2.1. Crop Improvement
2.2. Plant Health Management
2.3. Resource and Crop Management Research
2.4. Cross-Divisional Integration
2.5. Support Services
2.6. Overall Assessment
2.1.1. Grain Legume Improvement Programme (GLIP)
2.1.2. Root and Tuber Improvement Programme (RTIP)
2.1.3. Plantain and Banana Improvement Programme (PBIP)
2.1.4. Maize Research Programme (MIP)
2.1.5. Overall Assessment
The Crop Improvement Division (CID) is one of the three new research divisions created since the last EPR. It conveniently brings together in one administrative unit all the plant breeders working at IITA, the majority of whom are located at Ibadan, together with certain support units. This is acknowledged to have improved communication between those working on germplasm enhancement. CID therefore constitutes part of one axis of the evolving matrix of research organization at the Centre. Work is currently undertaken on six mandate crops: cowpea, soybean, cassava, yam, plantain/banana and maize. Since the last EPR, the transfer of all rice improvement work to WARDA has been completed. The transfer of work on sweet potato to CIP was regretted by some NARS representatives in West Africa and members of the staff of IITA, but their concern has hopefully been assuaged by the location of a CIP breeder for this crop at Ibadan.
At the time of this Review, the programme structure of crop improvement work had changed relatively little from the situation at the last EPR, the main change being the separation of banana and plantain work from the former Root, Tuber and Plantain Improvement Programme (TRIP) to constitute an independent programme. Work in this division is therefore reviewed according to the programmes identified as: Grain Legume Improvement, Root and Tuber Improvement, Plantain and Banana Improvement and Maize Improvement. The support units for Biotechnology Research, Genetic Resources and Research Farms also report to the CID Director, but are reviewed in Section 3.5.
In the newly constituted set of 23 projects intended to operate from 1996, CID activities will be represented in 15 projects to varying degrees. It is not yet clear whether the new projects would be arranged in some hierarchical structure relating to the current programme designations. Further reference is made to these issues in Chapter 4.3.3.
2.1.1.1. Cowpea
Background
Earlier work on cowpea at IITA, for which the Centre has the global mandate, resulted in the production of cowpea varieties with sufficient insect resistance to permit their cultivation with 2-3 spray applications, instead of the 8-10 applications required for previously available material. However, these were short-duration varieties of determinate type which were suitable for large-scale farmers who were able to afford some chemical inputs on varieties grown as single crops. They did not meet the requirements of the many small-scale farmers growing cowpea in mixed crops in sorghum/millet systems in the dry savanna zone, for which purpose indeterminate, photosensitive types of spreading habit and long duration as well as early-maturing types were needed. Economic crises in the region since the late 1980s have also rendered the use of pesticides less feasible. The last EPR strongly urged IITA to switch the direction of cowpea improvement to these objectives at its Kano substation in the Sudan savanna.
Achievements, current focus and future plans
IITA has offices, laboratories, a conference room and screenhouses on the same compound as the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) in Kano city and IAR has allocated land for IITA at their research farm at Minjibir, north of Kano. There is further interaction with ICRISAT which provides additional trial facilities at its own site at Bagauda, where joint inter-cropping trials involving cowpea, soybean, sorghum and millet are conducted. Breeding work on cowpea at Kano reflects a systems perspective which permeates the whole programme. This is a good example of interdisciplinary collaboration in which niches for cowpeas are sought in various cropping systems and agronomic treatments.
Essentially, the breeding policy at Kano for such farming systems is to improve local landraces of cowpea by backcrossing lines with multiple disease and insect resistance from the earlier programme and testing the improved germplasm, destined for grain or forage or dual use in mixed cropping systems. The work also includes screening germplasm for resistance to Striga gesneroides and Alectra vogelii and its incorporation into the improved landraces.
However, in order to meet its global mandate for this crop, IITA has continued a parallel programme with short-duration, determinate, non-photosensitive types with multiple pest and disease resistance for broad tropical adaptation.
Improving cowpea germplasm in West Africa involves tackling a complex array of diseases and insect pests in addition to the parasitic plants already mentioned. With respect to diseases, resistance to brown blotch (Colletotrichum truncatum and C. capsici) and bacterial blight (Xanthomonas campestris pv. vignicola) has been incorporated into local landraces and the transfer of scab (Elsinoe phaseoli) resistance is being incorporated. Insect pests, against which some resistance has been incorporated, include aphids, thrips and bruchids. This impressive array of requirements is additional to the need for general agronomic improvements such as drought tolerance.
Resistance to post-flowering insect pests has been targeted as a major objective for the improvement of this crop and the work is proceeding along several parallel lines. Genes conferring partial resistance to Maruca and to pod-sucking bugs found in some cowpea, landraces as well as in wild but cross-compatible relatives are being accumulated in cowpea using a modified recurrent selection procedure. More ambitiously, wide crossing of cowpea to wild Vigna species is being attempted to transfer resistance and there is a substantial programme undertaken in collaboration with several advanced institutes to achieve genetic transformation and regeneration of cowpea. These aspects of this work are concentrated at Ibadan.
On the general agronomic front, the two-year study conducted in 1992-93 on cropping systems of the Sudan savanna has contributed to the development of breeding methods employed both on-station and on-farm. In the on-station work at Kano, the screening of germplasm is undertaken in three husbandry systems: as sole crop with and without insecticidal sprays and in simulated intercrop conditions without insecticidal sprays, the work being complemented by on-farm trials with farmer participation. Such trials are evidently subject to high experimental error; e.g. results from multilocational trials which have been presented have CV values ranging from 30 to 74% which make interpretation difficult and conclusions unsound. There is some evidence of improvement from trials involving intercropping with pearl millet in the absence of insecticide but substantial G x E interaction. Results from farmers' participatory trials are difficult to interpret by standard experimental analysis and different criteria need to be applied. It is recognised that the yield advantages demonstrated in on-station trials for the improved germplasm have not been confirmed in farmers' trials, but farmers are reported to have responded well to the improved varieties which suffer less seed damage by bruchids.
Work on the transfer of resistance to Maruca from wild Vigna species involves conventional genetic studies and the use of RFLP molecular mapping (developed in the University of Minnesota in collaboration with IITA) to identify and, eventually, isolate resistance genes. RAPD markers have also been used to detect interspecific hybrids and also to quantify the genetic diversity present in African domesticated cowpea germplasm.
Assessment
The Centre is to be commended on the good interaction in this programme with both RCMD and PHMD. Integration of the activities at the Kano station with those of the NARS is also to be commended and further encouraged. Given that the northern Guinea Savanna is at the fringe of, and the Sudan savanna (in which the Kano station is located) is outside IITA's ecoregional mandate of subhumid tropics, the development of further collaboration with ICRISAT is greatly to be encouraged at the Kano station and its associated zonal points of contact. The EPMR does not see any great justification at present for discussing the possible transfer of this responsibility from IITA unless on a broader front there is perceived to be an overwhelming case for narrowing the mandate of the Centre. Nor, given the nature of the pest/disease complex, is there any short-term prospect of devolution of the more intricate work to the NARS, although the NARS in Ghana has been particularly effective in developing this crop with the assistance of IITA. Estimated production area for cowpea in Ghana has increased from 94,660 ha in 1977-79 to 146,900 ha in 1987-89, with average yields having doubled in that time. There has been a limited but persistent production and sale of cowpea seed of IITA varieties by seed companies.
Little impact has as yet been demonstrated in the key target area of the Sudan savanna and more precise experimentation will be required than has hitherto been the case, in order to demonstrate progress convincingly. It is pleasing to note therefore that some interest has been elicited among the state-level Agricultural Development Projects (ADPs) in northern Nigeria in cowpea as a dry-season crop, on hydromorphic soils with residual moisture or with irrigation. The improved germplasm which has reduced the need for insecticidal sprays to two or three during the wet season, can be very productive during the dry season when pest pressure is much lower.
The total elimination of insecticide for this crop is a very ambitious target for a highly complex problem and IITA may have to recognize that it is not attainable. The Centre has set itself a deadline of 1998 to make a critical review of the work on all fronts: conventional breeding, wide crossing and genetic transformation; and to decide then on whether continuation of the effort is justifiable. Some progress in regeneration has been demonstrated and work elsewhere has achieved a degree of success in legume transformation. The EPMR endorses the target date of 1998 for assessment, provided that the review is rigorous and involves some independent external participation. Should the review decide that further substantial progress is unlikely, then consideration will need to be given to redeploying some of the present large investment in cowpea improvement, possibly to soybean.
Recommendation:
The Panel recommends that a rigorous review of all aspects of work on cowpea improvement at IITA be undertaken in 1998, with the participation of an external assessor(s), to determine whether the current lines of work will then have shown sufficient progress to justify their continuation.
2.1.1.2. Soybean
Background
Soybean cultivation was introduced into Nigeria in the 1940's but has shown indications of explosive growth, beginning with the restrictions imposed on imports in the 1980's. This is essentially a demand-led phenomenon deriving from domestic and small-scale industrial uptake and spreading to other West and Central African (WCA) countries, although in Côte d'Ivoire some larger-scale production has been evident for some time. FAO data indicate an increase in soybean production in Nigeria from 60 kt in 1979-81 to 160 kt in 1993, the corresponding figures for West Africa as a whole being 62.1 kt and 168.8 kt respectively. In Central Africa, there has been a more modest increase from 8 kt to 16 kt over the same period, while East Africa has increased its production from 25 kt to 115 kt, again over the same period.
Building on the identification of promiscuous nodulation in some germplasm in 1978, the prospects for the widespread adoption of the crop have been greatly enhanced by the confirmation in 1993 of the occurrence of promiscuous nodulation, using a subset of cowpea rhizobia in farmers' fields. IITA has taken a lead in soybean research for production in Africa since the 1970's, with limited resources deployed. In part, it has attempted to strengthen the work of consumer and researcher groups in Nigeria and in other countries such as Ghana, Benin and Togo. Work on soybean utilisation was assisted during the period from 1987-1993 by funding from IDRC and JICA.
Following the termination in 1986 of the additional post for IITA soybean breeding in Brazil the input at Ibadan has been relatively small, with only one breeder deployed. (A second post proposed in the previous review period fell victim to financial cuts). Now, with the well-demonstrated acceptance of soybeans by consumers in Nigeria, IITA is at the crossroads of its decision-making with respect to its involvement in the genetic improvement of this crop.
Achievements, current focus and future plans
The impact of improvement work at IITA to date has understandably been restricted and only some 5 % of the production area in Nigeria is estimated from sales of seed to be planted with IITA-derived varieties.
Target ecologies for the crop improvement programme comprise the Mid-Altitude and Moist Savanna Zones. Using pedigree selection procedures, acceleration is achieved through two field generations per year. There are at present relatively few pests and diseases afflicting the crop, although both may be expected to increase as the crop expands. Earlier concern about the threat of red leaf blotch (Wachtuliochaeta glycines) has somewhat receded since the infection front has not advanced dramatically in West Africa. Nevertheless, breeding for resistance to this disease and also to Cercospora leaf spot is a programme objective. Selection for promiscuous nodulation and for increased nitrogen fixation (the relationship is not linear) are clearly important.
In addition to the obvious aims of high and stable yields, resistance to pod shattering and the possession of good seed colour are important objectives. It is already being observed that insect problems are increasing so that pod-sucking bugs and defoliating insects are receiving attention. To assist in the selection for these desiderata, the breeding nurseries are sown without rhizobial inoculum being applied and with fertilizer application at a minimum level for adequate crop growth. No other chemicals, fungicides or insecticides are used. There is collaboration with the University of Hawaii on rhizobial nodulation on promiscuous soybeans and collaboration with RCMD on phosphate-use efficiency.
Evidence presented to the Panel from multilocational trials in Nigeria indicates a clear improvement in the yield performance of IITA breeding lines relative to the most widely grown variety, Samsoy 2, over the period 1988 to 1993. This increase in yield potential has generally been accompanied by increased resistance to fungal pathogens and in some cases, with reduced pod-shattering and improved seed colour. Analysis of G x E effects over trials conducted at lowland humid forest, moist savanna and mid-altitude sites during 1990-93 established that they were significant; but they arose from the mix of genotypes and could not be attributed to specific climatic conditions. Farmer acceptance of improved varieties of soybean has been generally good in the past and the programme is rapidly approaching the time when its impact should be measurable in terms of a greater uptake of IITA-derived varieties than has been evident up to the present. Improved germplasm has been distributed to and received by NARS in Nigeria, Ghana, Zaire, Uganda and Cameroon; but the Panel is unable to make any assessment of its uptake in these countries.
Assessment
All the indications are that the present trend of increased production of soybeans in sub-Saharan Africa will continue. Until now the principal impact of IITA has been to assist in the acceptance of the crop by end users and to demonstrate that it can be grown without rhizobial inoculation. The crop is now finding ready acceptance in the direct domestic use of unprocessed soybean at the household level through to small scale industrial manufacture and commercial sale of processed products. Increased pest and disease problems are almost inevitable if, as expected, the production area increases dramatically. There is likely, therefore, to be a clear need for improved germplasm.
In the opinion of the Panel, the present programme of soybean improvement is under-resourced in relation to the anticipated increase of interest in the crop. The Panel accepts the view of IITA that at present there is a need for a soybean breeder to be based at ESARC (Uganda) to strengthen collaboration with NARS in East and Southern Africa and to develop improved soybean germplasm adapted to the mid-altitudes and higher southerly latitudes of this region. Traits of primary interest would include resistance to red leaf blotch, promiscuous nodulation and resistance to pod shattering. The Centre should give urgent consideration to expanding work on this crop, either by seeking additional resources or by redeploying existing resources and to formulating a clear plan for the expanded activity.
Recommendation
The Panel recommends that IITA increase its effort on producing improved soybean germplasm for the moist savanna and mid-altitude areas of sub-Saharan Africa, either by redeployment of existing resource or by seeking additional resource.
This programme now comprises activity on two crops: cassava, for which IITA has a mandate for the continent of Africa and yam, for which it has the global mandate.
2.1.2.1. Cassava
Background
Within the CGIAR System the other major responsibility for cassava improvement resides with CIAT. There has been good collaboration between the two IARCs and this is continuing.
Cassava is one of the most important staple food crops after maize in SSA. It is becoming of greater importance in terms of food security, since it is seen increasingly as a reserve in times of droughts, which have particularly affected maize production in East and Southern Africa in recent years. IITA's host country, Nigeria, is now the single largest producer in the world. Generally, in Africa, cassava is still seen as providing a reserve food for small-scale farmers and has not developed as a large-scale crop for industrial processing and export as it has in certain Asian countries, although this area is also growing in importance in Nigeria.
IITA has in the past been noted for its development of biological control systems for cassava mealybug (CM; Phenacoccus manihoti) and PHMD is currently testing/releasing predators to develop a biological control system for cassava green mite (CGM; Mononychellus tanajoa). IITA's second major contribution has been the production and distribution of cassava germplasm with resistance to several important diseases, especially African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) and cassava bacterial blight (CBB; Xanthomonas campestris pv. manihotis) and cassava anthracnose (CAD; Colletotrichum gleosporioides). Selection of clones with a lower content of cyanogenic compounds has also been a major objective. IITA has invested much effort on strengthening cassava improvement in the NARS through training and technical backstopping.
Achievements, current focus and future plans
Major developments of relevance to the cassava improvement programme since the last EPR have been the completion of COSCA and the establishment of ESARC at Namulonge, Uganda with a substantial commitment to the transfer of IITA's cassava technology to East Africa.
