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CIMMYT distinguished scientist Ravi Singh conducts research on a wheat field while. (Photo: BGRI)

Ravi Singh earns Lifetime Achievement award from BGRI

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on October 19, 2021. Posted in News.

World-renowned plant breeder Ravi Singh, whose elite wheat varieties reduced the risk of a global pandemic and now feed hundreds of millions of people around the world, has been announced as the 2021 Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI) Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.

Singh, distinguished scientist and head of Global Wheat Improvement at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), endowed hundreds of modern wheat varieties with durable resistance to fungal pathogens that cause leaf rust, stem rust, stripe rust and other diseases during his career. His scientific efforts protect wheat from new races of some of agriculture’s oldest and most devastating diseases, safeguard the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the most vulnerable areas in the world, and enhance food security for the billions of people whose daily nutrition depends on wheat consumption.

“Ravi’s innovations as a scientific leader not only made the Cornell University-led Borlaug Global Rust Initiative possible, but his breeding innovations are chiefly responsible for the BGRI’s great success,” said Ronnie Coffman, vice chair of the BGRI and international professor of global development at Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “Perhaps more than any other individual, Ravi has furthered Norman Borlaug’s and the BGRI’s goal that we maintain the global wheat scientific community and continue the crucial task of working together across international borders for wheat security.”

In the early 2000s, when a highly virulent rust race discovered in East Africa threatened most of the world’s wheat, Singh took a key leadership role in the formation of a global scientific coalition to combat the threat. Along with Borlaug, Coffman and other scientists, he served as a panel member on the pivotal report alerting the international community to the Ug99 outbreak and its potential impacts to global food security. That sounding of the alarm spurred the creation of the BGRI and the collaborative international effort to stop Ug99 before it could take hold on a global scale.

As a scientific objective leader for the BGRI’s Durable Rust Resistance in Wheat and Delivering Genetic Gain in Wheat projects, Singh led efforts to generate and share a series of elite wheat lines featuring durable resistance to all three rusts. The results since 2008 include resistance to the 12 races of the Ug99 lineage and new, high-temperature-tolerant races of stripe rust fungus that had been evolving and spreading worldwide since the beginning of the 21^st century.

“Thanks to Ravi Singh’s vision and applied science, the dire global threat of Ug99 and other rusts has been averted, fulfilling Dr. Borlaug’s fervent wishes to sustain wheat productivity growth, and contributing to the economic and environmental benefits from reduced fungicide use,” Coffman said. “Ravi’s innovative research team at CIMMYT offered crucial global resources to stop the spread of Ug99 and the avert the human catastrophe that would have resulted.”

An innovative wheat breeder known for his inexhaustible knowledge and attention to genetic detail, Singh helped establish the practice of “pyramiding” multiple rust-resistance genes into a single variety to confer immunity. This practice of adding complex resistance in a way that makes it difficult for evolving pathogens to overcome new varieties of wheat now forms the backbone of rust resistance breeding at CIMMYT and other national programs.

Ravi Singh (center) with Norman Borlaug (left) and Hans Braun in the wheat fields at CIMMYT’s experimental station in Ciudad Obregón, in Mexico’s Sonora state. (Photo: CIMMYT)

The global champion for durable resistance

Ravi joined CIMMYT in 1983 and was tasked by his supervisor, mentor and friend, the late World Food Prize Winner Sanjaya Rajaram, to develop wheat lines with durable resistance, said Hans Braun, former director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program.

“Ravi did this painstaking work — to combine recessive resistance genes — for two decades as a rust geneticist and, as leader of CIMMYT’s Global Spring Wheat Program, he transferred them at large scale into elite lines that are now grown worldwide,” Braun said. “Thanks to Ravi and his colleagues, there has been no major rust epidemic in the Global South for years, a cornerstone for global wheat security.”

Alison Bentley, Director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program, said that “Building on Ravi’s exceptional work throughout his career, deployment of durable rust resistance in widely adapted wheat germplasm continues to be a foundation of CIMMYT’s wheat breeding strategy.”

Revered for his determination and work ethic throughout his career, Singh has contributed to the development of 649 wheat varieties released in 48 countries, working closely with scientists at national wheat programs in the Global South. Those varieties today are sown on approximately 30 million hectares annually in nearly all wheat growing countries of southern and West Asia, Africa and Latin America. Of these varieties, 224 were developed directly under his leadership and are grown on an estimated 10 million hectares each year.

In his career Singh has authored 328 refereed journal articles and reviews, 32 book chapters and extension publications, and more than 80 symposia presentations. He is regularly ranked in the top 1% of cited researchers. The CIMMYT team that Singh leads identified and designated 22 genes in wheat for resistance or tolerance to stem rust, leaf rust, stripe rust, powdery mildew, barley yellow dwarf virus, spot blotch, and wheat blast, as well as characterizing various other important wheat genome locations contributing to durable resistance in wheat.

Singh’s impact as a plant breeder and steward of genetic resources over the past four decades has been extraordinary, according to Braun: “Ravi Singh can definitely be called the global champion for durable resistance.”

This piece by Matt Hayes was originally posted on the BGRI website.

México y EU establecen estrategia conjunta a favor de la seguridad alimentaria

Written by Bea Ciordia on May 16, 2021. Posted in In the media.

Mexico’s Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER) and its counterpart in the United States reached an agreement to promote knowledge sharing and scientific collaboration on agriculture-related issues.

Bill Gates highlights CIMMYT’s innovation in latest climate book

Written by Marta Millere on March 3, 2021. Posted in News.

Global thought leader, philanthropist and one of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and CGIAR’s most vocal and generous supporters, Bill Gates, wrote a book about climate change and is now taking it around the world on a virtual book tour to share a message of urgency and hope.

With How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, Gates sets out a holistic and well-researched plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid a climate catastrophe. Part of this plan is to green everything from how we make things, move around, keep cool and stay warm, while also considering how we grow things and what can be done to innovate agriculture to lower its environmental impact.

Interviewed by actor and producer Rashida Jones, Gates explained his passion for action against climate change: “Avoiding a climate disaster will be one of the greatest challenges us humans have taken on. Greater than landing on the moon, greater than eradicating smallpox, even greater than putting a computer on every desk.”

