean. Manpower, in terms of graduate staff in these institutions, does not follow the same pattern: more researchers (25% of the global total) are now located in the Asia Pacific developing countries. In sub-Saharan Africa, universities represent only 14% of the forestry related research Institutes, the figures for WANA, AP and LAC are 10.3%, 20.5% and 31.3% respectively. The following table provides summary data.
3.2.2. Agroforestry Research
Agroforestry research has been widely taken up over the last two or three decades by small teams in agricultural and forestry research institutes and university departments throughout the world. Until recently, however, greater inputs have been made by development projects and NGOs practising social and community forestry. ICRAF was established in 1977 to conduct and support agroforestry research. At that time, agroforestry was still lacking the theoretical basis and accumulated data of traditional areas such as forestry and agriculture. Early work therefore concentrated on developing the conceptual and methodological basis for agroforestry research, bringing together relevant information from disparate sources to make it available to a wide audience, and supporting agroforestry training and education with a view to developing greater national capacity in agroforestry research and development. Building on this foundation, ICRAF initiated a collaborative research programme in 1985. The goal then was to strengthen national research capacity and ultimately to generate agroforestry technologies suitable for farmers.
Table 1: Summary of Forestry Research Capacity in Developing Countries
|
REGION |
Forestry Research Institutes (%) |
N° of research Institutes |
Graduate researchers (1985 values)* |
N° of researchers |
|
Sub-Saharan Africa |
7.0 |
54 |
4.0 (7.3) |
1,106 |
|
West Asia-North Africa |
3.8 |
29 |
2.9 (5.7) |
815 |
|
Asia-Pacific (excl. China) |
13.4 |
102 |
25.8 (9.4) |
7,177 |
|
Latin America - Caribbean |
14.7 |
112 |
9.7 (5.4) |
2,687 |
|
Global Totals |
100 |
764 |
100 |
11,785 |
adapted from FAO 1995 7, *Pardey et al., 1991 8, figures for Asia Pacific exclude China.7 FAO, 1995. Directory of Forestry Research Organizations. FAO, Rome.8 Pardey, P.G., J. Roseboom and J.R. Anderson (Editors), 1991. Agricultural Research Policy, International Quantitative Perspectives. Cambridge University Press.
In 1991, ICRAF became a member of the CGIAR. At present, ICRAF's work is concentrated in four ecological regions of Africa: the humid lowlands and the semi-arid lowlands of West Africa, the highlands of East and Central Africa, and the plateau lands of Southern Africa, as well as in the humid tropics of Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Worldwide agroforestry research is expanding, with a number of other institutions (e.g., CATIE, EMBRAPA, ICAR) playing a significant role.
3.3.1. Forestry
People have cleared and modified forests for millennia, as human needs, perceptions and numbers have changed: forests have been modified to increase the flow of benefits to the users-managers. But some changes have had unintended or "perverse" effects, especially in recent decades. As pressures on land and competition for access to it have increased, inequities have developed in the distribution of the costs and benefits of forest use. These problems have occurred at the levels of forest communities, nations, regions and the entire world. They have affected the poor and the rich, foresters, farmers and corporations, local and distant users, and will affect future generations. This situation will inevitably be exacerbated by growth in population. In fifty years, the world will need at least three times as much food as at present. This will increase pressures to convert forest lands to agriculture. The principal consequences and causes for concern are:
· local livelihoods will be lost or impaired for many millions of people who derive much of their income or subsistence from foods, fibres, medicines or other products and services from tropical forests; and· the environmental services from forests which support and sustain agricultural productivity could be seriously damaged, thus exacerbating agricultural and food-security concerns, as well as global environmental externalities.
In Asia and Latin America, much of the increase in global food production over the past thirty years has resulted from intensification (partly through scientific breakthroughs developed by CGIAR Centres). Rates of yield increase for many food crops are now slowing down. Part of the increase in global food production has been through creating new farmlands by clearing forests, particularly in Africa, but this cannot continue without serious environmental and social costs.
Currently, around 3,400 million m3 of roundwood are removed annually from the world's forests for human use. A little less than half of this is used for industrial purposes, with the remainder being used principally as fuel for cooking and heating. The annual contribution of forest products to the world economy currently approaches US$ 400 billion. About one-third of this is generated in developing countries, where forest products contribute 2.7% of their combined gross domestic product. [The remaining two-thirds is generated in industrialized countries, contributing 2% of their total GDP.] In developing countries slightly more than half of the economic value of forest products comes from the use of wood in energy, [compared to less than 10% in the industrialised countries].
The global value of trade in forest products was about US$ 98 billion in 1991, equal to 3.3% of world mercantile trade and almost one-fourth of the total world trade in agricultural, fishery and forest products. In the three decades since 1961, world trade in forest products has more than tripled (measured in 1990 US dollars). Exports of forest products from developing countries have increased by a factor of six; the share of forest products exports which originate in developing countries has risen from 8% in 1961 to 13% in 1990 (still a very low share, given that these countries represent 75% of the world's population). The structure of forest products trade has also changed significantly. In 1961, 60% of developing country exports were unprocessed roundwood; by 1990 the value of roundwood exports had more than doubled in constant dollars but the share had dropped to 20% of the total.
