Development Cooperation

Since 2012, KWS has been continuously involved in various developing countries, to support young researchers particularly in conserving plant genetic resources, plant breeding and establishing seed systems. In this context, KWS implements requirements of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

Learn more about our activities in development cooperation in the following countries here:

Projects in Peru

Challenges and goals in Peru

Due to the variable altitudes from zero to over 6,000 meters above sea level, Peru's climate and agricultural production systems are highly diverse. Correspondingly, Peruvian small-scale farmers cultivate a large diversity of quinoa, corn, and other crops. However, climate change and environmental degradation threaten this crop diversity. In addition, young people are relocating to cities and traditional knowledge about cultivation, use and conservation of the crop diversity is at risk. The consequences are chronic food shortages and prevalent malnutrition - particularly in remote regions. To increase the food security of Peruvian small-scale farmers, KWS is focusing on three important goals: Promoting the development of new corn and quinoa varieties, sustainable conservation of genetic diversity, and training young Peruvian scientists.

Field in Peru

“Our cooperation with local Peruvian universities enables us to reach more young people with our capacity development efforts.”

- Bettina Haussmann, Manager Strategic Projects

Current activities and results

More efficient management of corn genetic resources

Together with the National Agricultural University in La Molina (UNALM) and with the support of Prof. Karl Schmid of the University of Hohenheim, we are working on the optimization of the management of corn genetic resources conserved in the UNALM gene bank.

Peruvian corn cobs

A total of 1,781 corn seed samples from various ecological zones of Peru were regenerated, characterized for important agronomic traits in their respective agroecology, genotyped to determine the underlying genetic diversity, and documented in a digital database.
New phenotyping methods using automated image analysis of the cobs were developed.
The data analysis helped to group similar seed samples, identify unwanted duplicates and mixtures, and optimize the collection. This reduces the workload of the UNALM gene bank curator in the future. The data obtained can also be used to develop appropriate concepts for in-situ conservation of the most important Peruvian corn landraces.
The activity also helped to identify promising accessions for breeding improvement with the aim of serving specific market niches.
A manuscript on the interaction of human and natural selection in the evolution of Peruvian corn landraces is currently in preparation for publication in an international journal.
Several Peruvian students have contributed to this work and have received hands-on training in the various tasks. In addition, a Peruvian young talented professor was trained at the University of Hohenheim in modern genotyping-by-sequencing techniques so that he can also apply this method in his laboratory at UNALM and thus train even more students in it. Such an approach of "training of trainers" and generally the cooperation with local Peruvian universities enables us to reach more people with our initiative.

Characterization of quinoa genetic resources

Quinoa is an annual, highly nutritious grain crop that was domesticated in the Andes about 4,000 years ago. About 1,200 quinoa accessions (or seed samples) conserved by the National University of the Altiplano (UNAP) and the Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco (UNSAAC) were characterized for their agronomic traits and are currently being genotyped using sequencing techniques to understand their genetic diversity. A Peruvian PhD student is being trained at the University of Hohenheim to perform the data analysis, identify duplicates and mixtures, streamline the collections, and identify promising accessions for the development of new varieties. The team also aims to develop automated image analysis tools for more efficient characterization of quinoa genetic resources.

Mountain landscape in Peru

Development of effective quinoa breeding strategies

In cooperation with the National University of the Altiplano (UNAP) and Prof. Karl Schmid of the University of Hohenheim, we develop effective quinoa breeding strategies. To that end, we are investigating genetic variation and gain of selection in cross progenies of different parental quinoa materials. The final aim is to identify new robust quinoa varieties and make them available to Peruvian farmers.

Peruvian child in field

Activities required for this:

Analysis of the genetic diversity of twelve quinoa varieties with almost 50,000 molecular markers.
Creation of new genetic variations by crossing genetically related and distant parents and by single and double crosses.
Characterization of twelve splitting populations in field trials at several locations for agronomic traits.
Analysis of genetic diversity of the same populations using sequencing techniques.
Identification of superior, early flowering, and high yielding progenies for variety registration.
Identification of genomic regions affecting important agronomic traits.
The same Peruvian PhD student is working on the data to obtain a PhD at the University of Hohenheim. His goal is then to return to Peru and become an international quinoa expert.

