The CIMMYT Board of Trustees Meeting commenced on 02 October 2011 at the IARC in Delhi, India. Comprised of 15 members from 11 different countries, representing private seed companies, agricultural policy organizations, farmer associations, and agricultural research institutes, the Board of Trustees meets every six months to support and advise CIMMYT’s senior management in operational strategies and direction. Newly-elected Board Chair Sara Boettiger convened the meeting and commended the organization on its recent achievements and growth, stating that “there are amazing things going on at CIMMYT.”

Opening the meetings, both Boettiger and CIMMYT Director General Thomas Lumpkin highlighted recent food security issues: the droughts in the horn of Africa and southern USA, flooding in Pakistan, and the volatility of food prices. As the meetings progressed, the main topics discussed included the recent approval of the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA), fundraising developments, staff safety, and the upcoming construction plans to improve the infrastructure of CIMMYT headquarters.

Presentations also emphasized improvements in the past six months regarding staff, infrastructure, and growth. In particular, the success of the MasAgro initiative and the recent approval of BISA, which Lumpkin attributed to the professionalism and dedication of the national staff at the Delhi office, particularly Raj Gupta and Ajai Kumar.

Marianne Bänziger, Director General of Research and Partnerships, highlighted the need to manage the current levels of growth at CIMMYT, and the important role played by national staff in all CIMMYT offices. In terms of growth, Banziger noted that Asia is the region which has undergone the greatest expansion; while in Africa, Kenya was highlighted as the country undergoing the most growth in terms of CIMMYT international staff.

Also in attendance were new staff members Bruno Gerard (Head of the Conservation Agriculture Program), Tom Short (Head of Financial Services), and returning CIMMYT staff member Kevin Pixley (Head of Genetic Resources). The meeting provided an opportunity for introductions, and for these members to familiarize themselves with current information regarding CIMMYT’s structure, growth, and upcoming challenges.

During the meetings, Boettiger stated that “CIMMYT must remember who we are and who our real stakeholders are – the world’s poor struggling to feed their families.” She also reminded staff that whilst management and organizational responsibilities are vital for delivering impact, CIMMYT senior staff must also strive to remain focused on the purpose and the mission of CIMMYT – to feed people.

In 2010, several new maize varieties were released in Angola and taken up by emerging seed companies for multiplication and dissemination. To upgrade the skills and knowledge of the maize breeders, technicians, and seed services staff involved in the management of field trials and seed production, a Maize Technician Course was held in Huambo, Angola, during 26-29 September 2011. The training was attended by over 35 participants from emerging seed companies, national agricultural research systems, and NGOs. Lectures and practical sessions covered maize breeding, seed production, management of field trials, and components on variety testing and release. The results of pre- and post-course tests indicated that over 70% of participants significantly improved their knowledge and skills during the training.

Roberto Gomes, from the seed company Agropecuaria Kambondo LDA., said “This course is very useful. It will guide us in producing good quality seed and we hope it can be offered to all our staff in the company. We also wish that there can be exchange visits between CIMMYT and our company to see what CIMMYT is doing in Harare, and we hope we can now maintain the inbred lines and hybrids we have acquired from CIMMYT-Harare.”

Thanks go to Peter Setimela, Cosmos Magorokosho, and Tesfahun Girma (CIMMYT), Mpanzo Domingos, Director of Agricultural Research, Institute for Agronomic Investigation (IIA), and Dibanzilua Nginamau, Maize Coordinator for Angola (IIA), for organizing and coordinating the course.

Colleagues from CIMMYT, the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), and national agricultural research systems gathered in Njoro, Kenya, on 05 October 2011, to celebrate the approval of BISA (Borlaug Institute for South Asia) by the Indian Government. The event was organized by Sridhar Bhavani, CIMMYT-Kenya. Ravi Singh, CIMMYT-Mexico, gave the opening address to more than 40 international scientists and thanked the Government of India for funding the institute. He described the significance of the new centre in relation to the growing challenges of food security, and expressed confidence that this centre will address the expectations of a second Green Revolution in South Asia and worldwide.

