Sustainable intensification of cereals
in Nepal: the example of maize
Knowledge, tools, and lessons for
informing the design and implementation
of food security strategies in Asia.
November 14 – 15, 2011
Kathmandu, Nepal
Andrew McDonald* (a.mcdonald@cgiar.org)
T.P. Tiwari
Krishna Devkota
D.P. Sherchan
A.P. Regmi
Tika Karki
R.B. Katuwal
Santosh Maratha
*Regional Cropping Systems Agronomist
CIMMYT – South Asia Regional Office

Development ‘wars’ come to
Nepal
“…USAID/NEAT and
Monsanto, in coordination
with GoN, will implement a
pilot project to promote
the use of hybrid maize
seeds in three
districts…”
News release, September 13, 2011
“Hybrid maize controversy:
Government officials deny
Monsanto deal.”
Kathmandu Post, November 9, 2011
‘…hybrid seeds in Nepal will have
disastrous consequences as it will
damage the soil and land leading to
increased use of fertilizers thus
decreasing… livelihoods in farming…’
Himalayan Times, November 12, 2011.

The critics (paraphrased)
● Hybrids ‘need’ chemical fertilizers and will not
grow without more external inputs
● Fertilizers ‘destroy’ soils and livelihoods
● Hybrids will disrupt the self-reliance of the
majority of farmers
● Nepal will be at the mercy of the companies like
Monsanto that will ‘force’ farmers to grow their
seed
● USAID and other development agencies should
support alternatives like organic farming in Nepal

Do these debates matter?
NGO advised this famer not to ‘damage’ his soil with fertilizers
and he listened. Despite direct evidence to the contrary:

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
0 50 100 150 200
Maizeyield(tha-1)
Nitrogen fertilizer (kg ha-1)
OPV
Hybrid
On-farm, Nawalparasi District, 2011
Consistent yield
advantage with
hybrids under
both high and low
fertility.
Hybrids can be
advantageous
low-input
production
environments.
OPVs are
responsive
to fertilizers, but
from a lower base.
Partially-irrigated spring maize in a high rainfall year

Low N scenario Yield
(kg ha-1)
Gross returns – seed
costs ($ ha-1)
Increase in net revenues
with hybrid ($ ha-1)
Hybrid maize 4000 1049 376
‘Improved’ OPV 2500 673 --
High N scenario Yield
(kg ha-1)
Gross returns – seed
costs ($ ha-1)
Increase in net revenues
with hybrid ($ ha-1)
Hybrid maize 6300 1679 402
‘Improved’ OPV 4700 1276 --
Substantial increase in net revenue with hybrids under high and low
fertility after accounting for differential costs of seed.
On-farm, Nawalparasi District, 2011

Do fertilizers pay too?
N fertilizer + hybrid
seed more than
doubles profitability
in our data-set compared
with un-fertilized OPVs

Should hybrids be ‘off the table’ in
un-irrigated, hill production systems?
On-farm demonstrations,
Palpa District, 2011

Without the benefit of ‘niche’
markets, is organic production a
viable alternative?Parba
t
Baglun
g
Myagdi
Urea (kg ha- 56 49.4 44.2
DAP (kg ha- 28 20.8 41.2
FYM (fresh kg ha-1) 8932
Total nitrogen (kg ha-
1) 64 51 55
Maize yield (t ha-1) 1.7 1.8 1.9
Farmers in Nepal already make efficient use of available
organics.
Without significantly more inputs (of any kind), soil
degradation, subsistence-type production, food insecurity,
and poverty traps prevail.
15 tons of FYM ≈ 56 kg N ha-1

Point #1: More than 12 maize hybrids have already been
registered and formally released, including from Monsanto and
NARC / NMRP.
‘Rampur Hybrid-2’ from NMRP proposed for release in July 2011.
Point #2: The GoN has a multi-locational testing, registration, and
release program for new varieties; companies do not decide
which crop varieties and hybrids are released in Nepal.
Point #3: Hybrids can generate substantial yield and economic
benefits even in rainfed production ecologies and where fertilizer
use is relatively low.
Point #4: Whatever the (de)merits of GMOs, hybrids are not
GMOs.
Point #5: Many farms in the hills of Nepal are close to ‘de facto’
organic. Average household food sufficiency is less than 6
months in these systems. The status quo does not work.