The 1990 EPR criticized this programme (in its former incarnation as TRIPP) on several counts: a lack of innovative research, a lack of hard evidence of impact, a lack of clear programme focus, a lack of appreciation and of quantitative evaluation of genotype x environment (G x E) interactions leading to inadequate targeting of specific agroecologies, a lack of physiological research, insufficient research on the relationship between yield and disease expression, and poor liaison between the BCP at Cotonou and the programme based in Nigeria. It encouraged further collaboration with CIAT, especially the interchange of germplasm to enlarge the gene pool in Africa and anticipated benefits to be derived from the development of material with varying ploidy level resulting from inter-specific hybridization. It further urged the expansion of work on postharvest technology. It is appropriate to devote part of this section of the current report to reviewing IITA's responses to these comments.
The Panel's view on scientific innovation in TRIP is presented in the next section of this report.
With regard to impact assessment, the Panel has considered this in a more general context in Chapter 7.2. More specifically in relation to cassava, IITA has responded strongly. The Centre has recently used data from the COSCA project to calculate that improved varieties from the Institute have contributed an extra 1.4 million tonnes per annum of "gari" than would have been available from unimproved varieties sufficient to feed 29 million people. These figures would allow considerable error in estimation and still demonstrate substantial impact. Furthermore, the Panel considers that the dismissal of all verbal evidence as "anecdotal" is too severe. During the present review members of the Panel were assured by extension officers from the Shell Petroleum Company in discussions at the Onne station that IITA varieties with resistance to CBB saved many people in eastern Nigeria from starvation in the 1970's when the crop was in danger of being wiped out by this disease.
With respect to studies of G x E interactions in cassava, the Panel was presented with extensive documentation by IITA in the form of archival reports of TRIP covering the period 1989-93. These contain reports of numerous trials of genotypes under selection in a wide range of environments which provide a base data pool from which estimates of G x E interaction can be derived, in addition to special studies established more specifically to investigate stability by G x E effects. These comprise:
· the nature and causes of G x E interactions in cassava
· the stability of resistance to pests and diseases
· G x E interactions for yield and yield components and
· G x E interactions relating to cyanogenic potential and dry matter content.
In addition, data from International trials covering various locations in Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria have been analyzed for G x E effects. The interaction of cassava genotype x cropping system in the Moist Savanna Zone is currently being studied and it is intended to duplicate these activities in East and Southern Africa through the root crop networks and ESARC. Available geographical information system (GIS) facilities will also be used in these studies.
IITA has responded to the deficiency in physiological studies identified by the 1990 EPR by initiating studies of the growth, development and morpho-physiological characteristics of cassava in the target agroecologies of the dry savanna and mid-altitudes zones. This is in line with the shift in emphasis in the programme from the traditional concern with lowland humid forest and transition zones to the lowland moist and dry savannas and the mid-altitudes zones, in recognition of the movement of the crop into these agroecologies and the increasing importance of cassava throughout SSA, though the bulk of production is still in the more humid areas.
A substantial body of work on crop physiology of cassava is reported in the TRIP archives referred to above. These studies have concentrated on abiotic stress responses of cassava genotypes and have included studies of stomatal behaviour in both wild species, cultivated genotypes and clones of various ploidy levels, of Manihot. Screening for tolerance of low seasonal and minimum night temperatures in the mid-altitudes is an essential feature of the search for adaptation of cassava to these environments. Traditional growth analysis is being employed in the formulation, validation and testing of cassava ideotypes for different agroecologies.
Although hybridization is not generally difficult to effect in cassava, some genotypes exhibit "shy flowering" and the synchronization of flowering of these types in crossing blocks can be difficult. Various studies have therefore been initiated on problems of reproductive biology to help to overcome this. An important development in the period under review has been the identification of a location (Ubiaja) at which local land races have been induced to flower, thereby enabling the gene pool to be enriched with locally adapted material through hybridization. Investigations are continuing to develop appropriate artificial methods of flower induction.
Interspecific hybridization has generated new hybrid combinations, notably with increased root protein content and resistance to CGM from Manihot tristis. Investigations of polyploids (derived in several ways), including the development of methodology for their use, have indicated their high yield potential with prospects for improved dry-matter content and pest resistance. There has however been some questioning of the sustainability of higher-yielding cassava material which may excessively deplete soil minerals. Agronomic studies on this issue are in progress within the programme in the Moist Savanna Zone in Nigeria; however, this would seem to be an appropriate area for interdisciplinary work, particularly with RCMD. The cytogenetic relationships of 12 wild Manihot species have been elucidated in more basic studies.
Links with the entomologists in Cotonou are still weak but interaction does take place through exchange visits, workplan discussions and through joint efforts in ESCaPP and the root crops networks (EARRNET and SARRNET). There has been no entomologist assigned to work on host plant resistance breeding in cassava since 1990. However, in complementation of work on biological control of CGM, work has advanced on breeding for host plant resistance based on new introductions from Latin America, from some African land races and from wild species. Resistant genotypes and special seed populations which are targeted at this problem have been transferred to collaborating NARS upon request.
Some diversion of resources has resulted from capitalizing on earlier successes and reducing work on resistance to ACMV and to CBB to maintenance levels, while maintaining strict selection against susceptibility to these two diseases. There is, however, some evidence of a new strain of ACMV in Uganda which may be responsible for reports of severe outbreaks of the disease. IITA has delivered large quantities of seed populations generated by hybridization of various sources of resistance and is planning epidemiological studies. There is excellent collaboration with the local NARS from ESARC at Namulonge where the headquarters of EARRNET is also located.
Close interaction with CIAT has developed further during the review period. The flow of material, as seed, from Latin America has been facilitated by the presence of a CIAT Liaison Scientist based at Ibadan and material is now being targeted at four agroecologies: humid, subhumid, dry savanna and mid-altitudes. Improved materials from the IITA programme are being widely distributed to the various NARS in the form of virus-indexed plantlets from tissue culture, clean vegetative material (mostly within Nigeria) or as seed. There is ample competence in several NARS to develop varieties from basically unselected, highly heterogeneous populations generated by IITA and the proportion of material handled in this way is increasing. In Uganda, improved varieties have demonstrated the value of host plant resistance in the face of a severe outbreak of cassava mosaic virus in that country.
There has been increased emphasis on breeding for improved food quality with, inter alia, early and regular assessments for dry matter content, starch yield and quality, cooking characteristics, presence of B-carotene and suitability for the preparation of traditional and non-traditional foods. In Uganda, for example, some 30 products have been introduced and gained acceptance, partly through the intervention of IITA. There has also been a considerable investment in developing techniques for determination of cyanogenic potential (CNP) and in training NARS personnel in their use.
The prospects for transformation of cassava have been advanced by the successful development of a protocol for regeneration by somatic embryogenesis of leaf tissue.
In molecular biology, clonal identification in mixtures has been established by DNA fingerprinting and the development of RAPD patterns for individual clones.
Assessment
The cassava programme is dealing with a wide range of urgent, practical problems effectively. It possibly comes closer than is the case with some of IITA's other mandate crops to the projected role for an IARC of devolving much of the applied work on the crop to the NARS while maintaining technical backstopping and some basic work at the Institute. While scientific innovation in the programme has not been conspicuous, there have been useful advances in cytogenetics and cellular biotechnology during the period of review and molecular marker techniques have also been used to some purpose.
The entomological input to the programme is weak. However, the Panel has greater concern that resources for plant pathology of cassava, which were non-existent between 1991 to 1994 and restricted to one post-doctoral fellow since then, are inadequate. A recommendation concerning this is made in Section 2.2.3. The Panel recognizes that there is good and effective interaction between the virologist and the cassava programme.
The Panel is pleased to note the very positive interaction between CIAT and IITA in terms of germplasm introduction, exchange visits of staff, joint publication of a newsletter and joint involvement in two networks. There is also some joint planning of work involved. IITA and CIAT are both to be congratulated on their increasingly fruitful interaction.
Good use has been made by the programme of results from the COSCA study to identify end-user requirements for maturity, suitability for various cropping systems and type of product consumed. COSCA data have also been used to assist in targeting crop characteristics for various ecological zones of the mandate area.
The Panel considers that the programme has made a vigorous and appropriate response to earlier criticism of inadequate attention to G x E interactions. As a consequence of the studies being undertaken, there is an improved identification of the type of genotype required for particular environments, especially as the genetic improvement work follows the crop into the Moist Savanna and Mid-Altitude Zones.
The original intention of IITA to locate a cassava breeder in Cameroon was cancelled for financial reasons. While NARS capability in cassava improvement in Cameroon, supported by good interaction with IITA, is very strong, the Panel understands that this is not the case in Central Africa generally. IITA therefore needs to reappraise this situation and, given the importance of cassava in this region, to formulate a proposal for increasing its activity.
Recommendation:
The Panel recommends that IITA review the scale of its activity in cassava improvement in the Humid Forest Zone, particularly with respect to Central Africa and formulate a proposal to enhance the uptake of its technology by the national programmes for cassava improvement in this region.
Plant physiology is often regarded by plant breeders more as a retrospective rather than a predictive aid to their work. The cassava programme has initiated work in the area in which it is most required and has directed it, in most cases to assist in the identification of suitable parental material. In the opinion of the Panel, this is a proper use of the discipline in the context of the cassava improvement programme. However, the Panel believes that the current level of investment in plant physiology within the programme should not be increased unless there is further devolution of some of the work on genetic improvement to the NARS.
2.1.2.2. Yam
IITA has the global mandate for this crop within the CGIAR System.
Background
Yam is overwhelmingly a West African crop, some 90% of the world's production being contained in the six countries comprising the "yam belt" stretching from Côte d'Ivoire to Cameroon. Within this area, Nigeria dominates yam production, perhaps with as much as 75% of world production, but there are few reliable statistics available. The crop is also a valued part of the diet in the Caribbean, the Pacific basin and in parts of Asia. It is particularly prized in West Africa where it is integral to the local culture. NARS representatives in Kenya suggested to members of the Panel that yam cultivation there has been underestimated.
The genus Dioscorea is a very ancient Angiosperm comprising some 600 species of which about 12 are used for food in varying degrees. In Africa, the principal species used for food are the water yam (D. alata) and the white yam (D. rotundata) although some consider that D. dumetorum receives insufficient attention. Generally, the crop is under-researched and has been subjected to little genetic improvement, partly because it flowers rarely, with varying expression of the basic dioecious condition.
The 1990 EPR made no specific recommendation on yam except to suggest continuance of work at the existing level and to encourage links with advanced institutes to research the problem of "shy-flowering".
Achievements, current focus and future plans
White yam is being routinely distributed as in vitro virus-indexed plants by IITA to the NARS. Distribution of improved water yam material in this way is currently precluded by virus problems, so reliance is placed on the provision of seed from crossing blocks to those NARS in SSA and elsewhere that are interested in establishing seedling nurseries for subsequent clonal selection. A fundamental objective is the maintenance of yield stability in the material as it moves out of the traditional yam zone, since the area of cultivation is expanding into the moist savanna.
The crop has the advantage of being plantable in the dry season and is capable of long term storage for consumption and planting. It is labour-intensive and the proportion of the crop traditionally retained for planting is high. IITA has made a valuable contribution to easing this problem by developing minisett technology in collaboration with the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike which has facilitated the in-country distribution of improved materials and also the maintenance of germplasm in the GRU and breeding programme. Research into the induction of virus-indexed micro-tubers is already yielding benefits in the distribution of planting material. Current emphasis is on improving uniformity of sprouting of the micro-tubers.
Major advances have been made in the induction of flowering, particularly in white yam, as a result of optimizing husbandry practices and screening the germplasm collection for land races that are flower more freely. This has enabled an enlargement of the operational gene pool to be effected.
Molecular analysis at IITA has made a valuable scientific contribution to our understanding of the origin and phylogeny of Guinea yams. This, in combination with progress in cellular biotechnology offers further pointers for genetic improvement.
Assessment
The 1990 EPR contended that comparative advantage in yam improvement resided with the NARS. Certainly there is competence within Nigeria at NRCRI, Umudike to undertake much of the work being done by IITA, but there are problems of funding. The Panel understands that there is also a strong yam-breeding programme in the NARS of the Republic of Benin. Despite considerable interest in the crop, there is no breeder for yams in the NARS in Ghana. The relationship of IITA to the NARS in yam improvement is broadly similar to the situation with respect to cassava. There is already considerable devolution of applied breeding and selection work, but IITA provides indispensable technical backstopping and basic research. Given the present financial state of the NARS, this work needs to be maintained for the time being. There appears to be good interaction with the HPRP of PHMD, especially in the area of pathology.
Recommendation:
The Panel recommends that IITA maintain its work on yam improvement at the current level while seeking every opportunity to devolve more of the applied work progressively to the NARS, possibly by subcontracting.
Background
Work on plantain at IITA began in 1979 with a primary focus on crop management, though some work on taxonomy and the selection of cultivars was also initiated. Plantain improvement was introduced as a component of the former TRIPP programme in 1988. With the creation of CID in 1991, PBIP was established as a separate programme with its base at the High Rainfall Station at Onne. The disease Black Sigatoka (BS; Mycosphaerella fijiensis), which originated in Fiji, appeared in southern Africa in the 1970's and by the 1980's was presenting a serious threat to the plantain crop in West and Central Africa. Control by fungicide was not a feasible option for economic and other reasons.
In the expectation that control of the disease by introducing genetic resistance into the plantain host would be a long-term process, initial containment of the problem was sought through modifying agronomic practice and what was seen as a temporary expedient of replacing plantain with cooking bananas which are resistant to the disease. Varieties identified as resistant varieties were rapidly multiplied by in vitro techniques in collaboration with INIBAP. These cooking bananas met initially with much consumer resistance, but a public education campaign in the use of this "new" staple food has gradually resulted in their greater acceptance by farmers and consumers.
The period under review has seen a further shift in emphasis from agronomy to genetic improvement of plantain at Onne, although the approach is still viewed as holistic.
A further major development has been the establishment of ESARC at Namulonge, Uganda with a substantial component of the work dedicated to transferring banana/plantain technology from Onne to an East African context, where highland cooking and beer bananas comprise the dominant edible agricultural crop.
Achievements, current focus and future plans
The rate of success in transferring genetic resistance to BS in plantain has proceeded at a pace exceeding the expectations of IITA or anyone else. Within six years from the start of the work BS-resistant, tetraploid hybrids derived from plantain and cooking banana have been produced with substantially improved yields (up to 225 % more than the parent variety in the absence of fungicide), with large fruits, better ratooning and shorter production cycles. The primary source of improved tetraploid hybrids was created by crossing triploid plantains to a non-edible diploid with exceptionally good male fertility and a high level of BS resistance. Fourteen tetraploid hybrids have now been registered in the public domain as open-stock, and are freely available, for international use. An equivalent number of plantain-derived diploids have also been registered for use as parental material. This achievement resulted in the Institute receiving the King Baudouin Award in 1994. The Panel wishes to endorse the international acclaim which this work has received.
This success in the breeding work is attributable to a combination of conventional and innovative cross-breeding techniques and the exploitation of the fortuitous finding that seed set at Onne is unusually high. The work has also cast new light on segregation in the triploid genome and generated large numbers of diploid progeny for use in plantain improvement at other ploidy levels. Genetic analysis in Musa, which hitherto has been very difficult, has thereby been facilitated. The ultimate breeding strategy is to produce secondary triploid plantains with good expression of resistance to BS. In addition, as a result of the highly satisfactory progress in breeding for BS resistance, breeding for other desirable traits will receive greater attention. These include a better plant type (i.e. deeper rooting, better suckering, less tall, drought tolerant) and resistance to other major biotic stresses (e.g. weevils, nematodes).
