Mathuli drew attention to the innovations that are making her life easier, such as drought-tolerant maize seed varieties developed by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO). She also cited her mobile phone as a vital tool, allowing her access essential information, such as weather forecasts, market prices, and technical farming support.
“In sub-Saharan Africa, more than half of the population works in agriculture,” explains Gates. “Together, they produce about 80 percent of the continent’s food supply. And most of the people doing the backbreaking farm work—like the chores I performed—are women.”
In addition to managing her farm, Mathuli is a model farmer and Village Based Advisor with the Cereal Growers Association, encouraging other farmers to adopt new practices that will improve their productivity. “She is clearly doing a good job in this role because more than 90 percent of farmers in her area have embraced one of the new adaptation practices,” said Gates.
A team of women researchers that are part of the Latin American Maize Network participated in the training given by CIMMYT in the framework of the TechMaiz project. (Photo: Francisco Alarcón and Fernando Garcilazo/CIMMYT)
Female scientists from four different Latin American countries have come together to work on TechMaiz, a project supported by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), and continue the organization’s commitment to inclusivity and inclusion.
The scientists spent four days in November at CIMMYT’s headquarters in Mexico to contribute to the training plan, which focused on genetic improvement, soil conservation, seed storage, analysis of the nutritional quality of grain and innovation management in the hub model of maize cultivation.
This training allowed the researchers from Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala and Peru to discuss the use of new technological tools for sustainable intensification of production systems of small and medium farmers, as well as the challenges on the road to moving from efficiency to resilience.
The scientists involved in this training within the framework of the TechMaiz project were:
Liliana Atencio S. – A Colombian who works at the Colombian Agricultural Research Corporation (AGROSAVIA). She is an agricultural engineer with a master’s degree in agronomic science. This includes an emphasis on plant physiology and she has additional experience in transient and forage crop improvement programs.
Ana Pincay – An Ecuadorian working at the Santa Catalina Experimental Station of the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIAP) as an agricultural researcher. She’s also a biotechnology engineer.
Alicia Medina – A Peruvian who is based at the National Institute of Agrarian Innovation (INIA) as a researcher. She is an agricultural engineer and has a master’s degree in development planning.
María Gabriela Albán – She has several responsibilities, including co-investigator, coordinates the academic-financial part and is a professor of the agronomy engineering career at the San Francisco de Quito University (USFQ) in Ecuador. She is an agribusiness engineer with a master’s degree in agricultural sciences with an emphasis on agricultural business development. Albán also has a diploma in design, management, and evaluation of development projects.
Karen Agreda – An agronomist engineer in agri-production systems. She has a postgraduate degree in alternative fruit and vegetable production and works as a specialized researcher in the validation and technology of transference program at the Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology (ICTA) in Guatemala.
Visiting a research plot under the guidance of Nele Verhulst, Cropping Systems Agronomist with CIMMYT’s Sustainable Agrifood Systems (SAS) program. (Photo: Francisco Alarcón and Fernando Garcilazo/CIMMYT)
Weaving bonds of trust to generate changes
Following a period of continuous interaction, the researchers identified not only a number of shared challenges in their respective countries, but also how much complementary and concrete opportunities for teamwork are created when bonds of trust and teamwork are strengthened.
“In addition to strengthening knowledge, there’s also the relationship between researchers and institutions, understanding the role of each member of the team is important and allows us to make greater progress,” said Atencio. “For example, Alicia works on improvement, Ana on the use of bio-inputs, and Karen on transfers and linking. We all see that there are opportunities in agriculture for innovation by using tools such as e-agrology. The result of this is that generational change is becoming more and more urgent.”
Proposing more ambitious projects, but also clearer and more precise ones, is part of the learning the researchers plan to take with them. The scientists are determined to share this information with their teams and colleagues, along with integrative approaches that are designed to strengthen the human talent of each institution.
“In Ecuador, we practice the agriculture of conservation, but we didn’t know the concept of not removing the soil,” Picay said. “It is always a good decision to invest in training, as it refreshes the thought, opens the mind and triggers actions.”
The TechMaíz project will continue in 2023 with its third year of implementation, promoting national meetings to promote and disseminate the use of sustainable technologies for maize production. CIMMYT training for members of the Latin American Maize Network is also expected to continue.
