Farmers with new seed in new beginning for wheat in Ecuador
Ecuadorian farmers discuss the wheat variety "INIAP Vivar 2010" at its official launch, held on 15 July 2010 in the Saraguro area of Loja Province. As part of the ceremony, farmer leaders received baskets of seed on behalf of their communities, representing a symbolic delivery from Ecuador’s National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIAP) to the farmers. Named in honor of the late CIMMYT scientist Hugo Vivar, the variety is among the first products of a campaign launched in 2008 to renew Ecuador’s diminished wheat production.
Vivar gives high yields of good-quality grain, and is tolerant to drought, which has become increasingly common. It is far more resilient than earlier varieties under the rugged conditions of mountainous southern Ecuador, offering a consistent yield advantage of about 80%. It is based on a line developed by CIMMYT, and its good drought tolerance probably comes from a line in its pedigree that resulted from crosses made at CIMMYT between domesticated wheat and related wild species. Prior to its 2010 release, farmer leaders working with INIAP had been testing Vivar for several years in their own plots. Its performance bodes well for INIAP’s work to reduce Ecuador’s dependence on imported wheat, but could also generate extra income for farmers.
Until 2008, wheat research in Ecuador was in decline, as was wheat cultivation, thanks to cheap imports. While other staples were relatively unaffected, the global food price crisis of 2008 revealed this hole in the country's food security. When wheat prices spiked, Ecuador's government cushioned the blow by temporarily subsidizing imported wheat at great cost. Its long-term response was to institute a vigorous program to revitalize the nation's wheat production. Working with INIAP, the government set out realistic goals and provided about USD 4.3 million over 5 years for intensified wheat research and promotion.
The central aim of the new initiative is to expand Ecuador’s wheat area to about 50,000 hectares, enough to satisfy at least 30% of domestic demand, up from 3%. Less than two years after the 2008 decision, INIAP was already releasing improved varieties, the first in Ecuador since the early 1990s, including Vivar for southern Ecuador and San Jacinto for the country’s central and northern zones.
INIAP was able to release Vivar and San Jacinto so soon after the start of the initiative for two reasons. One was the government’s decision to thoroughly refurbish INIAP’s research infrastructure as well as to hire and train dozens more scientists and technicians. Equally crucial was CIMMYT’s unswerving support for local wheat research even during its time of relative dormancy in Ecuador. If that service had ceased, INIAP’s new wheat team would have been forced to start essentially from scratch, adding many years to the process of variety development.
Photo credit: Nathan Russell/CIMMYT.
For more information, see CIMMYT's 2010 e-news story "Ecuador's wheat awakening," available online at: www.cimmyt.org/en/about-us/media-resources/newsletter/872....
Farmers with new seed in new beginning for wheat in Ecuador
Ecuadorian farmers discuss the wheat variety "INIAP Vivar 2010" at its official launch, held on 15 July 2010 in the Saraguro area of Loja Province. As part of the ceremony, farmer leaders received baskets of seed on behalf of their communities, representing a symbolic delivery from Ecuador’s National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIAP) to the farmers. Named in honor of the late CIMMYT scientist Hugo Vivar, the variety is among the first products of a campaign launched in 2008 to renew Ecuador’s diminished wheat production.
Vivar gives high yields of good-quality grain, and is tolerant to drought, which has become increasingly common. It is far more resilient than earlier varieties under the rugged conditions of mountainous southern Ecuador, offering a consistent yield advantage of about 80%. It is based on a line developed by CIMMYT, and its good drought tolerance probably comes from a line in its pedigree that resulted from crosses made at CIMMYT between domesticated wheat and related wild species. Prior to its 2010 release, farmer leaders working with INIAP had been testing Vivar for several years in their own plots. Its performance bodes well for INIAP’s work to reduce Ecuador’s dependence on imported wheat, but could also generate extra income for farmers.
Until 2008, wheat research in Ecuador was in decline, as was wheat cultivation, thanks to cheap imports. While other staples were relatively unaffected, the global food price crisis of 2008 revealed this hole in the country's food security. When wheat prices spiked, Ecuador's government cushioned the blow by temporarily subsidizing imported wheat at great cost. Its long-term response was to institute a vigorous program to revitalize the nation's wheat production. Working with INIAP, the government set out realistic goals and provided about USD 4.3 million over 5 years for intensified wheat research and promotion.
The central aim of the new initiative is to expand Ecuador’s wheat area to about 50,000 hectares, enough to satisfy at least 30% of domestic demand, up from 3%. Less than two years after the 2008 decision, INIAP was already releasing improved varieties, the first in Ecuador since the early 1990s, including Vivar for southern Ecuador and San Jacinto for the country’s central and northern zones.
INIAP was able to release Vivar and San Jacinto so soon after the start of the initiative for two reasons. One was the government’s decision to thoroughly refurbish INIAP’s research infrastructure as well as to hire and train dozens more scientists and technicians. Equally crucial was CIMMYT’s unswerving support for local wheat research even during its time of relative dormancy in Ecuador. If that service had ceased, INIAP’s new wheat team would have been forced to start essentially from scratch, adding many years to the process of variety development.
Photo credit: Nathan Russell/CIMMYT.
For more information, see CIMMYT's 2010 e-news story "Ecuador's wheat awakening," available online at: www.cimmyt.org/en/about-us/media-resources/newsletter/872....