Seed the World Group hosted a webinar to find a common ground between public and private breeding programs in North America and some possible paths forward. Fernando Gonzalez, a retired plant breeder from CIMMYT mentioned a noticeable uptick in the involvement of the private sector in breeding programs in Mexico.
Learn more about the primary goals underlying public and private breeding efforts.
Women play a critical role in the future of food security. Female farmers face a significant disadvantage before they ever plow a field or sow a seed. Farming is a challenging profession, and it is even more challenging for women when they perform these functions whilst facing numerous constraints.
Nur-A-Mahajabin Khan, communications officer, showcases how fodder chopper technology is improving the lives of women farmers in rural Bangladesh.
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The introduction of mechanisation in agricultural practices has ensured the promotion of technology and conservation of agriculture to stimulate smallholder production and the preservation of climate-proofing farming practices in Zimbabwe.
CIMMYT hosted a meeting, to discuss how the HAFIZ project has set the foundation for harnessing farm mechanization in Zimbabwe, shaping the future of mechanisation policies and interventions in Zimbabwe. As well as future initiatives to improve technology to sustain growth and master the impact of climate change.
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The Livestock Production Systems in Zimbabwe (LIPS-Zim) project implemented by CIMMYT and various research institutions in partnership with the government expects to increase incomes and ensure food security for more than 50,000 rural Zimbabweans.
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Latin America is a particularly rich source of neglected crops, which have been replaced by a small number of modern varieties that have come to dominate global commodity markets. However, CIMMYT has utilized various methodologies and developed new initiatives to highlight the value of neglected crops and create market opportunities for smallholders.
What are the crucial practices, to help enhance the contribution to local communities and the preservation of their cultural heritage?
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A new University of Michigan-led study finds that warming temperatures exacerbate groundwater depletion rates in India.
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The importance of agroecological methods is starting to be a necessity across the Congo Basin. CIMMYT researcher, Prasanna Boddupalli, emphasises the importance of agroecological methods for biodiversity-smart agricultural development.
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The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and CIMMYT call on policymakers and research-for-development organizations to stay informed about the evolving El Niño event and its potential implications in the Limpopo Basin. El Niño is considered the biggest climate oscillation on Earth. IWMI and CIMMYT have utilized various methodologies and climate models to project and assess the potential impacts of the El Niño event.
What are the crucial practices, especially under the changing climatic conditions about the evolving El Niño event?
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Did you ever read Seeds of Sustainability: Lessons from the Birthplace of the Green Revolution in Agriculture?
Among its authors is an honorable person who served as a Board Member supporting CIMMYT’s Director General Robert D. Havener from 1978 to 1985. Later, in 1995, CIMMYT was proud to have him as Board Chair during Timothy G. Reeves tenure as CIMMYT’s Director General (1995-2002). He brought all his experience in issues relating to agricultural economics and policy, particularly in Asia, and his experience as chairman of the IRRI Board of Directors (1988-1994).
The book synthesized the experiences and lessons learned at the Sustainability in the Yaqui Valley Project, a joint venture between Stanford University and CIMMYT. And one of the amazing authors was Dr. Walter Falcon, an agricultural economist known as Wally by his friends and family.
We have just learned the sad news that he has passed away, and we would like to express our sincerest condolences and enormous gratitude to him, as he played a key role in helping us to get to where we are now, ready to solve tomorrow’s problems today.
At the end of the 2010s, his opinion was recognized and valued in Latin America. At that time, he saw that technological innovation could help to overcome the growing scarcity of basic inputs such as land, water, and energy. He stressed that everything would depend on the reversal of the trend to reduce funding for research.
In 1989, Dr. Falcon was made an outstanding graduate of 1958 by Iowa State University. In 1992 he was awarded the prestigious Bintang Jasa Utama medal of merit by the Government of Indonesia for 25 years of assistance in the country’s development. His recent co-authored papers have analyzed the effects of El Niño on Asian agriculture, Mexican agricultural policy, food price volatility, and biofuels.
Dr. Falcon received a BSc in Agricultural Economics from Iowa State University in 1958, an MA in Economics from Harvard University in 1960, and a PhD in Economics from Harvard University in 1962. His other roles include deputy director of the Center on Food Security and the Environment, director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and Farnsworth professor of International Agricultural Policy and Economics at Stanford University (Emeritus).
Let’s celebrate his legacy.
Let’s take a moment to remember that we are standing on the shoulders of a giant.
It is official: the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced the beginning of the global climate heating event El Niño on July 4, which means that extreme weather events will affect the lives and livelihoods of millions of people on all continents from now until midyear 2024. El Niño is considered the biggest climate oscillation on Earth. It occurs when winds and water temperatures change periodically in the Pacific Ocean. The last occurrence was in 2016, which according to the WMO remains the hottest year on record.
What can we do to mitigate El Niño’s effects in the food systems that sustain livelihoods in the Global South?
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The importance of biodiversity-friendly agriculture is starting to be recognized more widely. CIMMYT researcher, Frédéric Baudron, co-author a new paper exploring the importance of new strategies for biodiversity-smart agricultural development.
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The jury of international scientist experts evaluated twenty-three research projects spanning nine countries on four continents for the 2023 Composite Flour Innovation Award. Sidhar Bhavani, senior scientist, head of Rust Pathology and Molecular Genetics at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) enriched the jury of the Awards, aimed to highlight the scientific work around the production and processing of non-wheat flours and their blends with wheat flour.