The planting of maize hybrid Wengkhar Hybrid Maize 1 (WHM-1) has helped farmers in the Mongar district of Bhutan double their maize yield.
WHM-1 was developed in partnership with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and became the first maize hybrid to be released in Bhutan to combat the negative effect of increasing temperature or extreme heat events on maize.
The hybrid was designed with characteristics of heat and drought tolerance, as well as a resistance to stem and root lodging. It also had additional stay-green traits after cob maturity and produced a high yield.
The success of the implementation in Bhutan is leading to an increased production of WHM-1, which will aim to meet national demand and work towards country’s self-sufficiency.
Dechen Yangden is one of the smallholder beneficiaries in Tsakaling, a sub-district in Mongar in the east of the country, who have boosted their maize yield by planting WHM-1. “My attempt to grow WHM-1 has doubled my maize production compared to last season where I cultivated some other maize varieties (2.5 metric tons (mt) in one hectare (ha)),” she said.
Farmer holds up a maize cob of WHM-1 in Waichur hamlet, Mongor, Bhutan. (Photo: ARDC)
Farmers’ experiences of WHM-1
Since its official release in 2020, the national maize program based at Agriculture Research & Development Center (ARDC) started producing hybrid seeds and maintaining parental lines. To test the success of the ARDC’s work, planting was carried out in the Tsakaling and Waichur hamlets in Mongar districts, covering an area of six acres.
Maize farmers in Tsakaling shared that although the crop was affected by the insect fall armyworm during the early vegetative stage, the productivity of the crop was not affected, as it recovered at later stage.
Meanwhile, ARDSC Khangma carried out yield monitoring during the harvest, where WHM-1 yielded 5.8 mt ha-1, which is noticeable rise on the national average of 3.7 mt ha-1.
Following the conclusion of their harvest, farmers in the two localities shared their views on the newly released maize in order to review the effect of the implementation of WHM-1. Both sets of growers reported an improved performance from the use of WHM-1 and noted that, unlike other maize varieties, the hybrid has shorter and uniform plant height along with a higher resistance to lodging, which is an essential trait given the conditions it is grown in. Furthermore, the stay-green trait of the hybrid after maturity of cobs gave farmers an added advantage of green fodder, which can be used for feeding their cattle.
In Waichur, the growers found that this hybrid had a tight husk and fully filled kernels. They shared similar views to growers in Tsakaling, reporting positive lodging resistance in the hybrid.
Both communities expressed their interest in continuing to use WHM-1, given the availability and accessibility of the seeds. As a response, the National Maize Program at ARDC Wengkhar, is looking to deploy the newly released hybrid on a larger scale, which will ultimately contribute towards enhancing maize self-sufficiency in the country.
WHM-1 was developed through partnership of the National Maize Program at Wengkhar and CIMMYT under the Heat Stress Tolerant Maize for Asia (HTMA) project for germplasm and technical assistance and the Commercial Agriculture and Resilient Livelihoods Enhancement Program (CARLEP-IFAD/MoAF) for on-farm research and intensification.
Feasibility mapping for WHM-1 showed that its adaption stretches along the southern foothills and some parts of eastern district. The National Maize Program, sister research centers, and farmers are currently working on upscaling the seed production for intensification of national maize production to meet the domestic demands.
Cover photo: Women farmers tagging their first choice of maize crop, WHM-1, in Tsakaling hamlet, Mongor, Bhutan. (Photo: ARDC)
Harvest of hybrid WHM-1 maize. (Photo: ARDC)
This story is written by P.H. Zaidi of CIMMYT and Passang Wangmo and Tsheltrim Gyeltshen of the National Maize Program, ARDC Wengkhar, Bhutan.
Bram Govaerts, director general of CIMMYT, said the collaboration with China can be regarded as one of the mutually beneficial examples of working together to safeguard the world’s food security.
“CIMMYT and China together can be partners,” said Govaerts. “CIMMYT can work with China for new wheat varieties that can fight climate change, for new maize varieties that can sustain new diseases.”
“We’ve recently supported a new project which will be operating in a number of countries, including Zambia and Malawi, that will be coordinated by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, and by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture,” said Fowler.
