International Perspective of ANADIA

Pai-Yei Whung, Ph.D.Director

Office of International Research ProgramsAgricultural Research Service (ARS)

United States Department of Agriculture, U.S.A.ANADIA Task Force, May 21- 26 2006

Agriculture in the U.S. Economy

8% of U.S. exports16% of the $9 trillion U.S. gross domestic product17% of U.S. workforce in agri-business– 2% on farms

Mission Areas Within USDA

Under Secretary forMarketing & Regulatory Programs

Under Secretary forFood, Nutrition,

& Consumer Services

Under Secretary forFarm & Foreign

Agricultural Services

Deputy Under Secretary forRural Development

Under Secretary forFood Safety

Under Secretary forNatural Resources

& Conservation

Under Secretary forResearch, Education,

& Economics

Secretary of Agriculture

ARS Profile

4 key research areas and 21 programsInternational collaborationPartnerships with universities and industryInformation and technology transfer

In-house research arm of USDA2,200+ scientists$1+ billion annual budget (FY06)100+ laboratories1,200+ projects 8 Geographic Areas8,000+ employees

Office of International Research Programs

Office of International Research Programs (OIRP) MissionTo enhance the effectiveness of U.S. agricultural research priorities, and to identify innovative agricultural research concepts, through international collaborations.Staff and Budget – Headquarter; 12 professional and 3 budget and

administrative staff.– 4 Overseas Biological Control Laboratories in

Argentina, Australia, China, France; 40+ employees.– Budget of $6 million, plus reimbursable funding.

OIRP-ARS Extramural Research Foci

Projects selection criteria are based upon;– Strategic research plans for international organizations (e.g.

Organization for Economic and Cooperation Development (OECD), World Meteorological Organization (WMO)).

– Presidential international S&T and/or agriculture initiatives (e.g. biotechnology and water management in India).

– Key research priorities agreed by National Programs and scientists (e.g. soybean rust, bio-based energy, avian influenza, water and agriculture management).

– U.S.A. bi-lateral MOU (e.g. China, Brazil, Israel).

Water and Agriculture Management

Work with ARS National Programs and scientists to define and design the project.– A systematic approach to address a global issue

(e.g. drought and agriculture management).– Link crop production/rangeland management models

and improved weather and climate information to produce decision support tools for farmers.

– Future partner with NOAA/National Climate Prediction Center, National Drought Mitigation Center, World Agriculture Outlook Board.

Water and Agricultural Management

Drought is a common agricultural challenge in 58 countries.ARS supported Water and Agricultural Management Research Projects; including– Enhanced irrigation system for agricultural management

in Middle East.– Drought monitoring, prediction and management decision

tools for rangeland management in China.– Agrometeorological and agroecological tools for spring

wheat and pasturelands in Kazakhstan.– Drought impacts on crop production and soybean yield

predictions in Brazil.

Research in Middle East

Israel, Jordan and Palestine– U.S. – Israel Bi-National Agricultural Research and

Development Fund (BARD) (e.g. Agricultural water management).

– A potential expansion to include Jordan and Palestine and establish a Multi-National Agricultural Research and Development (MARD) cooperation (~$300K/yr).

– Integrated Irrigation Management Program (~$200K/yr)An example of improving water use efficiency through an improved irrigation system for better agricultural practices in an arid region.

Water and Agricultural Management

Water Use Efficiency (WUE)

Changes with:– Irrigation scheduling– Irrigation method– Crop variety– Fertility management– Tillage management

UseWater YieldWUE =

(Steven Evett)

Irrigation Scheduling

Paradigms– Soil water sensor – replenish water used.– Plant stress sensor – irrigate when stressed.– Weather sensors – irrigate to replace estimate of water

used.Weather based irrigation scheduling– Measure wind speed, air temperature, relative humidity,

and solar radiation– Estimate crop’s water use.

Research in China

Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) – USDA Joint Working Group since 2002 in 6 research areas; including natural resource management.Established 2 virtual Joint Centers of Excellence– Soil and Water Conservation and Environmental

Protection and Grazing-Land Ecosystems Sustainability.

