In the heart of Itumbula village in the Songwe district of Tanzania lives Venansia Swale, a farmer, mother, and community champion, who is turning the tide against food insecurity through the power of quality seeds. Swale has taken on the role of promoting improved seed in her community after experiencing firsthand the benefits of growing sorghum on her own farm with different seed.
“As a mother of five children, my biggest challenge is food shortage, and sorghum is our staple food,” said Swale. “Normally, I would harvest 450 kg from my three-acre farm, which isn’t enough for my family’s needs and leaves little surplus for selling. However, using quality seed this season, I harvested 990 kg. I’ve seen the benefits–not only can I feed my children for a year, but I can also earn income from the surplus.”
Swale positively impacts her village’s crop yields by championing delivery of quality seed. (Photo: CIMMYT)
Swale’s efforts began to extend beyond her own farm as she championed demand creation and consolidation in her village of Itumbula. She successfully created a demand of 574 kg, becoming her community’s sole distributor of quality sorghum seed. In the 2022-2023 season, she facilitated the supply of 134 kg of quality sorghum seed and 50 kg of quality maize seed.
So far, she has reached 300 farmers in partnership with CIMMYT and the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), sparking a transformative movement. One local farmer said, “As a community, we have come together to embrace quality seed, and Venansia has been at the forefront of this movement. Her dedication has significantly impacted food security.”
Despite being pregnant during the 2022 “Kizazi cha Mabadiliko” (the generation that will bring change) campaign, Swale remained unwavering in her determination and passion. She exemplifies the success of the Social and Behaviour Change interventions implemented by the Centre for Behaviour Change and Communication (CBCC).
The “Kizazi Cha Mabadiliko” campaign was developed and launched by CBCC in the Mbozi and Momba districts of Tanzania, aiming to increase awareness of the benefits of improved seeds. It was also designed to challenge negative perceptions and enhance motivation for participating in agricultural activities. The campaign underscores the importance of using improved seeds as a foundational element for a prosperous future in agriculture. The strategic design of the campaign ensures the efficient distribution of behavior change tools and materials, further demonstrating its impact through Swale’s inspiring example.
Sprouting new opportunities
Swale stands with some of her fellow choir members during the establishment of a demo plot at Itumbula. (Photo: CIMMYT)
Despite her impressive achievements, Swale remains forward-thinking. The village extension officer notes that while farmers have adopted improved seeds, poor farming practices persist, impacting yields. Inspired and invigorated, Swale plans to revolutionize her farming practices in the upcoming season, aiming for an even more significant impact.
Besides her role as a community champion, Swale is a member of the Sifa choir in her church. Leveraging her influence, she convinced nine fellow choir members to join the intervention, where they established and managed sorghum demonstration plots in their locality. The performance of quality seed inspired the choir to enlist as seed producers, and they secured two acres of land for seed production in the 2023- 2024 season.
Venansia’s vision goes beyond her own farm; she plans to produce seeds as part of the choir group and individually, allocating an acre for seed production and two acres for grain production. Hers is a story of personal triumph, showing the impact one person can have on an entire village, and a testament to the transformative power of community-led initiatives.
“The seeds we plant today will grow into a better tomorrow for all of us,” asserts Swale.
Agrovegetal delegation stands with CIMMYT leaders and researchers. (Photo: CIMMYT)
A new agreement between a leading Spanish seed company, Agrovegetal, and the international research center CIMMYT will help safeguard the regional availability of high-yielding, climate-resilient varieties of wheat, the region’s vital food staple.
The agreement was signed on 21 February 2024 at the Mexico headquarters of CIMMYT, a non-profit organization whose breeding contributions are present in half the maize and wheat varieties sown in low- and middle-income countries.
It comes at a time when severe drought threatens wheat crops in Southern Europe and North African nations such as Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia and imports of wheat grain from traditional suppliers —Russia, the EU, Ukraine, and the US—are costly and constrained.
Since its formation in 1998 as a conglomerate of seed-producing cooperatives and a few industrial partners, Agrovegetal has been testing hundreds of CIMMYT breeding lines of bread and durum wheat (the latter used for pasta and couscous) and triticale (a wheat x rye hybrid) and returning high-quality data each year on the performance of this germplasm.
“The erratic rainfall, droughts, and crop disease patterns of Andalucía in southern Spain, where Agrovegetal tests the lines, are very much like those of North Africa, an important target region for CIMMYT genetics and agronomic solutions” said Bram Govaerts, director general of CIMMYT. “This new agreement, which guarantees the Agrovegetal-CIMMYT partnership through 2028, thus helps ensure CIMMYT’s capacity to offer outstanding, well adapted lines for the Mediterranean region, including North Africa’s national breeding programs, a great boon to farmers and consumers’ economies, food security, and nutrition.”
For its part, after several years of testing, Agrovegetal registers the most promising CIMMYT lines as improved varieties in Spain and markets their seed to members of its cooperatives.
“For us, the contributions of CIMMYT are invaluable,” said Ignacio Solis Martell, the company’s technical director. “Thanks to CIMMYT’s exceptional genetic material, Agrovegetal has become synonymous with resilience in Andalusia. Our varieties are renowned for their performance in the face of adversity, whether it be disease, drought, or other challenges.”
According to Govaerts, Agrovegetal offers an excellent model for burgeoning private seed enterprises in North Africa and elsewhere. “It shows how farmers, seed producers, and industry can join forces, skills, and resources to control seed, a critical factor in food production.”