Enhancing quinoa cultivation in the Andean highlands

Scientific publication by doctoral student Flavio Lozano‑Isla, who is involved in the Peru project: Download

Peruvian child in field

Bettina Haussmann, Manager Strategic Projects

“By focusing on the intersection of plant genetic resources conservation, plant breeding and small-scale farmers’ access to improved seed, CD Seed is an exemplary model project for bilateral benefit sharing in accordance with the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources.”

Projects in Ethiopia

Challenges and goals in Ethiopia

Ethiopia is a center of diversity for several crop species, including barley. In the face of climate variability and environmental degradation, it is of utmost importance to conserve this valuable diversity for future generations. Small-scale farmers dominate Ethiopian agriculture and need robust cultivars with high resistance to predominant abiotic and biotic stress factors such as dryness or fungal diseases. However, the availability of such robust cultivars is limited, as is small-scale farmers' access to quality seed.

Ethiopian woman in grain field

Ethiopian village

Our "Capacity Development in Seeds" (CD Seed) project thus had the following goals:

Professionalization of the national gene bank at the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute (EBI).
Making plant breeding programs at the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) more efficient, with a focus on barley.
Improving small-scale farmers' access to high quality seed of barley and wheat.

Key Results CD Seed Ethiopia

PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES (PGR)

Repatriation of more than 7,000 barley and wheat samples from the German to the EBI genebank: The repatriation represented an important step to re-constitute and complete the germplasm collections at EBI. It contributes to Ethiopia’s sovereignty over Ethiopian germplasm.
Class-room and on-the-job-training of EBI staff on gene-bank management, PGR characterization and documentation, seed quality and genebank risk management in Ethiopia and at IPK-Gatersleben: 15 individuals received long-term training (up to six months) at IPK-Gatersleben; and 15 group trainings were conducted directly in Ethiopia. The trainings resulted in a streamlined database at EBI, better taxonomy knowledge, and straight-forward processes during PGR regeneration, characterization, and documentation.
Support to improve functionality of the genebank (-20°C cold room, drying chamber, packing machines and materials, scales, etc.): The new cold room was inaugurated in 2018 and enabled EBI to overcome space bottlenecks in the existing, old stores. It was essential to allow proper storage of the rich Ethiopian PGR diversity. The drying chamber was equally essential to appropriately dry the seed before long-term storage, to maintain seed viability and avoid seed molding. Packing machines and materials are essential for standardized procedures.
Improved collaboration of EBI with EIAR stations at Kulumsa and Holetta: Before the project started, the two institutions were hardly cooperating; now they work together in the fields of PGR regeneration and characterization, for example for drought and disease resistance. The results documentation facilitates a more targeted use of PGR in crop improvement.

BREEDING

The provision of elite German breeding materials (about 60 varieties of spring barley and wheat) for use as crossing parents enabled diversification of the Ethiopian genepools for specific quality traits, important for value chain development.
The training and coaching of the barley and, more recently, the faba bean breeding teams at EIAR resulted in increased efficiency and streamlining of the EIAR breeding programs as reflected by:
- informed parental choice based on sound data; appropriate dimensioning of the crossing activities, generation advancement and breeding trials;
- shortened time between data collection and selection decisions by at least four weeks due to digital data collection and faster data analysis using open-source software;
- 40% increased precision of breeding trials through improved machinery, data capturing and better analysis/estimation of quantitative-genetic parameters;
- shortening of the breeding cycles from 10-12 to 5-6 years by using the off-season.
For barley, there are realistic chances for new, superior products to appear on the market in 2024.
Enhancement of research capacity at EIAR and EBI via provision of important laboratory and field equipment; for example, the provided NIRS and Kjeldahl machines, along with the required training and calibration, enable the required grain quality analyses, especially for malting barley, while irrigation equipment allows for larger-scale off-season work and therefore faster breeding cycles.
Leadership training, teambuilding and promotion of synergies and exchange of experiences between the EIAR barley and faba bean breeding programs led to people working better together, supporting each other, feeling accountable and being motivated to contribute to a common goal.
Two Ethiopian PhD students were involved and are about to finalize their degrees.

