Press releases – Page 7

Farmers, environment, and carbon markets to profit from more precise fertilizer management, study shows

Written by on April 24, 2018. Posted in Press releases.

Seminal study on nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizer in semi-arid, irrigated agriculture shows that reducing nitrogen fertilizer rates significantly cuts nitrous oxide emissions without reducing grain yield or quality.

Results are applicable to large-scale irrigated wheat cropping systems in China, India, Mexico, and Pakistan.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EL BATAN, MEXICO – Farmers of irrigated wheat can increase profits and radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions by applying fertilizer in more precise dosages, according to a new study.

Published today in the journal Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, the study shows that farmers in the Yaqui Valley, a major breadbasket region in northwestern Mexico that covers over 1.5 times the area of the Mexico City, are applying significantly more nitrogen fertilizer than they need to maximize wheat yields.

Lower application of nitrogen fertilizer would cut the region’s yearly emissions of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, by the equivalent of as much as 130,000 tons of carbon dioxide, equal to the emissions of 14 million gallons of gasoline, according to Neville Millar, a senior researcher at Michigan State University (MSU) and first author of the published paper.

“Our study is the first to isolate the effect of multiple nitrogen fertilizer rates on nitrous oxide emissions in wheat in the tropics or sub-tropics,” Millar said. “It shows that applying fertilizer to wheat at higher than optimal economic rates results in an exponential increase in nitrous oxide emissions.”

Yaqui Valley wheat farming conditions and practices are similar to those of huge wheat cropping expanses in China, India, and Pakistan, which together account for roughly half of worldwide nitrogen fertilizer use for wheat, according to study co-author Iván Ortíz-Monasterio, a wheat agronomist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), whose Yaqui Valley experiment station was the site of the reported research.

“The recommendations are thus globally relevant and represent a potential triple win, in the form of reduced greenhouse gas emissions, higher income for farmers and continued high productivity for wheat cropping,” Ortíz-Monasterio said.

Measuring nitrous oxide after nitrogen fertilizer applications in spring durum wheat crops during two growing seasons, Millar and an international team of scientists found an exponential increase in emissions from plots fertilized at greater than economically-optimal rates—that is, when the extra nitrogen applied no longer boosts grain yield.

They also found that grain quality at the economically optimal N rates was not impacted and exceeded that required by local farmer associations for sale to the market. They examined five different nitrogen fertilizer dosages ranging from 0 to 280 kilograms per hectare.

“In our study, the highest dosage to get optimum wheat yields was 145 kilograms of nitrogen fertilizer per hectare in the 2014 crop,” said Millar. “Yaqui Valley farmers typically apply around 300 kilograms. The wheat crop takes up and uses only about a third of that nitrogen; the remainder may be lost to the atmosphere as gases, including nitrous oxide, and to groundwater as nitrate.”

Promoting profitable, climate-friendly fertilizer use

Farmers’ excessive use of fertilizer is driven largely by risk aversion and economic concerns, according to Ortíz-Monasterio. “Because crops in high-yielding years will require more nitrogen than in low-yielding years, farmers tend to be optimistic and fertilize for high-yielding years,” said Ortíz-Monasterio. “At the same time, since farmers don’t have data about available nitrogen in their fields, they tend to over-apply fertilizer because this is less costly than growing a crop that lacks the nitrogen to develop and yield near to full potential.”

Ortíz-Monasterio and his partners have been studying and promoting management practices to help farmers use fertilizer more efficiently and include available soil nitrogen and weather in their calculations. This technology, including Greenseeker, a handheld device that assesses plant nitrogen needs, was tested in a separate study for its ability to advise farmers on optimal rates of fertilizer use.

“Sensing devices similar to Greenseeker but mounted on drones are providing recommendations to Yaqui Valley farmers for wheat crops grown on more than 1,000 acres in 2017 and 2018,” Ortiz-Monasterio noted.

A result of the research partnership between CIMMYT and MSU’s W.K. Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) Long-Term Ecological Research program to reduce greenhouse gas impacts of intensive farming, the present study also aimed to generate new emission factors for Mexican grain crops that accurately reflect nitrous oxide emissions and emission reductions and can be used in global carbon markets, according to Millar.

“The emission calculations from our work can be incorporated by carbon market organizations into carbon market protocols, to help compensate farmers for reducing their fertilizer use,” he said.

“This study shows that low emissions nitrogen management is possible in tropical cereal crop systems and provides important guidance on the optimal levels for large cropping areas of the world,” said Lini Wollenberg, an expert in low-emissions agriculture for the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), which helped fund the research. “With these improved emission factors, countries will be able to better plan and implement their commitments to reducing emissions.

To view the article

Millar, N., A. Urrea, K. Kahmark, I. Shcherbak, G. P. Robertson, and I. Ortiz-Monasterio. 2018. Nitrous oxide (N2O) flux responds exponentially to nitrogen fertilizer in irrigated wheat in the Yaqui Valley, Mexico. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2018.04.003.

KBS LTER

Michigan State University’s Kellogg Biological Station Long-term Ecological Research (KBS LTER) Program studies the ecology of intensive field crop ecosystems as part of a national network of LTER sites established by the National Science Foundation. More information at http://lter.kbs.msu.edu

MSU AgBioResearch

MSU AgBioResearch engages in innovative, leading-edge research that combines scientific expertise with practical experience to help advance FOOD, ENERGY and the ENVIRONMENT. It encompasses the work of more than 300 scientists in seven MSU colleges — Agriculture and Natural Resources, Arts and Letters, Communication Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Natural Science, Social Science and Veterinary Medicine — and includes a network of 13 outlying research centers across Michigan.

CIMMYT

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is the global leader in publicly-funded maize and wheat research and related farming systems. Headquartered near Mexico City, CIMMYT works with hundreds of partners throughout the developing world to sustainably increase the productivity of maize and wheat cropping systems, thus improving global food security and reducing poverty. CIMMYT is a member of the CGIAR System and leads the CGIAR Research Programs on Maize and Wheat and the Excellence in Breeding Platform. The Center receives support from national governments, foundations, development banks and other public and private agencies. For more information, visit staging.cimmyt.org.

