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A grand gathering: General Research Meeting (GRM) 2013

Closing GCP, Crop breeding, Events No Responses »

Nov 122013

Participants at the 2013 GRM. High-resolution version on Flickr: http://bit.ly/1fxhkmQ

Participants at the 2013 GRM. High-resolution version on our Flickr account.

The General Research Meeting (GRM) is by far the largest and most important event on our calendar. This year’s GRM was held on September 27‒30 2013, with 135 people from 35 countries attending (see list).

Various presentations were made on progress and next steps on research in GCP projects, including for GCP’s Integrated Breeding Platform (IBP). Focus was on GCP’s nine focus crops in Phase II – beans, cassava, chickpeas, cowpeas, groundnuts, maize, rice, sorghum and wheat, with the poster sessions adding a couple more (see ‘sixty posters’ below). You can view the presentations made on our website (to see them in the context of the overall agenda), or on SlideShare (all gathered in one place). We have uploaded all but one presentation, where we’re still waiting for the presenter’s permission to publish. A comprehensive update on all GCP projects is here (PDF). The meeting was a blend of plenary sessions on core topics and research updates, and ‘drill-down’ breakouts on crops, data management and capacity building (the last two, in the context of IBP’s proposed Phase II, which had its own dedicated one-day stakeholder meeting after GRM, on 1st October).

Social were we…but we also did some heavy lifting
We didn’t just talk to ourselves: we made a bit of noise on social media to also bring in other voices into the GRM discourse and chit-chat, using the hashtag #GRM13, creating a good buzz of conversations. Also linking in to GRM were our LinkedIn followers. And neither was it all business, science and rigid structure: there was free-flow too, with an open afternoon where participants could take a relaxing break, organise their own meetings, or take a tour to Lisbon. Some of the scenes from the tour are posted on Flickr, as are other snapshots from the meeting. We’ve since gathered up some of the social media posts on Storify.

GRM was far from its grim-sounding abbreviation and hashtag on social media: exemplifying the best of the ‘GCP spirit’, the sessions were engaging, relaxed, conversational and spiced with humour and a light touch, despite the ‘heavy’ topics under discussion (see agenda). But the topic at hand was grim, since the situation is dire – drought affects almost all crops and all regions worldwide. As drought tolerance is our key focus since inception, most of the discussions naturally centred on this topic. Equally important is the scourge wrought by pests and disease, which afflict some crops more than others. For example, under most circumstance, cassava is naturally very drought-tolerant, but what good will this do if cassava survives drought only to succumb to the deadly pests and diseases that stalk this drought champion?

Sunset and ‘moon-rise’
GRM was also a time for both stocktaking and mapping the future given GCP’s sunset in 2014. A central and recurring theme was GCP’s transition strategy, and how – and where – to embed GCP-initiated projects that will extend beyond the Programme’s lifetime. For this, the CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs) are a natural first choice. GRM enjoyed a very good representation of the CRPs, with all six crop CRPs represented, some at the highest level.

A few members of our Executive Board also attended. Board Chair, Andrew Bennett, set the right tone for the meeting. In his remarks at the opening session, he emphasised that this was not a time for sadness, swan songs and moping as GCP approaches sunset. Rather, it was a time to appreciate the beauty of sunsets, in the sure knowledge that sunsets give rise to moon-rise!

A section of Poster Session II presenters. IN the foreground, Andrew Bennett, Chair, GCP Excecutive Board.

A section of Poster Session II presenters. In the foreground, Andrew Bennett, Chair, GCP Executive Board.

“Say it succinctly in sixty seconds!”
The poster session was as lively as always, with a record of… (hold your breath!) 60 posters presented, surpassing the previous GRM in 2011 which attracted 53 posters.

Perfection! Sixty posters for sixty seconds
Sixty was a PERFECT number for the 60-second sizzle, where each poster presenter had a maximum of 60 seconds (and not a second more!) to present at plenary, devising whichever means necessary to attract the audience to their poster. It was easy to discern the brash ‘old hands’ who had perfected their art after several GRMs; the tricksters and various reincarnations of The Artful Dodger amongst them, trying to beat the clock; new and slightly jittery presenters who were more than just a little bewildered but still proved their mettle; and the new, sassy and confident. This beautiful blend apart, the poster session brought in not only new faces to add to the familiar ones, but also refreshing new tastes to diversify and sweeten our Staple of Nine crops. To our diet of cereals, legumes and tubers, poster presenters from The Philippines added eggplants, rounded off with bananas for dessert.

