The CGIAR Excellence in Breeding Platform (EiB) is looking to provide matching funding (up to US$ 35,000) for two projects with AbacusBio to characterize the users of new crop varieties and identify a value-weighted set of traits to be included as breeding targets in a product profile system.
The winning CGIAR crop breeding program will work directly with AbacusBio with EiB support to deliver on the projects.
This project represents an opportunity for CGIAR members of EiB to take a leap forward in the definition of client-focused variety replacement.
For more details on the project and how to apply, please refer to this page and the project proposal. Applications will be received January through February.
A new report by more than 30 world-leading experts in health and environmental sustainability offers a roadmap for a global food system that provides a healthy, sustainable diet for the worldâs 10 billion people by 2050.
Published jointly by EAT, a global non-profit foundation founded to catalyze a food system transformation, and The Lancet, the worldâs leading medical journal, the report links diets with human health and environmental sustainability. It lays out five global scientific strategies to achieve healthy diets and sustainable food production by the year 2050: shifting diets, producing healthy food, sustainably intensifying food production, improving land and water governance, and reducing food loss and waste.
The report urges substantial dietary shifts and specific courses of action from consumers, policymakers, businesses and government agencies alike to transform the worldâs food system. As the report states, âWithout action, the world risks failing to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement, and todayâs children will inherit a planet that has been severely degraded and where much of the population will increasingly suffer from malnutrition and preventable disease.â
The report emphasizes eating diets heavy in fruits, nuts, vegetables and whole grains and light on meat, as current Western-style diets are already straining the global food systemâs environmental impact and pushing planetary limits. According to CIMMYT consultant and leading nutritionist Julie Miller Jones of St. Catherine University, USA, eating whole grain foods reduces obesity and the risk of almost all chronic diseases.
Given that the food system drives nearly 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, occupies 40 percent of land and causes 80 percent of biodiversity loss, increasing healthy, resource-saving foods and reducing unhealthy and unsustainably produced foods is an essential step in securing future environmental sustainability.
The founder and executive chair of EAT, Gunhild Stordalen, commented at the reportâs launch event January 17 in Olso, Norway: âNo single sector, technology or entity can fix it alone but, for the first time, we have a clear direction and initial targets to align and guide our actions.â
While in Australia, Matthew Morell, director general of IRRI, and I spoke to Devex about the limits of agricultural research to solve food crises in a fast-changing environment.
Five scientists from the CIMMYT community have been recognized with the Highly Cited Researcher award for 2018 for the influence of their research among their scientific peers.
The list, developed by Clarivate Analytics, recognizes exceptional research performance demonstrated by production of multiple papers that rank in the top 1 percent by citations for field and year, according to the Web of Science citation indexing service.
The honorees include:
Julio Huerta: CIMMYT-seconded INIFAP wheat breeder and rust geneticist;
Ravi Singh: CIMMYT Distinguished Scientist and Head of Bread Wheat Improvement; and
Sybil Herrera-Foessel: Former CIMMYT Global Wheat Program rust pathologist.
It is a significant honor to be part of this list, as it indicates that their peers have consistently acknowledged the influence of their research contributions in their publications and citations.
âThis is a tremendous achievement and is a very good indicator for the relevance and quality of [their] publications,â said Hans Braun, director of CIMMYTâs Global Wheat Program and the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (WHEAT).
Farmers around the world are at the front lines of climate change. They are directly affected by more frequent and severe droughts, rising temperatures, variable rainfall, and emerging pests and crop diseases. In low-and middle income countries, where farming is the main source of income for some of the poorest and more vulnerable people, agriculture must urgently adapt to new climate-induced stresses.
With agriculture on the agenda at this weekâs UN climate talks in Katowice, Poland, we highlight some encouraging innovations for improving resilience and productivity for agriculture under climate change. The photo story from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) shows the advantages of joint action by farmers, researchers, governments, not-for-profits and businesses.
As climate experts forecast another climate-warming El Nino in early 2019, maize varieties developed under the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) initiative represent low-cost innovations that could improve the cropâs climate resilience and the livelihoods of millions family farmers across Africa, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Drought tolerant (DT) maize was among 20 success stories featured at the Innovation Fair of the International Symposium on Agricultural Innovation for Family Farmers, organized and hosted by FAO in Rome from 21 to 23 November, 2018. Drawing more than 500 participants from farmer associations, international organizations, United Nations agencies, governments, research institutions and the private sector, the Fair aimed to devise and recommend actions that unlock the potential of agricultural innovation.