“The world needs many breakthroughs. We need to get from 51 billion tons [of greenhouse gases] to zero while still meeting the planet’s basic needs. That means we need to transform the way we do almost everything.”

Bill Gates (left) talks to Rashida Jones during one of the events to present his new book.

Innovations in agriculture

When a book tour event attendee asked about the role of agriculture research in improving farmers’ livelihoods, Gates linked today’s challenge to that of the Green Revolution more than half a century ago. “There’s nothing more impactful to reduce the impacts of climate change than working on help for farmers. What we can do this time is even bigger than that. […] The most unfunded thing in this whole area is the seed research that has so much potential,” he said.

One such innovation and one of Gates’ favorite examples of CGIAR’s work is featured in Chapter 9 of his climate book – “Adapting to a warmer world” – and has been the source of generous funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: drought-tolerant maize. “[…] as weather patterns have become more erratic, farmers are at greater risk of having smaller maize harvests, and sometimes no harvest at all. So, experts at CGIAR developed dozens of new maize varieties that could withstand drought conditions, each adapted to grow in specific regions of Africa. At first, many smallholder farmers were afraid to try new crop varieties. Understandably so. If you’re eking out a living, you won’t be eager to take a risk on seeds you’ve never planted before, because if they die, you have nothing to fall back on. But as experts worked with local farmers and seed dealers to explain the benefits of these new varieties, more and more people adopted them,” writes Gates.

We at CIMMYT are very proud and humbled by this mention as in collaboration with countless partners, CIMMYT and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) developed and promoted these varieties across 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and contributed to lifting millions of people above the poverty line across the continent.

For example, in Zimbabwe, farmers who used drought-tolerant maize varieties in dry years were able to harvest up to 600 kilograms more maize per hectare — enough for nine months for an average family of six — than farmers who sowed conventional varieties.

The world as we know it is over and, finally, humanity’s fight against climate change is becoming more and more mainstream. CIMMYT and its scientists, staff, partners and farmers across the globe are working hard to contribute to a transformation that responds to the climate challenge. We have a unique opportunity to make a difference. It is in this context that CGIAR has launched an ambitious new 10-year strategy that echoes Gates’s hopes for a better environment and food security for the generations to come. Let’s make sure that it ticks the boxes of smallholder farmers’ checklists.

Byrd C. Curtis, director of CIMMYT's Global Wheat Program from 1982 to 1988. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Honoring the life and legacy of Byrd C. Curtis

Written by Marta Millere on January 12, 2021. Posted in News.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) sadly notes the passing of Byrd C. Curtis, former Director of the Global Wheat Program, on January 7. He was 95 years old and lived in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA, with his wife Eloise Curtis.

From his studies at Oklahoma State University to retiring after a fruitful international career with Colorado State University, Cargill Inc. and CIMMYT, he never got weary of sharing his passion for breeding better, tastier and sturdier wheat to improve peoples’ livelihoods.

He was an innovator at heart and his legacy will live on through Colorado State University’s wheat breeding program and the many wheat varieties he developed. Not only did he start Colorado State University’s wheat breeding program in 1963, but he also ensured that the varieties that were bred by his team reflected the needs of humanity for decades to come, such as the hard, red winter wheat variety named after himself.

Curtis worked at CIMMYT from 1982 and 1988 as Director of the Global Wheat Program. Together with his team, he worked to position CIMMYT as the leading international research-for-development and breeding organization for wheat for years to come.

“Byrd was very keen to build oral communication skills of scientists, which has been very helpful to me,” said Ravi Singh, Head of Global Wheat Improvement at CIMMYT. “He also initiated the Turkey-CIMMYT-ICARDA International Winter Wheat Improvement Partnership’s (IWWIP) winter wheat breeding program and even worked there in Turkey in his final year with CIMMYT to ensure it would take off well.”

Byrd was instrumental and showed tremendous foresight. IWWIP’s establishment in Turkey became first major breeding program within CGIAR that was hosted by a national program. He strongly supported the creation of the Wide Crossing Program. The synthetic wheat varieties developed in this program have had global impact on wheat improvement.

Aside from his remarkable technical legacy, Byrd had a knack for choosing the right people for the job. In the six years as Director of the Global Wheat Program, he hired scientists who held major roles in global wheat improvement: Ravi Singh, Distinguished Scientist and Head of Global Wheat Improvement; Wolfgang Pfeiffer, former leader of spring bread wheat, durum wheat, and triticale crop improvement; and Hans Braun, Director of the Global Wheat Program from 2004 to 2020.

“Byrd not only initiated the winter wheat program,” said former Global Wheat Program Director Hans Braun, who was hired by Byrd in 1983. “He was also director when the tropical wheat program was implemented in Thailand.” This program’s work increased yields up to 1.5 tons per hectare but ultimately did not convince Thai farmers. Nevertheless, Braun said, “One of the oddest experiences I’ve had was to see our winter wheat material from Turkey grown in the Thai jungle!”

After retiring from his professional life in 1991, Curtis and his wife Eloise moved back to Fort Collins, where his career started in the 1960s and where he will be remembered by his townspeople — and fellow athletes and gym-goers — for his determination and active lifestyle.

The CIMMYT community sends its deepest sympathies and wishes for peace to the Curtis family.

Durum wheat drought tolerance trials in Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, 2017. (Photo: Alfonso Cortés/CIMMYT)

FFAR grant develops climate-resilient wheat

Written by Rodrigo Ordóñez on January 11, 2021. Posted in Press releases.

Wheat constitutes 20% of all calories and protein consumed, making it a cornerstone of the human diet, according to the United Nations. However, hotter and drier weather, driven by a changing climate, threatens the global wheat supply. To address this threat, the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) awarded a $5 million grant to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) to develop climate-resilient wheat. CIMMYT leads global research programs on maize and wheat, sustainable cropping systems and policies to improve farmers’ livelihoods. These activities have driven major gains in wheat variety improvement across the globe for decades; in the US alone, for example, over 50% of the wheat acreage is sown with CIMMYT-related varieties.

Wheat is among the most widely grown cereal crops in the world and the third-largest crop grown in the US by acre. Nearly all US wheat crops are improved and supported by public agriculture research. As most wheat in the US is dependent on rainfall and has no access to irrigation, this research is critical for helping the plants — and producers — weather climatic changes including extreme heat and drought. Additionally, the demand for wheat is expected to rise in the coming years — as much as 60% by 2050. Without public research, wheat production could decrease by nearly 30% over the same period due to extreme climate conditions.

