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research: Global maize program

Four New CIMMYT maize hybrids available from LATAM Breeding Program

Written by dmedina on . Posted in News.

CIMMYT is happy to announce four new, improved tropical and subtropical maize hybrids that are now available for uptake by public and private sector partners, especially those interested in marketing or disseminating hybrid maize seed across Latin America and similar agro-ecologies in other regions. NARES and seed companies are hereby invited to apply for licenses to pursue national release, scale-up seed production, and deliver these maize hybrids to farming communities.

Newly available CIMMYT hybrids Key traits Target Agro-ecology
CIM22LAPP1A-10 Intermediate maturing, white, high yielding, and resistant to TSC, MLB and Ear rots Lowland tropics
CIM22LAPP1A-11
CIM22LAPP1C-10 Intermediate maturing, yellow, high yielding, and resistant to TSC, MLB and Ear rots
CIM22LAPP2A-28 Intermediate-maturing, white, high-yielding, and resistance to GLS and Ear rots. Mid-altitudes/

Spring-Summer season

 

Performance data Download the CIMMYT LATAM Maize Regional (Stage 4) and On-Farm (Stage 5) Trials: Results of the 2022 and 2023 Seasons and Product Announcement from Dataverse.
How to apply Visit CIMMYT’s maize product allocation page for details
Application deadline The deadline to submit applications to be considered during the first round of allocations is January 31st, 2025. Applications received after that deadline will be considered during subsequent rounds of product allocations.

 

The newly available CIMMYT maize hybrids were identified through rigorous, years-long trialing and a stage-gate advancement process which culminated in the LT23-STG5-THW, LT23-STG5-THY, and 01-23MASTCHSTW Stage 5 Trials. The products were found to meet the stringent performance and farmer acceptance criteria for CIMMYT’s breeding pipelines that are designed to generate products tailored in particular for smallholder farmers in stress-prone agroecologies of Latin America.

Applications must be accompanied by a proposed commercialization plan for each product being requested. Applications may be submitted online via the CIMMYT Maize Licensing Portal and will be reviewed in accordance with CIMMYT’s Principles and Procedures for Acquisition and use of CIMMYT maize hybrids and OPVs for commercialization. Specific questions or issues faced with regard to the application process may be addressed to GMP-CIMMYT@cgiar.org with attention to Debora Escandón, Project Administrator, Global Maize Program, CIMMYT.

APPLY FOR A LICENSE

 

Five New CIMMYT maize hybrids available from Southern Africa Breeding Program

Written by dmedina on . Posted in News.

CIMMYT is happy to announce five new, improved tropical maize hybrids that are now available for uptake by public and private sector partners, especially those interested in marketing or disseminating hybrid maize seed across Southern Africa and similar agro-ecologies in other regions. NARES and seed companies are hereby invited to apply for licenses to pursue national release, scale-up seed production, and deliver these maize hybrids to farming communities.

Newly available CIMMYT hybrids Key traits
CIM23SAPP1A-02 Intermediate-maturing, white, high yielding, drought tolerant, NUE, and resistant to GLS, TLB, Ear rots, and MSV
CIM23SAPP1A-11
CIM23SAPP1B-02 Late maturing, white, high yielding, drought tolerant, low-nitrogen tolerant, and resistant to MSV, TLB, and Ear rots
CIM22NUVA-75 Across maturity groups, PVA biofortified, orange grain, high yielding, drought-tolerant, NUE, resistant to GLS, TLB, ear rots, MSV
CIM23NUVA-13

 

Performance data Download the CIMMYT Southern Africa Maize Regional On-Station (Stage 4) and On-Farm (Stage 5) Trials: Results of the 2021/22, 2022/23, and 2023/24 Seasons and Product Announcement from Dataverse.
How to apply Visit CIMMYT’s maize product allocation page for details
Application deadline The deadline for submitting applications to be considered during the first round of allocations is 10 January 2025. Applications received after that deadline will be considered during subsequent rounds of product allocations.

 

The newly available CIMMYT maize hybrids were identified through rigorous, years-long trialing and a stage-gate advancement process which culminated in the 2023/24 Southern Africa Regional On-Farm Trials. The products were found to meet the stringent performance and farmer acceptance criteria for CIMMYT’s breeding pipelines that are designed to generate products tailored especially for smallholder farmers in stress-prone agroecologies of Southern Africa.

Applications must be accompanied by a proposed commercialization plan for each product being requested. Applications may be submitted online via the CIMMYT Maize Licensing Portal and will be reviewed in accordance with CIMMYT’s Principles and Procedures for Acquisition and use of CIMMYT maize hybrids and OPVs for commercialization. Specific questions or issues faced with regard to the application process may be addressed to GMP-CIMMYT@cgiar.org with attention to Nicholas Davis, Program Manager, Global Maize Program, CIMMYT.

 

APPLY FOR A LICENSE

 

 

Climate Change and Child Malnutrition in Zimbabwe: Evidence to Action

Written by dmedina on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Climate Change and Child Malnutrition in Zimbabwe: Evidence to Action will generate evidence to understand the effects of climate change on child malnutrition in rural Zimbabwe. The overarching hypothesis is that climate change and related weather events indirectly increase child malnutrition by increasing food insecurity and decreasing dietary diversity.