Drought-tolerant seeds: An affordable and effective way to cope with dry weather
ââSince early 1990s, farmers in Zimbabwe face erratic rains and maize crops often fail due to frequent droughts,ââ said Cosmos Magorokosho, maize breeder based at the Harare, Zimbabwe, office of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).
Led by CIMMYT, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Howard Buffett Foundation, and involving 13 national maize breeding programs and various seed companies across Africa, DTMA is responsible for more than 160 new maize varieties, including 15 in Zimbabwe that yield 25 to 30 percent more than conventional varieties under dry conditions and perform as well as those varieties under normal rainfall. The latter was crucial for convincing seed companies to take up and market DT maize, according to Magorokosho.
In one study in drought-prone southern Zimbabwe, farmers using the DT varieties in dry years were able to harvest up to 600 kilograms more maize per hectare â worth $240 and enough maize for 9 months for an average family of 6 people â than farmers who sowed conventional varieties. The added food security comes at no additional cost and, if farmers choose to sell the grain, it brings extra income for other household needs.
Under the Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa initiative, CIMMYT and partners are continuing to develop maize varieties that cope not only with drought but with common constraints such as insect pests, diseases including Maize Lethal Necrosis and infertile soils.
Adopting new technology or practices can represent unacceptable risks for resource-poor farming families, who live without the official safety nets enjoyed by peers in prosperous economies and will simply starve if their crops fail. Involving farmers, seed companies and other end users in development is essential for agricultural innovations to be widely adopted and sustainable, according to Bram Govaerts, global director of innovative business strategies at CIMMYT.
âDialogue with global food processing companies can create market opportunities for smallholder farmers through approaches like local, responsible sourcing,ââ said Govaerts, speaking during the fairâs panel âEngaging the private sector to accelerate agricultural innovation.â
âMore than 3,300 Mexican farmers on more than 35,000 hectares in 5 states will benefit from responsible sourcing arrangements, whereby the companies pay them to grow the grain using sustainable farming practices,â Govaerts explained, adding that the farmers will supply an estimated 400,000 tons of grain to participating companies in the next 3 to 5 years.
Mexicoâs Agriculture Department (SAGARPA) supports these and other public-private partnerships through its investments in MasAgro, which studies, develops and transfers innovative farming practices and technologies to the field, with emphasis on family farmers.
In September, the FAOâs Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean acknowledged MasAgro as a replicable and scalable initiative that could contribute significantly to sustainable rural development in that region.
These two impactful examples show that agricultural innovation can only succeed through well-thought research and development partnerships, and building such collaborations is a science in itself.
The new lines are specifically adapted  to tropical/subtropical maize production environments in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and are freely available to both public and private sector breeders worldwide. Â
CML582, one of the 26 new CIMMYT maize lines released by the Center. (Photo: CIMMYT)
CIMMYT is pleased to announce the release of a set of 26 new CIMMYT maize lines (CMLs). These CMLs were developed by the CIMMYT Global Maize Programâs multi-disciplinary teams of scientists at breeding locations in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Asia. These lines are adapted to the tropical/subtropical maize production environments targeted by CIMMYT and partner institutions. CMLs are freely available to both public and private sector breeders worldwide under the standard material transfer agreement (SMTA).
CIMMYT seeks to develop improved maize inbred lines with superior performance and multiple stress tolerance to improve maize productivity for resource-constrained smallholder farmers. To achieve this aim, CMLs are released after intensive evaluation in hybrid combinations under various abiotic and biotic stresses. Suitability as either seed or pollen parent is also thoroughly evaluated.
Release of a CML does not guarantee high combining ability or per se performance in all environments; rather, it indicates that the line is promising or useful as a hybrid component or parent for pedigree breeding for one or more target mega-environments. The descriptions of the lines include heterotic group classification, along with information on their specific combining ability with widely-used CIMMYT lines.
For a summary of the 26 new CMLs, please click here.
Further details on all CMLs, including the pedigrees, are available here.
A limited quantity of seed of the CMLs can be obtained from the CIMMYT Germplasm Bank. To send a request, please contact Denise Costich, Head of the Maize Genetic Resources Center: d.costich@cgiar.org.