“Definitely time for dessert, and do not disturb!” they seem to be saying. Jean-Christophe Glaszmann (left) and Hei Leung (right), who played ace roles on a multi-partner GCP project on bananas.

♫ Welcome to the Hotel California! ♫…
As always, GRM was a mingling of old and new friends, a time for some paths to meet and for new forks to branch out, a season to reflectively look back and progressively face forwards. In keeping with Andrew’s continuity of sunsets giving way to moonrise, we said a group goodbye to Rajeev Varshney, former Genomics Theme Leader, who left the GCP Management Team in August. And we were happy to once again welcome, embrace and recognise two old friends – Jean Christophe Glaszmann (CIRAD) and Hei Leung (IRRI), who were, respectively ex-Subprogramme Leaders for genetic diversity and genomics in GCP Phase I, and continue to be involved with GCP as researchers, as will Rajeev.

In this picture, we caught up with them at a very appropriate moment: dessert during the Gala Dinner. Take it from us, these two guys are well versed in matters dessert, with a dash of science, as this blast from the past on bananas attests, also summarised in a Facebook photo-story here.

We are indeed a Hotel California of sorts – always open for check-in and checkout. As for leaving…we’re still working on the modalities of that!

And despite the fond farewell, truth is Rajeev is not going anywhere either, as far as GCP is concerned. You only needed to have been at GRM or following the conversations on Facebook and Twitter, especially the photos, to witness this. He was (delightfully!) all over the place, passing on his ‘positive epidemic’ of highly infectious enthusiasm and incredible energy. Here he is in action at the Gala Dinner in the photos below, which really need no caption. We’re sure you’ll be able to easily spot Rajeev, ‘high-fivin’ and ‘rapping’, eclipsing the GCP Director, who however appears quite pleased in his lower perch with Rajeev on the platform. But if you’re truly lost and can’t spot the super-charged high-energy guy in the photos, no worries! Here are some handy clues.

In distinguished company
Rajeev’s energy goes beyond GRM and GCP; this year as in previous ones, he received several awards, among them, the Young Crop Scientist Award by Crop Science Society of America, and the Illumina Agriculture Greater Good Initiative Award.

Hari Upadhyaya

Prior to these recognitions during the Gala Dinner, Jean-Marcel formally honoured ICRISAT’s Hari Upadhyaya (pictured) during plenary for two awards Hari had received in the course of the year, also from the Crop Science Society of America. These awards were for Hari’s notable contributions – at international level – to crop science, and to plant genetic resources.

Hari is a long-term GCP Principal Investigator, working primarily on sorghum. But that is not the only crop he works on. Hari was the lead author of the joint chickpea and pigeonpea chapter in our book on drought phenotyping.

Evaluation
Unlike other GRMs where we’ve requested participants to evaluate the meeting, we did not do so this year, since this is very likely the last meeting of its kind, and the goal of the evaluation is to use participant feedback to improve future meetings. With the help of our participants, we’ve applied the lessons we’ve learnt from them through the years to arrive at what we believe to be a winning combination, balancing the diverse interests of our participants for overall improvement of their GRM experience.

Hitting the nail on the head: A nuts-and-bolts approach to local capacity empowerment (short version)

Capacity building, Closing GCP No Responses »

Jun 202012

Breathing life into support services

By addressing the needs at the heart of quality agricultural research, right there on the station, GCP was the first to cotton on to a crucial missing link between researcher, research station, and support services.” – Hannibal Muhtar (pictured)

“One thing that really energises me,“ enthuses GCP Consultant Hannibal Muhtar, “is seeing people understand why they need to do the work, and being given the chance to do the how.”

And so was born another wonderfully fruitful GCP collaboration. Hannibal, who describes the assignment as “a breath of fresh air,” was asked to identify, together with GCP project Principal Investigators, African research sites of ongoing or potential GCP Research Initiative projects where effective scientific research might be hampered by significant gaps in one fundamental area: infrastructure, equipment and support services. As at June 2012, 19 sites had been selected.