“FFAR leverages public agriculture research funding through public-private partnerships to pioneer actionable research. With temperatures on the rise and water becoming scarcer, we are committed to supporting wheat farmers and providing new wheat varieties designed with future environmental challenges in mind,” said FFAR’s Executive Director Sally Rockey.

Using the FFAR grant, CIMMYT researchers are pioneering wheat breeding technologies to produce heat-tolerant, drought-resistant and climate-resilient wheat.

CIMMYT researchers and collaborators are applying cutting-edge approaches in genomics, remote sensing and big data analysis to develop new breeding technologies. A key intervention will explore the vast and underutilized reserve of wheat genetic resources to fortify the crop against current and future climate-related stresses.

“This project will help bridge a longstanding gap between state-of-the-art technological findings and crop improvement to deliver climate resilient wheat to farmers as quickly as possible,” said Matthew Reynolds, head of Wheat Physiology at CIMMYT and principal investigator of the project.

Breakthroughs from the FFAR funded project will achieve impact for growers via the International Wheat Improvement Network (IWIN) that supplies new wheat lines to public and private breeding programs worldwide, and has boosted productivity and livelihoods for wheat farmers for over half a century, especially in the Global South.

The research and breeding supported by FFAR will be conducted under the Heat and Drought Wheat Improvement Consortium (HeDWIC), a project led by CIMMYT in partnership with experts across the globe, designed to ensure wheat’s long-term climate resilience. Under the umbrella of the Wheat Initiative’s AHEAD unit, the most relevant advances in academia will be channeled to HeDWIC to help further boost impacts.

“‘Heat,’ ‘drought’ and ‘wheat’ are three of the most important words for billions of people,” said CIMMYT Interim Deputy Director for Research Kevin Pixley. “This partnership between CIMMYT and FFAR will help ensure that the best agricultural science is applied to sustainably raise production of one of the world’s most important staple crops, despite unprecedented challenges.”

CIMMYT Director General Martin Kropff said, “This project represents not only a breakthrough to develop wheat for the future, but also an emerging partnership between CIMMYT and FFAR. I look forward to a productive collaboration that will move us all closer to our mission of maize and wheat science for improved livelihoods.”

FFAR’s investment was matched by co-investments from the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (WHEAT) and Accelerating Genetic Gains for Maize and Wheat (AGG), a project which is jointly funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO).

FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO ARRANGE INTERVIEWS, CONTACT:

Marcia MacNeil, Communications Officer, CGIAR Research Program on Wheat, CIMMYT. +52 5951148943, m.macneil@cgiar.org

Brian Oakes, FFAR. +1 202-604-5756, boakes@foundationfar.org

About the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research

The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) builds public-private partnerships to fund bold research addressing big food and agriculture challenges. FFAR was established in the 2014 Farm Bill to increase public agriculture research investments, fill knowledge gaps and complement USDA’s research agenda. FFAR’s model matches federal funding from Congress with private funding, delivering a powerful return on taxpayer investment. Through collaboration and partnerships, FFAR advances actionable science benefiting farmers, consumers and the environment.

Connect: @FoundationFAR | @RockTalking

About 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

2020 World Food Prize recognizes career devoted to fight hunger and climate change through soil conservation

Written by Ricardo Curiel on October 14, 2020. Posted in News.

The World Food Prize Foundation is honoring the work of Rattan Lal, who dedicated his life to study the effect of soil health in food production and climate change mitigation. On October 15 he will receive the 2020 World Food Prize, considered the “Nobel Prize” of agriculture.

Lal, who serves as distinguished professor of Soil Science and founding director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center at Ohio State University, is a visionary who understood the intricate relationship between soil conservation, yield potential, nutrition and carbon sequestration.

“Dr. Lal’s innovative research demonstrated how healthy soils are a crucial component of sustainable agricultural intensification — enabling higher crop yields, while requiring less land, agrochemicals, tillage, water and energy”, announced the World Food Prize Foundation in a press release.

Lal becomes the 50^th person to receive the World Food Prize since the late Norman Borlaug — 1970 Nobel Peace Prize laureate — established the award in 1987. The award acknowledges outstanding contributions to human development by individuals who significantly improve the quality, quantity and availability of food on a global scale.

“CIMMYT actively researches and promotes the sustainable farming practices that Dr. Lal studied and advocated for since the late 1980s, such as no tillage, residue retention and crop rotation, which combined with new precision farming technologies help farmers increase yields, reduce food production costs and protect the environment”, said Bram Govaerts, Integrated Development director and representative for the Americas at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).

The World Food Prize has a long association with CIMMYT. Sanjaya Rajaram was awarded the 2014 World Food Prize for his work that led to a prodigious increase in world wheat production. Evangelina Villegas and Surinder Vasal were awarded the 2000 World Food Prize for their work on productivity and nutritional content of maize. Bram Govaerts received the Norman Borlaug Field Award in 2014. As an institution, CIMMYT received the Norman Borlaug Field Medallion in 2014.

CIMMYT researcher Bram Govaerts participates in the World Food Prize and Borlaug Dialogue.

Leading US agronomy organization awards fellowship to CIMMYT agri-food systems expert

Written by Ricardo Curiel on October 6, 2020. Posted in News.

The director of the Integrated Development program and Representative for the Americas at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Bram Govaerts, has been elected as Fellow by the leading professional organization of agronomists in the United States.

The American Society of Agronomy (ASA) presented this award to Govaerts for his outstanding contributions to the field of agronomy.

“His initiatives, excellence in science for impact and the partnerships he inspired have resulted in improved nutrition, nature conservation, and national and international resilience and food security”, announced the ASA in a news release.

Being an ASA Fellow is the highest honor offered by the organization, with only 0.3% of active and emeritus members holding this distinction.

The awarding body recognized Govaerts as an international authority in maize and wheat cropping systems who works for a successful transition to sustainable intensification of small-scale farming in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Bram Govaerts (third from right) with the members of management committee of the Río Fuerte Sur Farmer Association (AARFS) (Photo: José Saucedo)

“Bram engages from the field in a remote village all the way up to the office of the president, and from livelihoods and social inclusion to science and business development, in a tireless effort to generate systems change creating sustainable agri-food systems for nutrition, nature conservation and peace,” said Sanjay Rajaram, ASA Fellow, 2014 World Food Prize Laureate, distinguished scientist and retired CIMMYT Wheat Program director, who nominated Govaerts to the ASA’s Fellows Committee.