Eleven wheat breeders and pathologists from South Asia were already in Njoro with CIMMYT colleagues, attending a rust training course and selecting resistant wheat material. They felt that the scientific work embedded in BISA is already being linked to Kenya, and it is hoped that the institute will play an important role in maize and wheat improvement and training in Africa, in addition to furthering links between CIMMYT and South Asia.

The 2010/11 DTMA Promotion and Dissemination Award was presented to the Angolan National Coordinating Unit (NCU) by CIMMYT’s Cosmos Mogorokosho and Peter Setimela. Mpanzo Domingos, Director of the Angolan Institute for Agronomic Investigation accepted the award and thanked the Angolan Maize NCU for their efforts in releasing and promoting new drought tolerant maize varieties in Angola. He hopes the award will motivate scientists and seed companies in Angola to promote agriculture.

One key reason why small-scale maize farmers—particularly those in Mexico—hold on to their native varieties is their strong fear of failed crops in difficult years, according to Bram Govaerts, head of the MasAgro component “Take it to the farmer.” “Agriculture is a system of risk, so we need to do whatever we can to help farmers reduce this risk and get stable yields,” Govaerts said.

This and farmers’ attachment to varieties with preferred taste and grain qualities were discussed during a 13 September 2011 presentation for CIMMYT staff at El Batán on the “Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture” (MasAgro) project. Launched in April 2011, funded by the Mexican government, and based on an initiative of Mexico’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries, and Food (SAGARPA) together with CIMMYT, the project supports Mexican farmers working in partnership with several organizations to increase maize and wheat productivity, obtain higher returns on harvests, and ensure the preceding does not contribute to climate change. Over its 10-year lifespan, MasAgro aims to raise annual maize production by 5-9 million tons in rainfed areas and increase wheat harvests by 350,000 tons each year.

Opening the meeting, CIMMYT Director General Thomas Lumpkin stressed the significance of MasAgro both for CIMMYT and Mexico, praised the excellent support from the Mexican government and SAGARPA, and referred to a recent statement by Mexican President Felipe Calderón that called MasAgro the most important public policy for agriculture of the current administration. Karen García, Executive Director of MasAgro, believes the project poses a unique challenge to CIMMYT and reflects the Center’s adaptability. “This is a large initiative that directly responds to key policy directions of the government of Mexico, CIMMYT’s host country,” she said.

Speakers at the event included Marianne Bänziger (Deputy Director General for Research and Partnerships), Scott Ferguson (Deputy Director General, Support Services), and Marc Rojas (leader of the MasAgro component International Maize Improvement Consortium). “MasAgro is the biggest project CIMMYT has ever had, but we also have other projects,” said Bänziger, “we are one family and we work together.” Govaerts said the integration of the project with other Mexican initiatives was strong and getting stronger.

The name “Take it to the Farmer” comes from Dr. Norman Borlaug’s suggestion regarding a new technology he was shown the day before he died. Work under this component brings together public and private organizations to increase maize and wheat productivity, obtain higher returns on yields, and strengthen local small- and medium-sized agribusinesses. The “International Maize Improvement Consortium” is helping local small- and intermediate-scale seed producers to make diverse maize varieties and hybrids available to Mexican farmers at affordable prices. At the event Gemma Molero (Postdoctoral Fellow, Wheat Physiology Program) presented the “Wheat Yield Consortium”, which constitutes Mexico’s contribution to an international consortium of public and private sector researchers in more than 30 countries who have come together to increase wheat’s yield potential by 50% over the next 20 years through improvements in photosynthetic efficiency and plant architecture. As part of the MasAgro component “Discovering the Genetic Diversity of Seed,”, presented by Peter Wenzl (Head, CRIL), scientists are applying cutting-edge technologies to study and classify the diversity in CIMMYT’s genetic resource collections and make the information widely available to breeders in Mexico and abroad.

Partners from various projects for farmers in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) met in Gaborone, Botswana, during 10-12 August 2011 to review progress and discuss future directions. Interactions involved members of the New Maize Seed Initiative for Southern Africa (NSIMA), the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) and the Insect Resistant Maize for Africa (IRMA) projects, as well as representatives from SADC, CIMMYT, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and local seed producers.

Edison Wotho, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Botswana, praised Botswana’s participation in NSIMA, whose products for that country’s farmers include a new drought tolerant maize hybrid (CZH0623) and three OPVs (ZM309, ZM401 and ZM523). “The projects come at the right time,” said Wotho. “The region is experiencing frequent droughts and food shortages.”