It is most regrettable that the dissemination of this improved germplasm is being delayed by the occurrence of banana streak virus (BSV) in tissue culture-derived plantlets. However, IITA is to be complimented on its rapid response to tackling the BSV problem. A project in the Biotechnology Research Unit (BRU) in collaboration with the John Innes Centre (UK) with funding from the Gatsby Foundation will facilitate diagnosis. Similarly a World Bank/IFC funded project for virus elimination from germplasm stocks and some epidemiological studies of BSV is underway, based at the Onne Station.
Other developments in cellular biotechnology have included the transfer of a protocol, developed in collaboration with the Catholic University of Leuven, for regeneration of Musa genotypes from cell suspensions, to the tissue culture laboratory at Onne. Techniques for shoot-tip culture in vitro are now routine and methods of embryo rescue have been refined. Collaborative projects in molecular biology have been concerned with developing linkage maps of the Musa genome and the use of RAPD markers to screen for off-types.
At ESARC, more attention is to be given to banana weevils (Cosmopolites sordidus) which are a major pest in the mid-altitudes. This pest is receiving attention from the out-posted PHMD entomologist. Beer bananas are more resistant to weevils than cooking bananas and can be used in breeding for resistance. There is also a complex of plant parasitic nematodes which cause widespread problems through damage to the root system. To tackle these problems, PHMD has appointed a core nematologist based at ESARC. Priorities for leaf diseases will also be different from the lowland rainforest environment at Onne but this station will nevertheless continue to generate basic populations for evaluation and selection in Uganda.
Assessment
PBIP is justifiably considered to be one of the conspicuous successes of IITA, displaying a good mix of innovative science and practical achievement. The Panel confidently expects that further advances will be made on the sound basis already established.
The PBIP programme at Onne is being vigorously pursued at a well-run station. The Panel was particularly impressed by the integration of product development for plantain and banana undertaken as part of the postharvest technology input. The tissue culture laboratory is providing a vital service but IITA needs to consider whether any future plans to become involved in molecular techniques would overlap with activities at Ibadan.
IITA should as a matter of urgency press forward its efforts to overcome the problem which has arisen with BSV, in order that the successes of the breeding programme can be exploited by the uninhibited movement of improved germplasm.
A good start has been made in setting up ESARC at Namulonge, where there is fruitful interaction between the breeding and entomological work from IITA representatives and also good interaction between them and the local NARS. IITA needs to reconsider the reporting structure for the station head of ESARC who has no designated line manager and instead reports to a committee (RDC) in the absence of a DDG(R). There is a danger that he will fall into limbo since his formal administrative link to CID has been severed.
The Panel was disappointed to find little or no evidence of interaction at present between CID and PHMD at the Onne station, where the pathologists have been conducting an epidemiological investigation into BS that runs in parallel with the crop improvement work, without visible contact. Since Onne is the only out-station where all three research divisions are represented, this is a pity. IITA needs to consider how to rectify this situation in order to continue interdivisional collaboration.
Background
It has been estimated that there are some 21 million ha of maize in Africa, characterized by low average yields (800-1200 kg/ha) owing to the presence of numerous diseases, insect pests, weed and parasitic plants and the frequent unavailability of chemical inputs. In the past decade there has been a tremendous expansion of maize production in the savannas of West and Central Africa, the estimated cropping area for WCA in 1990-92 being 6.5 million ha of which some 20% has been assigned by CIMMYT to improved varieties. Under the 1977 CGIAR mandate, IITA has the responsibility for maize improvement in the humid and sub-humid regions of Africa, cooperating where appropriate with other international institutes. An agreement with CIMMYT effectively consigns maize improvement in East and Southern Africa to CIMMYT with inputs from IITA in the realm of plant health. CIMMYT germplasm has been utilized extensively by the IITA programme over the years. Several of the widely-grown IITA populations were derived from CIMMYT germplasm. The history of a poor relationship between the two IARCs resulting from overlapping mandates was considered at some length by the 1990 EPR and need not be repeated here.
The geographic focus of the MIP at IITA covers four agroecologies: humid forest, forest-savanna transition, Guinea savanna and mid-altitudes, with priority assigned to the latter two because of their high production potential. Particular emphasis has been given to the northern Guinea savanna, with both a liaison scientist and the WECAMAN coordinator deployed to northern Côte d'Ivoire, where they conduct maize breeding activities in collaboration with IDESSA in Ferkessedougou.
Achievements, current focus and future plans
One of IITA's major past achievements has been breeding for resistance to maize streak virus (MSV) which resulted in the widespread dissemination of improved germplasm and the Institute's receipt of the King Baudouin Award in 1988. Susceptibility to this disease was a conspicuous weakness of CIMMYT material in WCA which necessitated hybridization with streak-resistant sources. This aspect of the MIP at IITA has now been put on a maintenance basis, as has the work on breeding for resistance to rust (Puccinia polysora and P. sorghi) and southern leaf blight (Bipolaris maydis). Resistance to stem borers (Eldana spp. and Sesamia spp.) has received some attention for the humid forest and forest-savanna zones as has resistance to northern leaf blight (Exserohilum turcicum) for mid-altitudes. There has also been a steady improvement in the level of resistance to downy mildew (Peronosclerospora sorghi).
The current programme is organized with two main components: inbred lines/hybrids and open-pollinated varieties (OPV).
A major development in the review period has been the implementation of a Comprehensive Breeding Programme (CBP) as defined by Eberhart. This was prefaced by a reduction in the number of breeders from six to two between 1988 and 1992, which has necessitated a substantial scaling-down of activity, especially in the OPV work. MIP works in close collaboration with the WECAMAN network. Work carried out in the second phase of the SAFGRAD project made a substantial contribution towards development and distribution of germplasm with improved drought tolerance for the semi-arid regions of WCA.
There has been a major effort on the control of Striga by genetic improvement as part of IITA's integrated programme during the period under review. Infestation and evaluation methodology has been involved and contributions made to knowledge of the inheritance of Striga resistance. Selection is carried out to reduce Striga emergence (and seed production), and to reduce damage to the host plant. Greatest progress to date has been achieved in reducing host plant damage ("tolerance") under field conditions. Striga emergence and tolerance appear to be independently inherited. Concerted efforts are now underway to find better sources of resistance to further reduce Striga reproduction.
Studies of G x E in maize international trials have shown that the breeding work at IITA has resulted in selection for broad adaptation. During the review period, IITA established a laboratory for evaluating maize grain quality which is playing an increasing role in backstopping NARS and industries in the area of maize utilization.
A collaborative project funded by GTZ during 1992-1995 on root morphology in relation to nitrogen-use efficiency has provided a framework for further work on improving nitrogen stress tolerance through breeding.
Assessment
The Panel is pleased to record that relationships with CIMMYT are now much improved. There is still some concern, however, that interaction between the two IARCs is limited, especially in Côte d'Ivoire where parallel programmes exist. Collaboration in genetic improvement is essentially conceived as exchanging slots in each other's trial systems. Both Centres should seek to reduce the possibility of further friction arising from a misperception of mandate in the northern Guinea savanna. It might be argued that IITA should now relinquish its remaining mandate for maize in WCA to CIMMYT. The Panel believes that the case for this is not strong, except for dedicated rationalizers of the CGIAR System. Clearly, the relevant work needs to be conducted in WCA on something like the current scale and there seems to be no advantage per se in shunting resource from one part of the System to another.
IITA needs to review its policy on breeding hybrids. In on-farm trials, hybrid advantage of 20-30% (and more in Sasakawa Global 2000 trials) has been demonstrated in the northern Guinea savanna, which is undoubtedly an area of great potential. Inbreds and hybrids developed at IITA provided the foundation for development of private seed companies in Nigeria in the 1980's. However, the present economic climate in WCA and in Nigeria in particular is not conducive to a thriving private sector and the capacity of the NARS for large-scale seed production of hybrids is questionable. In any case, the heterotic potential of populations should be maintained and enhanced, so that inbred lines which show good hybrid vigour in crosses could be readily extracted at any time, should the economic situation improve.
The Panel commends IITA on its integrated work on Striga to which MIP has made a major contribution. This is probably now the most important single aspect of the MIP and should be regarded as the irreducible minimum in any further retrenchment.
Generally, NARS ability to take over the work of the IARCs is more evident in cereal improvement than is the case with most other crops. However, attempts by IITA to devolve some aspects of the maize work, e.g. stem borer resistance, have met with considerable opposition from some NARS. This work is of especial importance to the Humid Forest Zone where the production of "green" maize is economically significant. Nevertheless, a further retreat by IITA to the more strategic aspects of maize improvement should be encouraged. For the medium term, these would include Striga resistance, research on drought tolerance, on the efficiency of nitrogen use and on host plant resistance to pathogens which produce grain toxins. It would also in the short term include breeding for resistance to stem borer, although the problem of assumption by the NARS is one of resource rather than of entomological competence. This situation should be reviewed in three-four years' time. The routine maintenance and distribution of improved germplasm should be capable of early devolution to the NARS, as should breeding for resistance to downy mildew.
The report of the TAC Study on CGIAR Commitments in West Africa specifically recommended devolution of maize research for the humid forest zone from IITA to the NARS. The potential for devolution of maize breeding activities for the Humid Forest Zone to NARS was discussed during the 1993 internal review of CID. It was agreed that, although the downy mildew resistance breeding work could potentially be transferred to NARS, the involvement of IITA is justified for several more years. Breeding activities must be carried out in Nigeria, where the maize strain of downy mildew occurs. IITA should utilize the improved screening methods now available to quickly obtain varieties with high levels of resistance, as part of the efforts to curtail the rapid spread of downy mildew in the region. Progress in improving the levels of resistance, the economic situation in Nigeria and capacity of Nigerian NARS must be reviewed in the next several years to determine if a devolution of the breeding work can be effected.
Recommendation:
The Panel recommends that IITA, in its continuing reorganization of the Maize Improvement Programme, seek ways of devolving more of its work on genetic improvement of maize to NARS in the region.
The remit of CID with six mandate crops continues to be broader than that of most other genetic improvement teams within the CGIAR System. However, the Panel sees no overwhelming case in the present situation for recommending a reduction. Good progress is being made on a broad front and the leadership of the division is firm, clear and well articulated, though a less authoritarian style would sometimes be better received.
IITA has already obtained funding to extend and improve the facilities for its work in the moist savanna at Ferkessedougou in Côte d'Ivoire. The Panel is aware that an internal debate is continuing at the Institute on whether this will cover the need for additional work in this Zone for the foreseeable future. A major decision will therefore have to be faced by the Division and by IITA on the extent of its future involvement in the Moist Savanna Zone since this has great potential importance for the exploitation of several of the commodities upon which work on genetic improvement is undertaken. It is in this area also that CID interacts most effectively with RCMD, with emphasis currently on the grain crops (mainly maize and soybean). Collaboration with PHMD, particularly HPRP, is more evident across a wider range of activities.
The Panel believes that soybean improvement is currently under-resourced and that, if necessary, there may have to be redeployment from the substantial effort on cowpea which is facing formidable challenges with uncertain prospects of success.
The collaborative work on Striga and other parasitic plants on maize and cowpeas is beginning to show results and this must for the foreseeable future be considered a key activity, especially with regard to the now much-reduced maize improvement work. Relations with CIMMYT are greatly improved, but there are still some adjustments to be made, especially with regard to the work in the northern Guinea savanna.
In the root and tuber crops the practice of leaving much of the adaptive work to the NARS, with technical backstopping from IITA should continue, while also ensuring the future of basic and strategic research at the Institute. IITA still has much to do in the realm of making secure the African genetic resources in these crops, in which it is admirably served by the GRU.
The work on plantain/bananas was highly praised by the previous EPR and this Panel is pleased to add its endorsement. It hopes that the present difficulties with BSV will be shortly overcome so that the benefits of this improved planting material can be spread widely in SSA.
CID is developing a strong corporate identity and has the advantage for both geographic and disciplinary reasons of being a more coherent entity than either of the other two divisions. It is a productive organization and the Panel commends its achievements.
2.2.1. Overview and Evolution of the Programme
2.2.2. Biological Control Programme (BCP)
2.2.3. Host Plant Resistance Programme and Habitat Management Programme
2.2.4. Overall Assessment
At the time of the 1990 EPR, plant health management research was dispersed over:
· the various Commodity Improvement Programmes (root, tuber and plantain; grain legumes, maize, rice) and linked mainly with breeding for pest- or disease-resistant genotypes at Ibadan· the Biological Control Programme, focused on cassava pests, relocated since 1988 at the Cotonou station in Benin
· the Virology Unit, one of the Research Support Units at Ibadan.
These various groups had been associated with major achievements, such as the development of high-yielding cassava clones with various degrees of resistance to African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) and cassava bacterial blight (CBB, Xanthomonas campestris pv. Manihotis);, maize cultivars resistant to maize streak virus and Africa-wide control of cassava mealybug (CM, Phenacoccus manihoti) by release of the parasite Epidinocarsis lopezi. IITA received the King Baudouin Award for the latter two achievements.
The interest and the need for an integration of the tactics of using both host plant resistance and classical biological control within the framework of an IITA Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy was analysed critically at various levels. The 1990 EPR recommended "that the Biological Control Programme evolves into a Biological and Integrated Control Programme (BICP) and that a Thematic Working Group on Plant Protection is established, including all plant protectionists, no matter where they are located". An internal Review of Pest Management in 1990 and further discussions led to the creation of the Plant Health Management Division (PHMD), comprising three programmes: the Biological Control Programme (BC), the Host Plant Resistance Programme (HPR) and the Habitat Management Programme (HM), each headed by an elected programme leader. Plant health staff who were located in the crop improvement programmes together with the Virology Unit were moved to a PHMD Programme with effect from 1 January 1992. A PHMD Technology Transfer and Training Unit (TT&TU), for the implementation and establishment of sustainable crop protection systems with a strong biological control basis in Africa, as well as IITA's insect museum and identification service, are located at the Cotonou station. A small Seed Health Unit (SHU) is located at Ibadan.
This organizational structure of PHMD is confirmed in the IITA Medium-Term Plan 1994-1998 and its function defined as follows: "PHMD engages in strategic and applied research on crop/pest/environment interactions, in partnership with the national programmes of sub-Saharan African countries. PHMD develops and implements ecologically sound interventions for African farming systems, to provide solutions to today's plant health problems and prevent those of tomorrow... PHMD programmes cooperate closely with CID and RCMD in the development of sustainable plant health management systems."
Taking into consideration the importance of the research in biological control as a component of IITA's core plant protection research, TAC has recommended to CGIAR the allocation of additional core resources to IITA for 1998 in the framework of the Centre Medium-Term Plans 1994-98. TAC expects IITA to fund the operational costs of the biological control programme from core.
IITA is actively involved in setting up a Systemwide Programme for Integrated Pest Management (SPIPM). At the CGIAR Mid-Term Meeting of 1994, Centre Directors confirmed the continued role of IITA as Convening Centre to develop this initiative further. At a recent meeting, the Intercentre Working Group for SPIPM prepared a draft policy statement on IPM intended to guide the application of IPM in CGIAR activities, as well as providing a definition of IPM appropriate for the specific situation of the IARCs.
To assist in assessing PHMDs achievement and future plans with regards to IPM, this definition is given below:
"Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is here defined as ecologically-based pest management that promotes the health of crops and animals, and makes full use of natural and cultural control processes and methods, including host resistance and biological control. It uses chemical pesticides only where and when the above measures fail to keep pests below damaging levels. All interventions are need-based and are applied in ways that minimise undesirable side effects."