“I am honored and grateful for receiving this award which shows, above all, that CIMMYT stands for impact and sound science that saves millions of lives, a duty to humanity that we must never compromise,” Govaerts said.

Born in Belgium, Govaerts studied Bioscience Engineering at K.U. Leuven, where he earned a master’s degree in the same subject with specialization in Soil Conservation and Tropical Agriculture. Research stays in Ethiopia and Mexico sparked his interest in sustainable intensification of small-scale farming systems. He achieved a doctoral degree in Bioscience Engineering – Soil Science, also from K.U. Leuven.

Govaerts cut his teeth as cropping systems expert at CIMMYT, where he progressed from post-doctoral fellow to his current position. He received the Norman Borlaug Field Award in 2014 from the World Food Prize Foundation. Govaerts has co-authored over 90 peer-reviewed publications. He is a member of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network on Data and Statistics (TReNDS) for the Sustainable Development Goals and A.D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University.

Preventing Seed Transmission of Maize Lethal Necrosis in Africa

Written by Emma Orchardson on May 4, 2020. Posted in Uncategorized.

The outbreak of maize lethal necrosis (MLN) disease in east Africa in 2011 (first reported in Kenya’s South Rift Valley) was a major concern, given that maize is the region’s most important staple crop. This disease is caused by co-infection of plants with two viruses – maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMV) and sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) – and can cause yield losses of up to 90%. It spread rapidly across east Africa, compromising food and economic security for several million smallholder farmers.

MLN is a complex challenge that must be addressed through a multipronged approach. While significant advances have been made through intensive efforts by CIMMYT and other partners in terms of identifying and developing MLN tolerant or resistant hybrids, the rapid spread of the epidemic over the last few years remains a concern for farming communities, policy makers, national plant protection organization and the commercial seed sector, as well as the international scientific community.

There is also increasing suspicion that commercial seed flows may have been the initial source of the dissemination of the MLN-causing viruses over large distances, and it is thought that transmission of MCMV through contaminated maize seed continues to be a major risk factor in the spread of MLN across east Africa and beyond. However, there is a lack of reliable information on various aspects of MLN epidemiology, including the rate of MCMV transmission through seed.

The project on ‘Preventing Seed Transmission of Maize Lethal Necrosis in Africa’ aims to generate a better understanding of these epidemiological issues to allow for more effective control of MCMV transmission through commercial seed, support the development of effective, evidence-based phytosanitary regulations, reduce MLN disease pressure in eastern Africa, and curb the spread to non-endemic countries in other parts of the continent.

Objectives

Develop appropriate protocols for assessing MLN transmission through seed
Develop reliable and cost-effective diagnostic protocols for curbing the spread of MCMV/MLN through seed implemented by NPPOs and commercial seed companies.
Determine the rates of transmission for the East African and US (Hawaiian) isolates of MCMV in tropical, subtropical and temperate maize germplasm
Understand the mode of MCMV transmission through commercial seed within endemic areas to allow more effective control
Determine the distribution of MCMV in maize seed, and the effects of seed treatments on virus transmission
Analyze whether virus and/or host factors control seed transmission of MCMV
Identify economical treatment methods to reduce or prevent MCMV transmission through seed for commercial seed industry and casual seed trade
Generate detailed understanding of the role of root debris on persistence of MCMV in the soil, the persistence of the virus in different soil types, and the duration of virus viability in the soil
Disseminate science-based knowledge and evidence generated through this project to National Plant Protection Organizations (NPPOs) and Ministries of Agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa

CIMMYT Principal Scientist Sarah Hearne presents her research at the PAG conference. (Photo: CIMMYT)

CIMMYT scientists join fellow experts in San Diego for world’s largest plant and animal genomics conference

Written by Alison Doody on January 21, 2020. Posted in Features.

Scientists from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) presented last week at the International Plant and Animal Genome Conference (PAG) in San Diego, USA.

PAG is the largest agricultural genomics meeting in the world, bringing together over 3,000 leading genetic scientists and researchers from around the world to present their research and share the latest developments in plant and animal genome projects. It provides an important opportunity for CIMMYT scientists to highlight their work translating the latest molecular research developments into wheat and maize breeding solutions for better varieties.

To meet global food demand by 2050, agricultural production must increase by 60% — while at the same time minimizing harm to the environment. This is the process of sustainable intensification, recommended by organizations like the United Nations and the EAT Lancet Commission as a key strategy for transforming our struggling global food systems.

Genomics is crucial to sustainable intensification. By studying a plant or animal’s genetic architecture, researchers can better understand what drives crop or livestock productivity, quality, climate resilience, and resistance to pests and diseases. With this information scientists can speed up efforts to develop better varieties and stay ahead of climate- and disease-related threats.

Philomin Juliana stands next to the logo of the PAG conference. (Photo: CIMMYT)

At the conference, wheat scientist Philomin Juliana shared her findings on successfully identifying significant new chromosomal regions for wheat yield and disease resistance using the full wheat genome map. Juliana and her colleagues have created a freely-available collection of genetic information and markers for more than 40,000 wheat lines which will accelerate efforts to breed superior wheat varieties. She also discussed the value of genomic and high-throughput phenotyping tools for current breeding strategies adopted by CIMMYT to develop climate-resilient wheat.

Principal scientist Sarah Hearne discussed the smarter use of genebank exploration for breeding. Germplasm banks are reserves of native plant variation representing the evolutionary history of the crops we eat. They are a vital source of genetic information, which can accelerate the development of better, more resilient crops. However, it is not easy for breeders and scientists to identify or access the genetic information they need. Using the whole genebank genotypic data, long-term climate data from the origins of the genebank seeds and novel analysis methods, Hearne and her colleagues were able to identify elite genetic breeding material for improved, climate resilient maize varieties. They are now extending this approach to test the value of these data to improve breeding programs and accelerate the development of improved crops.