Simon Mwale, SADC headquarters, Gaborone, highlighted the progress of his organization, CIMMYT, and other partners to harmonize the seed regulations and ease restrictions on the release and cross-border movement of seed in the region. He said a SADC Seed Centre would be established in Lusaka, Zambia, to help implement harmonized seed regulations (a MoU is expected to be signed soon by SADC countries). George Bigirwa, Senior Program Officer, AGRA and Programme for Africa’s Seed Systems (PASS), described how to establish a successful seed business in Africa. Presenting outcomes of a recently conducted review of NSIMA in preparation for a phase III, SDC consultant David Karite mentioned that 7 new OPVs and 13 hybrids had been registered in SADC during 2008-10.

During a visit to Botswana’s Seed Multiplication Unit, participants discovered that the Unit produces about 3,000 tons yearly of Kgalagadi Early Pearly, the only registered OPV sold at a subsidized price by the government. It is looking forward to multiplying seed of drought tolerant maize varieties from the various projects. As part of NSIMA, breeder’s seed is also being multiplied to scale up seed production for the new varieties.

At a cocktail party sponsored by Seed Co-Botswana, Mulugetta Mekuria, CIMMYT Regional Liaison Officer for Southern Africa, gave an overview of the center’s activities in the region and commitments in support of the SADC objectives to enhance food security. He said CIMMYT was very pleased to partner with the new Center for the Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development in Southern Africa (Southern Africa-CCARDESA). Mekuria and CIMMYT Maize Breeder Peter Setimela also visited the Botswana Department of Agricultural Research to introduce the “Sustainable Intensification of Maize- Legume Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa program” (SIMLESA), following up on a 2010 visit by the President of Botswana to the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) to involve Botswanan scientists in the project.

To feed a growing population on today’s cultivated land, the world must increase food production 70% by 2050, said the Mexican Agriculture Ministry’s (SAGARPA) coordinator of advisors, Omar Musalem, citing FAO data and speaking for Agriculture Secretary Francisco Mayorga at CIMMYT’s Ambassadors Day in El Batán on 14 September 2011.

With diplomatic representatives from 15 countries in attendance, the event was designed to raise awareness and foster discussion on partnerships to secure global food security through agricultural research, an issue at the forefront of recent G20 talks in France. Musalem highlighted the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture (MasAgro) initiative—implemented by SAGARPA and CIMMYT with myriad national, regional, and local organizations, both public and private—as an innovative model.

Prefacing Musalem’s address and welcoming the guests, CIMMYT Director General Thomas Lumpkin cited global challenges for agriculture—climate change, population growth, resource scarcities, rising food prices, new diseases, and increasing demand for biofuels. “SUVs are competing with the hungry people in the developing world,” said Lumpkin. “To address these issues, we need to improve current varieties of maize and wheat, enabling them to tolerate weather extremes and diseases. We also need to use fertilizer and pesticides more efficiently and without polluting.”

As part of the event, the visitors toured the Wellhausen-Anderson Plant Genetic Resources Center with Thomas Payne and enjoyed a presentation on wheat’s wild relatives by David Bonnet. At the long-term conservation agriculture trial plot, Bram Govaerts described current efforts to test and promote CA practices among thousands of Mexican farmers. The group saw new maize and wheat varieties and learned in more detail about the work CIMMYT and its partners are doing on these crops, in field presentations by Félix San Vicente, Natalia Palacios, José Luis Torres, Marc Rojas, and Ravi Singh.

Interactions continued at a luncheon in the Guest House garden, closing this day of reaching out to Mexico City’s diplomatic corps. All participants enjoyed the cordial and professional attention of CIMMYT’s Corporate Services, particularly catering and security.

Farmers in the Mexican states of Sonora and Sinaloa use conservation agriculture (CA) practices to reduce costs and achieve sustainable food production. In Sonora CA can generate average savings of 2,000 pesos per hectare, according to farmers. Sinaloa fails to produce 500,000 tons of maize by not using this technology, which saves costs and reduces the environmental impact of farming.