Since 1994 PHMD has, for its working programme, adopted a project structure with numerous cross-Programme and cross-Division linkages with the objective of developing of IPM strategies for various commodities and ecoregions. The contribution of each individual is thus, per se, difficult to assess. Up to 1992 some activities were executed within the commodity programmes before transfer of the plant health staff to PHMD. The project set-up is still and will continue to be in a dynamic evolution. In order to allow easier comparison with the 1990 EPR, the review of the PHMD activities is presented following the Programme subdivision.
The fame of BCP is founded on the successful Africa-wide release of the exotic parasitoid Epidinocarsis lopezi for the control of the cassava mealybug (CM), Phenacoccus manihoti. Around a rather small team of permanent core principal scientific staff (4), including the PHMD director, there is a large group of principal staff on external funding (3), postdoctoral fellows, associate experts, visiting scientists, or consultants (10) as well as Ph.D. (13) and M.S. students (10). The activities are located at the IITA Benin Station, Cotonou and are linked to many collaborating institutes all over the world.
2.2.2.1. Achievements, current focus and future plans
A. Classical biological control
Cassava mealybug
Detailed impact studies have been conducted since the 1990 EPR in most African countries and have confirmed that E. lopezi becomes established and reduces CM to a minor pest in about two years after release. The reduction is less satisfactory in a few fields on degraded sandy soil lacking organic matter. Research has been continued on these sites and has demonstrated that mulching allows reduction of CM population to acceptable levels. Three promising exotic coccinellids have shown a lower capacity for establishment than E. lopezi in these situations. Further improvement of CM control thus relies mostly on improved farming practice. Consequently the activities on CM biological control have been wound down. Mass rearing of CM natural enemies came to an end in 1993 but cultures of the parasites are kept for further use. The effectiveness of the control is monitored through the ESCaPP (Ecologically Sustainable Cassava Plant Protection) project covering Benin, Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria.
Cassava green mite
Work on the exotic cassava green mite (CGM), Mononychellus tanajoa, started in 1984. It has been based on the introduction and testing of a range of natural enemies from South America and in recent years, on assessment of the contribution of entomopathogenic fungi such as Neozygites sp. Progress appeared to be much slower than for CM control. Systematic agroecological studies allowed more selective foreign explorations with a shift from Colombia to ecological zones in Brazil that where similar to those in Africa where CGM is a serious pest. This was the basis for the identification and release of the phytoseiid predator Typhlodromalus manihoti, which was discovered in late 1993 to be well established along the coast in Ghana, and of T. aripo, released in Benin in late 1993 and discovered dispersing over 1,500 km2 in less than a year over different ecological zones. Together with Neoseilus ideaeus, these two predators have opened very positive perspectives for sustainable control of CGM in the near future. Work will proceed along these very promising lines. Foreign exploration will continue, given the necessity of controlling CGM over a wide range of ecological zones in Africa. Studies on the effect of IITA cassava cultivars on populations of the exotic phytoseiids have been undertaken with the cassava breeder of CID. This activity merged into the project integrated on control of root and tuber crop pests and diseases which also covered the training component of the ESCaPP project. Parallel to these efforts, stretching from strategic to adaptive research, numerous training courses in rearing predators have been given. During the visit to Ghana, the EPMR panel saw the successful result of this training.
Mango mealybug
Classical biological control has also been developed for the mango mealybug (MM) Rastrococcus invadens, recently introduced from India to West Africa. On the basis of the experience gained with research on the control of CM, the Indian parasitoid Gyranusoidea tebygi, first introduced by IIBC in an FAO/GTZ project in Togo, was released and became established in several other countries. The MM has been brought under control except in some hot spots in urban centres where a related parasitoid Anagyrus mangicola gives renewed hope. Current investment into this demand-driven project is limited.
Spiralling whitefly
The spiralling whitefly (SW) Aleurodicus dispersus of South American origin has been observed since 1992 in West Africa on a wide range of crops including cassava and soybean. IITA started monitoring this pest in collaboration with the NARS. The aim of the work is to develop a sustainable solution through host plant resistance and biological control, e.g. through release of Encarsia haitiensis and some coccinellids, which have been associated with successful control of this pest on some Pacific islands. Since E. haitiensis was later found to have been introduced serendipitously into Africa, the project is now aimed at monitoring its impact and at eventually introducing an exotic coccinellid.
Water hyacinth
The floating water weed Eichhornia crassipes was introduced during the 1980s in southern Benin, affecting navigation and traditional fishing. At the request of the Ministry of Agriculture of the country hosting the Biological Control Centre for Africa and with GTZ funding, BCP became involved in a pilot project for adaptation to West African conditions of biological control of the water hyacinth by weevils and a moth. These insects were introduced and mass-reared, and the weevils established. They have already led to slow but successful control of water hyacinth in other countries and first signs of this control are observable in Benin.
African honeybees
Beyond the IITA mandate, but with possible importance for smallholder farmers in the region covered by IITA, this is a recent project for exploratory work on genetic improvement and biodiversity in African honeybees. Honeybees are also supplied to the ESCaPP and LUBILOSA projects (see below) as test organisms for assessment of the environmental impact of entomopathogens.
B. Control by biopesticides
The LUBILOSA (Lutte Biologique contre les Locustes et Sauteriaux) project includes IIBC (UK), IITA (Cotonou), DFPV (Niger) and involves collaboration with NARS of countries affected by locusts and grasshoppers. It is funded by CIDA, ODA, SDC and DGIS. During the first phase (1990-1992) new strains of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium flavoviride were selected in the UK and mass production of spores, formulation and application technology were developed. BCP has been involved in feasibility field trials and studies on the ecology of the acridids and of their antagonists. During phase II (1993-1995) the main thrust is on field testing of M. flavoviride formulations under a variety of conditions and involving NARS. In some field trials, successful control of grasshoppers has been demonstrated. Field results have shown little difference between strains. The real practical value of this approach; adoption by the farmer and complete proof of mammalian and environmental safety, are under investigation and are essential before further scaling up of the work.
As an extension of the LUBILOSA project, work has also started on a similar basis for control of the variegated grasshopper (VG) Zonocerus variegatus. Its importance has increased because of forest clearing and soil degradation. This pest has a more regular occurrence and a more stationary distribution than the Sahelian grasshopper and the desert locust. This allows the use of a trap dispensing M. flavoviride spores combined with extracts of Chromolaena odorata as an attractant. The inclusion of research on socioeconomic aspects, such as farmers' participation and cost-benefits studies of the IPM measures, is very valuable.
C. Postharvest protection of maize
The larger grain borer (LGB), Prostephanus truncatus, is of American origin. It has been introduced to Africa during the early 1980s. Extensive studies have been undertaken in recent years by BCP on the population dynamics, the ecology, the influence of farming practices and cultivar reaction to LGB. One promising predator beetle Teretriosoma nigrescens has been identified by researchers from GTZ and NRI. Post-release studies by BCP with GTZ collaborators have demonstrated in 1994 the spread of this predator from Togo to Benin and a reduction of LGB populations in traditional maize stores. Good husk cover has been shown to decrease attack by LGB.
An interdisciplinary team of HPRP, HMP, BCP and RCMD started a project in 1993 on preharvest infection of maize with toxigenic fungi such as Aspergillus flavus or Fusarium moniliforme in various agronomic systems.
D. IITA's insect museum
"Museum" is a surprisingly old-fashioned label for a dynamic Biosystematics Unit under BCP at Cotonou, keeping valuable specimens for further reference in its daily work as an identification service. This covers collections undertaken not only by BC but also HMR, HM or RCMD scientists during characterizations of agroecosystem or benchmark areas and the monitoring of changes in insect biodiversity during changes in the environment. For 1994, some 5,000 specimens were prepared and are in process of identification. Taxonomic work is performed on this material.
Within the recently established biosystematics network BioNET, the IITA insect museum has become the WAFRINET node to support regional and national services in West Africa. The Museum thus also provides strong support to the NARS scientists in this region. This service is run by a post-doctoral fellow.
2.2.2.2. Assessment
The Panel congratulates the BCP team for their practical achievements and for their scientific contribution and publications record, which help in understanding how ecosystems and biological control interact. These results can assist small-holder farmers through technology development and transfer, the latter being sustained by extensive training. It must be kept in mind that the success of biological control of CM has been due to the conjunction of skill, excellent ecosystem science, tenacity, collaboration among scientists from various institutions and outstanding leadership and continuity for more than a decade. It also proved a lucky choice with the pest to be controlled. The success of BCP is contributing greatly to improving the image of IITA as a centre of excellence in Africa and beyond.
The dynamic interaction of the team at the Benin station at Cotonou and the spirit of commitment to ecological principles in daily life at the workplace also merits highlighting. In the view of the Panel, the appointment of the new divisional Director, who was the leader of BCP, has been received positively. The former PHMD Director and founder of BCP has recently been appointed as DG of ICIPE. This opens a brighter future for fruitful synergy with ICIPE than was previously the case.
The achievement in CM control and the credibility associated with it has attracted and channelled an impressive number of special projects and complementary funding to BCP, which has evolved into a centre of excellence for biocontrol in the tropics. This has led to a broadening of the research topics, some of them beyond the IITA mandate. From two target pests at the last EPR, the research agenda has expanded to eight! There has been also increased collaboration with other PHMD and IITA staff, for instance on postharvest protection of maize and the inclusion of biological control into IPM. This evolution is entirely in line with recommendation 9 of the 1990 EPR.
A new line of research has been started on biopesticides. In order to assure scientific excellence in this field, IITA has recruited an entomopathologist on core funding. The 1990 EPR considered the LUBILOSA project as "clearly beyond IITA's mandate. However, the project will be fully externally funded and gives IITA a unique opportunity to search the potential and gain experience with pathogens (e.g. viruses, bacteria, fungi and nematodes) for the control of insects, mites, diseases and weeds in all IITA mandate crops". This statement is still valid. However, it should be kept in mind that despite their great theoretical potential as biocontrol agents and their extensive study over more than three decades, the practical value of these biopesticides and their acceptance by farmers have been extremely limited. In dealing with this approach it is indispensable, before starting the work, to set clear evaluation criteria. The Panel suggests that the progress of the work should be reviewed regularly to assess its practical impact in relation to the criteria set.
Precise identification of the various insects in an ecosystem is of prime importance in exploration of the trophic chains which link a pest with levels of hyperparasites in very complex chains. The disruptions in this chain, for example through farming, can generate unbalanced development of an initially minor pest and result in crop damage. Release of parasites or predators of a pest also could disturb this chain and induce unexpected side effects. For BCP the IITA insect museum is thus indispensable. Biodiversity studies, on the other hand, are used as tools to monitor indicators of the environment and are thus of greater interest than for BCP alone. Besides its service role, the Museum also attracts taxonomists on sabbatical leave who bring a particular scientific expertise in this area.
Recommendation:
The Panel recommends that IITA secure the continuity of staffing of the Biosystematic Unit by maintaining its core funding.
Because of its scientific excellence and its commitment to biological control, BCP has naturally evolved from its first thrust into a reference centre for adaptation to African conditions and for the evaluation of new biological control strategies for crop protection in the tropics. This opens new prospects for scientific advice and help to the NARS. This group is not resting on its laurels and some realistic prospects of new achievements are evident.
However, this raises also several questions and issues:
· It appears that in the past, there has been a tendency to extend the scope of work beyond the formally recognized mandate of the Biological Control Programme. While this may have been understandable in the context of funding opportunities available at that time, the Panel wishes to emphasize that future research activities should conform to IITA's well-established programme priorities (see Section 4.).· The Panel is much more concerned with the capacity of the slender core to handle all those generous demand- or interested donor-driven commitments in the rigorous scientific way on which its reputation is based. Without having in mind a particular point of the research agenda or the intention to restrain the dynamism of this dedicated team, the Panel advises BCP to review periodically and critically its capacity to undertake activities on such a broad front.
· Another major point of concern is the effect of the high proportion of external - short to medium term funding of the staff. The resultant tension linked to uncertainty about possible discontinuity in funding, as well as the frequent turnover of senior staff can affect team cohesion, especially in a closely interactive group such as BCP. This type of problem is common with groups where an entrepreneurial fund-raising strategy is practised. The problem for the team per se starts when gained knowledge, skill and precious contacts, built up in some key persons, are lost. The Panel notes that first IITA and CGIAR have already greatly contributed to the permanence of this former special project by the switch to core funding and secondly BC is involved in a wide range of actions with positive prospects for future developments. In order to ensure continuity of this BC work, the Panel suggests that IITA management should consider providing occasional bridging funds from central reserves to cover temporary shortfalls in special project funding for activities that are essential for programme continuity.
2.2.3.1. Achievements, current focus and future plans
In the PHMD 1994 Annual Report the goals of HPRP and HMP are defined as follows:
"Through surveys in collaboration with the national programmes, HPR determines the importance of the various pests and diseases, which leads to priority setting on future research needs. Together with data on resistance mechanisms, pathogen transmission by vectors, etc., these results are used by CID in their development of resistant varieties of mandate crops.The HM Programme studies difficult pests and diseases that need to be combatted by a variety of methods, depending on research results. In its systematic studies of the environment affecting pests and diseases as well as the crop plants, HM complements the activities of RCMD and participates in the characterization of the newly developed benchmark sites."
HPRP groups together the plant health staff who, before the present structure, were located in the various commodity programmes, as well as those from the former Virology Unit. Scientists with activities broader than host plant resistance are attached to HMP. Most of the HPR staff are posted at Ibadan, while HM staff are scattered among Cotonou, Namulonge and Ibadan. HPRP and HMP together account for 10 permanent scientific staff positions on core, 1 on extra funds, 7 post-doctoral position on core, external funding or as visiting scientists and 38 Ph.D. and 9 M.Sc. students.
Analysis of the activities reveals several staff members with a significant involvement by choice in topics outside the programmes defined above. In the context of IPM this is defensible but makes meaningless the separate analysis of achievements in the two programmes.
The large number of scientists and students involved in various disease-pest x crops x agroecosystem combinations has led to the development of a broad spectrum of activities each one of which on a rather narrow and often isolated target. They could be classified under one of the following phases for development of IPM strategies for IITA commodities:
· "assessment of pest status; taxonomy/etiology/distribution/dynamics/epidemiology/diagnostics of damage· analysis of habitat interactions: between (e.g. crop-pest-antagonist) and across trophic levels (e.g. crop - alternative host plant)
· identification of management strategies. The two first phases can be summarized as agroecosystem analysis. The outcome of this system analysis will indicate the extent to which biological control, host plant resistance and cultural practices can provide effective pest prevention and control" (PHMD, 1994 report). Use of pesticides is not banned but considered a last resort, in relation to the type of farmers whose needs IITA is addressing and the comparative advantage of PHMD.
Because it appears impossible to analyze in a few pages the contribution of all activities in IPM, only a few examples are highlighted, in order to illustrate the research approach and some of the achievements. Presentation follows the project structure decided at the 1995 Work Planning Week (WPW). Several activities were performed in collaboration with BCP as well as with CID and RCMD.
A. Integrated control of pests and diseases of legumes
Characterization activities encompassed work on cowpea and soybean as well as on other legumes of importance and on alternative host plants. Surveys on pest and diseases were mostly done in the northern Guinea savanna, linked to CID activities at Kano and RCMD ones on the Bauchi benchmark area, as well as in southern Benin.
After identification of the main targets, pathologists collaborate for instance in developing techniques for screening cowpea varieties for resistance to Macrophomina and bacterial blight, as well as for in elucidating resistance mechanisms and their genetic basis. PHMD entomologists collaborate with CID breeders and the Biotechnology Unit in the development of cowpea varieties with resistance to flower thrips and postflowering pests. Neem extract has significantly decreased yield losses due to pests when used in combination with low levels of host resistance. However, insecticide treatments appear much more effective. Possible methods of classical biological control are being explored with BCP and output will be made available through the PEDUNE project (Protection Ecologiquement Durable du Niébé).