Numerous studies have shown that official statistics consistently undervalue forests as sources of products and employment. The diversity of uses and products is enormous and most are processed or traded in the informal sector. Preliminary CIFOR analyses of the true contribution of forests to developing countries' economies suggest that it is probably at least double that shown in national accounts. Forests may contribute as much as 6% of economic product and up to 10% of total employment. However just as the true extent of forest values are not adequately documented, so the costs to poor forest-dependent people of forest degradation and loss are not widely recognized. Deforestation is generally perceived as a global environmental problem and the magnitude of the losses incurred by developing country peoples has been largely ignored in the international debate.
New technologies and policies are essential to help reduce the destruction and degradation of tropical forests, to avoid enormous social and economic losses. These will not just be limited to the forestry sector as conventionally defined. Individuals and countries who generate their incomes from forest products will suffer, and consumers will face shortages and higher prices.
Yet as social recognition of the non-consumptive and amenity values of forests increases, the predominant demand on forestry is likely to change from timber to environmental services. Tropical forests in future will provide a much wider range of social, economic and environmental benefits, and for a much wider range of beneficiaries. Many forests will be of more value for environmental and watershed protection, or for provision of non-timber products to local communities, than for their capacity to produce industrial cellulose. Although the aggregate demand for finished products is projected to continue to increase, the amount of industrial raw materials from forests may rise more slowly, or possibly even decline, due to expanding technological abilities to find alternative raw materials (for most uses, from construction to paper), to increase processing efficiency, to increase functional product life and to recycle. In contrast, our reliance on environmental services from forests will not decline, and may increase. This transition is further complicated by equity considerations, because the beneficiaries from industrial use of forests may be quite different from those who benefit from non-industrial usage, or from the provision of environmental services from forests.
As prices increase for timber and other products from managed natural forests, and as plantation technology and "tree-husbandry" techniques improve and become more widespread, timber forest products will increasingly come from "cultivated" rather than from "natural" sources of supply. Indeed, rapid expansion of high-yielding plantations in the tropics could provide an alternative, commercially attractive resource that may reduce harvesting pressures on natural forests. The average annual timber productivity of natural forests, worldwide, is currently 1m3/ha/year, thus 4 billion hectares presently yield approximately 4 billion m3 of logs. At the other extreme, only 100 million hectares of well-managed, well-located tropical plantations could, hypothetically, generate the same volume of timber harvest. By increasing the productivity of forest management, the area required to produce a given timber yield could be significantly reduced. Intensification of forest management - of both natural forests and plantation forests - is inevitable. Similar trends can be demonstrated for a variety of non-timber forest products under intensified management and domestication.
Worldwide, there are already about 100 million hectares of forest plantations. They comprise 2.6% of the world's forest areas and met 15% of the world's wood requirements in 1995. There are clear trends of increasing areas of both industrial and non-industrial plantations in the tropics. In 1990 there were 43 million hectares of tropical plantations - up from 21 million hectares in 1980, so most of them are very young still - and almost 75% of this is in Asia (Table 2). Most of the 28 million hectares of non-industrial tropical plantations are in farm strips or woodlots in Asia (82%), with 12% in Latin America and the Caribbean and 6% in Africa.
Table 2: Area of plantations including woodlots ('000 ha) in the tropics
|
Region |
1965 |
1980 |
1990 |
|
|
Africa |
1,378 |
2,724 |
3,773 |
(9%) |
|
Asia incl. China |
4,421 |
13,046 |
29,245 |
(68%) |
|
Australia and Pacific |
70 |
269 |
420 |
(1%) |
|
Central America and Caribbean |
219 |
486 |
786 |
(2%) |
|
South America |
597 |
4,448 |
8,470 |
(20%) |
|
Total |
6,667 |
20,973 |
42,694 |
|
Source: Evans (1992) Plantation Forestry in the Tropics. Clarendon Press, Oxford, p. 35
Although they provide comparable commodities, plantations generally provide fewer environmental benefits than natural forests, but nevertheless remain a better environmental option than many other land uses. Almost two billion hectares of land in the tropics have suffered moderate to severe degradation in the past fifty years (Table 3). Physical and chemical degradation is manifested as soil compaction, sheet and gully erosion, increased soil acidity and reduced availability of nutrients. Biological degradation includes declining soil organic matter, losses in beneficial soil microorganisms and weed encroachment. In the humid tropics alone, there are 250 million hectares of degraded forest fallows, Imperata cylindrica grasslands and degraded pastures. In densely populated South and Southeast Asia, nearly 20% of farmland is unproductive due to salinity, waterlogging and loss of top soil. The restoration of forest cover on this land could do much to improve the welfare of these extremely poor rural people.