Distinguished scientist Jose Crossa discussed the latest models and methods for combining phenomic and genomic information to accelerate the development of climate-resilient crop varieties. He highlighted the use of the Artificial Neural Network — a model inspired by the human brain — to model the relationship between input signals and output signals in crops. He also discussed a phenotypic and genomic selection index which can improve response to selection and expected genetic gains for all of an individual plant’s genetic traits simultaneously.

Sarah Hearne presents on the smart use of germplasm banks to accelerate the development of better wheat and maize varieties. (Photo: Francisco Gomez)

Principal scientist Kanwarpal Dhugga gave a presentation on approaches to improve resistance against maize lethal necrosis (MLN) in Africa. MLN is an aggressive disease that first appeared in Kenya in 2011, devastating maize production. It has since spread to neighboring countries. Under a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Dhugga and his colleagues at CIMMYT and Corteva Agriscience have identified a small genomic region explaining more than 50% of variation in MLN resistance. They are currently validating a few candidate genes in this region. Once done, they will use gene editing directly in elite lines from eastern Africa to accelerate the development of improved, disease resistant maize hybrids.

Genomic breeder Umesh Rosyara demonstrated the genomic selection pipeline and other tools at a workshop using the online Galaxy software. Galaxy is an open-source software that allows users to access powerful computational analysis tools. The CGIAR Excellence in Breeding Platform (EiB) has set up an instance of Galaxy that contains a suite of bioinformatics analysis tools, R-packages — a free software environment for statistical computing and graphics — and visualization tools to manage routine genomic selection (GS) and genome wide association studies (GWAS) analysis. This allows crop breeders and genomic scientists without a programming background to conduct these analyses and create crop-specific workflows.

“PAG is currently the main international meeting touching both crop and livestock genomics, so it’s an invaluable chance to connect and share insights with research and breeding colleagues around the world,” said Hearne. “It’s also an important forum to highlight how we are linking upstream and field, and help others do the same.”

Kanwarpal Dhugga (left) takes a selfie with his colleagues in the background during the PAG conference. (Photo: Kanwarpal Dhugga/CIMMYT)

Corn Fed: A Tortilla Revolution in Queens

Written by Mary Donovan on December 2, 2019. Posted in In the media.

Food entrepreneur Jorge Gaviria had the idea to small-scale farmers one by one who had surplus corn, buy it from them at market price and then import it to the United States. He partnered with CIMMYT to build up relationships with farmers, working out intricate systems that would determine fair prices and ensure that they were only buying surplus corn.

US Under Secretary of Agriculture ready for further cooperation with CIMMYT

Written by Natasha Nagarajan on November 28, 2019. Posted in News.

The US delegation stands for a group photo next to the sculpture of Norman Borlaug at the global headquarters of CIMMYT. (Photo: Eleusis Llanderal/CIMMYT)

The existence of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) marks one of the longest and strongest bilateral relationships between Mexico and the United States of America. Beginning with a pilot program sponsored by the Mexican government and the Rockefeller Foundation in the 1940s, it would officially become CIMMYT in 1966, with many examples of strong collaboration between both countries throughout over 50 years of history.

United States Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney and dozens of other U.S representatives were officially introduced to this legacy when they visited CIMMYT on November 8, 2019.

The director of the Genetic Resources program, Kevin Pixley (left), gives a tour of the recently remodelled Germplasm Bank museum to US Under Secretary McKinney (second from left). (Photo: Eleusis Llanderal/CIMMYT)

“This is a place I’ve wanted to visit for a very long time,” McKinney stated as he first laid eyes on the CIMMYT offices, “the historical CIMMYT.”

After photos and a quick tour of the museum, McKinney talked to CIMMYT Director General Martin Kropff over Skype. They bonded over their respect for Norman Borlaug and his legacy, especially as McKinney had known him and later his granddaughter Julie personally while the two men worked at Dow Agrosciences.

Kropff gave a presentation on CIMMYT’s impact on agriculture in the United States. McKinney was amazed at how much of CIMMYT’s wheat research benefits farmers in the United States, and expressed enthusiasm for further cooperation. “We’re ready, willing and able to help in any way,” he stated.

The director of the Integrated Development program and regional representative for the Americas, Bram Govaerts, presented on CIMMYT’s work with the United States. Mark Rhoda-Reis, Bureau Director of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, was pleased to learn that CIMMYT has been working with the University of Wisconsin-Madison on drought-tolerant maize.

The US Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, Ted McKinney (center), speaks during one of the sessions at CIMMYT. (Photo: Eleusis Llanderal/CIMMYT)

The group then split off into two groups for tours of the wheat fields and the CIMMYT germplasm bank. The delegation participated in a series of roundtable discussions on various topics such as climate change, sustainable agri-food systems, and the delegates’ objectives and needs related to agriculture in their respective states. A frequent topic was the dilemma of a public with a growing fear of technology, though technology is indispensable in the growth of the science of agriculture. “Research and education is the future of agriculture,” said one of the representatives.

The director of the Genetic Resources program, Kevin Pixley (center), shows some of the genetic materials at CIMMYT's Germplasm Bank to US Under Secretary McKinney (top-left). (Photo: Eleusis Llanderal/CIMMYT) — The director of the Genetic Resources program, Kevin Pixley (center), shows some of the genetic materials at CIMMYT’s Germplasm Bank to US Under Secretary McKinney (top-left). (Photo: Eleusis Llanderal/CIMMYT)

At the closing of their visit, the delegation was eager to spread their newfound knowledge about CIMMYT’s work and legacy. “I’m just so impressed with the work done here… the representation of all the countries in this facility is outstanding!,” said Chris Chin, Director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture.

“I was blown away. [CIMMYT] is so valuable to every country in the world,” stated Ignacio Marquez, a representative from the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

Dhugga identified the gene for an enzyme that propels the chemical reactions to produce guar gum, a cell wall polymer that is a dominant component of the edible kernel of the coconut. (Photo: Allen Wen/CIMMYT)

Kanwarpal Dhugga awarded top honor in science

Written by Mike Listman on November 28, 2019. Posted in News.

Kanwarpal S. Dhugga, a Principal Scientist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) who specializes in biotechnology, has been elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Section on Biological Sciences, in recognition of his invaluable contributions to science and technology.