Meet Hannibal Muhtar (audio clip)

Embarking on the voyage to change, storms ‘n’ all
In 2010 and 2011, Hannibal visited these stations, meeting staff at all levels and functions, for an in-depth analyses and appropriate recommendations to assure high-quality field evaluations for GCP-funded projects. With funding from GCP’s Integrated Breeding Platform (IBP), and with the openness, commitment and energy of station staff to implement these recommendations, the efforts are, starting to bear fruit.

Flashback to 2010. Photo 1: Hannibal (centre) at a planning session at Sega, Western Kenya, with Samuel Gudu of Moi University (right) and Onkware Augustino (left). Photo 2: Similarly, at Tanzania’s Agricultural Research Institute, Naliendele, with Omari Mponda (right).

But it has not all been smooth sailing, and the storms encountered along en route should not be underestimated.

Weeds, wear and tear, and a walk on the wild side
“The real challenge,” says GCP’s Director of Research, Xavier Delannay (pictured), “is not in the science, but rather in the real nuts-and-bolts of getting the work done in local field conditions.” The obstacles, are often mundane – missing or faulty, weather stations or irrigation systems; weed-infested fields ravaged, or poor drainage, for example. Yet such factors compromise brilliant research. Take unfenced plots for example – equipment gets stolen, and animals roam freely.

Getting down to the brass tacks of local empowerment, and aiming higher
The overarching objective is, in Xavier’s words, “The effective running of local stations, for facilitating local research, improving local crops, and ultimately leading to empowerment and self-reliance of local farming communities.”

In tackling the matter, Hannibal employed a multi-faceted customised approach, based on the needs of each site, for both equipment and training for technicians, tractor operators and station managers. The dedication of the managers to both learn and continue these efforts after the training was particularly gratifying, since it assures sustainability.

“At the end of the day, it’s about achieving food security and improving livelihoods… which pave the way for healthy families and profitable agriculture,” concludes Hannibal.

Lights, curtain… action!
Much like in theatre, with all the ‘props’ in place, field trials are now performing well, thanks to streamlined ‘backstage’ support. Hannibal likens the positive feedback from the partners he has worked with to “A glass of cold water, after a long day in the sun!”

“With proper infrastructure in place, and with research station staff duly equipped with the hands-on expertise and practical know-how to utilise and apply this infrastructure and training, we’re now seeing field experiments being conducted as they should be, and getting good-quality phenotyping data as a result,” says Xavier. “Moreover,” he continues, “by providing glass-houses or the capacity to irrigate in the dry season, we are enabling breeders to accelerate their breeding cycles, so that they can work all year round, rather than having to wait until the rain comes.”
Examples include sites in Kenya, Mali and Nigeria.

The missing link
As the nuts-and-bolts begin to fall in place for, Hannibal reveals: “By addressing the needs at the heart of quality agricultural research, right there on the station, GCP was the first to cotton on to a crucial missing link between researcher, research station, and support services.”

…and yet another missing link…
But the job is not quite done. One crucial gap is the sensitisation of upper management – those at the helm of national research institutes and research station Directors – to support and sustain infrastructure, training and related services. In some cases, costs could be easily met by utilising a priceless asset that most institutes already have, and which they could put to greater us – land and a controlled environment.

Upper management needs to be actively on board. “A research institute should work like a good sewing machine,” says Hannibal. “All well-oiled, all parts working well, and everybody knowing what they need to do.”

In the meantime, however, results from the field suggest that researchers in GCP projects are already reaping the benefits from improved infrastructure and support services, and are already off to a good start.

The ‘stage’ is therefore set: ‘backstage’ and ‘props’ are well primed, performance trials are acting like they should, and the ‘theatre directors’ have an eye on sustainability after GCP’s final curtain call in 2014.

So, long may the show go on, with a cautionary word, however, to continually seek ways to not only maintain but also enhance performance!