Table 3: Human-induced land degradation, 1945-1992
|
Region |
Total Degraded Area (m ha) |
Degraded Area as % of Total Vegetated Land (1992) |
|
Asia |
746 |
20 |
|
Africa |
494 |
22 |
|
South America |
244 |
14 |
|
North & Central |
158 |
8 |
|
America |
|
|
|
Oceania |
103 |
13 |
Sources: World Resources Institute, 1992-93. World Report
Tropical plantations will have only a small beneficial impact on tropical deforestation, as long as the major cause of deforestation is agricultural expansion. However, plantations can help relieve some of the other pressures leading to deforestation in specific socioeconomic conditions. Plantation forestry should be considered as complementary to the management of natural forests and not as a substitute. The real issue is the potential of plantations to optimize benefits from low-potential sites.
Forest plantations, at their best, foster local socioeconomic development, and provide employment, raw materials, infrastructure and environmental and recreational services for local people. At their worst, plantations can take land out of food production in areas of acute food shortage, increase landlessness or destroy culturally important species, habitats and landscapes. Plantations and societies interact, and ultimately many plantations have suffered financially when managed in a way that led to social problems. Where plantations form a major part of the land-use system, and where competition for land is strong, the social and cultural implications and feedback can be significant.
The notion of forestry providing a broad range of products and services dominates many countries' forest policies as they attempt to ensure social, environmental and rural stability, as well as timber supplies. Thus, the area of plantations designed specifically for non-industrial products and services has greatly increased. Much still needs to be done to ensure that plantation forestry is sustainable, through incorporating appropriate responses to ecological, economic, social and cultural needs. Today the areas of land suitable and available for forestry are decreasing and are often part of an intricate mosaic of land use and ownership. The main benefits from integrating trees and other land uses appear to be in the less-productive marginal uplands where ecological benefits translate into economic advantages, i.e., higher productivity on a sustained basis. Commercial incentive is often the strongest stimulant for tree growing, but frequently local markets for forest products are not well established and/or there is poor market information, and consequently little private, small-scale investment in commercial forestry. Much can be learned by studying institutions and markets in those few countries where small-scale forestry is flourishing.
The applications of social forestry to increasing agricultural productivity, to soil conservation and to the provision of wood products has two elements, i.e., local participation and the sustainable increase of productivity on a fixed area of land. Local participation will occur only if farmers are able to take up new technologies - new incentives (or the removal of disincentives) may be necessary. Government commitment to promoting new technologies through legislation, technical support, market development and finances may be a key factor. Overall there must be economic gain; conservation without discernible economic benefits is difficult to promote.
The perceived ecological benefits are nutrient and soil conservation in fragile and hilly lands and restoration of the productive capacity of degraded lands, through soil biological processes controlling the decomposition of plant residues. Loss of biodiversity - both flora and fauna - from tropical forests, and release of vast carbon stores with the simultaneous reduction in the capacity for new carbon sequestration, have potentially devastating consequences. These global externalities provide compelling reasons for the world community to invest in reforestation and forest conservation.
We are currently witnessing the transition from harvesting naturally occurring forest products to domestication and cultivation of trees for specific purposes, analogous to the transitions millennia ago in the domestication of crops and livestock. Much of the world's future supplies of timber and non-timber forest products are likely to come from domesticated sources such as mixed-species plantations. Simultaneously, timber and non-timber products from natural forests are likely to come increasingly from sources which are retained primarily for their environmental functions and which are under management which is "certified" as socially and environmentally benign.
3.3.2. Agroforestry
As each year passes, more and more people in the tropics face crippling poverty and famine. Understandably, their priority is firmly set on food production rather than on pursuing long-term conservation goals. And, tragically, as they struggle to meet their subsistence needs using resources at unsuitable levels, their future becomes more bleak and environmental stability more tenuous. A few daunting statistics highlight the current land-use problems.
· About 15 million hectares of tropical forest are destroyed each year by human activities such as unsustainable commercial logging, shifting cultivation, expanding settlements, land speculation and ranching.· On current trends, by the end of the decade, 2.4 billion people will be either unable to obtain their minimum energy needs, or will be forced to consume fuelwood faster than it is being replenished.
· Between 1970 and 1990, available arable land fell from a world average of 0.38 ha per capita to 0.28 ha.
· Each year, 25 billion tonnes of productive top soil are lost to agriculture - mostly a direct result of erosion in the wake of poor land use
· Vast areas of agricultural land are being depleted of nutrients - largely an outcome of fallow systems in their struggle to produce more food from small areas.
· Creating replacement fields for depleted agricultural soils is the cause of more than half of the world's annual deforestation.
Without significant change, these problems can only get worse as, during the decade, the world's population surges by a further one billion. Part of the solution to this crisis lies with a new 'green revolution' - approaches to land use that will simultaneously feed people and conserve natural resources.
In the 1980s and 90s, external factors changed rapidly. Worldwide concerns about global warming, high rates of deforestation, accelerating land depletion and the need for sustainable land-use practices were brought to the forefront of the political agenda by the Brundtland Commission on Environment and Development and the Bellagio Strategy Meetings on Tropical Forests which helped set the stage for the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). It became clear that acceptable long-term solutions also require research on ecology and conservation, along with ways to decrease rural poverty.