SEED

Improved quantity and quality of early generation barley and wheat seed: In 2020, EIAR was able to produce 46 tons of early generation seed, compared to 4-5 tons at project start.
Organizational, financial, and technical support to nine regional farmer cooperatives: The training focused on foundation seed access, agronomy and disease management, seed processing and storage, cooperative and financial management, business plan development, and governance. Through a training-of-trainer approach, more and more farmers were reached, fostering decentralized, regional seed multiplication. This altogether resulted in the inclusion of 1,300 farmers, organized in the nine seed producer cooperatives. They increased their annual production of barley and wheat seeds to 1,200 tons per year (2020) compared to mostly zero at project start. As a result, circa 64,000 other smallholder farmers were supplied with improved seeds. In 2019, the cooperatives made a total income equivalent to 360,000 €. Several of the cooperatives nowadays have seed stores. During a final evaluation, eight cooperatives presented sustainable business plans.
Strengthening of seed labs: The national and four regional seed laboratories use improved equipment and apply seed quality standards set by the International Seed Testing Association.
Revision of legal and regulatory framework for seed registration: Protocols have been developed for variety testing in Ethiopia, respecting Distinctiveness, Uniformity and Stability (DUS) criteria and Value for Cultivation and Use (VCU); the protocols have been adopted for barley and wheat.
Plant breeders’ rights: The legal basis for effective variety protection was created with the new Plant Breeder’s Right (PBR) proclamation (2018) and the PBR directive (2021).

"The Ethiopian research system in general and the barley program in particular benefited a lot from the CD Seed project through the capacity development program, which makes it sustainable. Now, the barley program is in the good shape with young dedicated researchers nurtured through the continuous professional support of the project. Overall, the then CD SEED and now GIZ-SSAP is a small project with a big impact!"

(Dr. Berhane, EIAR Barley breeder and local CD Seed project leader, July 2022, Email to RvB)

Turning the project into a self-sustaining initiative

Since 2012, the CD Seed project has been embedded in larger program on Supporting Sustainable Agricultural Productivity (SSAP) in Ethiopia funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture - with co-funding from KWS and the German Federation for Plant Innovation (GFPi). The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) leads the SSAP program and is therefore an important partner alongside the Ethiopian institutions involved.

In 2022, after ten years of funding by CD Seed, the transition of the Ethiopia project into a self-sustaining initiative has been successful. In June 2022, a workshop was held at KWS in Einbeck to show what the initiative will achieve in the long term.

The goal of CD Seed was to strengthen the capacity of Ethiopian research teams in several areas to conserve plant genetic resources, introduce efficient strategies for improving barley, wheat and field bean and ensure smallholder farmers' access to improved seed.

Because of this work at the interface between conservation of plant genetic resources, their efficient use in plant breeding, and smallholder access to improved seed, CD Seed was regarded as a model project early on.

The project has been financed since 2012 by KWS, the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) and the German Federation for Plant Innovation (GFPi). The funding provided by KWS was a contribution to benefit sharing under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

In addition to financial support, KWS' commitment included on-site consulting activities, support in the form of special equipment, and training in breeding, seed production and team building. The Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the Ethiopian Institutes of Agricultural Research (EIAR) and Biodiversity (EBI), the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) and nine seed cooperatives were also involved in implementing the project.

Outlook

Thanks to synergies between the barley and field bean breeding programs, the equipment supplied by KWS is used twice and the efficiency of both programs is increased. In the future, improved field bean varieties should contribute to the sustainability of the cultivation systems. The BMEL will support further activities until the end of 2023. A new project has been acquired through GIZ to establish a permanent business link between the Ethiopian barley breeding program and local malting plants. A former KWS breeder, Peer Wilde, will continue to advise the Ethiopian breeding programs in this new project under GIZ. The transition of the CD Seed project into a self-sustaining initiative thus appears to have been successful.