CCAFS

The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), led by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), brings together some of the world’s best researchers in agricultural science, development research, climate science and earth system science to identify and address the most important interactions, synergies and tradeoffs between climate change, agriculture and food security. CCAFS is carried out with support from CGIAR Fund Donors and through bilateral funding agreements. www.ccafs.cgiar.org

For more information or for interviews:

Holly Whetstone

Associate Director, ANR Communications & Marketing
Michigan State University
Tel: 517.884.3864
Email: whetst@msu.edu

Mike Listman
Communications officer, CGIAR Research Program on Wheat
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
Tel (office): +52 (55) 5804 7537
cel: +52 (1595) 114 9743
Email: m.listman@cgiar.org
skype: mikeltexcoco

Photo available for use with proper accreditation:

Farmers family in Obregon, Mexico. Photo: CIMMYT/ Peter Lowe

Pakistan seminar highlights roles of women and youth in wheat-based agriculture

Written by on March 2, 2018. Posted in Press releases.

CIMMYT and the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council are set to hold a seminar on women and youth in wheat-based farming systems on March 8. Photo: CIMMYT archives

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CIMMYT) – As part of activities around 2018 International Women’s Day, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) will hold a seminar on women and youth in wheat-based farming systems: How do women and youth contribute? What are their problems and concerns? How can their issues be addressed to increase farm productivity and benefit all household members?

The event will draw some 70 participants from public, private, and academic organizations, including high-level wheat sector officials, social scientists from all Pakistan provinces, and scientists from CIMMYT, the global leader in publicly-funded research on maize and wheat and related farming systems.

Among other topics, speakers will share and discuss Pakistan-specific findings from GENNOVATE, a large-scale qualitative study by CGIAR during 2014-16, based on focus groups and interviews involving more than 7,500 rural men and women in 26 developing countries.

The event, which takes place in the Inspire Meeting Hall, Agricultural Economics Research Institute (AERI), NARC Premises, Park Road, Islamabad, on Thursday, 8 March from 8:45 to 11:30 a.m., will feature presentations followed by question and answer sessions and discussions and will be chaired by Ghulam Muhammad Ali, Director General, NARC, and Dr. Imtiaz Muhammad, Country Representative, CIMMYT Pakistan.

The program includes Muhammad Khair and Zarmina Achakzi from Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS), who will highlight the role of women in farming in Balochistan and factors that limit their income and social status. Sidra Majeed and Nusrat Habib of the Agricultural Economics Research Institute (AERI), NARC, will present on gender roles and responsibilities in Pakistan.

From CIMMYT, Mulunesh Tsegaye, a research associate, will describe GENNOVATE findings on women and youth’s roles in wheat-based agriculture in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan provinces. Consultant Sidra Minhas will share gender-related results from 14 agricultural program evaluations in Pakistan and how better to address gender dynamics in project design, programming, monitoring, and evaluation. Kristie Drucza, gender and social development research manager, will introduce results of three quantitative surveys that highlight the need for greater participation of women in agriculture research to raise the sector’s productivity and profitability.

The theme of 2018 International Women’s Day is #PressforProgress, and encourages global momentum in striving for gender parity.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), women make up 43 percent of the agricultural workforce in developing countries, but for many access to resources and services is severely restricted and they are often left out of decisions regarding use of income—even that which they earn.

You can obtain a two-page summary of the GENNOVATE report “Gender and Innovation Processes in Wheat-Based Systems” by clicking on the title.

GENNOVATE is supported by generous funding from the World Bank; the CGIAR Gender & Agricultural Research Network; the government of Mexico through MasAgro; Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ); numerous CGIAR Research Programs; and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

For further information or interviews:

Kashif Syed, Communications Specialist, CIMMYT
k.syed@cgiar.org, cell: +92 (334) 5559205

Dr. Akhter Ali, Agricultural Economist, CIMMYT
akhter.ali@cgiar.org

Dr. Kristie Drucza, Gender and Social Development Research Manager, CIMMYT, Ethiopia
k.drucza@cgiar.org

New zinc enriched maize set to improve nutrition in Colombia

Written by on February 21, 2018. Posted in Press releases.

Cali, Colombia (CIMMYT) – The first zinc-enriched maize variety developed for South America will be released in Colombia on February 23 in an effort to combat malnutrition in the country.

Developed using traditional breeding techniques, this biofortified maize variety has naturally higher concentrations of zinc, an essential mineral that plays an important role in human development. It is estimated that in some regions of Colombia up to 50 percent of the population is zinc deficient, a condition that can lead to respiratory infections, diarrheal disease and a general weakening of the immune system.

The new variety, known as BIO-MZN01, was developed by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) with the support of HarvestPlus, the CGIAR Research Program on Maize (MAIZE) and the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH). The official launch of BIO-MZN01 will be held at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Palmira, Colombia.

“The support that CIMMYT and CIAT have received from HarvestPlus has been fundamental in allowing our researchers to develop crops with enhanced vitamin and mineral content,” said Martin Kropff, CIMMYT director general. “This product shows the value of conserving, studying and utilizing the biodiversity of staple crops such as maize. These genetic resources are the base of our breeding work, and allow us to develop the improved seeds that will help us to fight malnutrition and the challenges of climate change.”

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 6.6% of the population of Latin America, or 42 million people, suffer from malnutrition. Biofortified crop varieties such as maize with enriched zinc content seek to reduce this malnutrition burden by making micronutrients more bioavailable, or readily able to be used by the human body. CIMMYT has developed several other forms of biofortified crops in the past, including provitamin A maize, quality protein maize (QPM) and zinc-enriched wheat.

Zinc is an essential micronutrient that plays a crucial role in pre-natal and post-natal development, including bone, brain and nervous system development, and is key to maintaining a healthy immune system, however, it is not produced by the human body. In Colombia, zinc deficiency affects around 22 percent of the population.