These were the main conclusions from an event held in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, and Guasave, Sinaloa, during 9-14 September. It was attended by about 1,000 people, including farmers, technicians, researchers, state authorities, and businessmen. The program was coordinated by CIMMYT which, in collaboration with SAGARPA (Mexico’s Secretariat of Agriculture, Rural Development, Fisheries, and Food), promotes the adoption of sustainable agronomic practices through the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture (MasAgro) initiative.

Activities at the event began with a description by Lope Montoya, head of the Norman Borlaug Experiment Station of INIFAP (the National Forestry, Agricultural and Livestock Research Institute) of soybean varieties that are highly resistant to a pest commonly known as white fly. A few days later, local research centers, such as the Technological Institute of Sonora (ITSON) and the Yaqui Valley Institute (ITVY), joined the event, which was aimed at transferring CA technology and knowledge to students, technicians, and farmers in Mexico’s North Pacific region.

During this rural extension effort, the testimony of maize and soybean farmer Roberto Encinas stood out: he compared conventional farming practices to conservation technology and reported average savings of 2,000 pesos per hectare after shifting to minimum tillage, retaining part of the crop residue on the soil surface, and practicing crop rotations.

During the five-day event, there were also demonstrations of farm machinery adapted for use with CA. Representatives of Industrias Vázquez, Sembradoras del Bajío, ASGROW, and John Deere explained the workings of precision planters, bed re-shapers, and fertilizer drills, among other multi-use and multi-crop implements designed specifically for sustainable farming.

In his speech, the mayor of Guasave, Ramón Barajas, mentioned the economic advantages of direct drilling (as CA is also known) during the Fifth Technological Event on Maize Cropping, which was organized by Fundación Produce Sinaloa as the final event of the Third Conservation Agriculture Week. Barajas also stated that Sinaloa fails to produce 500,000 tons of maize with an approximate value of 20 billion pesos, because farmers do not apply the technology, which generates cost savings and reduces the impact of their farming activities on the environment.

On 11 September over 100 participants from more than 36 countries gathered for the opening of the 8th International Symposium on Mycosphaerella and Stagonospora Diseases of Cereals at the Hotel Sevilla in Mexico City. In attendance were representatives from universities and agricultural research centers worldwide, comprised of many of the most renowned members of the international scientific community focused on wheat pathogen research. Hans Braun, Director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program delivered the introductory remarks during which he stated, “In this room is the cream of the crop in Septoria research. If the answers cannot be found here, then they won’t be found”.

Also in attendance was Etienne Duveiller, Associate Director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program who remarked that this year was the third time CIMMYT had hosted the symposium, highlighting the excellent and unique conditions for testing the diseases at the research station in Toluca and the research opportunities for breeding available at CIMMYT.

Thomas Lumpkin, CIMMYT Director General, emphasized the growing concerns concerning the shortfalls of global wheat production, climate change induced yield reductions, and terminal heat stress in wheat. Lumpkin presented the WHEAT megaprogram as an integral component to CIMMYT’s efforts to address improving wheat production and productivity. He highlighted the impact of crop losses due to disease on smallholder farmers and on the one billion wheat dependent poor living less than 1 USD per day. The increasing use of wheat for biofuels and the reliance and dependence of north-south wheat trade were also stressed as concerns for the international community involved in agricultural development.

The opening lecture was delivered by J. Mathieu, Deputy Director of the Arvalis Institut du Végétal of France, who focused on the need to reduce the environmental impact of pesticides through advances in agronomy and wheat breeding. He estimated that two-thirds of fungicide application in France was targeted towards Septoria control and management, emphasizing the cost of fungicides on farmers.

Mycosphaerella graminicola, which causes Septoria tritici blotch disease, is a wheat pathogen affecting farmers’ yields worldwide —necessitating international cooperation to develop effective methods of disease control, management, and breeding for resistance. In some wheat growing areas, Stagonospora nodorum, which causes Septoria nodorum blotch disease, is prevalent and produces up to 30% loss in crop yields for fields which have not been treated with fungicides if varieties are susceptible and climatic conditions are suitable. Both diseases cause major annual yield reductions worldwide, with significant losses in Ethiopia, the UK, France, and the US. An estimated 5-10% of crops sown are lost annually as a result of the spread of these two fungal wheat pathogens.