For further details, please contact B.M. Prasanna, Director of the CGIAR Research Program MAIZE and Director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program: b.m.prasanna@cgiar.org.
CIMMYT staff share lessons learned at UNLEASH innovation labs with colleagues
Jennifer Johnson (first from right) and her team at UNLEASH 2018 work on solutions to improve nutrition for adolescent girls in Nepal. (Photo: Jennifer Johnson)
Four young staff members from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) are working to bring home lessons learned at UNLEASH to foster innovation across CIMMYT programs. UNLEASH is a global innovation lab that brings together people from all over the world to transform personal insights into hundreds of ideas and build lasting global networks around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The annual event, which began in 2017 and is scheduled to occur each year until 2030, brings together 1,000 selected young talents for 10 immersive days of co-creation and problem solving.
Innovation is key to finding solutions to major global challenges such as hunger, climate change and sustainability. However, innovation cannot occur in a vacuum â the strongest and most inclusive solutions are often interdisciplinary approaches developed by a wide range of people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. What sets UNLEASH apart from other innovation labs and processes is this commitment to diversity, as well as its focus on the Sustainable Development Goals.
While at UNLEASH 2017 in Denmark, CIMMYT staff Aziz Karimov, Daniela Vega and David Guerena were part of 200 teams that were split across 10 âfolk high schoolsâ in the Danish countryside. There, they worked through an innovation process with facilitators and experts, refined their ideas to contribute to the SDGs and finally reconvened in the city of Aarhus to pitch the solutions they had developed.
Jennifer Johnson, Maize Communications Officer at CIMMYT, attended the UNLEASH Innovation Lab 2018 in Singapore last June. She worked alongside a diverse team of young people to develop solutions to improve nutrition for adolescent girls in Nepal.
The UNLEASH innovation process has five main phases: problem framing, ideation, prototyping, testing and implementing. âUNLEASH is really about finding and framing the problem,â said Vega, a projects coordinator and liaison officer for the Americas at CIMMYT and UNLEASH 2017 alumna. âInnovation is 90 percent about understanding the problem. Once you get that right, everything that follows becomes easier,â she explained.
Daniela Vega (third from left), UNLEASH 2017 alumna, leads CIMMYT colleagues in a breakout session on innovation during Science Week. (Photo: Alfonso Arredondo/CIMMYT)
Johnson, Guerena and Vega held a session on innovation and lessons learned at UNLEASH at CIMMYTâs Science Week 2018. Participants were walked through an abridged version of the UNLEASH innovation process to develop creative solutions to real-world problems relating to agriculture. The session emphasized diversity, respect and creativity, which are central tenets of both CIMMYT and UNLEASH.
âOne of the key takeaways I got from UNLEASH was the power of diversity and collaboration,â said Guerena, a soil scientist and systems agronomist at CIMMYT who participated in UNLEASH 2017. âThe diversity of the participants and collaboration lead to better solutions.â
Vega agreed. âPeople come from different backgrounds, geographically and professionally, and the level of cooperation and openness with no judgement is essential. We all share a similar value set, we are here because we want to make the world a better place by solving problems on a very hands-on level.â
In just one hour, participants of the CIMMYT session formed diverse teams, developed problem framings, brainstormed potential solutions and gave a three-minute pitch presenting their solution to the audience. Participants expressed extreme satisfaction with what they had learned and the innovation process they had been guided through, as well as interest in participating in similar programs in the future.
âThis is a great idea, a very good experience. Often creativity doesnât get enough attention,â said Lennart Woltering, CIMMYT scaling expert.
âThis is fantastic and Iâm going to adopt it. This is a great way to introduce concepts such as gender,â said Rahma Adam, CIMMYT gender and development specialist.
In the future, CIMMYTâs UNLEASH alumna hope to continue sharing their experience with colleagues and implementing lessons learned within their work.