BIO-MZN01 contains 36 percent more zinc on average than other maize varieties, meaning that arepas (a maize-based Colombian staple food) made of this new variety offer consumers five times more zinc than those made with traditional varieties. Additionally, BIO-MZN01 can yield up to 6 to 8 tons per hectare(t/ha), nearly double the national average in Colombia of 3.7 t/ha and is resistant to several maize diseases that are common in the region, including rust, turcicum leaf blight, and gray leaf spot. It can be grown between 0 and 1400 meters above sea level during both cropping seasons in the country.

“This is incredible news for the food and nutritional security of all Colombians. It is also an excellent opportunity to share the positive results that can be achieved by teamwork and partnerships such as the work we are doing with HarvestPlus, CIAT, seed companies such as Maxi Semillas S.A.S and of course, with farmers,” said Luis Narro, maize breeder at CIMMYT Colombia.

For Marilia Nutti, the regional director for Latin America and the Carribean at HarvestPlus, the release of this new biofortified variety is the result of “a joint effort we began in 2012, that was only made possible by the trail blazed by the research of several CIMMYT scientists long ago. Together, we have worked to turn maize, a staple food in the region, into a tool capable of reducing zinc deficiency in countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua and several regions of Colombia.”

These goals are well on their way to becoming reality, as the CIMMYT-HarvestPlus partnership released a zinc-enriched maize variety in Honduras in 2017, and will release others in Guatemala and Nicaragua later this year.

The scientific work conducted at CIMMYT, HarvestPlus and CIAT reaches the hands of farmers through local seed companies such as Maxi Semillas S.A.S., a partner of CIMMYT Colombia for the past 40 years that will be commercializing the new variety. Miguel Lengua, director general of Maxi Semillas S.A.S., considers this new biofortified variety “a seed that will be a useful tool to fight malnutrition due to its increased micronutrient content, including zinc. CIMMYT’s work has given us new varieties that will contribute to better nutrition in Colombia, Latin America and the world.”

CIMMYT

HarvestPlus

The HarvestPlus mission is to improve nutrition and public health by developing and promoting everyday food crops that are rich in vitamins and minerals, and providing global leadership on the technology and evidence that have enabled and proven this innovation. HarvestPlus is part of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH), which helps realize the potential of agricultural development to deliver gender-equitable health and nutritional benefits to the poor. CGIAR is a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future.

The HarvestPlus program works with over 400 partners worldwide and is coordinated by two CGIAR centers, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). HarvestPlus’ principal donors are the UK Government; the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; the U.S. Government’s Feed the Future initiative; the European Commission; the Government of Canada and donors to A4NH. HarvestPlus is also supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Visit www.HarvestPlus.org for more information.

CIAT

The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) – a CGIAR Research Center – develops technologies, innovative methods, and new knowledge that better enable farmers, especially smallholders, to make agriculture eco-efficient – that is, competitive and profitable as well as sustainable and resilient. Eco-efficient agriculture reduces hunger and poverty, improves human nutrition, and offers solutions to environmental degradation and climate change in the tropics. With headquarters near Cali, Colombia, CIAT conducts research for development in tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. www.ciat.cgiar.org

Contact:

Genevieve Renard

Head of Communications

International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)

Telephone: +52 1 595 114 9880

Email: g.renard@cgiar.org

Twitter: @genevrenard

Jennifer Johnson

Maize Communications Officer

CGIAR Research Program on Maize (MAIZE)

Telephone: +52 (55) 5804 2004 ext. 1036

Email: j.a.johnson@cgiar.org

USAID’s Feed the Future Nepal Seed and Fertilizer Project supports NGLRP to foster lentil productivity and profitability

Written by on February 19, 2018. Posted in Press releases.

Nepal’s National Grain Legumes Research Program (NGLRP), in collaboration with USAID’s Feed the Future Nepal Seed and Fertilizer Project, led by The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), began a two-day workshop to foster lentil productivity and profitability Tuesday. Engaging both public and private stakeholders involved in lentil research and development activities, the workshop will examine the intricate challenges and tap into potential opportunities for lentil interventions and innovations in Nepal. During the workshop, a newly formed lentil working committee will define a strategic roadmap which will be used to strengthen the lentil market system.

Speaking at the workshop, NGLRP national coordinator Rajendra Darai remarked, “there is high demand for the product globally, but we need to enhance competitiveness and reinforce the lentil value chain.” A lentil seed producer and farmer from Kapilvastu added that “improved variety of seeds, combined with best management practices and technology, will be the key to achieving higher yields.”

Lentils have emerged as an important agricultural export commodity for Nepal. The country is the second largest lentil producer in South Asia and the fifth in the world. However, there is a huge yield gap of almost a ton per hectare between the national average and the achievable yield.

The major constraint to boosting output at the farm level is the limited availability of improved varieties and low quality of seeds and fertilizers. Farmers and lentil seed producers are also impacted by weak market linkages, limited access to new technologies and lack of access to finance. Low-profit margin and price fluctuation of lentil seed hinders companies from selling improved seeds in the market. Meanwhile, export growth is constrained by the lack of proper linkages with international buyers, compatible policies and quality standards.

To enhance Nepal’s lentil productivity and profitability, NGLRP is collaborating with the CGIAR Centers to develop improved varieties and production technologies to better suit different ecological regions. USAID’s Feed the Future Nepal Seed and Fertilizer Project, implemented by CIMMYT, supports the NGLRP by building linkages with private seed companies to develop new varieties of seeds best suited for Nepal’s geography.

CIMMYT’s AbduRahman Beshir, the seed system lead for USAID’s Feed the Future Nepal Seed and Fertilizer Project, said, “we are working with partners to enhance the lentil value chain in Nepal and to ensure that farmers have access to improved farming inputs and technologies. This will result in increased lentil productivity and reel in more earnings for the farmers and the suppliers.”

