In the media – Page 21

Private sector and government urged to invest in maize

Written by Mary Donovan on June 16, 2020. Posted in In the media.

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.

Investing in climate change-resistant crops

Written by Mary Donovan on June 15, 2020. Posted in In the media.

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.

FAO: No threat of desert locust invasion in Bangladesh

Written by Mary Donovan on June 11, 2020. Posted in In the media.

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.

SADER reiterates call to transition towards sustainable agriculture

Written by Mary Donovan on June 5, 2020. Posted in In the media.

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.

Researcher says COVID-19 to affect Africa’s food situation

Written by Mary Donovan on June 4, 2020. Posted in In the media.

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.

What can be done to prevent the outbreak of coronavirus from affecting agriculture?

Written by Mary Donovan on June 3, 2020. Posted in In the media.

Watch here (in Amharic): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVsVsxAKybI&feature=youtu.be

Fight against viruses, also in defense of maize and our food

Written by Mary Donovan on May 31, 2020. Posted in In the media.

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.

Stripe rust hits wheat crop in Nepal

Written by Mary Donovan on May 27, 2020. Posted in In the media.

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.

Plant-based materials catch on with home-goods designers

Written by Mary Donovan on May 26, 2020. Posted in In the media.

“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.

Africa’s smallholders to bear the brunt of COVID-19

Written by Mary Donovan on May 25, 2020. Posted in In the media.

“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.”

Fawligen registered in Bangladesh

Written by Mary Donovan on May 18, 2020. Posted in In the media.

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.

Opinion: COVID-19 highlights need to boost resilience of Africa’s rural poor

Written by Mary Donovan on May 4, 2020. Posted in In the media.

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.

New crop varieties set to address drought, malnutrition

Written by Mary Donovan on April 27, 2020. Posted in In the media.

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.

IFPRI, IRRI, CIMMYT, WorldFish make joint call for measures to avert risk to food system

Written by Mary Donovan on April 22, 2020. Posted in In the media.

World’s leading food security think-tank and research centres have recommended Bangladesh to ensure transportation of food from rural to urban areas and the flow of crucial inputs to farmers through market systems so that risk to food system during Covid-19 pandemic can be averted.

Coronavirus lockdown diets look the same the world over: Bread, beans, and comfort food

Written by Mary Donovan on April 18, 2020. Posted in In the media.

Of the 6,000 plant species that have been cultivated by humans, just nine of them account for 66% of cultivated crops, according to the FAO’s 2019 report from the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Of the 7,774 local breeds of livestock worldwide, 26% are in danger of becoming extinct.

That poses dangers for the robustness of the environment, the safety of our food supply chain, and even our potential exposure to pandemics, due to diseases that jump from animals to humans. It also makes our food less nutritious, less interesting—and less unique.

The COVID-19 crisis could offer a chance to reassess the way we eat—to revamp the diversity of our diets and our food systems, revisiting local and forgotten foods, particularly when it comes to fruits and vegetables.