Want more details? Read the extended version of this story

Relevant links

PODCASTS: You can also listen to Hannibal, by tuning into Episode 2 for the entire interview, or zooming in on your particular area of interest in the mini-podcasts labelled Episodes 2.1 to 2.7 c here.
Capacity building
Research Initiatives
Integrated Breeding Platform website

Hitting the nail on the head: A nuts-and-bolts approach to local capacity empowerment (extended version)

Capacity building, Closing GCP No Responses »

Jun 202012

Breathing life into support services

By addressing the needs at the heart of quality agricultural research, right there on the station, GCP was the first to cotton on to a crucial missing link between researcher, research station, and support services.” – Hannibal Muhtar

Want to cut to the chase and only need the bare bones of this story? Skip over to the short version

“One thing that really energises me,” enthuses GCP Consultant Hannibal Muhtar, “is seeing people understand why they need to do the work, and being given the chance to do the how.” And so was born another wonderfully fruitful GCP collaboration. Hannibal, who describes the assignment as “a breath of fresh air,” was asked to identify, together with GCP project Principal Investigators, African research sites of ongoing or potential GCP Research Initiative projects where effective scientific research might be hampered by significant gaps in one fundamental area: infrastructure, equipment and support services.

Meet Hannibal Muhtar (Audio clip)

As at June 2012, the 19 sites selected were:

Burkina Faso – L’Institut de l’environnement et de recherches agricoles sites at :
1. Banfora
2. Farako-Bâ Regional Centre
Ethiopia
3. Hawassa Agricultural Research Station
4. The Southern Agricultural Research Institute
Ghana – Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Crops Research Institute sites at:
5. Kumasi
6. Tamale
Kenya
7.   Moi University (site 1)
8.   Moi University (site 2)
9.   Egerton University (Njoro site)
10.   Egerton University (Koibatek Farmers Training Centre)
Mali – L’Institut d’Économie Rurale sites at:
11.   Sotuba
12.   Cinzana
13.   Longrola
Niger – ICRISAT site
14.   Sadore
Nigeria
15.   National Cereals Research Institute
National Root Crops Research Institute sites at:
16.   Umudike
17.   Kano
Tanzania – Agricultural Research Institute at:
18.   Naliendele
19.   Mtwara

Flashback to 2010. Picture on the left: Hannibal at a planning session at Sega, Western Kenya, with Samuel Gudu and Onkware Augustino. Picture on the right: Similarly, at Naliendele, in Tanzania with Omari Mponda.

Embarking on the voyage to change, storms ‘n’ all
Hannibal, armed with years of practical experience in the application of engineering sciences in agriculture and developing countries, as well as an attentive ear to the real needs of researchers, embarked on a series of visits to these research stations in 2010 and 2011, meeting with staff of all levels, departments and functions, carrying out in-depth analyses and draw up concrete recommendations for infrastructure and support service investments for each of the sites so that good-quality field evaluations (‘phenotyping’ in ‘breeder-speak) of GCP-funded projects could be conducted. Thanks to funding from GCP’s Integrated Breeding Platform (IBP), and to the openness, commitment and energy of research staff on the ground to implement these recommendations, the efforts of multiple cross-cutting partnerships across Sub-Saharan Africa are, in 2012, starting to bear fruit. But it has not all been smooth sailing, and the storms encountered along the way to reach this end goal should not be underestimated.

Weeds, wear and tear, and a walk on the wild side
The obstacles, says GCP’s Director of Research, Xavier Delannay (pictured, can often be mundane in nature – a lack of or faulty weather stations or irrigation systems, or fields ravaged by weeds or drainage problems and in dire need of rehabilitation, for example. Yet such factors compromise brilliant research. A simple lack of fencing, Xavier and Hannibal expound, commonly results not only in equipment being stolen, but also in roaming cattle and wild animals – boars, monkeys, hippopotamus and hyena, to name but a few – stomping over precious experiment sites and posing serious threats to field staff safety. “The real challenge lies not in the science, but rather in the real nuts-and-bolts of getting the work done in local field conditions,” he explains.’’

Hannibal concurs: “If GCP had not invested in these research support infrastructure and services, then their investment in research would have been in vain. Tools and services must be in place as and when needed, and in good working order. Tractors must be able to plough when they should plough.’’

But a critical change is also needed in mindset and budgeting. ‘’The word ‘maintenance,’’’ a Senegalese partner commented to Hannibal, describing his institute, “does not exist in our vocabulary and is not a line-item on our budget.”