With an increase in soybean cultivation, the range of pest and disease problems is increasing in this crop, a major concern being red leaf blotch. Some of the diseases are seed borne, which underlines the care to be taken in germplasm movement.
B. Integrated control of pests and diseases of maize
Maize production is expanding in the Moist Savanna Zone and has intensified in eastern and southern Africa. Monitoring of these areas revealed that this evolution is followed by an increase in several pests and diseases.
Maize downy mildew (MDM) was accidentally introduced and is spreading within Nigeria, also threatening neighbouring countries and the region as a whole. Screening methods for resistance to MDM have been improved and have allowed rapid identification of resistant germplasm. Seed dressings with fungicides and plant extracts are tested as support to control campaigns.
In the light of earlier achievements, work on maize streak virus (MSV) is restricted to studies of pathogenic variability of MSV. This will allow early detection of the emergence of new strains and a rapid adaptation of the breeding strategy to limit yield losses. During the visit to Côte d'Ivoire, the Panel discovered the successful transfer of screening procedures or MSV resistance to the IDESSA maize programme.
Options for biological control and habitat management for reducing stem and cob borer infestations are being explored in order to complement moderate cultivar resistance. There are plans to develop an intercentre consortium on IPM of maize stem borer and postharvest problems.
C. Integrated control of pests and diseases of root and tuber crops
Achievements concerning biological control of CM and CGM were discussed under BCP. Follow-up field studies, as well as training, are undertaken within the framework of the ESCaPP project. Unpredictable, severe outbreaks of CBB were detected during these studies. Research has been launched rapidly to reassess the pathogenic variability of the bacteria causing CBB.
Characterization of yam diseases and especially of anthracnose has resumed since 1992 in the form of a multidisciplinary characterization experiment involving scientists from CID, GRU, and NARS, emphasizing the renewed importance devoted to this crop. Techniques for rapid in vitro and in vivo screening have been developed in parallel to studies the pathogen diversity and epidemiology.
Root rots and postharvest or storage decays were identified as major constraints in root and tuber crops. Detailed interdisciplinary studies are needed to alleviate these problems. The experience gained at CIAT on this topic would be useful.
The possible existence in East Africa of a new whitefly and of severe ACMV strains able to bypass the resistance of some cassava cultivars has been reported. Given the importance of this issue for the cassava improvement activities in which IITA is involved in this region, a post-doctoral virologist has been hired recently to tackle this urgent problem in close collaboration with the Ugandan NARO and NRI (UK).
The activities of this project have been merged since 1993 with those of ESCaPP. Through its training and implementation of IPM components, ESCaPP has increased the probability that new intervention technologies are adopted. It will also serve as a model for developing plant protection technologies and pest management strategies for other crops.
D. Integrated control of pests and diseases of banana and plantain in Africa
In response to a recommendation of the last EPR, IITA recruited a plant pathologist (one post, two persons) to work on Musa pathology with emphasis on Black Sigatoka (BS). This work contributed to the development of high-yielding, BS-resistant plantain, an achievement for which IITA received the 1994 King Baudouin Award.
Distribution of this material has been temporarily stopped following detection of infections by banana streak virus (BSV) and cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) in plantlets of the newly developed Musa hybrid germplasm, produced in vitro. Prompt collaboration was established with the Biotechnology Unit and advanced laboratories abroad for rapid development of a reliable detection method for these viruses. Given the uncertainty about reliable detection and an accurate evaluation of the risk associated with the possible dissemination of these Nigerian strains, IITA took the distressing but wise decision to halt completely the movement of Musa germplasm from Nigeria, pending further clarification. IITA is recruiting a further post-doctoral virologist to speed up the process and the anxiety within INIBAP about this problem has been allayed.
Systematic diagnostic surveys were initiated in 1993 among farmers' plots of cooking bananas and plantains in Uganda and West Africa with the application of GIS techniques for data reporting. Various root nematodes were identified as being associated with declining productivity of Musa systems. IITA has recruited a nematologist to investigate IPM of this problem at ESARC. Basic studies to develop IPM against banana weevils are undertaken by an entomologist posted there.
E. Integrated control of Striga and other parasitic plants
In response to a recommendation of the 1990 EPR, IITA has created a multidisciplinary working group to focus efforts on strategic and applied research, to find an effective solution to the Striga problem. A Striga biologist has been hired in HPRP and is the coordinator of this group. Close collaboration has been established with the Pan-African Striga Control Network (PASCON) and, in Nigeria, National Agricultural Research and Extension Services (NARES) for technology transfer.
This group has already made progress toward developing IPM of Striga.
A rapid in vitro screening technique has been developed, allowing identification of germplasm suitable for use as a false host to stimulate Striga germination in the absence of the normal crop. Differences in stimulating capacity have even been observed among genotypes of non-host crop plants. Some local sorghum cultivars but no improved varieties have been found to stimulate seed germination of S. gesnerioides, which is pathogenic on cowpea. This opens up prospects for rotation and intercropping as simple control methods, but appeals also to the breeder who has been presented with an unexpected selection criterion.
Seed treatments with acetolactate synthase inhibitors, identified by utilizing knowledge of Striga physiology, delay Striga infections beyond the most susceptible stage of the host plant.
Diversity among Striga populations is under investigation. This is of prime importance for understanding differences in tolerance to Striga in G x E interactions and also for further breeding for durable resistance.
2.2.3.2. Assessment
The 1990 internal review of pest management appears to have triggered a very productive "back-to-the-field" move among the HPRP and HMP scientists for better characterisation of the pest and patho-agroecosystems across IITA mandate areas and crops. This phase has been a key factor for priority setting and is a basis for further impact assessments after implementation of IPM strategies.
In the past about 50% of the resources were allocated to these studies. With their progressive completion, resources allocated have decreased to 36.2% in 1994; the main effort being put now on development of solutions to problems worthy of control. Large amounts of data have been accumulated with input of GIS techniques and are being processed.
Recommendation:
The Panel recommends that appropriate measures be taken to ensure that the data on characterization of the pest and patho-agroecosystems are kept in a form that is readily accessible to future generations of scientists.
The Panel is pleased to discover that the move of the plant protectionists from the commodity programmes has not been a constraint to fruitful collaboration with breeders. Only one very isolated case of personal conflict in a field station has been brought to the Panel's attention.
The HPRP and HMP scientists interviewed by the Panel appeared enthusiastic about their work and dedicated and proud of their contribution towards IPM. Collaboration with the BC team and RCMD scientists has been strengthened. During the characterization phase of IPM, interest stronger collaboration with socioeconomists was perceived. At the 1995 Work Planning Week, PHMD recommended that RCMD should recruit a root crop socioeconomist to collaborate with PHMD on crop protection issues. This is considered in Section 7.1.3. Definition and implementation of IPM packages in subsistence farming indeed raises the difficult issue of adaptation by the farmers. The success of CM control has been linked to the possibility of bypassing this bottleneck.
The priority-setting exercise in relation to field situations and farmers' needs has induced a blooming of research activities on different topics around the identified target pests. The dedication of an enthusiastic staff, transmitting this enthusiasm to an impressive number of M.S. and Ph.D. students, as well as keenness to tackle the problem from various sides is probably the cause of this. However, the Panel has some concern about the real strength of this mosaic of activities and would suggest a concentration on more innovative research, using landmarks on the path to IPM which are defined by characterization studies. Notwithstanding this, the Panel congratulates the scientists for their achievements and dedication in research as well as in providing training. The Panel expresses its particular satisfaction on the setting up of the Striga working group.
During the review period, several new plant health problems developed or became important on IITA mandate crops across the mandate area, either through accidental introduction, crop expansion, changes in farming practices or better characterisation of the constraints. This demonstrates the continued evolution of problems and the necessity of constant vigilance. IITA must have the capacity to respond quickly to new challenges. During the present review period, the staff able to handle them became promptly involved and already contributed significantly to solving these problems. IITA has adjusted rapidly to fill discipline gaps or to increase work. The Panel congratulates IITA on these decisions, particularly in relation to BSV. The Panel is pleased to note that all recommendations concerning PHMD inputs to commodity programmes have been met. Nevertheless, it has been brought to the attention of the Panel that the entomologist position at Kano station has been filled by postdoctoral fellows.
Core positions for the major basic plant health disciplines, except for bacteriology, are currently filled at IITA. Given the forthcoming problems on soybean and cassava, the Panel would advise IITA to keep this lack of expertise in mind during possible further recruitment of a pathologist. Further investment into control of the yam and cassava rots and postharvest decay, the importance of which has been well documented in the root and tuber IPM project, would require the input of a pathologist.
Recommendation:
The Panel recommends that IITA increase its strength in phytopathology at Ibadan.
The Panel views the structural changes implemented by IITA which gave rise to PHMD very positively. There has been a significant improvement in communication between the staff and a move towards an IPM goal. There is now increased awareness of the advantage of close interdivisional collaboration.
However, the programme structure appears to the Panel to reflect more a display of awareness of the importance of habitat management as one IPM component, and as a way to balance resource allocation, than as a real clustering of particular skills or even research lines. The real activity of the staff across the programmes makes the latter somewhat obsolete. Nevertheless, the Panel considers this not as a major or as an urgent issue, given the continuing evolution in the project structure and the association of activities in IPM projects among IITA crops. The difference from the previous situation is that now all plant protectionists are grouped together as an interacting team, rather than being allocated to crop improvement programmes.
The Panel compliments the team spirit and performance at Cotonou as outstanding and not restricted only to the BCP component. The Panel would suggest that attention should be paid to further improving the team spirit at Ibadan so that the staff posted out of headquarters feels at home in both teams. This should not restrain interactions between the teams or lead to rivalry. The Ibadan site is less disposed to fostering team spirit because of the dispersal of its buildings, but it has the advantage of offering interaction with CID and RCMD.
The Panel rates overall achievements as very good and scientific productivity as about normal, with a reasonable balance of refereed and non-refereed publications overall. At the individual level some improvement in publication rate should be made, in order to realize fully the scientific value of this important work.
During the review period, IITA has strengthened its input in plant health management going in some cases beyond the last EPR recommendations. The Panel commends IITA management on this, particularly on the rapid allocation of inputs to tackle important, unexpected problems. This was the case, for example in nematology and entomopathology. The overall balance between the disciplines is appropriate, except for a weakness in phytopathology.
Additional needs came to the attention of the Panel. The Panel considers that priority should be given to the strengthening of services such as SHU and the Biosystematic Unit. These are fully integrated into the research structure but are also very important for the whole Institute. This raises again the question about IITA's investment in plant health in relation to the needs of the Centre and the past successes achieved.
· The Panel wishes to stress the dynamic nature of the evolution of plant health problems, even during the review period and the challenges to IITA which they have raised.· The development and implementation of IPM strategies, to which the CGIAR System has a clear commitment, requires more intensive effort and resource application than breeding for resistance with complementary pesticide use. The past success of PHMD at IITA is linked to the work of a large interdisciplinary team, the consolidation of which still appears to be a major issue. Broadening the agroecosystem mandate area on which IPM is to be implemented also dilutes the capacity for interaction.
· ICIPE concentrates its research on non-CGIAR food and horticultural crops. Activities in CGIAR mandated crops will be undertaken only in the framework of IPM projects, designed in partnership with IITA and other CGIAR centres.
· The Panel notes that IITA unfortunately still is the only institution in West Africa on which effort on IPM development and implementation the region can rely. To assure long-term stability of plant health management work at IITA, the Centre needs to ensure that important aspects of the work are assigned to established core members of the staff. This is also of prime importance for the continuous transfer of the IPM strategies to the NARS and the follow-up of their implementation.
2.3.1. Evolution of Resource and Crop Management Research at IITA Since 1990
2.3.2. Achievements
2.3.3. IITA's Current Resource and Crop Management Research
2.3.4. Assessment
This review takes place after a long, period of turbulence in the Division which has been building up since the time of the Third EPR which noted some incipient problems. A very large proportion of the Division's scientific staff left during the review period and many positions have not or have only slowly been refilled, including that of the Division Director. This excessive depletion of staff, which was attributed to poor Division management and dissatisfaction among staff with structural changes (e.g. creation of three agroecosystems programmes in 1992, termination of Inland Valley Programme in 1993), has seriously affected the output of the Division throughout the review period. The Institute has thus been faced with a considerable challenge in keeping the Division in line with its objectives.
The Panel expresses its concern and disappointment that this crisis was allowed to go on for so long. It notes that this was exacerbated by the financial crisis that the CGIAR and underwent IITA went through in this period.
Three major changes need to be noted about the organization of RCMD since 1990:
· The Third EPR expressed much concern about the functioning and orientation of the Systems Working Groups set up in 1987 in the Resource and Crop Management Programme (RCMP). These groups had, by mandate, to integrate activities across the Institute, to provide feedback through systems characterization, and to play a leading role in on-farm research. The EPR questioned the scientific capacity of the Systems Working Groups for crop management research and recommended (Recommendation 1, EPR) the establishment of such capacity outside the Systems Working Groups. IITA strongly argued that the Institute, while in agreement with the recommendation to strengthen crop management research, preferred to do this within the Systems Groups in order to safeguard the continuum between diagnosis and adaptive research. Implementing a second recommendation (Recommendation 2, EPR) the Systems Groups were converted, in 1990, into Agroecosystems Research Groups, without, however, changing their disciplinary composition and operating mode.· Concurrently, resource management research was reassessed and, in 1992, organized, together with crop management research, in three agroecosystems programmes, the Moist Savanna, the Humid Forest and the Inland Valleys Programmes. This approach permitted linkages between process studies, systems development and applied technology testing and it provided the basis for multidisciplinary teams to focus on crop and resource management in target agroecosystems. The approach was also conceptually to facilitate decentralization of IITA's operations and IITA-NARS collaboration.
· The last adjustment so far was the elimination of the Inland Valleys Programme in view of (budgetary) capacity constraints and considering WARDA's focus on inland valley ecosystems. RCMD thus remained with the Humid Forest Programme, based in Cameroon, and with the Moist Savanna Programme, based in Nigeria. (Earlier, for more than 20 years, IITA's crop and resource management research had concentrated on the derived and coastal savanna and on the degraded soils of southeastern Nigeria.).
As indicated above, there have been major organizational and programmatic changes since the last EPR. Unfortunately these changes coincided with a substantial turnover of international scientists at RCMD. The effect of these staff departures was to reduce progress on most research proposed in the MTP 1989-93, and to force suspension of some proposed research. A brief review of the outputs of the Division since the last EPR is structured in terms of the two agrosystems programmes.
2.3.2.1 Achievements of the Moist Savanna Programme (MSP)
Characterization and Diagnosis
Substantial research investment occurred in the systematic characterization of resources and constraints. The characterization framework adopted (see Section 2.2.2.) enabled systems to be distinguished in terms of being population- or market-driven, and as to whether the system is in a land-expansion (i.e. labour more limiting) or land intensification phase (i.e. labour relatively abundant). The characterization studies confirmed the high production potential of the Moist Savanna Zone, particularly the northern Guinea savanna. The studies indicated that in the short run new cropping systems, in mixtures and rotations incorporating IITA mandate crops, appear promising. Soil, pest and weed problems are becoming apparent where land use has intensified. Thus the MSP research programme is addressing both crop and resource management issues.
Related activities that have supported the development of this programme have included the following:
· Using a framework developed by the MSP, macro-level characterization of 14 countries has been possible using GIS, as a result of data collected through interviews and from secondary sources. Draft monographs on savanna systems characteristics for West and Central Africa have been produced. A number of NARS scientists have been trained and given hardware to analyze data from their own countries.· Village studies have been implemented on constraints to expanding cowpea production and the socioeconomic constraints and opportunities in a market-driven area.