Through such avenues as UNCED and the subsequent recommendations of Agenda 21, the world community has recognized that these approaches must not only address the link between improved productivity and environmental protection, but must combine poverty alleviation with sustainable resources management based on sound scientific principles.
The desire to promote sustainable agriculture and rural development as a step towards improved natural resources conservation has had a direct bearing on agroforestry. While there is a continued focus on productivity and poverty alleviation, the goals and objectives have been modified to give greater emphasis to research related to the management of natural resources. This sees agroforestry as a dynamic, ecologically based, natural resources management system that through the integration of trees in farm-and rangeland, diversifies and sustains smallholder production for increased social, economic and environmental benefits.
The research needs in agroforestry are numerous and diverse, since agroforestry research requires a multidisciplinary approach linking social and biophysical sciences throughout the research-to-development continuum (ie strategic to adaptive research). Regarding the needs of the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) and the World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Developments (WCFSD), ICRAF addressed the research and capacity building issues with three major agroforestry questions:
· why aren't farmers planting more trees?· how can agroforestry research contribute to the development of sustainable and profitable land-use systems?
· how can agroforestry research, training and education promote the institutionalization and enhancement of sustainable land use and capacity building in research institutions?
Why aren't farmers planting or retaining more trees?
Research is needed to examine and overcome the policy and germplasm constraints that prevent farmers from planting trees.
The policy constraints include: lack of land for tree tenure; the promotion by governments of non-sustainable or inappropriate land uses, and the economic disincentives of low prices, lack of marketing opportunities, poor infrastructure for trading and lack of credit, etc.
Policy changes conferring formal land or tree tenure and the removal of disincentives to plant trees will promote the availability of land to farmers, thereby increasing the land under productive cropping and promoting social well-being in rural communities.
The germplasm constraints are those of: the non-availability of seeds of many tree species, and where seeds are available a lack of information and knowledge about how to collect and use them. Farmers would like and would respond to access to improved germplasm, but frequently such material is in small quantities and without pathways for dissemination.
How can agroforestry research contribute to the development of sustainable and profitable land use systems?
One approach requiring research is to develop agroforestry practices that stabilize the agricultural side of the forest margin by the integration of trees in farmland for the production of timber and non-wood forest products. Multistrata agroforests, as developed in Southeast Asia, are the ultimate example of such systems, but little research has been done to develop such systems elsewhere in the tropics. So far, there is little understanding on how these multistrata agroforests - which are an attractive alternative to slash-and-burn agriculture - diversify agroecosystems and enhance biodiversity, sequester carbon, affect green house gas emission or sinks. Similarly, little is known of the economic and social benefits of these systems in terms of cash generation, food security and their ability to alleviate poverty and buffer diversity economic returns.
Research is also needed for methods to improve agroforestry systems by integrating trees into farming systems in a way that develops a mosaic of land-uses on both the farm and landscape scales. In this way, the productivity of the systems can be achieved, while also improving their ecological and economic stability.
The benefits of agroforestry systems will be further enhanced if the trees are domesticated so that they are both more productive, of higher quality, and superior in other desirable traits. The genetic improvement of agroforestry tree species for an increased range of timber and non-wood forest products should increase the overall economic returns from a unit of land in the longer term, so triggering improvements in marketing infrastructure and in the incentives to grow trees. Potential gains in this area are high, since little improvement work has been done to date on agroforestry species.
Although much agroforestry research has been focused on the restoration of soil fertility through biological nitrogen fixation, more is needed to ensure the rehabilitation of degraded farmland through the development of increasingly intensive and diverse farming systems. Current policies and price structures for inorganic fertilizers make them inaccessible to many resource-poor farmers. Research into methods to recapitalize depleted soils using trees to recycle nutrients from strata below the rooting zone of crops or applied fertilizers is particularly necessary. Such rehabilitation of abandoned non-forest land could increase the area of land under cultivation and increase its carrying capacity.
Large-scale applications of rock phosphate as a slow-release fertilizer could also have a critical role in replenishing soils. However, much needs to be learnt about policy, environmental, social and economic factors of such an approach. Research needs also include the intra- and interspecific variation among trees abilities to solubilize, uptake, use and recycle phosphorus, and on the soil process and land-use systems involved in maximizing the benefit from a capital investment in rock phosphate.
The maintenance of soil fertility is essential for the sustainability of production from this land, but sustainability will also depend on the control of potential weeds, pests and diseases. The risks of these should be minimized by integrated land-use management, but intricate mixtures of trees and crops also pose problems arising from their competition for resources (light, water and nutrients). Strategic research is needed to understand the processes so that trees and crops can be grown together to minimize competition for resources and reduce the risks of pest and disease outbreaks.
The capital value of fertile soils is also lost through erosion by wind and water and through leaching. Much is known about the ability of contour hedgerows and windbreaks to reduce erosion, but less is known for other agroforestry practices.