The problem then is not always about limited funds but rather much more on how the funds available are budgeted, excluding the all-essential support services.

Getting down to the brass tacks of local empowerment, and aiming higher
Multi-lingual and fluent in English, Arabic and French, Hannibal employed a multi-faceted customised approach, based on the needs of each site, be it sharing his tricks-of-the-trade and improvising local solutions, or guiding researchers in identifying their specific needs, as well as on where and how to request equipment, just to mention a few examples. In other cases he would teach local station managers to build and apply simple yet revolutionary tools such as land-levellers (referred to as ‘floats’ in industrial-speak), as well as row-markers for more uniform spacing between rows and plants in the field.

In addition, he would organise a training workshops in either English or French, with different content for technicians, machine operators and station managers. The dedication demonstrated by this latter group to both learn and continue these efforts after the training was particularly pertinent for ensuring the long-term sustainability of the investments.

A colourful menu of options, then, for achieving one common overarching objective, which, as summarised neatly by Xavier, is: “The effective running of local experiment stations, for facilitating local research, improving local crops, and ultimately leading to empowerment and self-reliance of local farming communities.”

“At the end of the day, it’s about achieving food security and improving livelihoods,” Hannibal emphasises. Looking back at some of the research stations that are now well-equipped and are being managed well, and the improved crop varieties being produced and projected, Hannibal highlights the “harmonious chain” triggered as a result: “Food security and better livelihoods pave way for healthy, well-fed families, and agriculture growing beyond subsistence into an economic activity,” Hannibal concludes.

Lights, curtain… ACTION!
Much like in theatre, with all the ‘props’ in place, Hannibal reports that field trials are now performing well, thanks to the all-important ‘backstage’ support service elements being in good shape. Hannibal likens the positive feedback from the partners he has worked with to “A glass of cold water, after a long day in the sun!”

And there’s a beautiful simplicity to the impacts described: “With proper infrastructure in place, and with research station staff duly equipped with the hands-on expertise and practical know-how to utilise and apply this infrastructure and training, we’re now seeing field experiments being conducted as they should be, and getting good-quality phenotyping data as a result,” says Xavier. “Moreover,” he continues, “by providing glass-houses or the capacity to irrigate in the dry season, we are enabling breeders to accelerate their breeding cycles, so that they can work all year round, rather than having to wait until the rain comes.” Sites hosting GCP projects on rice in Nigeria, as well as on sorghum and rice in Mali, are just a few examples of those enjoying off-season work thanks to new irrigation systems.

Similar good news is expected soon for cassava in Ghana and in northern Nigeria. And yet more good news: in some cases, the impacts have not been limited to the trials, or even to the research trials and stations alone, as Xavier highlights with an example from Kenya: “The establishment of an irrigation system on a plot at Koibatek Farmer Training Centre – a partner of Egerton University – yielded excellent results for chickpea experiments. We emphasised that we did not want the equipment to be ‘bracketed’ exclusively for science and experiments. So, it was also used to train staff and farmers from the local community as well. This was greatly appreciated.”

Seeing the nuts-and-bolts now firmly in place for the majority of the sites visited, Hannibal believes GCP has facilitated a pioneering approach to local capacity building: “By addressing the needs at the heart of quality agricultural research, right there on the station, GCP was the first to cotton on to a crucial missing link between researcher, research station, and support services,” he reveals.

…Another missing link…
But the job is not quite done. One crucial gap is the sensitisation of upper management – those at the helm of national research institutes and research station Directors – to support and sustain infrastructure, training and related services. In some cases, costs could be easily met by utilising a priceless asset that most institutes already have, and which they could put to greater us – land and a controlled environment.

The stage is therefore set: backstage and props are well primed, performance trials are acting like they should, and the ‘theatre directors’ have an eye on sustainability after GCP’s final curtain call in 2014.

So, long may the show go on, with a cautionary word, however, to continually seek ways to not only maintain but also enhance performance!

Relevant links

PODCASTS: You can also listen to Hannibal, by tuning into Episode 2 for the entire interview, or zooming in on your particular area of interest in the mini-podcasts labelled Episodes 2.1 to 2.7 c here.
Capacity building
Research Initiatives
Integrated Breeding Platform website

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