Announced by AAAS on November 26, 2019, the honor acknowledges among other things Dhugga’s leading research on plant cell wall formation, with applications including their role in lodging resistance and in producing high-value industrial polymers in maize and soybean, and the assimilation, transport, and metabolism of nitrogen in plants.

“I consider this a special honor,” said Dhugga, who leads CIMMYT’s research in biotechnology with a focus on editing genes for disease resistance in maize and wheat. He has published in high-impact scientific journals including Science, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), Plant Cell, Molecular Plant, Plant Biotechnology Journal, Plant Physiology and others.

AAAS Fellows are elected each year by their peers serving on the Council of AAAS, the organization’s member-run governing body. Scientists who have received this recognition include the inventor Thomas Edison (1878), anthropologist Margaret Mead (1934), and popular science author Jared Diamond (2000), as well as numerous Nobel laureates. The election of Dhugga doubles the tally of AAAS fellows at CIMMYT, the other one being Ravi P. Singh, Distinguished Scientist and Head of Global Wheat Improvement.

“Kanwarpal merits CIMMYT’s wholehearted congratulations for this prestigious recognition of his standing in science,” said Kevin Pixley, director of CIMMYT’s Genetics Resources program, to which Dhugga belongs. “I’m humbled and grateful to count him as a member of our team.”

A native of Punjab in India, Dhugga has a M.Sc. in Plant Breeding from Punjab Agricultural University and a Ph.D. in Botany (Plant Genetics) from the University of California, Riverside. He was introduced to membrane protein biochemistry and cell wall synthesis during his postdoctoral research at Stanford University in the laboratory of Peter Ray. Prior to joining CIMMYT in 2015, Dhugga worked at DuPont Pioneer (now Corteva) from 1996 to 2014.

In addition to scientific excellence, Dhugga counts among his achievements prominent international, public-private partnerships, such as the one he led between DuPont Pioneer and the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics to explore new avenues to improve plant nitrogen use efficiency and reduce culm (stalk) lodging in cereals from 2004 to 2014. He continues to explore opportunities to secure funds for undertaking joint work with the collaborators from that period, thanks to the relationships fostered then. One of the scientists in his current group actually completed his Ph.D. under that collaboration.

As part of science outreach he has guided the research of many graduate students in Australia, Canada, India, and the US, a country of which he is also a citizen, and helped make high-quality education accessible to the underprivileged, including establishing a private school in his ancestral village in the state of Punjab in India.

The 2019 Fellows will receive rosette pins in gold and blue, colors symbolizing science and engineering. (Photo: AAAS)

Dhugga has also been successful as a principal or co-principal investigator in attracting significant funding for scientific research from public agencies such as the US Department of Energy, the US National Science Foundation, USAID, and the Australian Research Council. Part of his current research is supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. At DuPont Pioneer he was the recipient of two separate, highly competitive research grants to carry out high-risk, discovery research outside of the area of the assigned company goals.

Among his research endeavors, Dhugga highlights a breakthrough he made in the area of cell wall biosynthesis under a discovery research grant from DuPont Pioneer. He identified the gene for an enzyme that propels the chemical reactions to produce guar gum, a cell wall polymer that is also used in industrial products from shampoos to ice cream and is a dominant component of the coconut kernel. The results were published in Science. On a basic level, this provided biochemical evidence for the first time for the involvement of any of the genes from the large plant cellulose synthase gene family in the formation of a cell wall polymer. Dhugga also confides that whenever he flies over coconut plantations anywhere, he gets butterflies in his stomach at the thought that he was the first one to know how simple molecules made a complex matrix that became the edible kernel of the coconut.

“That study constituted a prime example of the power of cross-disciplinary research in answering a longstanding fundamental question in plant biology,” he said. “Assaying enzymes involved in the formation of cell wall polymers is extremely difficult. The approach we used — identify a candidate gene by combining genomics with biochemistry and then express it in a related species lacking the product of the resulting enzyme to demonstrate its function — was subsequently applied by other scientists to identify genes involved in the formation of other key plant cell wall polymers.”

Dhugga will receive a pin as a token of his election as Fellow in an AAAS ceremony in Seattle, Washington, USA, on February 15, 2020.

CIMMYT scientists Thomas Payne (left), Hans-Joachim Braun (third from left) and Alex Morgunov (right) celebrate their award with World Food Prize laureate and former CIMMYT wheat program director Sanjaya Rajaram. (Photo: Johanna Franziska Braun/CIMMYT)

CIMMYT wheat scientists receive top honors from US agricultural scientists

Written by Marcia MacNeil on November 13, 2019. Posted in News. 2 Comments on CIMMYT wheat scientists receive top honors from US agricultural scientists

Two scientists working in the world’s leading public wheat breeding program at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) have been recognized with awards and fellowships this week at the annual meeting of the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America.

Hans-Joachim Braun, director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program and the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat, has been honored with the American Society of Agronomy’s International Agronomy Award.

Alexey Morgunov, CIMMYT principal scientist and head of the Turkey-based International Winter Wheat Improvement Program (IWWIP) received the distinction of Fellow from the Crop Science Society of America. Braun was also distinguished with this fellowship.

Excellence in agronomy

The American Society of Agronomy’s International Agronomy Award recognizes outstanding contributions in research, teaching, extension, or administration made outside of the United States by a current agronomist. Braun received the distinction during an awards ceremony and lecture on November 12, 2019. The award committee made its selection based on criteria including degrees, professional positions, and contributions and service to the profession such as publications, patents, and efforts to develop or improve programs, practices, and products.

The award recognizes Braun’s achievements developing and promoting improved wheat varieties and cropping practices that have benefited hundreds of millions of farmers throughout Central Asia, South Asia and North Africa. Nearly half the world’s wheat lands overall — as well as 70 to 80% of all wheat varieties released in Central Asia, South Asia, West Asia, and North Africa — are derived from the research of CIMMYT and its partners.

“I am honored to be recognized by my fellow agronomists,” Braun said. “This award highlights the importance of international research collaboration, because the food security challenges we face do not stop at national borders.”

Braun began his 36-year CIMMYT career in Mexico in 1983. From 1985 to 2005, he led the International Winter Wheat Improvement Program in Turkey, implemented by CIMMYT and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). As director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program since 2004 and the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat since 2014, he is responsible for the technical direction and implementation of a program that develops and distributes wheat germplasm to more than 200 collaborators in more than 100 countries, grown on over half the spring wheat area in developing countries.