The symposium will take place over four days and visit CIMMYT’s Toluca experimental station. The event will feature sessions to address issues ranging from disease management, genetics, resistance breeding, and evolution of the diseases and will conclude on 14 September.

From 18-22 August, the University of Agricultural Science (UAS) Raichur, Karnataka, hosted the first course on ‘Conservation agriculture (CA) in rainfed farming’ in India, in collaboration with CIMMYT, under the aegis of the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA). The 31 participants included young scientists and extension agents from NGOs and various research centers of UAS, in addition to machinery manufacturers and service providers from across Karnataka state. Also in attendance were BV Patil (Vice Chancellor, UAS, Raichur), Pat Wall (Director GCAP, CIMMYT), Raj Gupta (Head, CIMMYT-India), and Bruno Gerard (new Director GCAP, CIMMYT). ML Jat (Senior Cropping Systems Agronomist, CIMMYT) coordinated the course, with assistance from SG Patil (Director of Education, UAS), T Satanarayana (IPNI), RK Malik, and HS Sidhu.

During the course, participants learnt the basics of CA, including practical field training on CA machinery, techniques for intercropping systems under rainfed conditions, use of GreenSeeker optical sensors, spray techniques, and weed, nutrient, and water management practices in relation to CA. Raj Gupta described the CA priorities for the different ecologies of Karnataka, whilst Pat Wall shared his global experiences of CA and Bruno Gerard detailed his experiences with crop-livestock interactions in reference to CA.

In concluding the course, BV Patil thanked CIMMYT for previously initiating the CA program in Karnataka as part of the Rice-Wheat Consortium for the Indo-Gangetic Plains (RWC). Now, with the assistance of CSISA, it is hoped that the adoption of CA can be accelerated. The UAS has recently recruited new scientists in order to take CA to a larger scale in Karnataka, and has pledged to purchase CA planters to assist in these efforts, said Patil. Given that weed management is a key issue in rainfed areas, the university also hopes to collaborate with CSISA and CIMMYT scientists, in order to produce a publication of the subject of the synthesis of weeds on different production systems under rainfed ecologies.

The 21st workshop of the International Triticeae Mapping Initiative (ITMI) was hosted in Mexico City from 05-09 September, coordinated by CIMMYT Wheat Molecular Biologist Susanne Dreisigacker. ITMI was conceived in 1989, originally as a five-year effort to develop RFLP maps for Triticeae crops (mainly wheat and barley). Today the ITMI international community coordinates research efforts in molecular genetics, genomics, and genetic analysis in the Triticeae (chiefly wheat, barley and rye), with the aims of keeping work in Triticeae at the cutting edge of genetic research, avoiding duplication, and ensuring that data and information on the Triticeae is readily available to the community.

Opening the meeting, speakers Jorge Dubcovsky of UC Davis, United States, and Takao Komastuda of the National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Japan, shared the stories of their groups working on the characterization of the genes involved in vernalization in wheat and domestication in barley respectively. Dubcovsky presented his findings around the isolation of the Vrn1, 2, and 3 genes and their interaction with several NF-Y proteins, shedding new light on the complex network that regulates flowering and development in response to vernalization and photoperiod in wheat. Komastuda discussed his team’s work on the phylogenetic analysis of barley, demonstrating that the six-rowed phenotype of barley originated repeatedly, at different times and in different regions, through independent mutations in the gene responsible, Vrs1.

Over the following four days, 40 speakers outlined their research advances in the areas of functional genomics, mapping and cloning, applied molecular breeding, the exploitation of genetic resources, and computational biology. The participants also went on a field visit to the Toluca research station to learn more about CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program. During the last day new initiatives and technologies were introduced, including the CIMMYT SeeD project, Genotyping by Sequencing, and the first results of using 9000 SNP chips in wheat and barley.

Prior to the ITMI meeting the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC), of which CIMMYT is a member, held a one-day workshop to report on progress in sequencing the wheat genome. One of the IWGSC’s major milestones for 2011 has already been achieved: sequence assemblies—fragments of a long DNA sequence that are developed in order to reconstruct the original sequence of all 21 chromosomes—have been developed and will be accessible to the wheat community in September or October.

