 Since
its founding in the late 1960s, CIAT has conducted livestock and forage research
activities in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Early work focused on beef cattle and
animal health-related issues in the extensive cow/calf systems in the Neotropical
savannas. This work led to the realization that the main constraint to livestock
development in the savannas was inadequate feed resources. Thus, in the late 1970s,
research emphasis shifted from production systems and animal health to tropical forages.
This new agenda, executed through the Tropical Pastures Program (1977-1991), focused
mainly on the vast acid-soil regions of both savannas and forest margins. The Tropical
Pastures Program's main research strategy was to develop adapted grasses and legumes for
extensive grazing systems, using a philosophy of minimum inputs. A multidisciplinary team,
organized in three units (Germplasm, Utilization, and Production Systems), and some
outposted staff (Brazil and Central America) worked intensely on collecting grasses
(mainly in Africa) and legumes (mainly in LAC). They also evaluated large forage
collections to select accessions with adaptation to the biotic and abiotic constraints
found in savannas and forest margins.
Networking was the major mechanism used to evaluate and deploy new forage germplasm:
the International Tropical Pastures Evaluation Network (known as RIEPT) in LAC; and the Réseau
de Recherche en Alimentation du Bétail en Afrique Occidentale et Centrale (RABAOC)
in West Africa. Major outcomes of this work were (1) the assembly of a large collection of
forage germplasm (currently, more than 20,000 accessions held by CIAT's Genetic Resources Unit), (2) identification of grasses and
legumes for pasture/livestock systems in areas with acid soils, (3) development of
forage/pasture evaluation methodologies, (4) training, and (5) release of forage grass and
legume cultivars by national agricultural research systems (NARS).
In the early 1990s, the Tropical Forages Program was reorganized from the Germplasm and
Utilization components of the former Tropical Pastures Program. The reorganization moved
positions in Nutrient Cycling, Ecophysiology, Farming Systems, and Economics to the new
Savanna Program and eliminated others (e.g., Seed Production). The mandate of the
reorganized Tropical Forages Program (1992-1996) was to develop and deliver selected
forage ecotypes to the NARS and CIAT's natural resource management (NRM) programs. The
overall strategy of the Program was, again, to exploit natural variability for key traits
in forage plant germplasm to overcome specific constraints such as acid soils, pests,
diseases, and drought prevalent in targeted ecosystems, that is, in savannas, forest
margins, and hillsides.
However, at this time, forages were recognized as needing evaluation, not only for
extensive livestock grazing systems, but also as components for improved NRM practices
(green manure, erosion barriers, plant cover, and fallow improvement) and as feed in
smallholder systems. Thus, strong emphasis was placed on developing partnerships with NARS
to undertake collaborative evaluation of forages for different uses and to develop
management strategies for using improved forages in more intensive crop/livestock systems.
During the 5 years' existence of the reorganized Tropical Forages Program, the genetic
variability of key grass and legume species was increased through collections, progress
was made in breeding selected grasses (Brachiaria) and legumes (Stylosanthes)
to overcome pests and diseases, and new forage species were identified and released by
NARS for multipurpose use in subhumid and humid environments.
In 1996, CIAT underwent major restructuring, moving from a program to a project
organization of research. This was accompanied by downsizing of staff at all levels,
including the elimination of most outposted positions. These Center-wide structural
changes led to, among other effects, the formation, in 1997, of the current Tropical
Forages Project.
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