USAID’s Nepal Seed and Fertilizer Project is made possible thanks to the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

For further inquiries, please contact: AbduRahman Beshir, Seed System Lead – CIMMYT a.issa@cgiar.org

Scientists confirm value of whole grains and wheat for nutrition and health

Written by on February 15, 2018. Posted in Press releases.

New study flattens claims that gluten and wheat are bad for human health. Photo: CIMMYT archives

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) – A new, exhaustive review of recent scientific studies on cereal grains and health has shown that gluten- or wheat-free diets are not inherently healthier for the general populace and may actually put individuals at risk of dietary deficiencies.

Based on a recent, special compilation of 12 reports published in the scientific journal Cereal Foods World during 2014-2017, eating whole grains is actually beneficial for brain health and associated with reduced risk of diverse types of cancer, coronary disease, diabetes, hypertension, obesity and overall mortality.

“Clear and solid data show that eating whole-grain wheat products as part of a balanced diet improves health and can help maintain a healthy body weight, apart from the 1 percent of people who suffer from celiac disease and another 2 to 3 percent who are sensitive to wheat,” said Carlos Guzmán, wheat nutrition and quality specialist at the Mexico-based International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), which produced the compilation.

Guzmán said wheat and other grains are inexpensive sources of energy that also provide protein, digestible fiber, minerals, vitamins, and other beneficial phytochemicals.

“Among wheat’s greatest benefits, according to the research, is fiber from the bran and other grain parts,” he explained. “Diets in industrialized countries are generally deficient in such fiber, which helps to regulate digestion and promote the growth of beneficial gut bacteria.”

Guzmán and hundreds of other grain quality and health specialists will meet for the 4th Latin American Cereals Conference and the 13th International Gluten Workshop, organized jointly by CIMMYT and the International Association for Cereal Science and Technology (ICC) in Mexico City from 11 to 17 March 2018.

Contributing to humankind’s development for the last 10,000 years, wheat is cultivated on some 220 million hectares (539 million acres) worldwide. The crop accounts for a fifth of the world’s food and is the main source of protein in many developing and developed countries, and second only to rice as a source of calories globally. In the many countries where milling flours are fortified, wheat-based foods provide necessary levels of essential micronutrients such as iron, zinc, folic acid and vitamin A.

Inhabitants in developing and industrialized countries are experiencing higher incidences of diabetes, allergies, inflammatory bowel disorder, and obesity. A profitable industry has developed around gluten- and wheat-free food products, which the popular press has promoted as beneficial for addressing such disorders. But much scientific evidence contradicts popular writings about these food products.

“Much of the anti-grain messaging comes from publications produced by supposed ‘specialists’ who are not nutritionists, and are often built on faulty premises.” according to Julie Miller Jones, Distinguished Scholar and Professor Emerita at St. Catherine University, U.S.A., and a key contributor to the review studies in the compilation.

“Causes of obesity and chronic disease are complex, and it is not only simplistic but erroneous to name a single food group as the cause or the cure for these problems,” Miller Jones explained. “We do know that we consume large portions, too many calories, and too few fruits, vegetables, or whole grains. Instead today’s lifestyles encourage consumption of many high calorie foods and beverages that contain few nutrients. Then the risks of poor diets are often amplified by our sedentary lifestyles.”

CIMMYT scientists are concerned that the negative portrayal of wheat to promote the lucrative gluten-free fad diet industry will discourage low-income families from consuming the grain as part of an affordable and healthy diet, particularly in areas where there are few low-cost alternatives.

Consumer Reports magazine reported in January 2015 that sales of “gluten-free” products soared 63 percent between 2012 and 2015, with almost 4,600 products introduced in 2014 alone. Retail sales of gluten-free foods in the United States were estimated at $12.2 billion in 2014 and by 2020 the market is projected to be valued at $23.9 billion, Statistica reports.

However, wheat biofortified through breeding or fortified during milling with zinc and iron can play a vital role in diets in areas where “hidden hunger” is a concern and where nutritional options are unaffordable or unavailable. About 2 billion people worldwide suffer from hidden hunger, which is characterized by iron-deficiency anemia, vitamin A and zinc deficiency.

The compilation draws on more than 1,500 peer-reviewed studies regarding the dietary and health effects of eating cereals and wheat-based foods.

CIMMYT specialists also worry that misinformation about wheat might affect investments in vital research to sustain wheat production increases of at least 60 percent by 2050, the output required to keep pace with rising population and demand, according to Hans Braun, director of the center’s global wheat program.

“Climate change is already constraining wheat production in regions such as South Asia, where more than 500 million inhabitants eat wheat-based foods,” Braun said. “Worldwide, the crop is threatened by deadly pest and disease strains, water shortages, and depleted soils.”

“As we have seen in 2008, 2011, and just recently in Tunisia and Sudan, grain shortages or price hikes in bread can lead to social unrest,” Braun added. “The international community needs to speed efforts to develop and share high-yielding, climate-resilient, and disease-resistant wheat varieties that also meet humanity’s varied nutritional demands.”

The compilation was produced with special permission from AACC International.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR INTERVIEWS

Mike Listman
Communications officer, CGIAR Research Program on Wheat
tel: +52 (55) 5804 7537
cel: +52 (1595) 114 9743
Email: m.listman@cgiar.org

John R. Porter, noted crop and climate scientist, becomes chairperson of the Independent Steering Committee for global wheat research

Written by Mike Listman on November 8, 2017. Posted in Press releases.

EL BATAN, Mexico (8 November 2017) – Professor Dr. John R. Porter, from the Agropolis/Montpellier Supagro/INRA/CIRAD conglomeration in Montpellier, France, has been elected as Chair of the Independent Steering Committee that advises the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (known as WHEAT) on research strategy, priorities and program management. In this appointment, Porter succeeds Dr Tony Fischer, Honorary Research Fellow, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia.

An internationally recognized researcher and teacher in crop ecology and physiology, biological modelling, and agricultural ecology, Porter’s contributions have focused on climate change, agronomy, and ecosystem services.