Nepal: small country, big extremes
(temporal and spatial)
Maize is the primary food
staple in the mid-hills
(70% of the national
production), but these
areas are chronically food
deficient.
Maize in the Terai is
primarily a commercial
crop utilized for feed –
Nepal imports half of its
required maize feed..
Increased maize production
and profitability is essential
for food security and
livelihoods.

Intensifying maize production and
profits: what do farmers really need?
Parbat Baglung Myagdi
Fertilizer use
Increased 0 4 0
Same 60 57 0
Decreased 40 39 100
FYM use
Increased 12 0 0
Same 28 52 93
Decreased 60 48 7
Labor
Increased 0 0 0
Same 32 22 0
Decreased 68 78 100
FYM / fertilizer use and agricultural labor
is stagnating or declining in the hills.
Variability/risk is high in
rainfed ecologies

Minimum or zero tillage
Residue retention
Crop Rotation
Resilience to climate risks
Higher, more stable yields
Increased profitability
Reduced
costs
Water use
efficient
Improved
soil quality
Conservation agriculture (CA)
for coping with water / labor scarcity and managing
risk
Catalyst for sustainable intensification

Efficiency of rainwater utilization
and crop yield in water-limited
systems
Conventional Conservation Agriculture

Weed competition causes >1 t ha-1
yield loss for maize in the hills
CIMMYT, NARC, and IAAS are
developing Integrated weed
management practices that are labor
and cost efficient.

Difficult terrain in the hills
(PP
P)
Low mechanization
levels
Out-migration
In partnership with NARC (Shreemat
Shrestha) and private partners in Nepal
(BLT Traders) and India (National Agro-
Industries).
Advances and commercialization of
scale-appropriate mechanization is urge

Terai maize: irrigation, hybrids, and highe
rates of fertilizer use are common practice
…but internal demand for feed from commercial maize
system is double current production with import costs of
approximate 200 million NPR. A missed opportunity for
Nepali farmers?
Why isn’t maize production higher in the Terai?
• High production costs
• Risk of cold damage (winter crop)
• Insufficient knowledge of better-bet management pract

CA = Near-term economic gains + long-
term sustainability
Increase yield and profitability of $100 - $250 ha-1 for
wheat

Cold Tolerance
DoA’s ‘maize mission’
to promote hybrids in the Terai
Initially raised yields significantly,
but cold damage in 2010 severely
reduced yields.
A 200 million NPR settlement
ensued.
In partnership with NARC and IAAS, CIMMYT is evaluating both
genetic and agro-climatic factors with field trials + simulation
models in order to reduce risk of cold damage and crop failure in
winter maize.

Courtesy of Roland Buresh, IR
2. Compute field-
specific
guideline
Model hosted
on the cloud
1. Acquire field-specific
information from
farmers Web Smartphon
e
3. Provide customized
field-specific
guidelines in local
language
Multi-
format
output
Site-specific management that is
appropriate for smallholders

Fostering small and medium-scale
enterprises (SMEs) offer strong
possibilities for achieving impact at
scale by overcoming bottlenecks
such as the cost of machinery,
logistics of training individual
farmers (i.e. one service provider
reaches many farmers), etc.
• technical training,
• examples of viable business
models for new entrepreneurs
• market and marketing advise
Beyond Technologies:
Encouraging entrepreneurship

Change pathways: coordinated
interventions integrating technology,
policies, outreach, etc.

Thank You
MANY ROADBLOCKS….
BUT PLENTY OF INGENUI
MANY ROADBLOCKS….