This project will use a multisectoral approach to evidence generation and co-creation of community and policy action that incorporates village, district, provincial and national participation. The project aims to generate evidence linking climate change to malnutrition and co-develop mitigation strategies with communities that directly address the link between climate change and malnutrition.

The project has four activities:

  1. Examine the relationship between climate change in rural Zimbabwe and patterns of malnutrition utilizing environmental data (rainfall, temperature) and national Zimbabwe survey data (livelihoods, climate change mitigation strategies, dietary diversity and child malnutrition).
  2. Explore community understanding of the relationships between climate change and malnutrition with a mixed methods approach in two districts (survey and community-led workshops).
  3. Co-develop and refine climate-smart strategies that address the effects of climate change on malnutrition with agricultural and health cadres.
  4. Develop a communication plan with policymakers to disseminate findings about the relationship between climate change to child malnutrition.

Objectives:

  1. Use environmental data and national-level survey data on climate change and shocks related to climate change and examine associations with nutritional outcomes including food security, dietary diversity and child malnutrition.
  2. Conduct household surveys to understand how agricultural and child feeding practices change under climate variability.
  3. Conduct community workshops using community walks and River of Life Methodology to understand community perspectives on the relationship between climate change and child malnutrition.
  4. Co-develop and refine climate-smart strategies that communities can implement to directly address the relationship between climate change and malnutrition.
  5. Pilot implementation of strategies in two sites utilizing community health and agricultural extension workers.
  6. Share results with policy makers to contextualize malnutrition in the context of climate change policy.

Abou Togola

Written by dmedina on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Abou holds a PhD degree in Entomology from the University of Lome (Togo Republic) in collaboration with Kobe University (Japan). He received his MSc in Entomology, and a Master’s degree in Project Management.

Abou has previously worked as a Host Plant Resistance Entomologist for Cowpea and Maize at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). In that role, he collaborated with the breeders to derive improved varieties with insect-pest resistance, and making these varieties accessible to the smallholder farmers across West Africa. His contributions extend to the identification of the Fall Armyworm in West Africa in 2016, and in developing and disseminating Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies against this invasive pest.

Before joining IITA, Abou held positions at the AfricaRice and the International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). His extensive professional background centers on researching integrated management options against insect-pests affecting tropical crops, including maize, cowpea, rice, sorghum, groundnut, pearl millet, cotton, fruit trees, and vegetables. Abou is passionate about implementing IPM, including host plant resistance, biological control, cultural practices, and other natural protective strategies. He also brings a wealth of experience to capacity building initiatives for NARES partners across Africa. Furthermore, he has successfully supervised numerous MSc and PhD students in Entomology.

Dragan Milic

Written by mcallejas on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Dragan Milic is responsible for providing support to the National Agriculture Research Systems (NARS) in Africa, assisting them in the development of breeding improvement plans aimed at delivering increased genetic gains for smallholder farmers. These enhancement strategies will specifically target product profiles, optimization of breeding schemes, utilization of genotyping, automation, mechanization, appropriate breeding software, and establishment of connections with seed producers.

Milić also extends support to national breeding teams in African countries, implementing a comprehensive internal breeding pipeline optimization plan supported by the Excellence in Breeding platform. Furthermore, he assists national partners in integrating and establishing breeding networks with CGIAR institutes and regional and national collaborators.

Before joining CIMMYT, Dragan Milić spent his professional career at the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops (IFVCNS) in Novi Sad, Serbia. He served as the Head of the Forage Breeding team at IFVCNS and possesses over 20 years of experience in breeding, seed production, and leadership in conventional and molecular alfalfa/forage breeding. Dragan Milić has been a visiting scientist at the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and UC Davis through different scholarships funded by the Serbian and US governments.

His main expertise is related to forage and grain legumes breeding, field-based experiment phenotyping, legume genetics, and forage and grain legumes seed systems. He was involved in defining strategies based on conventional and molecular breeding efforts towards variety selection and the development of improved forage/alfalfa germplasm for Southern East Europe and Asia. Dragan is the author of many alfalfa/grain legumes varieties released in Serbia, Belarus, Morocco, Turkey, Ukraine, and the EU.

Xuecai Zhang

Written by Emma Orchardson on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Xuecai Zhang is a Senior Scientist and Maize Molecular Breeder with CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program. In 2011, he joined CIMMYT as an assistant breeder at the lowland tropical maize breeding program in Mexico. In 2015, he started to lead the maize molecular breeding lab in Mexico to implement modern molecular breeding tools and technologies for accelerating the genetic gain of the Latin American maize breeding pipelines. From 2024, he coordinates the maize collaborations between CIMMYT and China.

Zhonghu He

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Zhonghu He serves as a Distinguished Scientist and Country Representative in China for CIMMYT and a Research Professor at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science. Research areas include quality improvement of Chinese products and disease resistance, molecular marker development and application, and cultivar development.

Major contributions include the development and validation of 50 functional markers, the release of 36 improved cultivars, author/coauthor of more than 400 papers in refereed journals including 180 publications in international journals, and training more than 80 postgraduates and visiting scientists.

Received the First-Class Award and Prestigious Award in Science and Technology Progress from State Council in 2008 and 2015, selected as Fellow of Crop Science Society of America in 2009 and Fellow of American Society of Agronomy in 2013, the Guanghua Award from Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2010, the China Agriculture Elite Award in 2012, and the National Labor Medal in 2020.