Alex Morgunov (center) receives his Crop Science Society of America Fellow certificate. (Photo: Johanna Franziska Braun/CIMMYT)

Hans-Joachim Braun (center) receives the Crop Science Society of America Fellow certificate onstage. (Photo: Johanna Franziska Braun/CIMMYT)

Detail of the Crop Science Society of America Fellow certificate for Hans-Joachim Braun. (Photo: Johanna Franziska Braun/CIMMYT)

Hans-Joachim Braun (right) receives the International Agronomy Award from Gary Pierzynski, president of the American Society of Agronomy. (Photo: Johanna Franziska Braun/CIMMYT)

Crop fellows

Braun and Morgunov were also chosen as Fellows, the highest recognition bestowed by the Crop Science Society of America. Members of the society nominate worthy colleagues based on their professional achievements and meritorious service. Fellows are a select group: only three out of every 1,000 of the society’s more than 4,000 active and emeritus members receive the honor.

Morgunov joined CIMMYT in 1991 as a spring wheat breeder, working with former Global Wheat Program Director and World Food Prize laureate Sanjaya Rajaram. In 1994, he moved to Turkey to work as winter wheat breeder, and then to Kazakhstan, where he worked to develop and promote new wheat varieties for the Central Asia and the Caucasus region. He has led the International Winter Wheat Improvement Program in Turkey since 2006. In this role, he has been responsible for the release of more than 80 varieties in the region. He also completed a national inventory for wheat landraces in Turkey.

“I am pleased to be recognized as [a Crop Science Society of America] Fellow,” Morgunov said. “I hope this award brings more attention to the importance of finding, saving and using the vast diversity of crop varieties in the world, for resilient crops and healthy food for all.”

Braun and Morgunov were formally recognized as Fellows on November 13.

The annual meeting of the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America convenes around 4,000 scientists, professionals, educators, and students to share knowledge and recognition of achievements in the field. This year’s meeting was held in San Antonio, Texas.

The Frank N. Meyer Medal for Plant Genetic Resources. (Photo: Kevin Pixley/CIMMYT)

Thomas Payne honored at gathering of crop science peers

Written by Marcia MacNeil on November 11, 2019. Posted in News. 1 Comment on Thomas Payne honored at gathering of crop science peers

Thomas Payne, head of the Wheat Germplasm Bank at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), was awarded the Frank N. Meyer Medal for Plant Genetic Resources this morning at the annual meeting of the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America, held in San Antonio, Texas.

The Frank N. Meyer Medal recognizes contributions to plant germplasm collection and use, as well as dedication and service to humanity through the collection, evaluation or conservation of earth’s genetic resources. The award was presented by Clare Clarice Coyne, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) research geneticist.

As an award recipient, Payne delivered a lecture that touched on the philosophy, history and culture surrounding plant genetic diversity and its collectors, and CIMMYT’s important role in conserving and sharing crop diversity.

The scientist has focused his career on wheat improvement and conservation. In addition to leading CIMMYT’s Wellhausen-Anderson Wheat Genetic Resources Collection, one of the world’s largest collection of wheat and maize germplasm, he manages the CIMMYT International Wheat Improvement Network. He is the current Chair of the Article 15 Group of CGIAR Genebank Managers, and has served as Secretary to the CIMMYT Board of Trustees. His association with CIMMYT began immediately after obtaining a PhD at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1988, and he has held positions for CIMMYT in Ethiopia, Mexico, Syria, Turkey and Zimbabwe.

Thomas Payne delivers a presentation at the Crop Science Society of America’s annual Genetic Resources breakfast, where he received the award. (Photo: Kevin Pixley/CIMMYT)

“CIMMYT is the largest distributor of maize and wheat germplasm worldwide, with materials emanating from its research and breeding programs, as well as held in-trust in the germplasm bank. The Meyer Medal is a reflection of the impact CIMMYT makes in the international research community — and in farmers’ fields throughout the developing world,” Payne said.

Located at CIMMYT headquarters outside Mexico City, the CIMMYT Wheat Germplasm Bank contains nearly 150,000 collections of seed of wheat and related species from more than 100 countries. Collections preserve the diversity of unique native varieties and wild relatives of wheat and are held under long-term storage for the benefit of humanity, in accordance with the 2007 International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. The collections are also studied and used as a source of diversity to breed for crucial traits such as heat and drought tolerance, resistance to crop diseases and pests, grain yield productivity, and grain quality. Seed is freely shared on request to researchers, students, and academic and development institutions worldwide.

In his remarks, Payne also highlighted the story of Frank N. Meyer, after whom the award is named. Meyer, an agricultural explorer for the USDA in the 1900s, spent a decade traveling under harsh conditions through China to collect new plant species suitable for production on the United States’s expanding farmland. Among more than 2,500 plants that he introduced to the U.S. — including varieties of soybeans, oats, wild pears, and asparagus — the Meyer lemon was named in his honor. As he pointed out, Meyer worked during a historical period of great scientific discoveries, including those by his contemporaries Marie Curie and the Wright brothers.

Among those attending the ceremony were Payne’s sister, Susan Payne, and CIMMYT colleagues Kevin Pixley, director of Genetic Resources; Denise Costich, head of the CIMMYT Maize Germplasm Bank; and Alexey Morgunov, head of the Turkey-based International Winter Wheat Improvement Program.

The head of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program Hans-Joachim Braun and CIMMYT scientist Alexey Morgunov are also receiving honors or awards this week at the annual meeting of the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America. The meeting convenes around 4,000 scientists, professionals, educators, and students to share knowledge and recognition of achievements in the field.

Thomas Payne (right) celebrates the award with his sister Susan Payne (center) and CIMMYT scientist Alexey Morgunov. (Photo: Kevin Pixley/CIMMYT)

Thomas Payne (left) stands for a photo with CIMMYT’s Director of Genetic Resources Kevin Pixley.

Thomas Payne (left) with Head of CIMMYT’s Maize Germplasm Bank Denise Costich. (Photo: Kevin Pixley/CIMMYT)

Plenary session of the 2019 Borlaug Dialogue. (Photo: World Food Prize)

Climate, nutrition and security challenges require global food system transformation

Written by Mary Donovan on October 25, 2019. Posted in Features.

