Who’s your maize or wheat Super Woman? Tell @CIMMYT IN 300 WORDS ow.ly/JISdw #IWD2015 #IWD15 #chefs

A tweet from CIMMYT on 20 February made me think faster.

CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center), headquartered in El Batán, Mexico, is the global leader in research for development in maize and wheat, and maize- and wheat-based farming systems. To celebrate the International Women’s Day on 8 March 2015 it organized a social media crowdsourcing campaign, inviting readers from all over the world to nominate inspiring women working in conservation agriculture, genetic resources and related socio-economics of wheat and maize.

 Photo: Nleamy

Being featured on CIMMYT website would be an unmatched honor. In addition to a recognition by the global community, it would also be an inspiration to young girls to pursue a meaningful career in food and agriculture. CIMMYT works throughout the developing world with hundreds of partners to sustainably increase the productivity of maize and wheat systems to improve food security and livelihoods.

A name to be nominated came to mind right away, Ariani Anie Annisa Hasan who works and resides in Gorontalo, a province on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia.

I first read about Anie in an article by Syamsul Huda M. Suhari, Local corn on the brink of extinction, published last year at The Jakarta Post, the largest English language newspaper in Indonesia.

Asriani, head of the dissemination and information division of the Gorontalo Corn Information Center and Food Security Agency (BKPPIJ), explained that four corn varieties known by their local names, Momala, Motorokiki, Bonia/Badia and Pulut (Binthe Pulo) are rarely grown by local farmers due to their low harvesting volume compared to hybrid corn.

 Photo: Omar Niode Foundation

When the Omar Niode Foundation participated in an exhibition in conjunction with a public lecture on Seeds by an international environmental activist at the University of Indonesia, I contacted Anie to explore the possibility of displaying the rare local corns in Jakarta. She worked hard to assist us through institutional procedure, and the corns carried by Anie’s superior flew for 4 hours to Jakarta for the exhibition that was well attended. Anie was also present when the Omar Niode Foundation commemorated its 5th anniversary in Gorontalo. 

My reason to nominate Anie was more due to her intensity and consistency in communicating everything corn through down to earth approaches including her funny posts in social media and her literally face to face conversations with farmers.

Since CIMMYT would like to get in touch with the nominator and the nominee before publishing a story, I contacted Anie and Syamsul Huda, the Jakarta Post contributor whom I considered a talent scout. While Syamsul fully supported my nomination Anie, who religiously follows CIMMYT news and updates, was rather humble, saying that she is only doing her job and that there may be women corn breeders or scientists who should be nominated.

Anie may underestimated herself as she holds a graduate degree in Communication Studies and has been working in the Province of Gorontalo for more than a decade, including 5 years in Corn Assessment and Information.

On the day of the CIMMYT announcement I sent my nomination, with a 300-word summary and several pictures about how my super woman makes a difference in maize.

We at the Omar Niode Foundation anxiously waited for CIMMYT’s decision for 10 days, and whooped with joy at 02.00 AM after reading CIMMYT’s tweet on March 2nd:

Now presenting YOUR Super Women of Maize and Wheat bit.ly/1B1ZhR8 #IWD2015

Anie’s story was featured on the Super Women of Maize and Wheat Webpage - SUPER WOMAN: Asriani Anie Annisa Hasan Protects Local Indonesian Maize Varieties.

 Photo: CIMMYT

Anie, even more humble, was ecstatic. She is the only one from Indonesia, presented on the same page with 16 Super Woman from Britain, Canada, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Mexico and the United States.

She is now intensely reading all about the other Super Women in Maize and Wheat, among them Jennifer Brito, the Food Security Coordinator at Semilla Nueva, who works with women in 10 coastal Guatemalan communities to improve the livelihoods, nutrition, and all-around well-being of their families and Barbara McClintock, an American Nobel Prize Winner who was a pioneer in agricultural sciences at a time when women scientists were not promoted or supported.

 Photo: Xochiquetzal Fonseca/CIMMYT

Dubbed as a Key Maize Communicator by CIMMYT, Anie is even more inspired to learn and to tirelessly distribute information on all issues of Gorontalo corns to local and international communities.

She hopes to one day visit the CIMMYT main office in El Batán Mexico to learn first hand about their communication practices, and to see the world’s largest maize and wheat seed bank there. Anie Annisa is a passionate maize super woman.

--------------------

Text: Amanda Niode

Images: Cover by CIMMYT.  All others courtesy of Anie Annisa, unless otherwise noted