âUnleash helps young people to think freely and differently,â said Karimov, a CIMMYT development economist whose team won second place in UNLEASH 2017âs âSustainable Consumption & Productionâ category which targeted Goal 12 of the SDGs. âWe think innovation is something very complicated but by attending UNLEASH I realized that very simple moves can make a big change. You start believing that what is not possible is actually very possible. You just have to have will and strong desire.â
Agricultural and development economist Aziz Karimov (left photo, fifth from left) and soil scientist and systems agronomist David Guerena (right photo, fifth from left) represented CIMMYT at UNLEASH Innovation Lab 2017. (Photos: UNLEASH)
In 2017, CIMMYT and its partners were at the center of global responses to several grave challenges to maize and wheat agriculture, including wheat blast in Bangladesh, fall armyworm in Africa and the need to replenish maize seed supplies in Haiti.
CIMMYT strengthened its presence in China through a new research center established at Henan Agriculture University. New partnerships with companies in Mexico are supporting the responsible sourcing of maize and wheat grain.
CIMMYT is also leading the Excellence in Breeding Platform, launched in 2017, which is attracting new partners.
Eleven years ago this week, Apple Inc. released the iPhone. While it was not the first smartphone on the market, industry experts often credit the iPhoneâs groundbreaking design with the launch of the mobile revolution. The device, its competitors and the apps that emerged with them have changed how over two billion people interact with the world on a daily basis.
The success of this revolution, however, goes far beyond the actual technology. At the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) outside Mexico City, scaling expert Lennart Woltering points to a smartphone lying on his desk.
âWe have to remember that this phone is just hardware. It is useless if you donât have a network connection or an outlet in your house with electricity,â he says.
Woltering joined CIMMYT last year as part of the German Development Cooperationâs effort to aid the scaling-up of agricultural innovations. New, improved seeds, small-scale machinery and conservation practices can all play a role in achieving several of the Sustainable Development Goals, but Woltering says many other non-technological factors, such as markets and policies, can prevent these innovations from having significant impact.
Roadside vendor sells roasted maize cobs in Kenya. (Photo: P.Lowe/CIMMYT)
âMany research institutes and nongovernmental organizations tend to focus on technology as the solution for everything,â he says. âBut we find that 9 out of 10 cases, limiting factors have more to do with financing not being available to people, or poor policies that are hampering the adoption of technology.â
For example, CIMMYT has many initiatives in South Asia to promote conservation agriculture. Adopting no-till practices can help reduce erosion and improve soil health for better yields, but farmers who make this transition often need access to a different kind of machinery, such as the Happy Seeder, to plant their seeds. If government subsidies exist for conventional rototillers but not for the Happy Seeder, it is difficult to persuade farmers to make that economic sacrifice.
âIt is a completely different ballgame in the real world, and you have to be honest about whatever fake reality you created in your project,â says Woltering.
Projects are designed in a very controlled way. They have a fixed budget and a fixed end date, and they are often shielded from the social and economic complexities that can propel or hinder an innovation from scaling.
âSo if a donor says, âWe want two million people to be reached,â well, how are you going to do that? Thatâs where the Scaling Scan can help,â says Woltering.
Extension agents in Mexico use the Scaling Scan. (Photo: L. Woltering/CIMMYT)
The Scaling Scan helps an individual analyze, reflect on, and sharpen oneâs scaling ambition and approach through a series of questions and prompts. It focuses on ten scaling âingredientsâ that need to be considered (e.g. knowledge and skills, public sector governance, awareness and demand) to reach the desired outcome.
âThe Scaling Scan helps you figure out what exactly is required, what is possible, and what bottlenecks exist that you need to address in your strategy,â Woltering says.
Woltering collaborated with The PPPLab, a consortium of four Dutch institutes, to release the first version of the Scaling Scan last year. They tested it with project teams in the Netherlands, Mexico, India, Nepal and Kenya, and based on the feedback, they are now releasing a second version, which is available here.
In the trials with the first Scaling Scan, some teams realized the results they wanted to achieve were too ambitious given the circumstances. For other teams, it helped them clarify exactly what they wanted to achieve.
âHaving a project objective is not enough to internalize the main goal,â says Woltering. âIt also changes over time, especially if itâs a long-term project. The scaling scan can be good for an annual checkup.â
Woltering emphasizes that successful scaling requires multidisciplinary collaboration.
âIf you only have a team of agronomists, you will not reach a scale of millions you want to achieve. If you only have a team of policy experts, you will not succeed,â he says. âThere are professionals that can really help and add value to what we are doing.â
âItâs hard to get an agronomist and an economist in the same room together, but weâre not going to change the world if we donât work together with others who have their specific specialty or expertise,â he says.
