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I found Mr Rob Moss' piece interesting and just wanted to add what the IAEA
were doing in Zambia on trying to increase yields of crops. 

The short background to this was that the Government of Zambia requested
IAEA assistance in a programme to develop cassava with increased root yield,
disease resistance, and improved nutritional quality using mutation and in
vitro techniques. Cassava ranks as the principal food security crop, and the
demand for cassava planting material by farmers has steadily increased in
the past 10 years. Cassava is grown by small-scale farmers who are
resource-poor and is becoming increasingly important as a food security crop
in drought-prone areas. The demand for cassava planting material by farmers
has steadily increased, from 20,000 cuttings in 1988-1989, to as many as
400,000 in 1994-1995, and over a million in 1998-1999. The project aims at
improving the production of cassava at the Research Branch of the Ministry
of Agriculture, Food, and Fisheries (MAFF), which is carrying out a major
crop-breeding programme. MAFF has been working closely in collaboration with
the National Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research (NISIR) and the
School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Zambia. The method will be to
develop mutants of major food crops with high yield and resistance to pests,
diseases, drought, and heat using radiation and in vitro techniques. The
project will help to alleviate hunger and poverty in drought-prone regions,
in line with the Government strategy, which is to reduce the dependence
syndrome by providing an alternative to maize, such as cassava, through crop
diversification. Advanced mutant lines for finger millet have already been
produced under previous IAEA Technical Cooperation projects. Mutants of both
crops will be evaluated on-station and on-farm for their yield potential and
submitted to the National Variety Trials for official release and
dissemination to farmers. 
To date, the component on finger millet has been progressing very well and 2
promising lines with average fingers of 10 per head and increased yields of
6-8 tons/ha have been identified. Nutritional analysis of these lines have
also showed increased values in Calcium and Zinc.
This is just general information, but if you want more specific information
on the technology, I will contact my colleagues and ask them to respond on
issues raised.

Regarding China specifically, the technology was transferred to China to
release at least five new varieties of rice commercially, with focus on
higher yields and disease resistance. These new varieties were planted on
over 20 million hectares. A follow up project concentrated on quality, since
rising living standards led to consumer demand for new rice varieties with
improved grain quality. Protocols and facilities for rapid and simple
economic quality evaluation were required for this, but I don't have any
information on this.

Mr Abdul-Malik
IAEA/Department of Technical Cooperation
Austria

-----Original Message-----
From: <address removed> [mailto:<address removed>
Sent: Tuesday, 04 May, 2004 15:58
To: Dalrymple, Dana G.EEGAT/ESP/IRB"
Cc: <address removed>
Subject: Re: Science and Technology : more on China


I led a farming systems study in China in 1993. We covered an 
area that is part of the Three Rivers Plain; a very uniform area of 
some 200 million househods. One finding was that production of 
the major crops (winter wheat and summer maize) was dependant 
on pumped ground water and the water table was dropping like a 
stone, high use of inputs and HYVarieties meant up tyo 15 tonnes 
of grain per ha. per yr.. The pre-revolution typical crop was rainfed 
millet, one crop a year with low yields. What was clear from that 
study, was that, regardless of demand, that cropping system 
was/is unsustainable. However, the centralised nature of target 
setting for agrioculture meant that nobody at any level below the 
natioanl leadership would/could take any action to try to moderate 
water consumption (and so limit grain output). 

Rob Moss.



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