How can agroforestry research, training and education promote the institutionalization and enhancement of sustainable landuse and capacity building in research institutions?
The institutionalization of agroforestry through the development of national and regional research teams has occurred in many countries. This can be greatly enhanced by curriculum development in colleges and universities, postgraduate training for researchers; administrators and educationalists; workshops and courses; in-service training; information dissemination to NGOs, farmers and others in rural development sector, and - importantly - by informing and working with farmers.
3.4.1. Forestry
From consideration of these factors and the potential beneficiaries of research findings, the following major research priorities are being addressed.
1. Underlying Causes of Deforestation, Forest Degradation and Poverty in Forest Margins
The work seeks to understand the causes behind deforestation and forest degradation by assessing the impacts of national and international policies on the behaviour of those in/around the forests. Viable policies and institutional arrangements could then be promoted to improve intersectoral decision-making on the multipurpose management of existing or new forests, based upon:
· sets of alternative decisions that could lead to optimal land-use choices;
· documents on the insights of preventive measures at a regional scale;
· annotated bibliographies for a better understanding of extra-sectoral influences.
2. Landscape-scale Conservation and Management: Forest Ecosystem Management
The research addresses the need to integrate forest management with other forms of land-use in the landscape, to improve both the livelihood of land users and environmental conservation. It aims at developing management strategies that combine biophysical and socioeconomic objectives, based on an understanding of the role of biodiversity in forested lands through methods for:
· characterizing vegetation for natural resource surveys;
· assessing biodiversity (indicators);
· modelling the distribution of species;
· assessing plant functional attributes and site physical environment attributes;
· undertaking natural resource surveys which integrate biophysical information with socioeconomic information.
3. Multiple Resource Management of Natural Forests
The aim of the work is to reduce the impact of harvesting operations on natural tropical forests, including secondary forests. Its contribution to the increased biological productivity and commercial value of logged-over forests is expected to arise from:
· timber-harvesting techniques that reduce environmental impacts while retaining economic efficiency;· policies and incentives to encourage the utilization of such techniques;
· software to plan reduced-impact harvesting;
· publications on ecologically based forest management;
· guidelines for the management of secondary forests to produce timber and non-timber forest products (NTFP).
4. Assessing the Sustainability of Forest Management: Testing Criteria and Indicators
The research seeks to provide cost-effective means for the objective assessment of whether forests are being managed on a sustainable basis. It is expected that such means will be applied in policymaking, trade and management processes affecting the forestry sector, to reward sustainable practices, establish preferential prices and reduce environmental impacts. The work aims at:
· identify and testing cost-effective criteria and indicators to assess forest sustainability and social impacts of management practices;· develop guidelines for applying such criteria and indicators in community-managed forests;
· decision-support methodologies for evaluating forest sustainability.
5. Plantation Forestry on Degraded or Low-potential Sites.
The focus here is on the understanding of key factors determining growth rates on small-scale plantations, to develop guidelines and technologies which improve production and sustainability of fast-growing plantations on degraded and low potential sites. It will do this by developing:
· site management and policy options;
· technologies on soil and water management in tropical tree plantations;
· a synthesis on dipterocarp silviculture and research needs; and
· a guide on fungal pathogens in tropical acacias.
6. Conservation of Biodiversity and Genetic Resources
This research aims at determining the impacts of human disturbance, logging and fragmentation on in situ conservation of biodiversity. In order to formulate management prescriptions for protected areas, the work will:
· develop tools for measuring and monitoring genetic diversity;
· establish a relationship between the intensity of disturbance and genetic diversity for species with different life history characteristics.
7. Local Livelihoods, Community-based Management and Devolution
This research will identify policy options for improving the compatibility of conservation objectives with local people's needs, based on a better understanding of the livelihoods, property rights and decision-making systems of people living in forest areas. It will develop:
· policy briefs for assessing institutional arrangements;· simple methodologies for the rapid measurement of forest incomes and assessment of income opportunities compatible with conservation; and
· systems for the quantitative modelling of the people-forest interface.
8. Sustainable Use and Development of Non-Timber Forest Products
The work will estimate impacts on forests and biodiversity of NTFP-based development. Expected outputs are:
· estimates of the number of people who depend on NTFP, and the nature of this dependency;
· procedures for assessing the potential of NTFP development; and
· options for improved institutional arrangements.
3.4.2. Agroforestry
Priorities for agroforestry research span two major areas of activity: the development of alternatives to slash-and-burn agriculture and the mitigation of land degradation through soil depletion. Both of these research areas are important as means of counterbalancing the effects of deforestation on farmers' livelihoods. Cross-cutting themes of this research agenda are soil amelioration, environmental rehabilitation, cash generation for poverty alleviation, tree domestication, agroecosystem function, impact at a landscape scale and capacity building.
ICRAF is the convening centre for two of the CGIAR's systemwide programmes: Alternatives to Slash-and-Burn Programme which spans the 3 humid lowland ecoregions, and the African Highlands Initiative which is part of the Global Mountains Initiative and is based in East Africa.