“I am very proud and pleased to be elected as chair of the WHEAT Steering Committee. This CGIAR research program connects over 300 partners into a global alliance for climate-resilient and profitable wheat agri-food systems,” Porter said.

“Accounting for a fifth of the world’s food, wheat is the main source of protein in the developing world and is second only to rice as a source of calories for consumers there,” Porter explained. “The challenge for WHEAT is no less than to raise the crop’s productivity and keep wheat affordable for today’s 2.5 billion resource-poor consumers in 89 countries and for a world population that will surpass 9 billion around mid-century.”

Porter observed that this must be done while cutting greenhouse gas emissions and improving soil health, in wheat-based cropping systems. “As WHEAT moves into its 2nd Phase,” he said, “I would like the Independent Steering Committee to continue the work pioneered by my predecessor Tony Fischer and look at some new areas, such as human capacity development and innovation in wheat-based food production systems.”

Meeting wheat demand, protecting food and farming from worsening climate impacts
According to Porter, WHEAT is actively catalyzing the efforts of CGIAR and partner institution scientists, farmers, governments and private companies in lower and middle-income countries, to develop and share climate-smart innovations that increase farm resilience and productivity, while reducing the climate footprint.

Technology such as high-yielding wheat varieties that tolerate drought and high temperatures, as well as resisting new or modified strains of deadly crop diseases spawned in rapidly warming environments, are the outputs from WHEAT research that lead to positive outcomes for farmers and consumers.

Developing such technologies requires that WHEAT also invest in human capacity development. “Varieties derived from WHEAT breeding lines are already sown on nearly half of the world’s wheat lands and which bring economic benefits of about $3.1 billion each year,” Porter said, citing a 2016 analysis of WHEAT impacts.

Resource-conserving cropping practices from WHEAT, such as more targeted use of nitrogen fertilizers or sowing wheat into untilled soils and crop residues, can raise wheat farmers’ incomes while curbing greenhouse gas emissions, if widely adopted, he added. “Zero tillage is already being used to sow wheat on 1.8 million hectares in South Asia’s extensive rice-wheat rotations, and state government officials in India are implementing policies to support more widespread adoption.”

Perfect experience for the job
A member of the WHEAT Independent Steering Committee since 2014, Porter has published more than 140 papers in reviewed journals, won four international prizes for research and teaching, and served as president of the European Society for Agronomy and was Chief Editor of the European Journal of Agronomy for many years. He led the writing of the chapter on food production and security for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 5th Assessment. Porter was elected as both a Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy for Agriculture and Forestry and the European Academy of Sciences in 2014 and was knighted by the French government via the Order of Agriculture Merit in March 2016. Porter is an emeritus professor at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark and the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Greenwich UK and an honorary professor at Lincoln University, New Zealand. He is a member of the Scientific Council of the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) and currently consulting professor at Montpellier SupAgro, France on a project for Capacity Building in Crop Modelling financed by the Agropolis Foundation and Labex Agro.

For more information or interviews:
Mike Listman | Communications officer
CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (http://wheat.org)
tel: +52 (55) 5804 7537

Can sub-Saharan Africa meet its future cereal food requirement?

Written by on December 12, 2016. Posted in Press releases.

cereals_africa_trends_en-2 — To satisfy the enormous increase in demand for food in sub-Saharan Africa until 2050, cereal yields must increase to 80 percent of their potential. This calls for a drastic trend break. Graphic courtesy of Wageningen University

EL BATAN, Mexico (CIMMYT) – Sub-Saharan Africa will need to transform and intensify crop production to avoid over-reliance on imports and meet future food security needs, according to a new report.

Recent studies have focused on the global picture, anticipating that food demand will grow 60 percent by 2050 as population soars to 9.7 billion, and hypothesizing that the most sustainable solution is to close the yield gap on land already used for crop production.

Yet, although it is essential to close the yield gap, which is defined as the difference between yield potential and actual farm yield, cereal demand will likely not be met without taking further measures in some regions, write the authors of the report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

In particular, sub-Saharan Africa faces the prospect of needing greater cereal crop imports or expanding onto previously unfarmed lands, which will lead to a sharp uptick in biodiversity loss and greenhouse gas emissions in the region.

“No low-income country successfully industrialized in the second half of the 20^th century while importing major shares of their food supply,” said co-author Kindie Tesfaye, a scientist with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).

To meet food demand without planting on previously unsown lands, farmers in sub-Saharan Africa will need to close yield gaps, but in addition consider options to sustainably intensify the number of crops grown on existing croplands by rotation and expanding the use of irrigation in a responsible manner.

“If intensification is not successful and massive cropland expansion is to be avoided, sub-Saharan Africa will become ever more dependent on imports of cereals than it is today,” Tesfaye said, adding that the African Development Bank highlights self-sufficiency in agriculture as a principal goal of its action plan for agricultural transformation.

More than half of global population growth between now and 2050 is projected to occur in Africa, where it increased 2.6 percent each year between 2010 and 2015, according to data from the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

In sub-Saharan Africa, population will increase 2.5 times overall by 2050, and demand for cereals will triple, while current levels of cereal consumption already depend on substantial imports.

For the study, titled “Can Sub-Saharan Africa Feed Itself?”, scientists focused on 10 countries where cereals make up half of calories in the human diet and half the cropland area that are part of the Global Yield Gap Atlas, which is developed using local data, to estimate food production capacity on existing cropland. Of the 10 countries, seven do not have enough land area to support expansion.

Except in Ethiopia and Zambia, cereal yields in most countries in the region are growing more slowly than population and demand, while total cropland area has increased a massive 14 percent in the last 10 years. Although Ethiopia shows progress in crop production intensification, other countries lag behind, Tesfaye said.

“With improved cultivars, hybrid seeds, coupled with increased use of irrigation, fertilizers, modern pest management practices and good agronomy, it’s possible to achieve accelerated rates of yield gain, but more research and development are required,” he added.

