The benefits of perennials are not so clear, says CIMMYT Director General Martin Kropff. CIMMYT tested wheat perennials, but the grain turned out not to last for years, says program leader Hans-Joachim Braun.
Read more here: https://www.trouw.nl/wetenschap/van-een-eenjarige-plant-een-meerjarige-maken-wil-de-boer-dat~b1247567/?referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
Wheat, in its own right, is one of the most important foods in the world. It is a staple food for more than 2.5 billion people, it provides 20% of the protein consumed worldwide and, according to the FAO, supplies more calories than any other grain. Its long-term productivity, however, is threatened by rising temperatures, among other factors. Stress from heat, an increasing trend due to climate change, affects its performance, a fact that requires urgent solutions bearing in mind that, according to some estimates, the world’s population will reach 9 billion by the year 2050.
Read more here: https://phys.org/news/2020-06-heat-resistant-wheat-varieties.html
Bram Govaerts, Director of CIMMYT’s Integrated Development Program, says Mexico already has projects like MasAgro whose potential can be activated and integrated as an investment.
Read more here.
Developing climate-resistant crops is attracting increasing attention as climate change-related events worsen.
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is a non-profit research organization that develops improved varieties of wheat and corn able to withstand drought, heat and pests in order to increase food security. It says that over 90% of its work relates to climate change.
Read more: https://www.ingredientsnetwork.com/investing-in-climate-changeresistant-crops-news083794.html
The FAO official pointed out that a number of factors help to shield Bangladesh, including the direction of the wind, the monsoon, and India’s robust locust monitoring system.
Read more here: https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2020/06/11/fao-no-threat-of-desert-locust-invasion-in-bangladesh
MasAgro develops capacities in Mexican producers through the socialization of scientific knowledge and the use of rural knowledge to increase their yields and conserve natural resources.
Read more here: https://www.jornada.com.mx/ultimas/politica/2020/06/05/reitera-sader-llamado-a-transitar-hacia-agricultura-sustentable-446.html
Boddupalli Prasanna, director of the global maize program at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), a global research body, called on scientists to help countries in finding faster solutions to the effects of COVID-19 on food security.
“I am particularly worried about farmers, especially smallholder farmers, who are quite vulnerable to the ongoing challenge,” Prasanna said in a statement.
Read more here: https://newsghana.com.gh/researcher-says-covid-19-to-affect-africas-food-situation/
Watch here (in Amharic): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVsVsxAKybI&feature=youtu.be
A first outbreak of maize lethal necrosis was found in Kenya in 2011 and researchers immediately became active because they knew that timely action was needed to prevent irreparable damage. This viral disease was decimating maize fields and spreading rapidly in east Africa through contaminated insects and seeds.
Read more here: https://www.ledonnedelfood.it/lotta-ai-virus-anche-in-difesa-del-mais-e-del-nostro-cibo/
Nepalese and CIMMYT wheat scientists, working at the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) suspect new races of stripe and leaf rust infected the wheat crop in the Nepal hills and terai in the recent 2020 wheat season. This was reported after detailed survey and surveillance activities of rust diseases in the terai and hill regions were carried out during March and April, before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cessation of many field activities.
Read more here: https://www.seedquest.com/news.php?type=news&id_article=117729&id_region=&id_category=&id_crop=
“What my project tries to do is visualize the diversity of corn that we have in my home country,” said Mexican designer Fernando Laposse. He partnered with CIMMYT, working with a village of Mixtec farmers and herders to transform waste from these plants into furniture. The corn’s kernels and husks come in hues of cream, deep red, pink, black and purple.
Read more here: https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/05/26/business/real-estate-and-property/plant-based-materials-catch-on-with-home-goods-designers/727270/
“COVID-19 will make African governments identify agriculture as an essential sector that deserves maximum support and protection,” explains Stephen Mugo, Africa regional representative at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, Kenya. “Urgent action is needed to ensure that adequate credit and other support are available when and where needed to strengthen farmers’ ability to deliver.”
Read more here.
Ispahani and AgBiTech are pleased to announce the formal registration of a biological control for Fall Armyworm in Bangladesh.
This rapid assessment and registration despite the ongoing lockdown due to Covid-19 is the result of months of collaborative hard work and support from members representing multiple organizations including USAID, CIMMYT, the Ministry of Agriculture, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Plant Protection Wing of Agricultural Extension, and the Fall Armyworm National Task Force.
Read more here: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fawligen-registered-in-bangladesh-301061228.html
Aparna Das of CIMMYT, Arun Baral of Harvest Plus and Bill Rustrick of the Clinton Development Initiative discuss a project in Malawi strengthening the resilience of smallholder farming communities.
Read more here: https://www.devex.com/news/opinion-covid-19-highlights-need-to-boost-resilience-of-africa-s-rural-poor-97122
Test plot in Malawi includes drought-tolerant maize varieties developed by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT); other maize varieties that are both drought-tolerant and high in vitamin A, developed by the HarvestPlus program and CIMMYT; and a high-iron bean variety developed by HarvestPlus and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).
Through thirty of these test plots established in the current growing season, the Clinton Development Initative, HarvestPlus and CIMMYT partners are reaching 30 000 farmers in 10 districts of Malawi.
Read more here: https://www.mwnation.com/new-crop-varieties-set-to-address-drought-malnutrition/