Agroforestry research priorities are organized under the following four programmes.
1. Natural Resource Strategies and Policy
This programme focuses on farmers' management of the resource base of agriculture, as well as on the ecological, social and economic interactions among these resources across different spatial scales. Its research agenda is driven by farmers' needs and goals, and by ecological principles rather than being led by technological development. It aims to:
· develop typologies of land-use systems and farmers on the basis of ecological and socioeconomic parameters and at various spatial scales (household to continental);· develop (and validate) ecological-economic models which predict the adoption potential and sustainability of improved agroforestry practices at the farming system and regional scales;
· analyse policy constraints to the adoption of these improved practices and to design alternative policy instruments for addressing them;
· evaluate the actual ecological, social, cultural and economic impacts of adoption of agroforestry practices.
2. Domestication of Agroforestry Trees
Through its Germplasm Resources Unit (GRU), the Programme collects, characterizes and disseminates information and germplasm of priority agroforestry trees. This germplasm is then evaluated for its genetic diversity and domesticated through genetic selection, vegetative propagation and breeding, for use in various agroforestry technologies. The objective of this research is to improve the genetic quality of agroforestry trees species by the collection, evaluation and selection of germplasm for the compatible production of food, fodder, fuelwood, timber and other products with companion crops, and the provision of environmental services such as soil conservation and amelioration of soils.
3. Tree-Crop-Environment Interactions
Process measurements are made in priority agroforestry systems identified to solve specific land-use or socioeconomic problems in each ecoregion, so as to understand the function as well as improve the performance of the systems. The objective is to contribute to the development of improved and sustainable agroforestry systems by:
· gaining an understanding of biophysical interactions between the components of agroforestry systems;· synthesizing results from a wide range of environments through models and obtaining predictive capability for evaluating alternative systems and management options;
· developing research methods for facilitating the conduct and improving quality of process-oriented research in agroforestry.
4. Agroforestry Systems Improvement
Research activities are undertaken on the potential of agroforestry to address the constraints and opportunities that farmers experience.
This systems improvement research focuses on the monitoring and evaluation of the long-term biophysical, ecological and economic impact of agroforestry technologies used as alternatives to current systems. This work is undertaken on research stations and on farms by multidisciplinary teams of scientists at a range of locations in many countries.
The priority systems currently being investigated address the prospects and constraints of alternatives to slash-and-burn agriculture, the reclamation of abandoned and depleted lands in the humid tropics, and land depletion in the savanna woodlands and agrosilvopastoral systems of the subhumid and semi-arid tropics.
The objective is to develop, through a participatory research approach, biophysically-sustainable and economically-viable agroforestry systems which address the priority concerns of farmers and major environmental issues in the six ecoregions in which ICRAF works.
Fisheries play an important role in food production, income generation and the provision of employment in developing countries. According to ICLARM, the number of full-time fishermen in developing countries has been estimated at 12.9 million, of whom 80% live in Asia, 12% in sub-Saharan Africa, 6% in Latin America and the Caribbean and 2% in West Asia-North Africa.
In addition, there are many millions of part-time fishermen. Water covers 70% of the earth's surface, and the total production of aquatic commodities amounts to 95 million tonnes annually, of which 79% is in the form of finfish, 5% crustaceans, 9% molluscs, and 7% seaweeds. Fish and fish products provide 20% of animal protein and 4% of dietary protein in developing countries, but these averages mask the fact that in several countries this share is at least twice as high. The total gross value of world fisheries production is almost US$ 25 billion per year, of which 52 % originates from marine capture fish, 18% from inland capture fish, 16% from inland culture fish and 14% from marine culture fish. Fish account for 5.6% of the total value of production of agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
Approximately 72% of the gross value of fish production originates in Asia, 17% in Latin America and the Caribbean, 8.1% in sub-Saharan Africa and 3% in West Asia-North Africa.
Of the global aquatic production, only 16% originates from aquaculture, but in value terms this share amounts to 29%. Aquaculture differs from capture fisheries just as agriculture does from hunting and gathering. Aquaculture, as in the case of agriculture, and even more than in capture fisheries, requires ownership or control over the aquatic resources (commodity) and space. It implies action to direct energy flows in the ecosystem towards the commodity produced. During 1993, total world aquaculture production amounted to 16.3 million tonnes, of which 50% consisted of finfish, 4% crustaceans, 18% molluscs and 28% seaweeds. About 86% of world aquaculture production originates in Asia, but in terms of value this share amounts to 78%. The value of culture fisheries exceeds that of many 'traditional' CGIAR commodities such as beans, sorghum, and groundnuts.
Issues and their relation to CGIAR goals: Previous TAC reports, as well as a recent study undertaken on behalf of several donor agencies, have stressed the need for more research on fisheries (see, for instance World Bank, UNDP, CEC, FAO, 1991). 9 Humans capture some 4,000 species of fish, molluscs, crustaceans and other aquatic organisms and culture nearly 200; capture and culture contribute to food security both through the provision of fish and through employment and income generation. Aquatic resource research contributes directly to several CGIAR goals, including the preservation of biodiversity, better management and conservation of natural resources, the improvement of the policy environment and the strengthening of national research systems.
