Colombia

CGIAR Presence in Colombia

Colombia hosts one of the fifteen Centers supported by the CGIAR alliance. The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Cali, Colombia aims to help rural people build sustainable livelihoods through a diverse portfolio of research projects, whose results contribute to a more competitive agriculture, healthier agroecosystems, and more dynamic rural innovation.

Colombia became a CGIAR member in 1994. Its support to the CGIAR is provided through the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) , International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) maintain regional research programs in Colombia.

Selected CGIAR Projects in Colombia

Bringing in local stakeholders through the CIAL committees

• CIAT is a pioneer in the field of sustainable development and capacity building through its creation of Local Agricultural Research Committees (CIAL). CIAL offers farmers the opportunity to express their views, participate in setting the research agenda, and to engage with scientists on the development and evaluation of agricultural technologies. In one example from Cauca, Colombia, following a participatory process, over 80% of farmers from the village of Pescador adopted a bean variety recommended by the CIAL.

Providing cassava farmers with a new biopesticide to fight hornworm

• CIAT has recently released a new biopesticide that is highly effective against hornworm, a major agricultural pest affecting cassava root harvests. The baculovirus was developed under an R&D partnership between CIAT and the biopesticide company BIOTROPICAL. The new, relatively inexpensive product kills hornworm larvae during their early development and is providing major benefits to Colombian cassava farmers.

Release of Nataima-31- a new cassava variety

• In 2003, CIAT and the Colombian Corporation for Agricultural Research (CORPOICA) released Nataima-31, the first-ever cassava variety that resists a highly destructive species of whitefly affecting northern parts of South America. This new variety is providing such good results that Colombian farmers are being advised to stop using pesticides, a proven financial and health burden. Natima-31, the first whitefly-resistant cassava variety to be officially released anywhere, is providing high yields, resists thrips and mites, and is suitable for both human consumption and industrial processing.

Acid soil tolerant maize

• Acid soils cover 80% of agricultural lands in South America. Traditional maize varieties yield as little as 0.5t/ha of grain on moderately acidic soils, compared with an average of just over 2.0t/ha in developing countries. Demand for maize is growing 4% each year, and the continued migration of rural populations to the cities is placing heavy pressure on maize producers. Following decades of collaborative research, CORPOICA and CIMMYT launched a new acid-tolerant maize variety, ICA-Sikuani V-110, which is now being grown on approximately 50,000 ha in Colombia.

• In August, 2000 Colombia’s first acid soil tolerant maize hybrid, Corpoica H-108 was released. The hybrid seed developed from CIMMYT inbred lines complements the popular, open pollinated, acid tolerant variety, ICA-Sikuani V-110. Corpoica H-108 is providing record yields averaging 4.1 tons/ha. In 2005, the hybrid is scheduled to be planted in 5,000 ha of Colombia's Llanos Orientales, an area known for its acid soils.

Maize for Colombia's coffee growers

• For years, coffee growers in Colombia have worked to find alternative crops to complement the income received from coffee sales. In 2004, Colombia's President Álvaro Uribe, gave an award to the coffee grower producing the best maize yields in the country. The final winners of the contest used the CIMMYT maize variety, ICA-V305, after achieving an average productivity of 5.49 tones/ha, at a cost of US 120/ton. In partnership with FEDERCAFE and FENALCE, CIMMYT is developing new maize hybrids such as ICA-V305. At least 200 producers are scheduled to test these experimental hybrids in the 2005 planting season.

Tackling spittlebugs

• Spittlebug pests cause grave problems in the pastures of Colombia’s Caribbean coastal regions. In 2002, CIAT scientists estimated the economic losses caused by spittlebugs, reducing beef and milk production, to be at least US$40 million annually. CIAT has developed new spittlebug-resitant forage grass Brachiaria that are better adapted to local soil and climate conditions. CIAT research is also supporting the development of new biocontrol options and more affordable pasture-management methods.

New legume provides feed for cattle during dry season

• In many livestock-raising areas, particularly Colombia’s savanna and Central America’s hillsides, there is a long, forage-scarce dry season. CIAT scientists have been experimenting to create a drought-tolerant shrub that would help small beef and dairy farmers. In 2002, CORPOICA released a superior CIAT variety of a protein-rich legume native to Latin America. Cratylia argentea provides reliable feed for cattle during the long dry season. This is helping poor farmers through increased milk and beef production.

Understanding papaya's genetic diversity

• The common papaya, Carica papaya, is the fourth most important tropical fruit in economic terms in the world. Local Andean cultivars cannot resist the severe papaya ringspot virus and bacterial canker which severely limit the expansion of the crop. An IPGRI project, funded by the Regional Fund for Agricultural Technology (FONTAGRO) studies the diversity of the papaya plant and its main pathogens. The genetic diversity of 86 plants and 35 accessories was analyzed at Universidad Caldas in Colombia, resulting in the development of a descriptor list and standard design for diversity analysis of common papaya and its relatives. This research promises to increase breeding of the crop in the region and to reduce Colombia's reliance on imported seeds from Asia.

Related Links

Colombian Corporation for Agricultural Research (CORPOICA)

Regional Fund for Agricultural Technology (FONTAGRO)