· Monitoring ecological constraints in collaboration with the Farming Systems Programme at the Institute of Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University, has helped in the identification and quantification of specific constraints on, for example, Striga hermonthica, soil-borne pathogens, nutrient deficiencies, and weeds. These studies have helped in indicating their effect on cropping systems, while specific yield losses in maize have been estimated for Striga and maize. Results of this work are being disseminated through RCMD monographs.
· In terms of technology, characterization and diagnosis have helped in targeting technology to specific environments. For example, macro-characterization data have helped in determining zonal targets for grain legume varieties (soybean and cowpea), alley farming, legume cover crops, and expansion of mixed crop/livestock systems.
Technology Development
IITA and other organizations in the derived savanna areas have helped to establish relevant technological research priorities, the most important being the introduction and optimization of legumes in cereal-based systems. The earlier emphasis on alley cropping studies has now been redirected at finding grain legumes and herbaceous species for fallow management. Adaptive studies on options for managing Imperata are commencing, building on a decade of strategic and applied research. Collaborative research on Striga is also being implemented. Given the importance of livestock in the zone, there are plans to continue work on mixed crop/livestock systems and restart work on appropriate animal-traction tillage practices - in collaboration with NARS as well as ILRI.
Specific initiatives relating to technology development have included the following:
· Long-term studies have continued on assessing crop performance under low external chemical input systems and on the performance of exotic and indigenous woody species. Long-term studies on determinants of sustainability in rehabilitation of degraded land at Ibadan continue to show the superiority of planted fallow over natural fallow under low-input systems. The planted fallows not only improved the soil chemical and physical properties, but have also suppressed weeds and increased maize yield. Herbaceous fallows have been found to improve soil physical properties more than have woody species. Another long-term experiment has shown that after five years the yield of maize was higher with continuous cropping and no fertilizer in alley-cropped (with Leucaena leucocephala) and relay cropped plots with Pueraria phaseoloides relay-cropped plots than in bush fallow plots. Further studies assessed the decomposition and nutrient release of various plant root materials of crops and fallow species. Findings indicated that plant root decomposition and nutrient release is influenced by diameter size, lignin content and C/N ratio.· Investigations continued into the better understanding of alley cropping systems in the moist savanna zone. These studies are shedding light on the role of Leucaena leucocephala and woody hedgerows in the recycling of nutrients. A significant portion of the nutrients recycled is contributed by increased fauna (earthworm) activity induced by the presence of woody hedgerows. Nitrogen fixation studies have been prominent, including the use of Rhizobia spp. and mycorrhizae to help establish hedgerow trees and on quantification of N2 fixed from the atmosphere by woody legume species. Nitrogen fixation has also been examined in terms of environmental factors and management practices, such as pruning and residue management. Availability of phosphorus can influence nodulation and studies have shown large differences in growth and the efficiency of phosphorus use between and within tree species during early growth stages.
· During 1993, in collaboration with NARS, adaptability studies were initiated on herbaceous and shrubby legumes for use in crop production studies. Data are available on growth, biomass yield, rooting, and nutrient yield.
· Studies have been undertaken in the northern Guinea savanna to estimate N2 fixation by soybean and cowpea and their contribution to associated and subsequent crops.
· Work directed at biology and control of Imperata cylindrica continued. Effects of burning and slashing were evaluated separately and in combination, to determine appropriate management strategies. Both chemical and habitat management control strategies have been identified.
Technology Evaluation and Transfer
Potential solutions to maize production constraints are being tested on-farm in the northern Guinea savanna. Attention has focused on Striga resistant hybrids, and rotations of maize with soybean, cowpea and Aeschynomene histrix. COMBS was used to strengthen collaborative work with NARS, through which a PC computer-based, decision-support system called LEXSYS was developed along with a comprehensive legume database. Another preliminary decision-support system has been developed to match technology for combating Striga on cereals with the economic and ecological environment, taking into account the availability of resources such as cash, labour, and physical inputs. Ex ante impact studies in the northern Guinea savanna have shown that with moderate fertilizer rates (60 kg N/ha), hybrid maize could make a substantial contribution to food production.
2.3.2.2. Achievements of the Humid Forest Programme (HFP)
Characterization and Diagnosis
Characterization of current farming systems and resource management has been completed for southeastern Nigeria and Cameroon. A 1991 southeastern Nigerian survey of farmers' natural resource management, which illustrated patterns of intensification resource use in a peri-urban area with high population densities was followed in 1992 by a detailed resource management survey in 85 Cameroon villages, of which 47 were in the forest zone (see Section 7.1.1). This was implemented primarily with scientists from the NARS. These data are being used in identifying technology development strategies, which are linked to a resource-use intensification gradient, for the benchmark area in southern Cameroon. It is anticipated that the methodology used in this survey will be a cost-effective means for differentiating resource use patterns and research domains and will be very helpful in regional diagnostic work. The two surveys have been complemented by agroethnographic studies. The forest margin benchmark area was established in late 1993, and baseline characterization is almost completed. The studies implemented to date indicate that the Cameroon forest zone represents "the low-pressure, low-developed end of an agricultural development spectrum." Where population density is higher, and near urban areas, household food self-sufficiency is lower, more resources are devoted to non-farm activities and less benefit is derived from forestry resource exploitation (i.e. fishing and hunting). The major economic challenge is finding substitutes for the declining access to forest resources and industrial crops. Some focus on declining fallows is important but new or underexploited income opportunities need to be exploited (e.g. including fruits, wetlands, fish, and small stock). Targeting once again is considered necessary with intensive systems for urban proximity, sustainable short/medium fallow systems for intermediate zones and forest/agroforestry systems for isolated areas.
Technology Development
Specific initiatives relating to technology development have included the following:
· With reference to determinants of sustainability, process-level studies are being implemented to develop a practical understanding of mechanisms influencing the management of agroecosystems. The components will be integrated at the agroecosystem level, which will then lead to the delineation of priorities for different target zones, taking into account resource endowments and socioeconomic circumstances. A long-term cropping systems trial, established at Mbalmayo in 1993, is designed to study the dominant cassava-groundnut system in terms of nutrient cycling, soil structural stabilization, pest and weed regulation and resource conservation. The results will help improve understanding of long-term implications of increased cropping intensity and interventions relating to soil fertility conservation.· With reference to slash-and-burn practices, a number of burning trials have investigated impact of heat on the chemical and physical properties of the soil and burning intensity on the weed seed bank and weed community establishment and on maize establishment, growth, and yield.
· Weed community development and weed seed-bank dynamics have been evaluated in most-soil-related experiments and all systems trials, while farm level data are being analysed to identify weed community shifts associated with fallow length and soil class. Chromolaena odorata is receiving some attention, while weed/crop interactions are being studied for cassava-based systems.
· Alley cropping work has focused on the adaptive capabilities of hedgerow trees, and their response to pruning and other management practices. Also alley cropping performance studies have evaluated the relationships between climate and soil condition.
· Studies have continued on management practices for sustainable perennial plantain production using mulching, alley cropping and natural hedgerows.
· Legume fallow species have been evaluated for improved fallow management, while it has been found that Tephrosia candida can be established during the last phase of cassava cropping, before a fallow cycle, without additional labour and with no reduction in cassava yield.
· Some progress has been made on developing models for analyzing plant interaction and cropping system dynamics and until departure of staff, some progress was made on decision-support models for the introduction of legumes in cassava-based system, and for alley cropping.
Technology Evaluation and Transfer
Work with farmer-managed alley cropping trials has continued in collaboration with ICRAF and NCRE and on-farm tests have evaluated L. leucocephala and Cassia siamea as options for perennial alley cropping with oilpalm or plantain and food crops. Several variants of cropping systems were tested in on-station trials, while CORTIS collaborators developed a framework for on-farm testing to ensure methodological consistency in regional testing. A second edition of the "Field Guide for On-Farm Experimentation" will shortly be published.
2.3.2.3. Other Achievements
· Inland Valleys Research. A systems working group handled inland valleys research until 1993, when it was handed to the major agroecosystems programmes to ensure better integration or work on uplands and wetlands. A strategy for inland valley research, involving characterization at three levels, was developed for the current MTP. A seminal monograph on methodology and draft monographs for six site studies were prepared. On-farm trials have assessed yield loss due to weed infestation and helped to understand farmers' soil, water, and weed management practices. Work on legumes has taken place in both on-farm and on-station trials.· Postharvest engineering. More than a dozen pieces of equipment have been designed and disseminated. There is high consumer demand and recognition of the value of this equipment.
· RCMD has developed a GIS capacity and support for modelling work. Research focuses on characterization of agroecological systems (see Section 2.5.).
· Special Projects and Networks. Networks (e.g. AFNETA, CORTIS, COMBS and SPALNA) have all played useful roles in the activities of RCMD as have the Multipurpose Trees Screening for West Africa Project and the Alternatives to Slash-and-Burn Project. A soil organic matter and a fallow management and soil nutrients research project are being carried out with special funding (BADC and GTZ, respectively).
Goal. As per the MTP, the goal of the RCMD is to improve the productivity of smallholder farmers in humid and subhumid tropical Africa, while conserving their natural resource base. A particularly important aim is the identification of alternatives to shifting cultivation. The Division thus complements the activity of the other two Divisions at IITA and is expected to interact on a broad front with them.
Objectives, Strategy, and Structure. The overall objective of RCMD is to develop, in collaboration with institutional partners, technologies and methodologies for sustainable use of agricultural resource in smallholder farming.
RCMD currently attempts to synthesize the three main approaches to research it has applied during its historical development: technology development focus (first 10-15 years, typified by alley cropping and zero-tillage); farming systems, mostly location-specific research directed at incremental change in existing cropping systems (early 1980s) and characterization research, extrapolation domain considerations, systems modelling and use of advanced analytical techniques (late 1980s).
The synthesis is intended to provide a "technology development focus while maintaining real-world sensitivity and keeping high standards of methodological expertise and capacities for regional extrapolation orientation".
The Humid Forest Programme, having almost entirely shifted to Cameroon, primarily addresses problems of sustaining fertility of acidic ultisols. The research focus thus shifted from the management of degraded soils of southeastern Nigeria to measures for preventing degradation of forest margins. The Programme also addresses interventions in short fallow systems of subhumid ecology in southern Cameroon. Further research foci are: (a) diversification of production systems to increase farmer welfare and (b) understanding the dynamics of forest agroecologies as a basis for improved resource conservation.
In Nigeria, the Moist Savanna Programme has shifted its focus to the northern Guinea savanna where major potential for production increase is believed to be available (i.e. high levels of insolation and suitable growing period for medium-duration annual crops, of which high-performing IITA-generated materials are available). Work in the southern Guinea savanna is currently just starting. In this zone there are lower levels of insolation, lower population densities, emphasis on mixed farming and longer-duration root and tuber crops for which, once again, IITA materials are available.
In its interpretation and implementation of the CGIAR System's ecoregional research approach, RCMD concentrates work in a limited number of representative benchmark areas. These benchmark "areas" are area-defined research blocks with defined production systems, constraints and opportunities which correspond to known recommendation domains. Benchmark areas are large enough to capture socioeconomic and biophysical gradients affecting adoptability and adaptability of potential technologies. The research approach adopted at these sites seeks to: coordinate activities within IITA as well as with NARS and other collaborators; reduce overlap; create critical mass; facilitate participatory appraisal and research, and to structure technology evaluation and transfer activities by NARS in pilot areas.
Three benchmark areas have been developed in the last two years by RCMD.
The main benchmark areas for the MSP are two blocks in the northern Guinea savanna of Nigeria, one centred in Kaduna and the other in Bauchi. The Kaduna block is distinguished by high population densities and favourable market access, so that opportunities exist for commercially oriented production. Population density is lower and market access poorer in the Bauchi benchmark block. Increasing population density in parts of the Bauchi state is forcing resource-use intensification but low market opportunities do not provide options which might be available for farmers of the Kaduna area. In both benchmark blocks there are gradients in population density and market access; the dynamics in these gradients are captured by the selection of representative villages with varying levels of market access and resource-use intensification.
The main benchmark area for the Humid Forest Programme is a humid and subhumid forest margins area in southern Cameroon with a gradient in resource-use intensity as a function of population pressure and market access. This gradient determines challenges and opportunities in developing sustainable production systems and provides a basis for technology targeting and extrapolation.
Besides the work at benchmark areas and in several stations outside Ibadan, RCMD houses, at headquarters, several specialist units such as the Agroecological Studies Unit, the Postharvest Engineering Unit, the Biometry Unit and the Analytical Services Laboratory. These Units provide central support in characterization, diagnosis and technology development, evaluation and transfer protocols. They also independently carry out a number of research projects.
In addition, RCMD is associated with a number of special projects which enhance baseline knowledge (e.g. COSCA) and provide the framework for collaborative technology research and development related to crop management and resource use (e.g. AFNETA, Multipurpose Tree Screening for West Africa), and for strengthening national research partners (e.g. Soil and Plant Analytical Laboratories Network for Africa, SPALNA).
The Humid Forest Programme is coordinating the Cameroon benchmark site of the global Alternatives to Slash-and-Burn Project (ASB); this benchmark site is identical with the Humid Forest Programme's benchmark site and activities within ASB deal with technology as well as with policy research and are incremental to the Humid Forest Programme's research agenda.
Despite the substantial staff fluctuations and extended vacancies of key staff positions, including the one of the Division Director, the achievements of the research programme as mentioned above are sizeable. They lack, however, the necessary level of programmatic strength.
The strategic reorientation of the research programme is rapidly shaping up under the new divisional leadership; it will need further focusing and the Panel wishes to submit a number of suggestions in support of this.
The Panel believes that the establishment of the two agroecosystems programmes (Moist Savanna and Humid Forest, respectively) provides the right operational basis for adequately meeting IITA's resource and crop management research commitment to its mandate region. This move is of particular importance in the context of IITA's ecoregional responsibilities.
In the Panel's view, RCMD's approach - that is, of defining and using benchmark areas for directing technology generation and evaluation by these Programmes - is promising. The Panel anticipates that the benchmark area approach, which encompasses gradients in resource use dynamics for imbedding technology development and location-specific research in a wider ecoregional context, can become a powerful strategic paradigm in research on sustainability.
The decision by RCMD to emphasize work in the moist savanna and the humid forest agroecologies and to work collaboratively on the Inland Valleys Programme with WARDA is an encouraging indication of enhanced inter-centre integration. The Inland Valley Consortium proposal which was submitted to TAC and CGIAR by WARDA, through IITA, as part of the Ecoregional Programme for the Warm Humid and Subhumid Tropics in Sub-Saharan Africa, is further evidence of that integration of efforts.
Despite major budgetary and leadership constraints and despite several staff resignations, RCMD has now managed to reassemble a highly motivated and qualified core of young scientists. Necessary recruitment is under way to establish the agreed scientific balance in the Division and to achieve operational strength.
The Challenge Faced by RCMD. Natural resource management inherently requires explicit consideration of a complex multitude of factors and their interactions. The purpose is to ensure that the research leads to adequate factor combinations for use, improvement and sustainability of these resources. The maintenance of sustainable agricultural production at enhanced levels of output is thus a multidimensional task. There is a hierarchy of interdependent systems of natural resource use to be worked with which include components ranging from the genetic information of a crop through to the cultural and policy environments of a target area. Intermediate hierarchical levels are plant-soil-water relationships; crop-pest-disease relationships; relationships between crops and their use by man and animal; relationships between crops and farms and watersheds within agroecological zones; economic interactions between farm, local, regional, national and global level; and land and tree tenure. Sustainability of resource use at one level is co-determined by the conditions at other levels. Hence, research at each level is required, which implies that research requirements in natural resource use are potentially very comprehensive and demanding. The large number of research and development tasks to be addressed for the generation of effective options for sustainable agricultural resource use transcend the capabilities of a single institution. The activities of several institutions need to be integrated in a cooperative and complementary manner.