“Can we sustainably feed the nine to ten billion people in our planet in 30 years?” asked Kenneth M. Quinn, president of the World Food Prize Foundation. “This question becomes even more challenging with two current game changers: conflict and climate change.”

Food and agriculture experts met in Des Moines, Iowa, to discuss these issues at the Borlaug Dialogue and awarding of the 2019 World Food Prize.

The focus has shifted over the last few years from food to food systems, now including health and nutrition. “We need an integrated agri-food systems approach for food security, nutrition, nature conservation and human security,” said Bram Govaerts, director of the Integrated Development program at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).

Speakers agreed that to meet the current challenges of nutrition and climate change, we need a transformation of the global food system. “We have something very positive — this narrative of food system transformation,” said Ruben Echeverría, Director General of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).

In the discussions, speakers highlighted several areas that must be taken into consideration in this transformation.

Hale Ann Tufan, recipient of the 2019 Norman E. Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application, speaks at the award ceremony. (Photo: Mary Donovan/CIMMYT)

Food security for peace and development

The theme of this year’s Borlaug Dialogue was “Pax Agricultura: Peace through agriculture.” Panels addressed the interconnected issues of food security, conflict and development.

In the keynote address, USAID Administrator Mark Green issued a call to action and challenged participants “to take on the food and economic insecurity issues that are emerging from this era’s unprecedented levels of displacement and forced migration.” Ambassadors, ministers and development experts gave examples of the interdependence of agriculture and peace, how droughts and floods could create conflict in a country, and how peace can be rebuilt through agriculture.

“Agriculture could root out the insurgency better than anything we did,” said Quinn about the Khmer Rouge surrender in Cambodia, where he served as an ambassador.

In the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, more than 1 million people died in 100 days. Geraldine Mukeshimana, Rwanda’s minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, explained that in the country’s rebuilding process, all policies centered on agriculture.

“Almost no country has come out of poverty without an agricultural transformation,” said Rodger Voorhies, president of Global Growth and Opportunity at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in a fireside chat with 2009 World Food Prize Laureate Gebisa Ejera.

Agriculture is vital because without food, we cannot build institutions, processes or economies. “You cannot talk about human rights if you don’t have any food in your stomach,” said Chanthol Sun, Cambodia’s minister of Public Works and Transportation.

Josette Sheeran, president and CEO of Asia Society, echoed this thought, “Nothing is more important to human stability than access to food.”

In a luncheon keynote, Víctor M. Villalobos, Mexico’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, spoke about CIMMYT, the MasAgro project, and the need to improve food systems and agriculture to fight violence and forced migration. “Agriculture, prosperity and peace are inextricably linked together.”

CGIAR had a booth at the 2019 World Food Prize and Borlaug Dialogue, and participated in several events and panels. (Photo: World Food Prize)

How to make technological innovations work

Innovations and technology can support a global food system transformation and help to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

In a panel on food security in the next decade, speakers shared the agricultural technologies they are excited about: data, gene editing, synthetic biology, data science and precision farming.

Josephine Okot, managing director of Victoria Seeds Ltd said, “We must have mechanization.” She described the fact that Ugandan women farmers still rely on hand tools as a “disgrace to humanity.”

The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) organized a session where panelists discussed how to realize a transformation in food systems through next generation technologies, highlighting the role regulatory frameworks and policies play in the adoption of new technologies.

Making innovations work is about more than developing the product. “It takes a lot more than just a good seed to get a farmer to use it,” said 2019 World Food Prize Laureate Simon Groot. “It includes good distribution, good marketing, good training, etcetera.”

Technology adoption requires a human emphasis and cultural element in addition to technology development.

The Executive Director of CGIAR, Elwyn Grainger-Jones (left), 2019 World Food Prize Laureate, Simon Groot (second from left) and other speakers present CGIAR's Crops to End Hunger initiative. (Photo: Mary Donovan/CIMMYT) — The Executive Director of CGIAR, Elwyn Grainger-Jones (left), 2019 World Food Prize Laureate, Simon Groot (second from left) and other speakers present CGIAR’s Crops to End Hunger initiative. (Photo: Mary Donovan/CIMMYT)

Breeding demand-driven crops for all

“The real enemy of farmers is lousy seeds,” said Simon Groot in his speech after receiving the World Food Prize.

CGIAR took the occasion of the World Food Prize to launch a new initiative, Crops to End Hunger. “We are looking for big solutions at CGIAR. Crops to End Hunger is one of them,” said CIMMYT Director General Martin Kropff. This program aims to meet the food, nutrition and income needs of producers and consumers, respond to market demands and increase resilience to challenges of the climate crisis.

“CGIAR released 417 new varieties last year. However, we can do more. Crops to End Hunger will rapidly excel breeding cycles,” said Elwyn Grainger-Jones, CGIAR Executive Director.

Felister Makini, deputy director general for Crops at Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), explained that focusing on the end users is what will have real impact. “It is important to develop technologies that are demand-driven so that farmers want to grow them and consumers want to buy and eat them.”

In a session to unpack the Crops to End Hunger initiative hosted by Corteva Agriscience and CGIAR, Marco Ferroni, Chair of the CGIAR System Management Board, said that CGIAR is shifting toward a more demand-driven agenda for plant breeding, where markets dictate what the research priorities should be.

“We must consider the human aspect in breeding,” said Michael Quinn, Director of the CGIAR Excellence in Breeding Platform (EiB). “This is where success will really come.”

Panelists discussed gender-conscious breeding, or taking both women and men’s desired traits into account.

The theme of gender was also emphasized by 2019 Norman Borlaug Field Award winner Hale Ann Tufan. She asked the Dialogue attendees to question gender biases and “not only to ‘take it to the farmer’ but take it to all farmers.”

CIMMYT's Director General, Martin Kropff (right), speaks at a session to share the details of CGIAR's Crops to End Hunger initiative. (Photo: Mary Donovan/CIMMYT) — CIMMYT’s Director General, Martin Kropff (right), speaks at a session to share the details of CGIAR’s Crops to End Hunger initiative. (Photo: Mary Donovan/CIMMYT)

Cover photo: Plenary session of the 2019 Borlaug Dialogue. (Photo: World Food Prize)