9 World Bank, United Nations Development Programme, Commission of the European Communities, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1992. A study of international fisheries research. Policy and Research Series. The World Bank, Washington D.C.
Fisheries in a State of Transition: For more than four decades, from about 1950, the per capita supply of fish rose continually despite rapid population growth. About 50% of the demand increase since 1970 is attributed to increased population demand, and the remainder to economic factors such as rising disposable incomes in many countries. However, in 1990, the rise in supply was halted, and a per capita decline in supply began to occur. The price of fish had begun to rise during the 1980s and this rise was far greater than for any other food commodity group, the prices for most of which continued to fall over the period. Trade in fish has also increased, making fish one of the most highly traded of agricultural commodities - nearly 40% of production by value is traded internationally.
World fisheries and aquaculture are now in a state of transition, learning to cope with increasing stock scarcity price increases. Key current issues include the need for better management of natural fish stocks, increased production through aquaculture and better stewardship of the aquatic environment to prevent a large gap between demand and supply (Williams, 1996). 10
10 Williams, M., 1996. The transition in the contribution of living aquatic resources to food security. Food, Agriculture, and the Environment. Discussion Paper 12. International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington D.C.
Global Concern for the Future: Recent predictions are that the world will need, for consumption as food, between 110 and 120 million tonnes of fish by the year 2010, compared to the present supply of about 71 million tonnes of food fish (FAO 1995). 11 The implications for food security in the developing world are serious as was noted at the December 1995 Conference on the Sustainable Contribution of Fisheries to Food Security Fisheries. The major output of this conference was the Kyoto Declaration and Plan of Action, which was signed by 95 countries. Several parts of the document relate to research and its contribution to food security through fisheries and aquaculture, as shown in Table 4, below.
11 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1995. Safeguarding future fish supplies: key policy issues and measures. International Conference on the Sustainable Contribution of Fisheries to Food Security. KC/FI/95/1. Government of Japan, Kyoto.
Research Topics: Despite its obvious fragility, the resource base in the developing world is still poorly understood. Research for most tropical fisheries is still rudimentary, although national research capacity is developing to meet the challenge. Several research needs are priorities, including cost-effective data acquisition, especially as it relates to fisheries resources, aquaculture development and biodiversity, developing a holistic approach, integrating biological and social science research, exploring the impact of protected areas, studying the potential of aquaculture and its relationship to the environment, extending the genetic improvement of aquaculture species, overcoming aquatic environment degradation and analyzing the impact of research. Several other topics, including improving postharvest handling of fish and diagnosis and management of disease in aquaculture are also important, but of less relevance to present CGIAR objectives and capabilities.
Table 4: Extracts from the Kyoto Declaration and Plan of Action on the Sustainable Contributions of Fisheries to Food Security (Kyoto Declaration 1995)
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We, the 95 States which met in Kyoto from 4 to 9 December 1995 on the occasion of the International Conference on the Sustainable Contribution of Fisheries to Food Security,........... DECLARE that we should, without prejudice to the rights and obligations of States under international law: 1. Recognise and appreciate the significant role which marine fisheries, inland fisheries and aquaculture play in providing food security for the world, both through food supplies and through economic and social well-being; .... 7. Undertake in-depth studies to assess the social, economic and cultural importance of fisheries and fishery products; 8. Promote and strengthen scientific research as the fundamental basis for Sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture activities to ensure food security, as well as provide scientific and technical co-operation and support for those countries with lesser research capabilities. 9. Base policies, strategies and resource management and utilisation for Sustainable development of the fisheries sector on the following: (i) maintenance of ecological systems; (ii) use of the best scientific evidence available; (iii) improvement in economic and social well-being; and (iv) inter- and intra-generational equity. .... 11. Assess the stock productivity in the waters under national jurisdiction, both inland and marine, adjust the fishing capacity in these waters to a level commensurate with long-term stock productivity etc.... 12. Conserve and Sustainable use biological diversity and its components in the aquatic environment and, in particular, prevent practices leading to irreversible changes, such as extinction of genes and species, genetic erosion and/or large scale destruction of habitats; 13. Study the effectiveness of multispecies management; .... 18. Promote the use of Sustainable and environmentally sound aquaculture and ranching in coastal marine and inland waters through, inter alia: (i) establishment of appropriate institutional and legal frameworks; (ii) coordination of (he use of lands an waters with other activities; (iii) use of the best and most appropriate genetic material in conformity with the conservation and Sustainable use of the environment and conservation of biological diversity; and (iv) application of social and environmental impact assessments; .... 22. Provide, either directly or through regional, sub-regional or international organizations, technical and financial assistance to developing countries, in particular low income food-deficit developing countries and small island developing States, in order to assist them to realize the Sustainable contribution of fisheries to food security and social and economic development; .... |
Cost-Effective Data Acquisition: In most fisheries, the several decades of rapid expansion of fishing have not allowed time to build up an understanding of the resource before it becomes fully exploited or overexploited. Cost-effective systems for the acquisition of fisheries resource and fishing data (social and economic as well as biological) are still lacking. Scientists have developed some useful methods for the analysis of the resource base and its productive capacity but much more needs to be done before these methods can be effectively applied to the range of resource systems and the range of resource states (i.e., from newly exploited to degraded and over-exploited states). The role of biodiversity in the productivity of different types of resource systems is poorly understood and aquatic biodiversity is one of the least documented of any biological system. Available information on species is widely scattered and only now are systems such as FishBase starting to draw this information together.