In-kind leverage with more than 20agricultural research institutes and organizations in China.

Water and Agricultural Management U.S. - China

Partners– U.S. – China Joint Center of Excellent for Soil and Water

Conservation.– NOAA, WAOB, NDMC and Chinese Meteorological Administration

(CMA).Goals– To develop improved monitoring and predicting rangeland drought.– To provide a rangeland management strategy, in western China and

southwestern U.S.Approaches– RANGES – an algorithms to estimate grass cover and biomass;

Landsat images based; probability of catastrophic erosion events during drought.

– NOAA, WAOB, NDMC and CMA provide near- term drought and climate prediction data.

Research in Russia and Eurasia

Former Soviet Union (FSU) Scientific Corporation Project– Leverage ARS agricultural research of mutual

interests for capacity building of new-generation expertise in Former Soviet Union (FSU) countries.

– 73 projects in Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in plant and animal health, crop improvement and natural resources since 2001.

– Collaborate with 31 former Bio-Weapon institutes in FSU.

Water and Agricultural Management U.S. - KazakhstanPartners– ARS Hydrology and Remote Sensing Lab. and Kazakh Research

institutes of Ecology and Climate.Goal– To apply modernized agrometeorological and agroecological

information to support Spring wheat production in Northern Kazakhstan.

Approaches – Improve water saving technologies.– Update crop rotations and tillage practices.– Develop drought resistant Spring wheat.– Monitoring of pasturelands on the basis

of space and ground information.(Paul Doraiswam and Phil Heilman)

Research in Brazil

OIRP/ARS – Embrapa– OIRP hosts a Embrapa – Labex Coordinator.– Embrapa provides salaries and expenses.– ARS provides office, laboratories, equipments, supplies

and research opportunities. – Senior-level scientists working with ARS scientists (e.g.

climate change, nanotechnology, plant genetic resources, food safety).

– A new project on “Drought impacts on crop production and soybean yield predictions in Brazil”.

Water and Agricultural Management U.S. – Brazil

Objectives– Map recent rapid expansion of soybean crop

production in Brazil.– Calibrate soil and climatic regimes and apply crop

yield simulation model to assess the potential yields in each management zone.

– Minimize crop yield losses through management based upon climate prediction.

(Paul Doraiswamy and Ray Motha)

Water and Agricultural Management U.S. – Brazil

Expected Results– A methodology for operational assessment of crop

area in Brazil prior to harvest.– Prediction of crop yields using a simulation model

and satellite imagery to assess yields at regional scales.

– Predict the impact of drought on crop yields and management strategies to mitigate the losses.

– Transfer the results to USDA-JAWF and Embrapa.

2005 Corn and Soybean Yield Prediction

ARS International Water and Agricultural Management Projects

Support and compliment ANADIA.Water/Drought is a global issue and we take a regional solution approach.Need improved monitoring and predictions to drive crop and rangeland management models.Need improved weather forecasts (e.g. humidity, temperature, precipitation) for smart irrigation scheduling.Goal is to develop preparedness and mitigation strategies to enhance agricultural management.Focus on Decision Support Tools for agricultural planning as an outcome of the projects.

New Opportunities for Water and Agricultural Management - Examples

U.S. – India – U.S. – Indo Science and Technology Forum; Call for proposal

with a potential funding of $200 – 300K for 2 years.– World Bank Agricultural Knowledge Initiative ($250 million

loan to India).We need to partner with communities in India to design projects – e.g. Agricultural Advisory Services (e.g. ICAR NCMRWF).

We want to incorporate “economic analysis” in developing new decision tools for “Mitigation”.The President of the Commission, Ray Motha, volunteered to write the proposal ☺ ☺!!

Giant Grain Borer in Africa

Invasive Species Early Warning System– Temperature and

humidity– Climate simulation model;

International Institute for Tropical Agriculture and Denmark Institute for Agriculture Science

– Invasive Species Early Warning System in Africa?

P. truncatus growth index

January

Source: N. Holst and W.G. Meikle