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Brazil is moving towards self-sufficiency, reducing the need for imports and increasing its participation in the international wheat market. The development of adapted wheat varieties with stable yields disease resistance, and wheat strains from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) enabled the consolidation and expansion of cereal crops in the country.
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Malnutrition is rampant in Pakistan and the release of bio-fortified wheat varieties with higher zinc content will help the country’s 9 million hectares of cultivated wheat fields become more productive, climate resilient and disease resistant.
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The recently concluded Sorghum Conference brought together researchers, scientists, and experts from around the world to discuss the potential and challenges associated with this resilient crop. Participants shared their key takeaways, experiences, and insights during the event, shedding light on the importance of sorghum and its potential applications.
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) demonstrated valuable insights and technological advances in a variety of sessions, helping to shape the future of sorghum cultivation and products. CIMMYT has initiated a crop improvement program, known as the Dryland Crop Program (DCP) focusing on sorghum, millet, chickpea, pigeon pea and groundnuts. The program is establishing a network with stakeholders in 17 countries in Africa to collaboratively create, develop, and implement a crop improvement network. This approach will enable CIMMYT and the network to identify suitable products for specific market segments, establish joint breeding pipelines, conduct germplasm testing, and ultimately release and scale up superior seed varieties, thereby improving the quality and yield of these dryland crops, ensuring food security, and promoting sustainable agricultural practices.
Among the speakers and presenters at the conference were six National Agricultural Research Extension Systems (NARES) partners. They presented their findings, addressing critical topics such as adaptation genetics and genomics, climate and environmental change, sorghum yield optimization techniques, and the development of new sorghum products for human consumption.
These are some of their reflections:
Exploring the diverse applications of sorghum
Henry Nzioka from Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research (KALRO) focused on the resiliency, adaptability, and versatility of sorghum. He appreciated the presentations that highlighted the resilience of sorghum in harsh environments. His research presentation focused on biological control measures and genetic resistance for managing the striga weed in sorghum. His findings aligned with one of the objectives of the conference, which was to develop climate-aware weed management technologies. Nzioka acknowledged the need to bridge the gap between research and the various actors in the sorghum value chain. In addition, he gained valuable knowledge regarding the application of modeling tools and farmer research networks.
“The knowledge gained here can contribute to the advancement of sorghum-related industries or research. However, its relevance will be country specific as different countries have different preferences and it may also depend on level of technological advancement of respective countries. Countries can be provided with a basket of options from which they can pick the best bet for advancement.”
The importance of collaboration and the potential of sorghum
Charles Bett of KALRO, commended the high quality of the research papers and posters presented and emphasized the event’s timeliness and extensive use of technology. Bett was motivated by the research methodologies employed by other participants and gained new insights that he intends to incorporate into his own work. He summarized the impact of the conference as the realization of sorghum’s enormous potential for reducing food and nutrition insecurity and boosting household incomes. Bett presented on the evaluation of agricultural mechanization levels in the sorghum value chain, which aligned with the conference’s goal of reducing losses and increasing productivity. His reflections and lessons learned include the necessity of a broader coverage of thematic areas at future conferences and the dissemination of existing sorghum technologies to address productivity limitations. “While it is important to continue working on technology development, more efforts should be put on dissemination of existing technologies and address productivity depressing constraints.”
Promoting Sorghum as the future crop
Baba Haoua from INRAN, Niger emphasized the future potential of sorghum. The presentations and discussions inspired him and reinforced his belief that sorghum is destined to become a major player in the global agricultural landscape. Haoua’s own research on dual-purpose sorghum perfectly aligns with the objectives of the conference and he left the event knowledgeable and well-connected, eager to continue his work with vigor.
Promoting agroecological transition and regional research on sorghum
Assitan Daou, from the Institut d’Economie Rurale (IER) in Mali emphasized the suitability of sorghum as a crop for growing populations in varying climates and the significance of an agroecological transition for adaptation to climate change. His poster presentation centered on sorghum cropping systems under rainfed conditions, which aligned with the conference’s goals of increasing crop productivity, adapting to climate variations, and bolstering the resilience of small-scale farmers. He considers the viability of sorghum production, the breaking of boundaries in the sorghum value chain, and the factors driving future sorghum demand. The exchange with other researchers, as well as the opportunity to improve his communication skills and establish contacts for future collaboration, satisfied Daou’s expectations for the conference. He learned new research techniques, such as crop modeling, and believes the knowledge he gained at the conference will advance sorghum-related industries and research.
Recognizing the resilience and potential of sorghum
Rekiya Abdoulmalik, from the Institute of Agriculture Research (IAR) in Nigeria, presented about the stability evaluation of recently released dwarf sorghum lines, which aligned with the conference’s objective of revealing the genetic potential of sorghum in various environments. The conference motivated her to explore new ideas and directions for her research, particularly regarding the significance of root system architecture for drought resistance. She left the conference with new knowledge and a vision for climate-smart sorghum varieties that can meet food and feed requirements.
Exposing the economic worth of sorghum
Alex Zongo, from the Institut de l’Environnement et des Recherches Agricoles (INERA) / CNRST in Burkina Faso, was inspired by the conference to shift the focus of his research to understanding the value of sorghum for inclusive and sustainable agriculture. He gained a deeper understanding of sorghum’s uses, such as in baking, brewing, and animal feed. Zongo was inspired by the conference to investigate the economic contribution of sorghum and increase stakeholder awareness. “New knowledge shows that crop association (which mobilizes sorghum to a greater extent) helps to stabilize crop yields through soil fertility management. We therefore need to study its economic contribution.”