“They’ll be establishing innovation hubs where they’ll bring together the best and most appropriate technologies and information to help small-scale farmers with a whole variety of issues that they confront. This will give the farmers access, for example in Zambia, to drought-tolerant maize, which they’re really clamoring for. This is maize which, on a year-in and year-out basis, on average will yield about 30 percent more, rotated with legumes, which provide protein and also enrich the soil and reduce the need for fertilizer. But also other technologies and assistance in establishing markets for those products and lengthening out the value chain so that farmers are not just – and small businesses are not just dealing with raw commodities but are taking those commodities and making something more valuable and more useful to a broader population.”
Hybrid maize seed and ears of the Yunrui 88 variety, developed using CIMMYT and Chinese germplasm. It is high-yielding, resistant to important diseases, and drought tolerant, and farmers report that the ears can be stored for longer and are better for animal feed. It was released in 2009 and is now the most popular hybrid in the area. (Photo: Michelle DeFreese/CIMMYT)
The negative effects of climate change on food systems are felt across political boundaries, so creating sustainable remediation steps are best accomplished through global collaboration. In that spirit, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) convened the China-CIMMYT Workshop on Climate Change & Food Crops Production on December 6, 2022.
Participants included principal investigators of China’s National Key Technology Research and Development Program, representatives of Chinese agricultural universities, CIMMYT scientists and representatives from a variety of international organizations. The agenda featured discussions regarding research priorities, efforts to establish best practices in classifying and prioritizing climate risks and identifying potential crucial points for future cooperation between CIMMYT and China.
After the welcome address from Wheat Breeder and Country Representative for China Zhongzhu He, Thomas Lumpkin, CIMMYT Director General Emeritus provided the introduction to global climate issues and their effects on agriculture, particularly staple crops like wheat.
“All climate change mitigation strategies must account for their effect on food production systems, the aim of this convening was to facilitate discussions among climate change scientists, crop breeders and agronomists,” said Lumpkin. “Global issues require global solutions and so collaboration among institutions is pivotal.”
Tek Sapkota, CIMMYT Agricultural Systems and Climate Change Scientist, presented a framework for quantifying GHG emissions and mitigation potential for food systems, key research objectives of the One CGIAR initiative MITIGATE+, an initiative aimed to reduce annual global food systems emissions by 7% by 2030.
Three other CIMMYT scientists presented at the workshop. Wei Xiong, Senior Scientist, Crop Modeler, focused on genotype-environment interactions and its implication on breeding. Urs Schulthess, Remote Sensing Scientist, presented state-of-the-art results on the effects of temperature and vapor pressure deficit on radiation use efficiency of wheat. Huihui Li, Scientist, Quantitative Geneticist, discussed expanding genome wide association mapping and genomic selection to include climatic factors, highlighting novel methods to bring genes and climate together to accelerate breeding cycles.
In the workshop’s closing remarks, Wei reiterated CIMMYT’s commitments to continued collaboration with Chinese institutions and outlined next steps, such as CIMMYT’s commitment to increasing global agricultural resilience via novel research, partnerships, and increased engagement. Wei also detailed methods to identify new mechanisms and funding channels to promote global cooperation, such as One CGIAR initiatives and funding from national partners, including the CAAS.
Lokesh Chaudhary is an agronomist with expertise in seed physiology, crop modelling, precision agriculture and GIS GNSS. He is currently learning about drone piloting, data collection and processing.
At CIMMYT, Chaudhary works on resilient climate agriculture, under which technology transfer is done. Expertise in agronomy, seed and machinery is required and used extensively. He supports in the execution of farmers participatory and on-station demonstrations/research trials on climate-resilient agricultural practices, monitors day-to-day field activities (irrigation, fertilizer, herbicide, insecticide, etc.) and conducts data collection of the farmers participatory/research trials.
Shubham Bhagat is currently working on the Climate Resilience Agriculture program and has expertise in agriculture mechanization and equipment, remote sensing, drone usage and farmer welfare programs, and research on varieties development.
Doubled Haploid (DH) technology reduces the time required to develop homozygous maize lines to eight to thirteen months, instead of three to seven years using more traditional inbreeding methods. This technology also results in 100% homozygous lines that are most suitable for selection and breeding, compared to traditional inbreeding with varying levels of heterozygosity. Use of DH lines in maize breeding offers several genetic, economic, and logistical advantages over conventional inbred lines. Reduced time and increased precision in selection help breeders increase their rate of genetic gain: the rate at which the genetic potential of a crop increases in yield over time.