“Can Sub-Saharan Africa Feed Itself?” appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of December 12. It is co-authored by Wageningen University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and multiple CGIAR centers, regional and national Institutions in Africa.

Scientists unearth genetic treasures from Mexico’s Creole wheats

Written by Mike Listman on March 18, 2016. Posted in Press releases.

sukhinder — Sukhwinder Singh at a field of Punjab Agricultural University, India, with Mexican wheat landrace evaluation trial (foreground) and wheat lines derived from the landraces (background). Photo: Mike Listman

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Findings can help to boost wheat’s climate resilience worldwide

For the first time ever, a research team from China, India, Mexico, Uruguay, and the USA has genetically characterized a collection of 8,400 centuries-old Mexican wheat landraces adapted to varied and sometimes extreme conditions, offering a treasure trove of potential genes to combat wheat’s climate-vulnerability.

Published today in Nature Scientific Reports and led by scientists from the Mexico-based International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the study details critical genetic information about Mexican landraces for use in breeding to boost global wheat productivity.

This is essential, given the well-documented climate effects that imperil key wheat-growing areas, according to Sukhwinder Singh, CIMMYT wheat scientist and co-author of the report.

“The landraces, known as Creole wheats, were brought to Mexico as early as the 16th Century,” said Singh, who also credited the study to MasAgro, a long-term rural development project between Mexico and CIMMYT. “Wheat is not native to Mexico, but this gave the Creoles time to toughen in zones where late-season temperatures can hit highs of 40 degrees Centigrade (104 degrees Fahrenheit).”

Heat can wreak havoc with wheat’s ability to produce plump, well-filled grains. Research has shown that wheat yields plummet 6 percent for each 1-degree-Centigrade rise in temperature, and that warming is already holding back yield gains in wheat-growing mega-regions such as South Asia, home to more than 300 million undernourished people and whose inhabitants consume over 100 million tons of wheat each year.

“Typically, massive seed collections constitute ‘black boxes’ that scientists have long believed to harbor useful diversity but whose treasures have remained frustratingly inaccessible,” Singh explained. “New technology is helping to change that. As part of MasAgro’s ‘Seeds of Discovery Component,’ the team used the latest genotyping-by-sequencing technology and created unique sets of the landrace collections that together capture nearly 90 percent of the rare gene variants, known as ‘alleles.’ ”

According to Kevin Pixley, director of CIMMYT’s genetic resources program and an expert crop breeder, wheat scientists will be able to home in on groups of landraces from regions with conditions similar to those they presently target or will target in coming decades. “The next step is for breeders to identify seed samples and genes for their programs; say, alleles common to a set of landraces from a heat-stressed area, providing a valuable starting point to exploit this newly-revealed diversity.”

A pillar for global food security, wheat provides 20 percent of protein and calories consumed worldwide and up to 50% in developing countries. A 2015 World Bank report showed that, without action, climate change would likely spark higher agricultural prices and threaten food security in the world’s poorer regions.

For more information

Mike Listman, CIMMYT communications, email at m.listman@cgiar.org, mobile at +52 1 595 957 3490. Geneviève Renard, head of CIMMYT communications, email at g.renard@cgiar.org, mobile at +52 1 595 114 9880.

About CIMMYT

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), is the global leader in research for development in wheat and maize and wheat- and maize-based farming systems. From its headquarters in Mexico and 14 global offices, CIMMYT works throughout the developing world with hundreds of partners to sustainably increase the productivity of maize and wheat systems, thus contributing to better food security and livelihoods. CIMMYT is a member of the 15-member CGIAR Consortium and leads the CGIAR Research Programs on Wheat and Maize. CIMMYT receives support from national governments, foundations, development banks and other public and private agencies.

Conservation agriculture expert at Oxford Farming Conference

Written by on January 3, 2016. Posted in Press releases. 69 Comments on Conservation agriculture expert at Oxford Farming Conference

MEDIA ADVISORY

WHAT: Bram Govaerts, strategic leader for Sustainable Intensification in Latin America and Latin America representative at the Mexico-based International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), will make keynote speech entitled “Ending hunger: Can we achieve humanity’s elusive goal by 2050?” at the Oxford Farming Conference (OFC) at the University of Oxford, in Oxford, UK.

WHEN: Wednesday, January 6, 2016 at 10:30 a.m.

WHERE: South School, Examination Schools, University of Oxford, 75-81 High Street, Oxford, UK, OX1 4AS

ABOUT OFC: The Oxford Farming Conference has been held in Oxford for more than 70 years, attracting strong debate and exceptional speakers.

OTHER DETAILS: Bram Govaerts, who will be available for media interviews, will deliver the keynote Frank Parkinson Lecture sponsored by the Frank Parkinson Agricultural Trust, which aims to contribute to the improvement and welfare of British agriculture. The lecture will examine key challenges for achieving food security for a global population of 9.7 billion, which the U.N. projects will have grown 33 percent from a current 7.3 billion people by 2050. Demand for food, driven by population, demographic changes and increasing global wealth will rise more than 60 percent, according to a recent report from the Taskforce on Extreme Weather and Global Food System Resilience. Govaerts will discuss such risks to agricultural production as:

The need for funding and political will to support technological innovations to improve farming techniques for small landholders in the global south
How mobile technology could benefit agricultural research, development and relaying innovations to farmers
Machinery prototypes, which can help transform agricultural practices
How minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover and crop rotation can boost yields, increase profit and protect the environment
Climate change: carbon sequestration debate; soil does not sequester the carbon needed to mitigate the impact of climate change as some policy makers suggest
Climate change: How CIMMYT is working to produce drought and heat tolerant varieties of maize and wheat
Why women are less likely than men to uptake conservation agricultural practices in developing countries
How CIMMYT connects smallholder maize farmers in Mexico with top restaurants and chefs in New York City
The U.N. Sustainable Development Goals: A recipe for success in achieving food security
MasAgro: Mexico’s Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture project involving more than 100 organizations, offering training, technical support, seeds
Dangerous diseases: How CIMMYT is producing varieties resistant to Maize Lethal Necrosis and Tar Spot Complex