The Scaling Scan also includes a responsibility check through some very simple but strategic questions.
âEvery system has its pros and cons â some people benefit, some do not. Some have power, some do not,â says Woltering. âSo what does it mean if your innovation goes to scale? Maybe thereâs a whole new power dimension.â
Successfully scaling something may have unintended consequences. There are always tradeoffs and resistance to change. Woltering says the responsibility check can help actors in the development sector to think through these questions and consider what the possible outcomes could be.
For more explanation on how and when to use the tool, we invite you to download the Scaling Scan (also available in Spanish) which contains detailed practical information. We recommend the Excel sheet (also available in Spanish) to have the average scores and results generated automatically. A condensed, two-page PDF is also available.
Susanne Dreisigacker seeks to understand the genetic basis of key traits in wheat breeding, and use this information in applying genomics-assisted breeding approaches in wheat improvement.
In close collaboration with the CIMMYT wheat breeders, she implements classical molecular breeding approaches such as marker-assisted selection and marker-assisted backcrossing. She’s also involved in developing proof of concept applications of new genomics strategies such as whole genome-association mapping and genomic selection. She gives wheat breeders access to the newest genotyping technologies and is involved in key initiatives in the area of molecular breeding like the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium and the Genomic and Open-source Breeding Informatics Initiative.
Natalia Palacios’s main area of work is the development of maize germplasm with high nutritional quality, including high quality protein maize, high zinc and high provitamin A maize, the evaluation of nutritional and processing quality of maize under different production systems and the characterization of maize for end-use quality. She has also recently become involved in the safety of maize kernels by evaluating different strategies for aflatoxin control. Her research also includes the development of food processing methods to increase health and nutrition benefits for consumers.
Palacios has worked as a Quality Specialist at CIMMYT since 2005. She studied Microbiology at Andes University in Bogota, Colombia, and completed her doctoral studies in Plant Biology at the University of East Anglia and the John Innes Centre in Norwich, England. She later completed two postdoctoral placements at the University of Dublin, Ireland, and the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology, Germany.
IvĂĄn Ortiz-Monasterio is an agronomist and principal scientist at CIMMYT. He focuses on plant nutrition and soil fertility as a means to improve nutrient use efficiency in cereal systems through crop management and improvement, with the objective of increasing productivity, nutritional quality and profitability while reducing environmental impact.
His research has involved the development of technologies as well as technology transfer to farmers’ fields, with emphasis on the use of precision agriculture with optical sensors for nutrient diagnosis. He has also works on the application of remote sensing in agriculture.
Sarah Hearne serves as the Chief Science and Innovation Officer (CSO) at CIMMYT, leading efforts to implement a cohesive, interconnected, and multidisciplinary approach to research and partnerships. Her role focuses on fostering collaboration, leveraging complementarities across CIMMYTâs core research areas, and ensuring the organization remains future-ready. Through strategic alignment, she drives CIMMYTâs ability to deliver on its cutting-edge mission and vision, advancing sustainable agricultural solutions on a global scale.
CIUDAD OBREGĂN, Mexico (CIMMYT) â As more than 200 wheat science and food specialists from 34 countries gathered in northwestern Mexico to address threats to global nutrition and food security, 9 outstanding young women wheat scientists among them showed that this effort will be strengthened by diversity.
Winners of the Jeanie Borlaug Laube Women in Triticum (WIT) Early Career Award pose in front of the statue of the late Nobel Peace laureate, Dr. Norman E. Borlaug. Included in the photo are Amor Yahyaoui, CIMMYT wheat training coordinator (far left), Jeanie Borlaug Laube (center, blue blouse), and Maricelis Acevedo, Associate Director for Science, the Delivering Genetic Gain in Wheat Project (to the right of Jeanie Borlaug Laube). Photo: CIMMYT/Mike Listman
âAs my father used to say, you are the future,â said Jeanie Borlaug Laube, daughter of the late Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, and mentor of many young agricultural scientists. Speaking to the WIT recipients, she said, âYou are ahead of the game compared to other scientists your age.â
Established in 2010 as part of the Delivering Genetic Gain in Wheat (DGGW) project led by Cornell University, the WIT program has provided professional development opportunities for 44 young women researchers in wheat from more than 20 countries.