To enable the public and private sector maize breeding programs in the tropical/subtropical agro-ecologies to adopt doubled haploid technology, CIMMYT and the University of Hohenheim together developed the first-generation tropically adapted haploid inducer lines (TAILs) and stated distributing them to interested partners in 2013.
Second-generation TAILs (CIM2GTAILs) with improved haploid induction rates (~8-15%), better agronomic performance in terms of plant vigor, synchrony with tropical source populations, better standability, and resistance to important tropical foliar diseases and ear rots, were developed by CIMMYT and made available to the partners from 2016. Haploid inducer hybrids developed using these lines exhibit greater heterosis for plant vigor and pollen production while maintaining similar haploid induction rates as the parents; these are well-suited for open pollinations with source populations in isolation nurseries.
Interested partners may request a license to obtain seed of these CIM2GTAILs along with authorization for use of these specialized lines in their own breeding programs.
The service is rendered in India, Kenya and Mexico.
CIMMYT provides a maize doubled haploid (DH) production service at cost to maize breeding programs in Africa, Latin America and Asia at its DH facilities in Kenya, Mexico, and India.
Use of DH lines in maize breeding offers several genetic, economic, and logistical advantages over use of conventional inbred lines. This service reduces the time required to develop homozygous maize lines to 8 to 14 months, instead of three to seven years using more traditional inbreeding methods. DH technology also results in 100% homozygous lines best suitable for selection and breeding, compared to traditional inbreeding with varying levels of heterozygosity.
Reduced time and increased precision in selection help breeders increase their rate of genetic gain, i.e., the rate at which the genetic potential of a crop increases in yield over time.
CIMMYT established centralized DH line production facilities for Africa at KALRO-Kiboko, Kenya. Similar facilities are also in operation for Latin America at CIMMYT’s experimental station in Agua Fría, Mexico and for Asia at Agricultural Research station, Kunigal in collaboration with University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS)-Bangalore. Public and private sector organizations involved in maize breeding can access the DH production service by signing a DH service agreement.
Figuring out what kinds of crops and crop varieties farmers want – high yielding, disease resistant, drought tolerant, early maturing, consumer-preferred, nutritious etc. – is a crucial step in developing locally adapted, farmer-friendly and market preferred varieties as part of more sustainable seed grain sectors.
While scientists aim to develop the best crop varieties with multiple traits, there are always trade-offs to be made due to the limits of genetics or competing preferences. For example, a variety may be more tolerant to drought but perform less well in consumer taste preferences such as sweet grains, or it may be higher yielding but more vulnerable to pests and diseases. Some of these trade-offs, such as vulnerability to pests or adverse climate, are not acceptable and must be overcome by crop scientists. The bundle of traits a crop variety offers is often a major consideration for farmers and can be the difference between a bumper harvest and a harvest lost to pests and diseases or extreme weather conditions.
Economists from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) have been working with smallholder farmers across sub-Saharan Africa to document their preferences when it comes to maize. Results from Ethiopia were recently published in the journal PLOS ONE.
In a survey with almost 1,500 participants in more than 800 households, researchers found that both male and female farmers valued drought tolerance over other traits. For many farmers in areas where high-yielding, medium-maturing hybrids were available, early maturity was not considered a priority, and sometimes even disliked, as farmers felt it made their harvests more vulnerable to theft or increased their social obligations to share the early crop with relatives and neighbors if they were the only ones harvesting an early maize crop. Farmers therefore preferred varieties which matured more in sync with other farmers.
The team also found some gender differences, with female farmers often preferring taste over other traits, while male farmers were more likely to prioritize plant architecture traits like closed tip and shorter plants that do not easily break in the wind or bend over to the ground. These differences, if confirmed by ongoing and further research, suggest that gender differences in maize variety choices may occur due to differentiated roles of men and women in the maize value chains. Any differences observed should be traced to such roles where these are distinctly and socially differentiated. In aspects where men and women’s roles are similar — for example, when women express preferences in their role as farmers as opposed to being custodians of household nutrition — they will prioritize similar aspects of maize varieties.