MORE INFORMATION:

Julie Mollins, CIMMYT communications, by email at j.mollins@cgiar.org or by mobile at +52 1 595 106 9307 or by Twitter @jmollins or by Skype at juliemollins

Genevieve Renard, head of CIMMYT communications, at g.renard@cgiar.org or +52 1 595 114 9880 or @genevrenard

ABOUT CIMMYT:

CIMMYT, headquartered in El Batan, Mexico, is the global leader in research for development in wheat and maize and wheat- and maize-based farming systems. 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. CIMMYT is a member of the 15-member CGIAR Consortium and leads the Consortium Research Programs on Wheat and Maize. CIMMYT receives support from national governments, foundations, development banks and other public and private agencies.

CIMMYT website: http://staging.cimmyt.org

CGIAR website: http://www.cgiar.org

BACKGROUND:

Oxford Farming Conference

Frank Parkinson Agricultural Trust

United Nations population projections

Taskforce on Extreme Weather and Global Food System Resilience

Q+A: Young scientist wins award for “taking it to the farmer”

Gender bias may limit uptake of climate-smart farm practices, study shows

Race for food security can be won, Mexico agriculture secretary says

Global conference underscores complex socio-economic role of wheat

Click here to follow Bram Govaerts on Twitter

Race for Food Security by 2050 Can be Won, Mexico Agriculture Secretary Says

Written by on April 10, 2015. Posted in Press releases.

EL BATÁN, Mexico (CIMMYT) – Mexico will need to more than double food production by 2050 to feed its growing population, the country’s agriculture secretary said on Thursday, citing statistics that project it will grow 22 percent to an estimated 150 million people.

Investing in research to improve small-farm technology and boost sustainable development in collaboration with such organizations as the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), which runs Mexico’s Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture (MasAgro) program, is key to increasing food supplies, said Enrique Martínez y Martínez, head of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA).

“Those eating once a day will eat three times a day,” he said, adding that Mexico, with a current population of 122 million people, will produce 70 to 80 percent more food by 2050.”

In Mexico, 80 percent of farmers have less than 5 hectares (12 acres) of land and farm on hilly, difficult terrain, which means tractors and farm machinery are often too big and cumbersome to function properly, reducing the potential for profits and productivity, Martínez y Martínez said.

The country’s president, Enrique Peña Nieto, has made research a priority and aims to increase national investment in research to 1 percent of GDP, Martínez y Martínez added. Mexico’s GDP was $1.26 trillion in 2013, according to the World Bank. By that measure, Mexico ranks as the world’s 15th biggest economy.

What we need to do is to make sure financial resources reach CIMMYT and INIFAP, Martínez y Martínez said, referring to Mexico’s research institute for agriculture, livestock and forests.

The agriculture secretary was at CIMMYT headquarters near Mexico City to celebrate the unveiling of a statue of scientist Norman Borlaug and to preside over the annual renewal of the MasAgro agreement. MasAgro helps farmers implement techniques favoring minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover and crop rotation to sustainably boost yields and increase profits.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Borlaug, who died in 2009 at age 95, led efforts that began in Mexico to develop high-yielding, disease-resistant, semi-dwarf wheat varieties in the mid-20th century that are estimated to have helped save more than 1 billion lives in Pakistan, India and other parts of the developing world.

CLEAR GOALS

Despite surpluses of maize in the states of Sinaloa and Guerrero, — the latter produced 2 million tons of white-grain maize, Mexico’s main food staple in 2014 — the country is importing between 7- to 10-million tons of yellow maize a year, Martínez y Martínez said.
“We need to be self-sufficient and I’m completely convinced that we can be, but we have to find the right mechanisms. We’re self-sufficient by far and have a surplus of white maize, but we’re at a deficit in yellow maize,” he said.

In Mexico, where maize originated, the white variety is important to the human diet, while the yellow variety is used primarily to feed livestock.

“Together with SAGARPA we’ve made a great impact, but we mustn’t forget that the job is not yet done,” said Thomas Lumpkin, CIMMYT’s outgoing director general, noting that almost 23 percent of Mexicans, some 27.4 million people, still suffer from food shortages and insecurity.

“When you visit farmers in the state of Chiapas – farmers on the hillsides – there are no young people because they left when they grew up, they couldn’t make enough money,” he said. We’ve got to be able to improve incomes, to keep that work alive is the key.

“It’s clear that the agriculture secretary is committed to sustainable agriculture and agricultural research,” said Bram Govaerts, associate director of CIMMYT’s Global Conservation Agriculture Program who played a key role in the development of MasAgro.

“We need to continue innovative research, but it must be connected with farmer needs and integrated with the value chain,” said Govaerts, winner of the 2014 Borlaug Field Award from the World Food Prize Foundation, who spoke at the unveiling ceremony.

“We need to develop a platform that can generate public-private investment, where companies can reinvest in farmers and agricultural research once they reap the benefits. Smallholder farmers can provide big companies with grains produced under sustainable practices to meet their sustainability indicators.”

LIVING LEGACY

The World Food Prize was created by Borlaug to recognize people who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world. Almost 30 years later in 2014, the prize was awarded to Sanjaya Rajaram, his former student, a wheat breeder for many years at CIMMYT, who released more than 480 varieties of bread wheat sown on more than 58 million hectares in 51 countries.

“It’s a feat unlikely to ever be surpassed by another wheat breeder,” said John Snape, chair of CIMMYT’s board of trustees.

Rajaram was honored with a miniature replica statue of the Borlaug life-size sculpture at the unveiling, which attracted government officials, diplomats and members of the international agricultural community.

The bronze sculpture, which depicts Borlaug taking field notes, is based on an emblematic photograph, said artist Katharine McDevitt, who teaches sculpture at the Chapingo Autonomous University of agriculture in the city of Texcoco near CIMMYT.

