Research Highlights of the CIMMYT Wheat Program 1999-2000

In 1992-93 the CIMMYT office in Turkey working
on winter wheat in cooperation with Turkey and
ICARDA initiated germplasm exchange and
supplied several nurseries to the key breeding
programs in CAC, as well as Russia and the
Ukraine. In 1994-95 the first exchange visits by
scientists facilitated establishing better cooperation
and defining priorities. Since 1996-97 germplasm
exchange and visits by scientists have become
routine.
In 1998 USAID for the first time donated funds
targeted to the region. The same year Nobel
Laureate Dr. Norman E. Borlaug and Dr. S. Rajaram,
CIMMYT Wheat Program Director, visited
Kazakhstan and reached an agreement about
establishing a CIMMYT regional office there. In
1999 the CGIAR allocated restricted funds for
cooperation with CAC, and a CIMMYT office was
opened in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Later in 2000 the
President of Kazakhstan signed a law “On the
cooperation between the Republic of Kazakhstan
and CIMMYT in agricultural science,” thus giving
high official recognition and status to CIMMYT in
Kazakhstan. Since 1998 the program has undergone
dynamic evolution and expansion.
Program Structure and Objectives
Since 1995-96, when the program for CAC was
being formulated, CIMMYT recognized the
following features of the region: relatively high
potential of local scientists, isolation from the global
scientific community in terms of scientific
information and language, lack of a targeted
research approach that takes into account farmers’
interests, deteriorated infrastructure and machinery
in research programs, little regard for sustainability
in agricultural development, and great interest in
cooperating with international centers.
Though providing farmers with improved
technologies was considered important, equally
important was building NARS capacities to
perform efficient research. Thus the objectives of the
CIMMYT program in CAC are 1) sustainable
improvement of wheat-based cropping systems
through better technologies; and 2) improvement of
wheat research efficiency through more targeted
research programs, improved methodologies,
newer machinery, and operational support. The
structure of the program, its themes, and funding
are shown in Table 1.
Winter Wheat Breeding
Although winter wheat occupies only 30% of the
total wheat area in the southern region, its
importance cannot be overestimated. Winter wheat
is grown in highly populated areas, and its area has
increased three- to five-fold after independence, as
governments strive for self-sufficiency in grain.
Winter wheat remains a prime source of
subsistence food in rural areas of most CAC
countries. Traditionally, winter wheat breeding
programs were stronger in Kazakhstan and
Kyrgyzstan. Before 1991 wheat was a minor crop in
Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan and,
therefore, their breeding programs were less
advanced.
There is a rich diversity of wheat wild relatives in
the Caucasus, where good basic and applied wheat
research has been conducted. In view of this
diversity, it was interesting to observe what the
performance of international winter wheat
germplasm would be. The first nurseries shipped
to the region from Turkey (4 th and 5 th FAWWON)
numbered 300 lines and contained only 10-15 g of
seed. Within two years it was obvious that some of
the lines selected from these nurseries competed
well not only with local checks but also with the
best new lines/varieties.
Table 1. Structure of the CIMMYT program in CAC, 2000-
2001.
Germplasm development
General/Economics
Spring Agronomy/
Activity/ Winter wheat Seed On-farm Economic Consulting
Country wheat shuttle production activities analysis NARS
Armenia X X X
Azerbaijan X X X X
Georgia X X
Kazakhstan X X X X X X
Kyrgyzstan X X X
Tadjikistan X X X
Turkmenistan X X
Uzbekistan X X X X X
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