The results of the study show that overall, the most important traits for farmers in Ethiopia, in addition to those that improve yields, are varieties that are drought and disease tolerant, while in taste-sensitive markets with strong commercial opportunities in green maize selling, farmers may prioritize varieties that satisfy these specific consumer tastes. The findings of the study also highlight the impact of the local social environment on variety choices.
By taking farmers’ preferences on board, maize scientists can help develop more sustainable maize cropping systems which are adapted to the local environment and respond to global climatic and economic changes driven by farmers’ and consumers’ priorities.
Harvesting maize cobs at KALRO Katumani Research Station in Machakos, Kenya. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)
Drought and striga tolerance come out top for Kenyan farmers
In related research from western Kenya, published in June 2022 in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, results showed that farmers highly valued tolerance to drought, as well as tolerance to striga weed, low nitrogen soils and fall armyworm, in that order. CIMMYT researchers surveyed 1,400 smallholder farmers across three districts in western Kenya.
The scientists called for a more nuanced approach to seed markets, where seed prices might reflect the attributes of varieties. Doing so, they argue, would allow farmers to decide whether to pay price premiums for specific seed products thereby achieving greater market segmentation based on relative values of new traits.
“Both studies show that farmers, scientists and development experts in the maize sector are grappling with a wide array of demands,” said Paswel Marenya, CIMMYT senior scientist and first author of both studies.
“Fortunately, the maize breeding systems in CIMMYT, CGIAR and National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) have produced a wide range of locally adapted, stress tolerant and consumer preferred varieties.”
The results of both these studies provide a framework for the kinds of traits scientists should prioritize in maize improvement programs at least in similar regions as those studied here in central Ethiopia or western Kenya. However, as Marenya noted, there is still work to do in supporting farmers to make informed choices: “The challenge is to implement rigorous market targeting strategies that sort and organize this complex landscape for farmers, thereby reducing the information load, search costs and learning times about new varieties. This will accelerate the speed of adoption and genetic gains on farmers’ fields as envisaged in this project.”
Fall armyworm (FAW) is present in 109 countries in Africa, the Middle East, South and East Asia, and Oceania, and it has spread due to rapid increases in global trade. Maize is highly susceptible to the disease, but it affects more than 300 plant species.
Research by organizations such as the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), CGIAR and CABI has developed effective strategies and tools for managing the disease, such as improved seed, proven agronomic practices, and biologic and chemical crop-protection tools.
An article in The Farming Forum explores FAW prevention developments and partnerships that are helping smallholder farmers protect their crops against this devastating disease.
In an interview, Bram Govaerts, Director General of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), highlights the challenges facing crop cultivation management and agricultural product trade in Mexico and the rest of the world.
“At present, one of the most pressing challenges [in Mexico] is water scarcity exacerbated by la Niña’s occurrence,” explains Govaerts. “The global average of freshwater consumption for food production is 70 percent. However, Mexico ranks 24 in a global Water Stress Index facing high levels of stress by consuming between 40 and 80 percent of water supplies available in any given year.”
The article explores successful local sustainable grain sourcing projects in Mexico, research into sustainable global agricultural development, genetically-modified crops and their connection to biodiversity, and soil health.
Zinc deficiency affects one third of the global population; vitamin A deficiency is a prevalent public health issue in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. This includes countries like Nepal, where alarming rates of micronutrient deficiency contribute to a host of health problems across different age groups, such as stunting, weakened immune systems, and increased maternal and child mortality.
In the absence of affordable options for dietary diversification, food fortification, or nutrient supplementation, crop biofortification remains one of the most sustainable solutions to reducing micronutrient deficiency in the developing world.
After a 2016 national micronutrient status survey highlighted the prevalence of zinc and vitamin A deficiency among rural communities in Nepal’s mountainous western provinces, a team of researchers from the Nepal Agricultural Research Council and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) proposed a study to assess the yield performance of zinc and provitamin A enriched maize varieties.
Focusing on the river basin area of Karnali Province — where maize is the staple food crop for most people – they conducted two different field trials using an alpha lattice design to identify zinc and provitamin A biofortified maize genotypes consistent and competitive in performance over the contrasting seasons of February to July and August to February.