McDevitt began her artistic career in New Hampshire, but has lived in Mexico for almost 40 years.

“While I’ve done a lot of portrait sculpture, this is the most inspiring figure I’ve ever had the privilege of doing,” McDevitt said. “This project has been the greatest honor of my career.”

Borlaug’s daughter, Jeanie Borlaug Laube, unveiled the sculpture.

“My dad was competitive, determined and aware of the need for teamwork,” she said.

“He was a man with a message and he took it to the farmer like no other person in history, before or since. With your help he saved a billion lives, and now it falls on all of you to sustain that salvation.”

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Julie Mollins
Wheat Communications Officer
Global Wheat Program
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
j.mollins@cgiar.org

Ricardo Curiel
Gerente de Comunicación en México
Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo (CIMMYT)
r.curiel@cgiar.org

ABOUT CIMMYT

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), headquartered in El Batán, Mexico, is the global leader in research for development in wheat and maize and wheat- and maize-based farming systems. 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.

CIMMYT is a member of the 15-member CGIAR Consortium and leads the Consortium Research Programs on Wheat and Maize. CIMMYT receives support from national governments, foundations, development banks and other public and private agencies.

CIMMYT wheat research: http://staging.cimmyt.org/en/what-we-do/wheat-research

CGIAR: http://www.cgiar.org

Scientists seal agreement to boost adaptability of wheat to climate change

Written by on December 9, 2014. Posted in Press releases.

climate change FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Frankfurt, Germany – December 9, 2014 – Wild ancestral relatives of wheat will play a key role in fortifying the world’s food supply as climate change warms the planet, according to a team of top scientists.

Heat and drought are already a major cause of wheat yield losses in both developing and developed countries, a situation that scientists predict will worsen due to warmer temperatures and erratic rainfall patterns caused by global climate change. Some of the potential risks were demonstrated in 2003, when farmers in France lost nearly a quarter of their crop due to an unusually hot growing season.

More than 100 plant scientists from 22 major wheat-growing countries in the global south and north, met last week to discuss an ambitious international plan to incorporate the most advanced genetic technologies into traditional plant breeding to improve heat and drought tolerance of wheat.

“Not only are the livelihoods of farmers at risk from climate change, but people living in some of the world’s most vulnerable areas could see entire food supplies wiped out with increasing frequency if we don’t act quickly to boost the resilience of wheat to heat waves and more extreme periods of drought,” said Matthew Reynolds, a distinguished scientist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), who co-organized the three-day Heat and Drought Wheat Improvement Consortium (HeDWIC) meeting.

“A new generation of plant screening and molecular technologies can speed up our capacity to transfer stress-tolerance traits into new wheat varieties. Wild relatives of wheat, which evolved in hot and dry places, will provide the crucial genes we need for crop improvement,” Reynolds added.

Findings in a report released earlier this year by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) state it is very likely that heat waves will occur more often and last longer throughout the 21^st century and rainfall will be more unpredictable.

Mean surface temperatures could potentially rise by between 2 to 5 degrees Celsius or more, despite efforts to limit the global rise in temperature to 2 degrees Celsius, the report said.

Wheat – a major staple crop, which provides 20 percent of calories consumed worldwide and is an important source of protein especially for poor consumers– is expected to be subject to dramatic increases in temperature and more variable and extreme precipitation, particularly in tropical and semi-tropical regions.

“The risks to food security will be highest for people living in vulnerable parts of Africa and Asia, but will affect the disadvantaged and low-income communities in every country,” Reynolds said.

Adaptation can play a key role in reducing potential socio-economic shocks caused by climate change.

HeDWIC, launched in 2014 by the Global Agricultural Research Partnership (CGIAR) Research Program on Wheat, is a multi-disciplinary, 15- to 20-year global partnership serving as a vehicle for plant scientists to address these food security challenges. In its initial stages, it will be funded by the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat, and attract support from other public and private sector donors.

The meeting was organized by CIMMYT, CGIAR’s lead research center for wheat, part of a global coalition that includes CGIAR’s International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), and shares a mandate to deliver new wheat cultivars to resource-poor farmers. It was co-sponsored by Bayer CropScience, which has heavily invested in wheat breeding as part of its overall mission to provide agricultural technologies for professional farmers and growers.

Co-organizers of the event included the Julius Kuehn Institute (JKI), Germany’s Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants affiliated with the country’s Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, and the international public-private Wheat Initiative coalition.

“The meeting was a good example of the private and public sectors working together to solve a common problem,” said Hans Braun, director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program.

“We’ve laid the foundations for a successful research venture that will help farmers and many of the world’s most marginalized people living in some of the most difficult environmental conditions. From here, we’ll produce a comprehensive road map,” he said.

Representatives from international development and science funding agencies also attended the three-day meeting

Contacts:

Matthew Reynolds
Distinguished Scientist
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
Email: m.reynolds@cgiar.org

Julie Mollins
Wheat Communications Officer
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
Telephone: +52 (55) 5804 2004
Email: j.mollins@cgiar.org

Address:
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
Km. 45 Carretera México Veracruz
El Batán, Texcoco
Estado de México, C.P. 56237

About the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
CIMMYT, headquartered in El Batan, Mexico, is the global leader in research for development in wheat and maize and wheat- and maize-based farming systems. 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.

CIMMYT is a member of the CGIAR Consortium and leads the Consortium Research Programs on Wheat and Maize. CIMMYT receives support from national governments, foundations, development banks and other public and private agencies.
CIMMYT wheat research: http://staging.cimmyt.org/en/what-we-do/wheat-research
Additional links:

JKI: http://www.jki.bund.de/en

ICARDA: http://www.icarda.org/

CGIAR: http://www.cgiar.org/

Wheat: http://www.wheat.org

Bayer CropScience: http://www.cropscience.bayer.com/

Wheat Initiative: http://www.wheatinitiative.org/

IPCC: http://www.ipcc.ch