Holistic Approach: Scientists are now realizing that there is a need to understand the functioning of whole aquatic systems in order to understand the impacts of fishing, environmental degradation and climate change. This realization has changed the scale at which resource systems work is targeted and the types of partnerships required in research.
Integrating Social and Biological Science: Managing the resource base is not simply a question of obtaining sufficient biological knowledge. A host of social, economic and cultural factors surround the institutions and the decision-making processes. Research by the social science disciplines, preferably integrated with or in close collaboration with biophysical studies, can contribute significantly to policy and institutional insights, advice and development. For example, the condition of free and open access is often blamed for overexploitation and rent dissipation in fisheries. Research has suggested that policy measures which are likely to be most effective in resource management are those which remove the open-access condition, i.e., establishment of user rights. In certain natural resource contexts, co-management and community-based management are approaches in which user rights can be instituted appropriately but we still do not understand sufficiently well the contexts most suited to these forms of management. Successes and failures of these approaches should be critically assessed and refined.
Protected Areas: Protected areas are gaining popularity as an option for improved natural resources management; fisheries are one type of resource for which this approach might be useful. However, far more research is required to establish the most effective form of protected areas in different cultural and resource systems. The ad hoc implementation of protected area regimes may lead to unwarranted disappointment in the method. Research on the benefits and management approaches to protected areas such as marine parks should be enhanced, especially through joint research with national systems, and with the participation of neighbouring residents.
Aquaculture Potential and Environmental Effects: Annual average production from aquaculture in 1990-93 was 15 million t. Potential growth of the sector has been estimated to reach 27 million t, under pessimistic conditions, and 39 million t, under the most optimistic. Non-traditional products, e.g., giant clams and sea cucumbers, that are seen to benefit coastal village farmers should be developed and the markets for such projects explored through economic studies.
Some forms of aquaculture have already had deleterious effects on the environment and vice-versa. Carrying capacities in both freshwater and marine environments should be assessed particularly in sites with multiple and conflicting use of water resources. Technical inputs to regulations and aquaculture development policy are needed.
Much of the current aquaculture development is on a fully commercial basis and producing products which have little impact on food security for the low income. Specific intervention to develop small-scale technologies for the adoption of fish fanning for resource-poor farmers should be pursued further and market barriers minimized. Many of these technologies will need to be developed through farmer-participatory research tailored to specific situations. International public goods can be drawn from the research in terms of methodologies and on-farm results.
Species Improvement: Genetic improvement of aquaculture species should be expanded beyond Nile tilapia and beyond the first simple breeding goals (growth and survival) to include other marketable species such as carp and goals such as disease resistance, desirable maturation goals but with great caution so as not to result in erosion of biodiversity. Working through national partners, the CGIAR should support the development of new approaches to national fish breeding programmes which underpin the multiplication and dissemination of new breeds. Since selective breeding in fish is still so new, there is no ready dissemination pathway for such breeds. Emphasis should be given to domestication and improvement of native species. There is also need to develop policy guidelines and codes of practice to safeguard the environment and maintain biodiversity.
Aquatic Environment Degradation: The degradation of aquatic environments, in both coastal and catchment areas, and increasing competition between the fisheries sector and other sectors (tourism, shipping, agriculture) emphasize the need for a comprehensive and integrated approach to management. Tools that fully utilize and integrate the inputs of various disciplines should be developed and made accessible to policymakers. Information databases should be maintained and made accessible to a wide group of users.
Impact Analysis: The impacts of market globalization on poor fishers and consumers of fish should be analyzed. The impact of adoption of aquaculture on production and consumption of fish and on the environment should be assessed. Methods for assessing the impact of fisheries research on target beneficiaries should be developed and applied.
Importance of Linkages: At best, the CGIAR can only produce a tiny fraction of the fisheries research that is needed to overcome the food security threats described above. To maximize the effect of its research, strong emphasis needs to be put on developing and sustaining an increasing number of linkages with others in the field. In keeping with the state of the art in fisheries research approaches, CGIAR work should involve the indigenous knowledge of local people to the maximum extent possible. This in turn will be facilitated by collaboration with NGOs who work with such people. Linkages with NARS and advanced research institutions will ensure that CGIAR results are disseminated, and outside ideas are incorporated into system work. The importance of such linkages suggests the need for a special programme in this area.
