Agriculture to End Hunger and Under-Nutrition: Legumes in the Lead Rob Bertram U.S. Agency for International Development
Rates of hunger and poverty declining Agriculture-Nutrition linkages Stunting rates coming down, but still high Global Commitment in SDG 2 Global Food Security Act signals US support Progress and Commitment
New Results Framework 2017 to 2021
Prevalence of undernourishment (%) Poverty and hunger declining Prevalence of poverty (US $1.25/day, 2005 PPP), (%) 40 30 1990-92 2012-14 100 80 East Asia SSA South Asia World 20 60 40 10 20 0 World Africa Asia Pacific LAC Source: FAO 2015 0 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011 Source: PovCalNet 2015 Hidden Hunger Index (micronutrient deficiencies) Source: Muthayya et al. 2015
24% of the world s 667 million children are stunted
Agricultural growth is poverty-reducing Poverty-growth elasticities (US$1.25 poverty line) 0 Malawi Mozambique Tanzania Uganda Zambia -0.5-1 -1.5-2 -2.5-3 All sectors Agriculture Non-agriculture Source: Dorosh and Thurlow, 2014 Agricultural growth continues to be more povertyreducing than non-agricultural growth
Agricultural growth reduces hunger Agricultural growth enhances hunger reduction Increases household incomes and diversifies diets Reduces food prices to benefit poor net food buyers Creates employment; stimulates rural nonfarm economy Whether subsectoral growth reduces hunger depends on Its linkages with rest of economy Its initial size and geographic concentration Its growth potential Market opportunities Source: Fan and Brzeska 2012 Calorie deficiency-growth elasticities, Tanzania (2000-07) Percent 0-0.5-1 -1.5-2 Maize Pulses & oilseeds Horticulture Livestock Export crops Source: Pauw and Thurlow 2010
Economic growth and nutritional outcomes
Increases in households purchasing power directly impacts nutrition Not poor Rice Rice and vegs Rice, vegs, and eggs Rice, vegs, eggs, meat Less poor Rice Rice and vegs Rice and eggs Rice and meat Moderate poor Rice Rice and vegs Rice and eggs Very poor Rice Rice and vegs Very, very poor Rice From Martin Bloem, UNICEF
Legumes Research: Why? Nutritional role protein, micronutrient, other Gender friendly: women often grow/manage Cheapest source of added nutrition, especially for children, women Productivity growth has lagged cereals; affordability and consumption declines Strong market demand/consumer preference Positive environmental contributions, e.g. soil fertility
Diverse nutritional status demands diverse solutions 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Low income countries Hungry Stunted children Obese Reduce micro-nutrient deficiency 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Middle income countries Hungry Stunted children Obese Reduce energy deficiency % population 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 High income countries Hungry Stunted children Obese Reduce excessive net energy and unhealthy diets
Contribution of Sectors to Improving Nutrition Globally Food: 32% Water & Sanitation: 35% Women s Education + status: 33% 116 developing countries (1970-2010) Source: Smith and Haddad, 2013 Marie Ruel, IFPRI
Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture Target production of nutrient-rich foods, esp. those that include nutrients lacking in diet Include behavior change communication component specifically aimed at consumption of target crops Ensure target food availability and affordability in local markets and support consumption education Measure outcomes, including intermediates such as consumption and market availability 13
AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS WORTH A POUND OF CURE Humanitarian assistance doesn t have to be indefinite -- it is possible to design programs that build resilience and end reliance on aid We are investing in the long-term solutions to recurrent crises Pushing into fragile contexts Every $1 spent on resilience will result in a $2.9 return over 20 years Sharing responsibility Stemming the rates at which people escape poverty and fall back into it Bridging relief, recovery and development
Climate Varies Over Time: Which variation is most important? (Temperature) Example: Observed Annual Temperature in the Last 100 Years Trend ( Climate Change ) Interannual (year to year) 10 50% 30 90% 10 40% Decadal http://iridl.ldeo.columbia.edu/maproom/global/time_scales/
Climate Varies Over Time: Which variation is most important? (Precip) Example: Observed Annual Rainfall in the Last 100 Years Trend ( Climate Change ) Interannual (year to year) 5 10% 60 90% 10 35% Decadal http://iridl.ldeo.columbia.edu/maproom/global/time_scales/
Sahel: Annual Precipitation Example: Annual Precipitation over the Sahel 700 650 600 550 Observed 55% of total Interannual Variability 290mm from one year to next Rainfall (mm) 500 450 400 350 300 Decadal Variability 250mm in 20 years 27% of total Climate Change 180mm in 100 years 250 200 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 18% of total Walter E. Baethgen 2014
Adaptation: We must first adapt to existing climate variability The previous El Niño caused 35 billion USD in global economic losses By the end of 2016 an estimated 40 million people were expected to be food insecure in southern Africa
Stress Tolerant Maize during El Niño SC513 Murewa, Zimbabwe CZH132018 Peter Setimela
Conservation agriculture (CA) systems during El Niño ume 2 t ha -1 yield benefit of conservation agriculture in Malawi Drought tolerant varieties make better use of residual soil moisture