RCMD clearly recognizes these fundamental concepts as evidenced in the Institute's participation in the Inland Valley Consortium, in the ASB Project, in its efforts to assemble a Moist Savanna Consortium, and in its attempts to set up steering committees in the benchmark sites. IITA has also undertaken comprehensive consultation in the region on ecoregional research initiatives and is exploring possibilities for the design of new modes of regional research organization involving both NARS and IARCs.
However, little effort seems to have been invested in the establishment of an institutional policy for building research alliances involving NARS, NGOs, farmers, IARCs and advanced labs for resource management research and development. NARS integration in IITA's "core" resource and crop management research at all benchmark areas of both the Humid Forest and the Moist Savanna Programmes is not adequate. For example, if it were not for the ASB Project there would be virtually no continuous NARS involvement (e.g. at the Cameroon Humid Forest Programme site), while IAR involvement at the Bauchi benchmark area has, to date, not gone much beyond consultation, information and occasional briefings.
These practical, "ground-level problems" obviously merit greater attention so as to derive the full benefits of RCMD's "benchmark areas" approach. Unless this is done, the Division runs the risk that promising lines of research would not acquire the necessary strength. In this context, IITA has enunciated "a new and innovative concept of its role" which involves "the continuum that proceeds from the onset of the research process to its resolution" and in which "national and international researchers and farmers are partners in a joint venture" and where "collaboration achieves a collegial balance with effectively matched contributions at every stage" (IITA Annual Report 1993, page 5). This concept requires a far more vigorous move by IITA to establish correspondingly effective working relationships with NARS and other institutional partners, exploiting comparative institutional advantage.
Recommendation:
The Panel recommends that IITA emphasize the establishment of strategic institutional research alliances (such as consortia) to address adequately the complexity of sustainable resource management research.
In addition, besides collaboration with others and given the relatively limited core resources available, RCMD should endeavour to avoid spreading its own efforts too thinly, to concentrate on strategic support of collaborative ecoregional research projects (consortia).
Recommendation:
The Panel recommends that the Resource and Crop Management Division core efforts be concentrated on the comprehensive attention to one benchmark area each for the Moist Savanna and Humid Forest Programmes.
In the Panel's view, the placement of RCMD staff outside the present Humid Forest Zone (Cameroon) and Moist Savanna Zone (Nigeria) teams should therefore not be considered in the early and medium-term stages of implementing the "benchmark areas" concept. The Panel suggests that RCMD does not invest core resources in the mid-altitudes savanna but should tie its involvement there to resources acquired within an ecoregional consortium - which may be assembled by regional initiative and/or in association with the ICRAF-1ed African highlands initiative. This also implies that RCMD staff placements at Ferkessedougou, Kano, and Namulonge or even in Zambia should not be considered at this time. In such cases interdivisional collaboration will need to be accomplished through backstopping and occasional staff visits.
Furthermore, in order to set up adequately "mechanisms for placing factor, commodity and policy research within the context of natural resource management and sustainable land use systems" (TAC, Draft Note on Systemwide arid Ecoregional Concepts, April 13, 1995), the assembling of critical mass in a variety of strategically important disciplines is crucially important. The Panel urges RCMD to maintain such a critical mass of scientists in its core programme.
The Panel concurs with RCMD that the focus of its biophysical research should be soil husbandry and vegetation management around which such critical mass should be built up. Other disciplines required for the more comprehensive coverage of the sustainability research agenda will have to be built in through strategic research alliances via ecoregional consortia (these are, among others, social science disciplines that would help direct biophysical, socioeconomic and sociocultural research toward aspects such as culture, social and institutional organization, rural law, ethnobotany etc.).
This need for focus and coherence merits further attention by RCMD. In the Panel's view, the current research portfolio of RCMD is large and varied and occasionally conveys the impression of missing programmatic cohesiveness and low attention to priority considerations. A major part of this portfolio is diagnostic and process-study oriented and there is no apparent trend in technology development which would point at potential breakthroughs.
Recommendation:
The Panel recommends that the Resource and Crop Management Division apply rigorous priority setting to its research portfolio in order to concentrate efforts on research areas of highest possible impact.
The research activities of RCMD, particularly those of the Humid Forest Programme, are strongly biased towards on-station research. At the request of the Panel, RCMD staff identified five situations that they believed required on-station research and four requiring on-farm research. These are commented on below.
Five situations that RCMD believe require on-station research and the Panel's responses, are as follows:
· Long-term studies on degradation/regeneration. The Panel is of the view that degradation and regeneration studies require real-world environmental parameters in order to be adequate; it is the scientific approach to the investigation of the process in question which requires adjustment to the situation.· Evaluate system interactions for multiple new components going beyond incremental change. The Panel accepts this as one that may be carried out on-station.
· Develop collateral information for farmer management and implementation; particularly biophysical factors affecting probability of success. The Panel believes that this is squarely a matter of on-farm research.
· Determine reasons for contradictory observations and results in on-farm experimentation; particularly when there is an impasse in on-farm work. The Panel believes that a careful review, and adjustments in on-farm experimentation methodology would address this situation more accurately than a return to controlled environments.
· Reduce imposition on farmers with high land and labour opportunity cost when focusing on biophysical hypotheses; danger and problems associated with researcher-managed trials in West Africa. The Panel believes that this is a matter of agreement between researcher and farmer; RCMD itself has generated many precedences for the opposite to be feasible.
Four situations that RCMD believe require on-farm research, and the panel's responses, are as follows:
· Real-world validation and adaptation before promotion; what role of IITA relative to NARS outside benchmark areas? The Panel concurs with the RCMD's view. On-farm technology and the development of research on methodology in the benchmark area is a core IITA activity, for adequate feedback to strategic research components.· Stability and performance under different ecologies and field circumstances, beyond possibilities of station environment. The Panel agrees.
· System design, farmer-participatory approach for problem evaluation, priority setting and design of alternatives. The Panel agrees.
· Monitoring for household understanding, impact assessment and complement to long-term situation trials. The Panel agrees.
Recommendation:
The Panel recommends that Resource and Crop Management Division put greater emphasis on on-farm research in its programme.
Finally, the RCMD needs to give more attention to inter-divisional integration at the benchmark areas. Particularly apparent is the low level of interdivisional interaction in the case of the Humid Forest Programme in Cameroon, where RCMD is working without much input from the other Divisions.
General Assessment. The RCMD is on its way to recovering from a long, traumatic period of disarray which has drastically impacted on its performance as well as internal and external credibility.
The Panel has no doubt that the Institute crucially requires a strong natural resource research capability and it believes that RCMD is suitably positioned to face this task. The Panel recognizes that the shifts in paradigms experienced by the Division in the last two decades reflect the general search of the scientific community to come to terms with the highly demanding subject of resource sustainability.
Key aspects for the successful recasting of RCMD are: effective task-sharing within strategic institutional research alliances critical mass in core disciplinary contributions of the partner institutions in such alliances and proximity to the ultimate clients.
The Panel believes that the RCMD leadership is in a position to implement this process. However, it suggests that IITA establish an external monitoring procedure (e.g. one or two experienced resource management specialists to visit the Division two to three times in the next two years) to accompany and consult the Institute in this activity. This would help ensure that the momentum painstakingly built up over the past year or so would continue to receive both internal and external (donor) support in the coming years.
IITA has three main Research Divisions (Resource and Crop Management Division, RCMD; Crop Improvement Division, CID; Plant Health Management Division, PHMD); in addition, the International Cooperation Division (ICD) is involved in a number of cooperative research projects and research networks and thus can be considered as a Research Division as well, although most of its activities are in logistical, administrative, and technical liaison support to the three main research Divisions.
Conceptually (as per IITA's Medium-Term Plan), the cooperation between the Centre's Research Divisions is driven by IITA's agroecosystems research approach; The Centre thereby focuses its research on three agroecosystems: the Humid Forest Zone, the Moist Savanna Zone and the Mid-Altitude Savanna and Woodlands Zone. It has recently identified five "fields" in which its research is to be consolidated and integrated across these agroecosystems (crop improvement and agronomy; integrated pest management; systems development and management; soils and vegetation management; diagnosis and impact). The necessary integration of the activities of the research divisions is to be brought about by a range of mechanisms which enhance interdisciplinary and cross-divisional interaction:
· IITA scientists are encouraged to participate in the planning sessions of the Divisions to which they do not belong. In addition the participation of IITA scientists in research networks contributes to cross-divisional linkages within IITA.· Four cross-divisional, multidisciplinary working groups have been initiated by scientists working on problems of common interest; they are cross-programme mechanisms operating on a voluntary basis which draw resources from more than one Division and bring concerted efforts to bear on specific tasks. The groups currently in place are: Striga working group on maize and cowpea (PHMD, CID, RCMD, ICD); postharvest technology and utilization issues for all crops (RCMD, PHMD, CID, ICD); cowpea technology (CID, PHMD) and the role of legumes in farming systems of the moist savanna (RCMD, PHMD, ICD).
· The fostering of cross-divisional linkages is one of the tasks of the Research Directors' Committee (RDC). When reviewing the Centre's research portfolio, the Committee is in a position to identify deficiencies in inter-disciplinary and cross-divisional integration. This is of particular importance in view of the fact that IITA decided to separate structurally its plant health management and crop improvement research into two Divisions. A similar comment goes for the interface between crop improvement (CID) and crop management research (RCMD) and between plant health (PHMD) and resource and crop management research (RCMD).
· More recently (1993), IITA decided to reorient its research management approach, so far based on programmes, towards a project-based research management mode. It is anticipated that the transition, which includes the transition from cost-centre to project-based budgeting, will be completed over the next few years. Similarly to the cross-divisional working groups, the projects are to contribute to concerted, interdisciplinary research activities across divisions, oriented towards IITA's target agroecological zones. In fact, a few of the "projects" identified in the 1995 IITA Annual Work Planning Week can be regarded as an extension and generalization of the experiences gained with the cross-divisional working groups - two of them (the Striga and the postharvest working groups) are consolidated into research "projects" while the others are subsumed in a variety of systems "projects" (legume working group) or integrated in a broader "project' on genetic stock development (cowpea working group).
The focus of IITA's research on the three target agroecologies is a powerful means of providing a common denominator for streamlining the Centre's research portfolio. It can also be an instrument for enhanced cross-divisional integration in that it puts the activities of the individual divisions, programmes and disciplines into an ecological, spatial and systems perspective.
Cross-divisional working groups have, in IITA's experience, been effective, "bottom-up" open mechanisms for the design of integrative elements in the Centre's portfolio management. The intended transition to project-based research management will further enhance cross-divisional integration and builds on this experience. The Panel noted a remarkably strong consensus among scientific staff in favour of project-based research management which bodes well for a successful transition process; the Panel applauds Management for its skilful guidance of this process. In practice, so far, the level of cross-divisional integration is highly variable. For example, collaboration between CID and PHMD in cowpea resistance breeding is close to optimal. However, in other areas integration requires far more systematic attention. What is particularly apparent is the low level of inter-divisional integration in the case of the Humid Forest activities in Cameroon, where IITA's representation addresses the RCMD research agenda only.
It is also apparent that the portfolios of CID (case of cowpea) and of PHMD (all work) transcend the three agroecologies adopted by the Centre as foci for research. However, the agroecological choices of the Centre are taken into account to the a reasonable extent; it appears that the benchmark areas as defined by RCMD could be suitable platforms for such enhanced integration between the research divisions.
Research Support Services Units
The Research Support Units discussed in this section formerly reported to the DDG(R) but were reassigned before the last incumbent's departure and are now located within one or other of the three research Divisions. Reference is made in Chapter 4 to a Panel Recommendation that the reporting lines be changed.
As presently structured, the Genetic Resources Unit (GRU), the Biotechnology Research Unit and the Research Farms Unit are all part of CID. The Analytical Services Unit, the Agroecological Studies Unit, the Biometrics Unit and the Postharvest Engineering Unit (formerly known as the Postharvest Technology Unit) are located within RCMD. PHMD is responsible for the Seed Health Unit and the Technology Transfer and Training Unit.
It is proposed elsewhere in this report (Section 4.2.5.) that responsibility for some of these services be transferred.
Genetic Resources Unit (GRU)
This Unit is responsible for and coordinates IITA's work on the collection, characterisation and preservation of genetic resources of food legumes, rice, root and tuber crops in Africa. Its remit extends far beyond responsibility for the Centre's mandate crops and at the present time the resources conserved fall into three main categories:
· species and wild relatives of mandate crops (cowpea, yam, cassava, maize, Musa, soybean) and former mandate crops (rice, sweet potato, taro)· indigenous African food legumes not within the IITA mandate (Bambara groundnut, African yam bean, Kersting's groundnut and miscellaneous minor legumes)
· many species of cover crops, shrubs and multipurpose tree species for use in alley cropping and improved fallow systems. These are maintained in arboreta established at Ibadan, Onne and Mbalmayo (Cameroon), the responsibility for which has been transferred from RCMD to the GRU.
More than 40,000 accessions in toto are currently held, with cowpea (38%) and rice (O. sativa and O. glaberrima: 30%) as the largest components.
The Unit is well equipped, to IPGRI standards, and well run. The in vitro conservation of vegetatively propagated crops is assisted by the two well-equipped tissue culture laboratories at Ibadan and Onne. The seed conservation facilities permit the maintenance of base collection material at -20°C and active collections at 5°C, according to IPGRI standards. The GRU provides a valuable service to both IITA and the world scientific community, distributing thousands of samples annually in response to bona fide requests (e.g. from 1990-93, 23,063 samples to more than 80 countries). In addition to its maintenance role, the Unit also conducts research related to the characterization, genetic diversity and conservation of the materials and research on the genetics and biosystematics of the genus Vigna and West African rice. The Unit also attaches great importance to disease (particularly virus disease) elimination from germplasm of roots and tubers and food legumes in collaboration with virologists, the tissue culture scientist, the IITA Seed Health Unit and plant quarantine officers of Nigeria. Representing IITA, the Unit has an important role in liaising with the Plant Quarantine Service of the Federal Department of Agriculture of Nigeria for both the importation of plant materials from other countries and for certification of materials for export. During the review period, GRU organized three IITA/IPGRI/FAO joint training courses on plant genetic resources.
External developments since the last EPR which impinge on the policy and modus operandi of the GRU include the Systemwide Genetic Resources Initiative (SGRI) within the Programme (SGRP) of the CGIAR, under the coordinating role of IPGRI and in implementation of the Biodiversity Convention. All germplasm collections at IITA are deemed to be held in trust for the world community. As with all other collections at CGIAR centres, they were placed under the auspices of FAO in 1994.
Within the SGRP, the CGIAR centres have been requested to alter the status of their GRUs to the level of Programmes in order to achieve more powerful external and internal representation of their genetic resources activities and interests. The Panel is aware that the contribution of the CGIAR centres to the conservation of global (agro)biodiversity will become increasingly important. It urges IITA to be prominently and consistently represented in the relevant fora and activities.