The study, recently published in Plants, compared the performance of newly introduced maize genotypes with local varieties, focusing on overall agro-morphology, yield, and micronutrient content. In addition to recording higher levels of kernel zinc and total carotenoid, it found that several of the provitamin A and zinc biofortified genotypes exhibited greater yield consistency across different environments compared to the widely grown normal maize varieties.
The results suggest that these genotypes could be effective tools in combatting micronutrient deficiency in the area, thus reducing hidden hunger, as well as enhancing feed nutrient value for the poultry sector, where micronutrient rich maize is highly desired.
“One in three children under the age of five in Nepal and half of the children in the study area are undernourished. Introduction and dissemination of biofortified maize seeds and varieties will help to mitigate the intricate web of food and nutritional insecurity, especially among women and children,” said AbduRahman Beshir, CIMMYT’s seed systems specialist for Asia and the co-author of the publication. Strengthening such products development initiatives and enhancing quality seed delivery pathways will foster sustainable production and value chains of biofortified crops, added Beshir.
Cover photo: Farm worker Bharat Saud gathers maize as it comes out of a shelling machine powered by 4WT in Rambasti, Kanchanpur, Nepal. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)
Field day on maize seed production. (Photo: CIMMYT)
More than 20 participants attended the genetic resources and seed production courses given by researchers from the Global Maize Program of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), from October 24 to 28 in Antigua, Guatemala. Among the attendees were technicians and researchers from the Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology (ICTA, for its acronym in Spanish), as well as students from Universidad Rafael Landívar and the University Centers of Chimaltenango (CUNDECH, in Spanish) and Quiché (CUSACQ, in Spanish) of Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala.
Thanks to the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE, in Spanish), the National Council for Protected Areas (CONAP, in Spanish) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), these courses contributed to the development of a biosafety project, supported by GEF and UNEP, to complete the implementation process of the Cartagena Protocol through an innovative approach that promotes a strong link between biotechnology and biodiversity. In addition, it sought to strengthen capacities in the performance and interpretation of molecular analyses and promote the generational change that is gradually taking place in this Central American country.
Activities began on October 24 and 25 with the course on Statistics Applied to Genetic Resources given by Juan Burgueño, Head of CIMMYT’s Biometrics and Statistics Unit, to students from the aforementioned universities and ICTA staff interested in the analysis of molecular data for the purpose of characterizing accessions and the formation of core collections in germplasm banks. On the 26 and 27 of the same month, César Petroli, a specialist in high-throughput genotyping at CIMMYT, offered a course on biotechnology and high-throughput genotyping.
ICTA seed production leaders and CIMMYT course facilitators. (Photo: CIMMYT)
At the same time, Alberto Chassaigne, curator of the Maize Collection of CIMMYT’s germplasm bank, participated in the course on Genetic Resources and Management of Germplasm Banks. He explained the management of CIMMYT’s germplasm bank, the processes that are carried out and the partnerships with ICTA on work with community seed banks and the plans of both institutions for 2023. Also, as a specialist in Seed Systems, Chassaigne and Ubaldo Marcos, research assistant in CIMMYT’s Maize Seed Systems area, gave a course on Maize Seed Production. This course was aimed at staff in charge of the production of basic and certified seed at ICTA. This course concluded with a field day at the Regional Research Center of the South (CISUR, in Spanish), Cuyuta, Escuintla, where participants asked the specialists questions while visiting a maize seed production plot.
In turn, María de los Ángeles Mérida, a researcher specializing in genetic resources from ICTA, who organized these courses, spoke about the collection and conservation of native varieties of maize in Guatemala. Additionally, César Azurdia, CONAP biodiversity advisor, gave a presentation on wild relatives of different crops in Guatemala. Leslie Melisa Ojeda C. (CONAP) also participated, and spoke about the issue of legislation on crop wild relatives; and, Mynor Otzoy, a researcher from Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, spoke about the collection and morphological characterization of cocoa germplasm in Guatemala.
Along the path of constant strengthening of collaboration ties with countries, course participants highlighted their interest and need to continue this type of training. In 2023, it is expected to facilitate a team training with Ubaldo Marcos and Félix San Vicente, CIMMYT maize breeder for Latin America. It should be noted that, within the framework of the CGIAR germplasm bank initiative, the objective will be to replicate this experience in other Latin American countries and increase participation in community seed banks (ex situ and in situ banks).