The award is given annually to as many as five early science-career women, ranging from advanced undergraduates to recent doctoral graduates and postdoctoral fellows. Selection is based on a scientific abstract and statement of intent, along with evidence of commitment to agricultural development and leadership potential.
Women who will change their professions and the world
Weizhen Liu. Photo: WIT archives
Weizhen Liu, a 2017 WIT recipient and postdoctoral researcher at Cornell University, is applying genome-wide association mapping and DNA marker technology to enhance genetic resistance in tetraploid and bread wheat to stripe rust, a major global disease of wheat that is spreading quickly and becoming more virulent.
âI am eager to join and devote myself to improving wheat yields by fighting wheat rusts,â said Liu, who received her bachelors in biotechnology from Nanjing Agricultural University, China, in 2011, and a doctorate from Washington State University in 2016. âThrough WIT, I can share my research with other scientists, receive professional feedback, and build international collaboration.â
Mitaly Bansal. Photo: WIT archives
Mitaly Bansal, a 2016 WIT award winner, currently works as a Research Associate at Punjab Agricultural University, India. She did her PhD research in a collaborative project involving Punjab Agricultural University and the John Innes Centre, UK, to deploy stripe and leaf rust resistance genes from non-progenitor wild wheat in commercial cultivars.
âI would like to work someday in a position of public policy in India,â said Bansal, who received the Monsanto Beachell-Borlaug scholarship in 2013. âThat is where I could have the influence to change things that needed changing.â
Networking in the cradle of wheatâs âGreen Revolutionâ
In addition to joining CIMMYT training for a week, WIT recipients will attend the annual Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI) technical workshop, to be held this year in Marrakech, Morocco, from 14 to 17 April, and where the 2018 WIT winners will be announced.
The CIMMYT training sessions took place at the Norman Borlaug Experiment Station (CENEB), an irrigated desert location in Sonora State, northwestern Mexico, and coincided with CIMMYTâs 2018 âVisitorsâ Week,â which took place from 19 to 23 March.
An annual gathering organized by the CIMMYT global wheat program at CENEB, Visitorsâ Week typically draws hundreds of experts from the worldwide wheat research and development community. Participants share innovations and news on critical issues, such as the rising threat of the rust diseases or changing climates in key wheat farmlands.
Through her interaction with Visitorsâ Week peers, Liu said she was impressed by the extensive partnering among experts from so many countries. âI realized that one of the most important things to fight world hunger is collaboration; no one can solve food insecurity, malnutrition, and climate change issues all by himself.â
A strong proponent and practitioner of collaboration, Norman E. Borlaug worked with Sonora farmers in the 1940-50s as part of a joint Rockefeller Foundation-Mexican government program that, among other outputs, generated high-yielding, disease-resistant wheat varieties. After bringing wheat self-sufficiency to Mexico, the varieties were adopted in South Asia and beyond in the 1960-70s, dramatically boosting yields and allowing famine-prone countries to feed their rapidly-expanding populations.
This became known as the Green Revolution and, in 1970, Borlaug received the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his contributions. Borlaug subsequently led CIMMYT wheat research until his retirement in 1979 and served afterwards as a special consultant to the Center.
When a new, highly virulent race of wheat stem rust, Ug99, emerged in eastern Africa in the early 2000s, Borlaug sounded the alarm and championed a global response that grew into the BGRI and associated initiatives such as DGGW.
âThis is just a beginning for you, but it doesnât end here,â said Maricelis Acevedo, a former WIT recipient who went on to become the leader of DGGW. Speaking during the training course, she observed that many WIT awardees come from settings where women often lack access to higher education or the freedom to pursue a career.
âThrough WIT activities, including training courses like this and events such as Visitorsâ Week and the BGRI workshop,â Acevedo added, âyouâll gain essential knowledge and skills but youâll also learn leadership and the personal confidence to speak out, as well as the ability to interact one-on-one with leaders in your fields and to ask the right questions.â
CIMMYT is a 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 generous support from national governments, foundations, development banks and other public and private agencies.
Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) under UK aid, the DGGW project aims to strengthen the delivery pipeline for new, disease resistant, climate-resilient wheat varieties and to increase the yields of smallholder wheat farmers.
A new report by more than 30 world-leading experts in health and environmental sustainability offers a roadmap for a global food system that provides a healthy, sustainable diet for the worldâs 10 billion people by 2050.