ROLES FOR LEGUMES IN CROP- LIVESTOCK SYSTEMS Increasing activity Use of legumes Cut and carry Market participation Haulms on farm Development of fodder markets Use of high quality fodders Soil fertility Use of forage-type legumes System productivity improvements, residual N
LEGUME HAULMS IMPROVE PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY THROUGH INCREASED INTAKE AND DIGESTIBLITY
Expected average daily gains for a ram consuming varied combinations of cereal stover, legume forage, grain and by-product feeds. Diet 1 2 3 4 5 Cereal stover, kg 0.8 1.0-0.7 0.7 Legume haulm, kg - 0.6 1.5 0.7 0.7 Wheat bran, kg - - 0.3 0.3 - Millet grain, kg - - - - 0.3 CP, % 3.8 8.7 17.0 11.4 10.8 N relative to requirements Inadequate Livestock feed efficiency gains are climate smart! Adequate for rumen function Excess Adequate for growth Adequate for growth Expected ADG, g/d -8 90 155 137 161 Calculations based on NRC, 1985 for a 40 kg ram
Fodder markets are expanding providing increased market pull for legume haulm production
Animal Source Food Evidence? Meat group Highest Raven scores Higher Vit. B12 status More physical activity More Arm muscle mass More leadership Higher test scores More playful Milk group Improved growth Higher test scores Higher B12 status Adapted from Demment, 2017 photo credit: ILRI/Apollo Habtamu
The velocity of varietal turnover of improved varieties in farmers fields in SSA (2011) SSA by crop Varietal Age Number (yrs) Banana 10.2 1 Sweetpotato 10.3 5 Groundnut 11.7 5 Chickpea 11.9 2 Cowpea 11.9 16 Lentil 12.5 1 Maize WCA 12.8 11 Wheat 12.8 1 Maize ESA 13.0 8 Beans 13.8 9 Cassava 14.1 17 Soybean 14.2 11 Pearl millet 14.8 3 Rice 15.8 4 Sorghum 17.4 6 Pigeonpea 17.9 2 Yams 18.4 5 Barley 18.5 2 Field pea 18.9 1 Potato 19.4 5 Faba bean 20.7 2 Weighted mean / Total 14.0 117 Velocity of Varietal Turnover: FTF seed-related projects Percent of projects that include these categories of crops. Some projects include more than one crop. Does not include enabling environment projects. 9% 13% 10% There are 511 projects entries in the Feed the Future Monitoring System, of which 114 are seedrelated projects. These seedrelated projects represent projects that are addressing with different aspects of seed value chains. Source: Feed the Future Monitoring System, Implementing Mechanism Performance Narratives for FY2015 (January, 2016) Feed the Future: Seed-Related Projects: By Crops 8% 23% 23% 36% 14% 64% Maize Rice Pulses Other Grains RTBs Vegetables Specialty Feed the Future: Seed- Related Projects by Operating Unit Mission Washington
Getting new varieties to farmers! Program: Feed the Future Legume Innovation Lab University lead: Michigan State University Core research for 10+ years on variety development Focus on C. America highlands, Haiti lowlands Beans contribute to nutrition and income gains Scale-up effort Pilot: Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Haiti Quiche Hunapu variety MasFrijol large effort in Guatemala >25,000 households received seed via community seed systems Haiti: Emergency post-hurricane response
Delivery to farmers can t be taken for granted Seed Systems Considerations Reaching the farmer not automatic Cereals & legume seed systems have different public/private sector roles Low profits margins, difficult to predict demand Targeted communications needed on value of material in public pipelines (to seed sector) Early Generation Seed constraints reduce private sector access to legumes, clonal crops Key public sector functions not prioritized, e.g. inspection and quarantine, EGS
3 take-home messages* *from Doug Cook Combined approach needed: Crop Improvement Agronomic Practices Irrigation Drought is complex--not just about water: -Coincident environmental factors, esp. heat, soils -Coincident biological factors, especially biotic stress. -Many useful traits from numerous, small-effect genes G x G x E x M = need for modeling Basic science essential to applied outcomes: -Molecular and physiological mechanisms. -Advanced phenotyping -Genome-enabled predictive breeding -Expanded genetic variation
Well-watered Seed treatment boosts root growth soybean Impact of Rhizoctonia on soybean under different watering regiemes Source: Syngenta, Switzerland (Stein), 2010 Drought conditions Check VIBRANCE Check VIBRANCE
Legumes in FTF 2.0 Legumes play significant roles in economic growth, improved nutrition, and resilience Mixed crop-livestock systems feed most of the rural poor Legumes provide needed nutrients to improve crop and livestock productivity, also fertilizer use efficiency Legume fodders are valuable and marketable and should be considered as part of the legume value chain Grain yield and forage yield values should both strongly link to seed system and variety replacement Genetic improvement will continue to drive yield and biomass gains while reducing risk Upside potential and reduced risk drive investment
Science Matters! Cowpea Pod Production On Transgenic & Non- Transgenic Varieties in Nigeria
Story of soy productivity gains over 50 years Figure 1: Soybean world trends (calculated from FAOSTAT 2010) (Source: Abate et al., 2012)
Incremental gains = Huge Impacts! "Achieving modest, but targeted improvements in our cropping systems can go a long way to achieving significant gains in resilience. In most cases, a crop needs to be able to resist yield losses for 3-5 additional days during a dry spell, not additional weeks or months. This can be through combined improvements in soil conditions and drought tolerant varieties. Achieving specific minimum goals can result in dramatic gains in resilience. Regis Chikowo
Thank you!