This year represented the ITMI meeting’s return to CIMMYT after a gap of approximately 20 years. Special thanks to the 140 participants from more than 30 countries who contributed to put together an effective and successful workshop.

Thanks to the work of Norman Borlaug and other Mexican wheat scientists, Mexico became self-sufficient in wheat production in the early 1960s. However, since the 1980s, Mexico has begun to import wheat once again, and in 2008 the level of imported wheat was almost equal to the amount produced domestically (3.2M tons and 4M tons, respectively). Mexico is now heavily dependent on the importation of bread wheat; a concern in the current climate of rising wheat prices in the international markets. In the coming years, climate change will create challenges for wheat production, whilst demand is increasing. Breeders will have to address such issues as how to increase wheat production in Mexico; what wheat quality is required by the industry now and in future years? What qualities are needed in which regions?

To address these topics, CIMMYT facilitated a workshop on ‘Strategies towards a sustainable high-quality wheat production in Mexico’ during 01-02 September, coordinated by Roberto Javier Peña and Petr Kosina. Active discussions focused on improving communication between the milling industry, farmers, and wheat breeders, alternative strategies of wheat commercialization (the problems and future of ‘agricultura por contrato’), key breeding traits for the next 10-15 years, the localization of different quality wheat varieties in particular regions of Mexico and grain storage needs in these regions, multiplication of required seed, and alternative strategies for public funding of wheat research in Mexico. Five working groups were formed which will continue the work on specific proposals to be presented to milling industry managers, the Mexican Government, wheat growers, and the national wheat chain CONATRIGO. Positive feedback was regarding the workshop itself, which was the first of its kind for many years, and also of the non-traditional plenary discussion methods (Samoan circle) used.

We are delighted to announce that in October, CIMMYT Wheat Physiologist Matthew Reynolds will be recognized as a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) for 2011. The position of Fellow is the highest honor bestowed by the society, and is awarded to a maximum 0.3% of its members. Candidates can be nominated by other members of the society, in recognition of “outstanding contributions in an area of specialization whether in research, teaching, extension, service, or administration and whether in public, commercial, or private service activities.” “It is always helpful and gratifying to be acknowledged by an important, professional organization like the ASA,” said Reynolds. Congratulations!

President Felipe Calderón delivered his state of the nation address last Friday, 02 September, at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico. While security and economic stability were highlighted as top priorities for President Calderón’s last year in office, he also stressed the importance of agricultural development, food security, and the development and access of technologies for farmers.

In his report to Congress, President Calderón made specific reference to the importance of the MasAgro project in achieving these objectives. He stated that “the project that began in April 2011 is the most important legacy in agricultural policy of the current administration, as it contributes to achieving food security for Mexican families by giving access to agricultural technologies adapted to a new environment”.

MasAgro (The Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture Project) is a comprehensive initiative focused on developing high yielding varieties of maize and wheat, achieving sustainable increases in production, as well as delivering the latest technologies to small-scale farmers throughout the states of Mexico. The Take it to the Farmer (TTF) component of MasAgro is an integral part of the initiative, incorporating conservation agriculture (CA) practices and precision tools for Mexican agricultural producers.

Demonstrating the impact of CA on maize production, Porfirio Bastida Olivares from Magdalena Panoaya, Texcoco, told CIMMYT that his yield before implementing CA techniques was 2.5 tons, which has increased to 4 tons after two years, on his 0.5 ha farm. He said that now, not only does he have enough maize to feed his family, but he is able to earn an income from his crop as well. The MasAgro project aims to implement this level of increase for small-scale farmers relying on rainfed agriculture throughout the entire country.

Reinforcing the high priority of agriculture, Francisco Javier Mayorga Castañeda, the Secretary of SAGARPA (Mexican Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food), delivered a press conference on 01 September, where he stated that “MasAgro is considered the most important and ambitious agricultural project of the current administration because it aims to sustainably increase the production of maize and wheat, along with their yielding potential, for the benefit of small farmers”.

MasAgro was launched on 05 April 2011 by CIMMYT and SAGARPA during an official visit of President Calderón to CIMMYT headquarters. It is one of the largest and most comprehensive programs launched in Mexico and aims to increase maize yields by 5-9 million tons and 350,000 tons of wheat by the year 2020.