In response to a recommendation from the 1990 EPR, IITA has been characterising and progressively transferring to base collection its unique collection of over 2,000 accessions of Bambara groundnuts. A second recommendation, that IITA secure a location for its yam collection, has been implemented by preservation of most of the germplasm in vitro, aided by improved field conservation techniques, using minisetts and careful treatment in storage. The need for further collection and conservation of yam genetic resources is recognized and a proposal prepared in collaboration with NARS, has been submitted for funding. IITA has duplicated about half of its existing yam collection with various national programmes during the review period but a satisfactory duplicate location for the entire collection has not yet been identified. IITA has also given a detailed response to the recommendation that characterisation of the most important African cassava varieties be undertaken urgently. This recommendation has been implemented in part but is hampered by international quarantine regulations. The maintenance of this material is a formidable task which still requires some attention. With the agreement of WARDA, IITA continues to maintain and distribute the existing rice germplasm collection available in GRU. It is continuing to process seed accessions for base collection conservation.
The Panel recognizes the excellent work being done by the GRU and encourages IITA to redouble its efforts on the maintenance and characterization of cassava germplasm and to take decisive action to enlarge the yam collection. The collection of African maize is the responsibility of CIMMYT but appears to be receiving inadequate attention. This should be discussed further by the two centres.
Recommendation:
The Panel recommends that IITA conclude an agreement with CIMMYT to ensure that the collection and conservation of African maize germplasm is undertaken.
Biotechnology Research Unit (BRU)
This Unit has essentially developed since the last EPR, having been commissioned in 1990. Its physical facilities adjoin the pre-existing tissue culture laboratory which is administered by TRIP and a substantial extension has recently been completed, including a containment facility which became operational in 1994.
The 1990 EPR recommended that the BRU, which was then in the process of being established, should defer activities in molecular biotechnology and concentrate on cellular biotechnology, cytogenetics and modern serology. The BRU has nevertheless made a substantial move into the area of molecular biotechnology, initially with molecular marker techniques (RFLP, RAPD) and more recently with several projects on transformation of cowpea, building on its success in achieving regeneration. The Panel supports this action although the work on cowpea transformation in common with many similar projects worldwide must be considered speculative at this stage. This work involves collaboration with several advanced institutes. Other collaborative projects are concerned with Musa biotechnology, micropropagation of yam, cassava root quality and cyanogenesis in cassava. The BRU attracts a high proportion of special project funding with only the Head of the Unit being core-funded. One core-funded post-doctoral post has been approved and early recruitment is anticipated.
There is particular expertise in virology, stemming from the discipline of the Head of the unit. A monoclonal antibody laboratory has been developed with IDRC funds and technical support from Canada Agriculture (Vancouver Research Station), for work on the more important viruses of concern to IITA. BRU, in collaboration with the IITA virologist has developed a network involving collaboration between 33 virologists (in 19 African countries) for the application of monoclonal antibody technology. The BRU has played a useful part in the development of biosafety guidelines within Nigeria.
The BRU collaborates actively with the genetic improvement programme in CID and with the programmes of other research divisions. IITA should set a firm target date of 1998 (as agreed by CID) to review progress on transformation in cowpea, since at current levels the effort could be regarded as disproportionate (see Chapter 2.1.1.1.).
Research Farms Unit (RFU)
Management of the farm operations at all sites visited is excellent and the scientists and others of the IITA community are well served by this important unit. During the review period, RFU responsibilities increased with the development of the Minjibir Farm for Kano Station and a 30 ha. research farm site at Kubwa, near Abuja. The latter site was found to be a "hot spot" for Striga infestation and has therefore become an important site for PHMD's and CID's Striga field research. In 1993, two international staff positions in RFU were terminated, (one by retirement and one by relocation to ESARC) and a senior well-experienced and long-serving member of local staff was appointed to the post of Ibadan Farm Manager. The Head of RFU is located at the Onne Station and supervision of the installation at Ibadan is effected at a distance, with regular monthly visits. The Director of CID provides effective day-to-day advisory support to the Ibadan manager. While IITA needs to monitor that the present arrangement continues to function well, on current evidence from research scientists, all required services are amply met.
Seed Health Unit (SHU)
Achievements
The SHU was established in 1992 at Ibadan IITA HQ to ensure the health of crop seed moving into and out of IITA. In 1994, 894 seed samples were analysed besides field inspection of numerous lines of IITA mandate crops. SHU collaborates with the National Plant Quarantine Service and National Seed Service in setting up a database of seed-borne pathogens of major food crops in Nigeria and in planning training courses for NARS.
Research activity has also developed on seed-borne diseases of viral, bacterial or fungal origin on various IITA crops, in close collaboration with the pathologist and virologist at Ibadan. The service is run by a post-doctoral fellow under the direction of the grain legume pathologist and has a steering committee which, for example, has assumed responsibility for monitoring progress in cleaning up BSV-infected Musa materials and for deciding when germplasm movement can resume.
Assessment
The recent outbreaks of new disease problems in Nigeria on maize (MDM), and which reached Ibadan in 1992, soybean, banana (BSV), and larger grain borer (LGB), which reached Ibadan in 1994, highlight the danger of seed transmission and the necessity to guarantee, as far as possible, pathogen-free seed in the exchange of germplasm. For IITA this issue has become particularly critical, given the movement of germplasm among the various stations and the open benchmark sites on farmers fields. This has considerably increased the risk of dissemination of disease.
The Panel agrees with the management of IITA that no compromise is acceptable on this issue.
Healthy seed is also, on the other hand, a key element in IPM, either by providing clean seed to the farmer or by training him to select or treat his own seed or planting material. Further research on the influence of farming practices on seed contamination or seed treatment by compounds with low mammalian toxicity would be worthwhile in this respect.
Seed testing covers a wide range of diagnostic techniques, necessitating rigorous continuous supervision and training of the technical staff. Although no reproach can be addressed to the SHU team which performs in an efficient way in a tiny space, the Panel concludes that a fast and reliable service for an institution such as IITA with its strongly decentralised operations, can hardly rely on a short-term appointment of a post doctorate and on a pathologist who has other important duties in pathosystem characterisation and in field trials on legumes in the northern Guinea and Sudan savanna.
Given the sensitive issues in which this service could be involved, it requires more support and authority.
Recommendation:
The Panel recommends that IITA strengthen the capacity and increase the authority of the Seed Health Unit in matters relating to the movement of germplasm by the Centre.
The Panel further advises that the physical location of SHU within PHMD is retained in order to permit sharing of equipment and integration within the pathology group.
Technology Transfer and Training Unit (TT&TU)
Achievements
The purpose of TT&TU is to implement and establish sustainable crop protection systems with a strong biological control basis. It became funded as a special project in 1992, after a GTZ review had identified the bottlenecks at NARS level which were affecting the implementation of biological control programmes within the respective countries.
TT&TU supports a number of National Biological Control Programmes (NBCPs) in the current execution of their tasks (equipment, operational costs, technical advice), in their institutional development, in training for biological plant protection and for NBCP management, exchange of information, or links with IITA-PHMD. It has also provided technical backstopping during the characterization phase of IPM projects and PHMD-CID training on MSV. Funding ends early in 1996.
Assessments
TT&TU has played a very important role in strengthening NARS capacity to implement biological control. It has gained by this precious experience in the critical issue of improved technology transfer to African partners.
Given the progress in the classical biological programmes as well among the IPM projects, the Panel considers that this service could be of increased interest in the near future. Maintenance of the activity at baseline by a bridging fund (see Section 2.2.2.2.) is one option that could be considered. A still closer collaboration with ICD should also be sought.
Analytical Services Unit
As in most services of this kind which are associated with crops, the demand is characterized by seasonal peaks. Most of the service provided is for the scientists at IITA but 10% of the total workload is undertaken for NARS. Traditional calls are for soil samples (60% of which are from RCMD), plant samples (equally between CID and RCMD) and water samples and extracts (70% CID). There are increasing demands for assays of pesticides, aflatoxins and aminoacids.
The total number of samples analysed has currently reached 60,000 per annum and the system is indicating strain. The Panel was surprised to discover that there is no formal system for prioritization of the work - everything is done on a "first come, first served" basis. The Unit is well-equipped and clearly provides an excellent service which is commended by the Panel. It has acquired an HCN autoanalyser. There is a need for more atomic absorption capacity and problems sometimes arise in HPLC maintenance. Analytical quality monitoring is done in collaboration with ISRIC.
The Unit provides training courses in the maintenance of laboratory equipment.
Biometrics
This Unit, located within RCMD is staffed by only one biometrician and his Research Associate so much reliance is placed on an assumption of dispersed competence among other scientists. However, a number of staff hired as programmers are located elsewhere in the research Divisions and the inclusion of some, if not all of them in a central unit with the biometricians should be considered. There is no formal link with Computer Services, any interaction being dependent upon personal contacts. This inhibits necessary action on science-led institutional policies for hard and software organization and support.
The Panel was appalled to discover that the Unit was located in a building not linked to the computer network in RCMD, although this situation has been scheduled for early correction.
The Panel also noted with some concern that the recommendation of the 1990 EPR that all proposed experiments should be subjected to prior vetting by the Unit had not been implemented.
There is a clear need for biometrical assistance to PHMD in Cotonou which IITA needs to address. Present staffing provides inadequate coverage at Ibadan when the biometricians are on tour. The Panel suggests that the Biometrics Unit might also be strengthened by the transfer of some of the expertise in programming which is dispersed throughout the research Divisions.
Agroecological Studies Unit (ASU)
ASU was created in 1992 and is located within RCMD. It develops and maintains databases on agroclimatic, soil, topographic and socioeconomic conditions in Africa, provides geographic information system (GIS) services to IITA programmes and, in an informal network with 14 countries, to NARS. Studies on weather-related production risks have been carried out and a computerized atlas, Agroclimatology in Africa, has been developed which provides climate, soil, vegetation, demographic and crop suitability information. Growing-period models have been used to define geographic research recommendation domains. The resource information system (RIS), a PC-based GIS developed in the Unit, provides information on regional environmental differences for targeting technology.
The Unit has acquired ARC-INFO, a GIS software mostly preferred in the CGIAR centres. This will enable interlinkages and collaboration with other centres and the efficient integration of more databases, including those from remote sensing, as they become available. The Unit has acquired some remote sensing capabilities.
The Panel believes that GIS capabilities are essential for the strategic support of IITA's ecoregional and biodiversity conservation research responsibilities. It encourages the Unit to maintain its activities at the state-of-the-art level in this rapidly evolving research field and to establish very close working relationships with other IARCs and international development agencies such as FAO and UNEP.
Postharvest Engineering Unit (PEU)
PEU is appropriately located in RCMD under the present arrangements. Core-funding supports the head of the Unit while his principal assistant is supported by a grant from Sasakawa Global 2000.
Postharvest technology (sensu lato) is a widely dispersed activity at IITA. This unit is exclusively concerned with developing small to medium-scale equipment covering a wide range of functions and capable of use by small farmers and village communities. The objective wherever possible is for a single piece of equipment to be multi-functional. Some 50 items of equipment have been designed and made and about half of them are currently in small-scale commercial production.
The work is being undertaken with much ingenuity and the enthusiasm of the staff is infectious.
In the perception of the Panel, linkage between this unit and CID is poor. IITA should consider how to improve this situation.
The research activities which are at the heart of IITA possibly cover a wider range than those of any other centre within the CGIAR System. An overview necessarily has to take this complexity into account.
Historically, IITA has achieved its most conspicuous successes in two principal areas: biological control of major insect pests and the genetic improvement of key crops in its mandate, resulting in the distribution throughout the region of planting material with better disease and pest resistance, improved yield potential with greater stability of performance over environments and better quality for the end user.
It is, of course, disappointing to record that the period of review was not a happy one for that broad sweep of IITA's work which is now contained within RCMD. Because of the complex nature of this activity the demonstration of a tangible and transferable product will always be more difficult. Problems of sustainability are addressed more evidently in this Division than in the other two and the degree to which success can be attained is more constrained by political and macro-economic factors. The work of RCMD has clearly suffered from problems of leadership, high turnover of key staff and ensuing demoralization in the recent past. Happily, the new leadership is instilling a new spirit of teamwork and is formulating revised research programmes which are better focused to fulfil IITA's ecoregional mandates in crop management research. The development of the principal site for work on the Humid Forest Programme (HFP) at Mbalmayo in Cameroon has been a major achievement of the review period, while continued characterization of the various components of the Moist Savanna Zone has assisted progress towards achieving the targets of the Medium-Term Plan, 1994-98 (MTP). It is against the major reformulation of the research programme rather than research results over the period of the review that this Division must now be judged.
The other two newly created research divisions, CID and PHMD, are also under leaders who have relatively little previous experience of larger-scale research management. In the case of PHMD (and RCMD), this management has to be conducted from a base in a neighbouring country, away from headquarters. Problems arising from the implementation of a policy of decentralization are discussed at length elsewhere in this report. Nevertheless, there is generally clear and incisive divisional direction of the research programmes which is, in most cases, being well received by the scientists. Individual research scientists at IITA now feel that their voice is heard in the formulation of research projects and that they are involved in shaping research policy.
For some of the mandate crops handled by CID, emphasis is shifting from the Humid Forest to the Moist Savanna Zone, notably in the case of cassava, maize and yam because the crops are in reality moving in that direction and the potential for maize production, in particular, is greater in the Savanna Zone. The Panel is generally supportive of this trend. However, the Panel believes that the scale of CID activity in the Humid Forest Zone is less than optimal, particularly in relation to cassava in Central Africa. The situation needs reviewing again to see how this effort may be increased. The plantain/banana work has its base in the forest zone production systems and the work on these crops is proving transferable to the newly established mid-altitudes location at ESARC in Uganda. Cowpeas are pre-eminently a crop of the drier savanna but some attention has been given to meeting the requirements listed in the MTP for the more humid cultivation zones. The Panel has drawn attention to its belief that soybean is, at the present time, an under-researched crop at IITA.
The structural changes which have taken place in PHMD are viewed very positively by the Panel. There is now better communication between scientists sharing a common discipline and an improved awareness of the advantages of interdivisional collaboration. At the main base of the Division in Cotonou, the prevailing team spirit is very encouraging. PHMD has also retained sufficient flexibility to cope with unpredicted but urgent pest problems as they have arisen. The Division has a good balance of disciplines, except for a deficiency in phytopathology. As an outstanding base for the development of IPM strategies in Africa, IITA is well poised, through the work in PHMD, to respond to future threats from pests and diseases to the food supply of resource-poor farmers.
Most of the scientists at IITA are content with the new divisional groupings and there is much to be said in favour of grouping those of a similar discipline together, provided that an effective matrix ensures interdisciplinary collaboration. Interdivisional collaboration at IITA is patchy and is not helped by the geographical separation of the respective heads of these Divisions. For this reason, the informal working groups which have been established in a "bottom-up" manner are to be commended, that for Striga research being particularly noteworthy. The evolution of a system which fosters interdisciplinary research within the Centre is probably the greatest challenge in scientific management facing IITA over the next review period.
The Panel has some concerns over the balance struck between projects which are specially funded and those on core budget. This issue is considered in more detail in Chapter 4.3.1. Approximate allocation of resource as indicated by senior staff years (SSY) in the projects defined for commencement in 1996 show that the Centre is making the allocation in a reasonably balanced manner. Humid Forest and Moist Savanna Zones will each receive approximately one third of the allocation, with Dry Savanna having one fifth. Zonally neutral projects also account for approximately one fifth.
The overall record of publication in scientific journals has improved over the period of review and does not give serious cause for concern, bearing in mind the extremely broad remit of much of the work and the necessity to cope with the immense and practical problems of deficient agricultural production in the region. The quality of the scientific work is uneven, as might be expected in such a wide-ranging institute, but mostly sound. Some projects (e.g. plantain/banana improvement) are breaking new scientific ground and making a very practical contribution. The Panel concludes that, in general, IITA is well served by its research scientists and their supporting units who are concerned to make an impact and it commends them for their dedication.