Certified soyabean seed from Afriseed. (Photo: AFRI archives)
In Zambia, smallholder farmers obtain their seed from a variety of sources. Over 75 percent of farmers in Zambia have adopted certified maize seed and about 30 percent in southern Africa, overall. The private sector has been instrumental in creating demand for certified and timely delivery of seed to remote areas, and the Government of Zambia’s Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) has largely contributed to better accessibility to certified seed for farmers. In 2022–2023, of the three million registered smallholder farmers in Zambia, more than one million accessed certified seed through FISP.
Afriseed is a seed company in Zambia that has been gaining ground in local seed markets. It has emerged as a catalyst for helping smallholder farmers transition to new, high-yielding legume varieties. Afriseed provides solutions to help smallholders increase their agricultural productivity with improved seed varieties of cereals and legumes and assist them with technology transfer. The company aims to increase the food security and incomes of Zambia’s smallholder farming community, which accounts for 90 percent of agricultural output in the country. During the 2022–2023 farming season, a critical turning point was reached when Afriseed became a partner in the Southern Africa Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative (AID-I) Rapid Delivery Hub, or MasAgro Africa, a two-year project under CIMMYT, with the aim of scaling-up production of certified seed varieties of soybean and common bean.
Under the partnership, Afriseed promotes the cultivation of improved legume seed through a smallholder farmer seed multiplication approach. By engaging with practicing smallholder farmers and signing grower contracts, basic seeds are multiplied into certified seed for soybean and common bean. Certified seed is a known variety produced under strict seed certification standards to support varietal purity. In collaboration with the Seed Control and Certification Institute (SCCI), the country’s national seed authority, contracted farmers received training on climate-smart agricultural techniques and seed production guidelines. Through extension services to seed growers, smallholder farmers can adhere to the seed production guidelines set out in the National Seed Act to ensure the quality of certified seed produced.
Smallholder farmers hold improved, certified seed. (Photo: AFRI archives)
Afriseed has invested more than USD 335,000 toward supporting the production, aggregation, and processing of 317 t of certified climate-smart legume seeds—265 metric tonnes (MT) for soybean and 52 MT for common bean. Data have shown that the seeds were aggregated from 313 smallholder seed growers, 40 percent of whom were women, in Zambia’s Eastern Muchinga, Copperbelt and the Northern provinces. Seed aggregation improves access to quality seed varieties, increases crop yields and incomes, enhances integration into value chains, and creates market links for smallholder farmers.
Notable progress has been made with the contracted farmers, who have applied improved crop management practices and technologies on more than 600 ha of land to produce the seed. With this encouraging progress, Afriseed intends to scale up its last-mile seed distribution strategy to reach and directly help an estimated 35,000 underserved rural smallholder farming households with improved legume seeds in the 2023–2024 cropping season.
AID-I is one of the ways in which Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global food security and hunger initiative led by USAID, is taking immediate action to help cushion the blow of high fuel and fertilizer prices on farmers. One of the project’s initial actions is to strengthen local seed systems so that agribusinesses can reach smallholder farmers with a diversity of improved seeds varieties, including climate-resilient and more nutritious varieties for maize and legumes.
Maize production is surging due to its diversified end uses. While it is already the first staple cereal globally, it is expected to emerge as the world’s predominant crop for cultivation and trade in the coming decade. Globally, it serves primarily as animal feed, but it is also a vital food crop, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and in some areas in Asia.
Climate change is, however, altering the conditions for maize cultivation, especially in the rainfed, stress-prone tropics. Abiotic stresses like heat, drought, and floods, as well as biotic threats such as diseases and insect pests are becoming more frequent. These have a disproportionate impact on the resource-constrained smallholders who depend on maize for their food, income, and livelihoods.
In a race against time, crop breeders are working to enhance maize’s resilience to the changing climates. Among others, CIMMYT and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), working within CGIAR’s Accelerated Breeding Initiative, are utilizing breeding innovations to develop climate-resilient and nutritionally enriched maize varieties needed by the most vulnerable farmers and consumers.
Better processes
Improving maize yields in the rainfed, stress-prone tropics is challenging. Nevertheless, CGIAR’s efforts have significant impacts, as breeding programs embraced continuous improvement and enhanced efficiency over the years.
To increase genetic gains, CIMMYT maize breeding program implemented a systematic continuous improvement plan. Sixty percent of CIMMYT’s maize lines in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) are now developed through technologies that speed up breeding cycle and improve selection intensity and accuracy; these include doubled haploid technology, high-throughput phenotyping, molecular marker-assisted forward breeding, and genomic selection. The breeding cycle time has been reduced from five or six years to only four years in most of the maize product profiles. Product advancement decisions now incorporate selection indexes, and specialized software aid in the selection of parental lines for new breeding starts.
CIMMYT and IITA maize teams are working together to investigate several key traits in maize for discovery, validation, and deployment of molecular markers. CGIAR maize team developed a framework for implementing a stage-gate advancement process for marker-trait pipeline, which enables informed decision-making and data-driven advancements at multiple stages, from marker-trait discovery proposal to marker discovery, validation, and deployment. Consolidating research efforts and implementing this process is expected to increase efficiency and collaboration in maize breeding programs.
An example of maize biotic stress exacerbated by climate change: fall armyworm (FAW) larvae, highly destructive pests, emerge out from an egg mass placed on a maize leaf. (Photo: A. Cortés/CIMMYT)
At the end of the breeding process, breeders must ensure the quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) of the parental lines of the new varieties. Seed quality, which includes genetic purity, genetic identity, and verification of parentage – is critical in maize breeding and commercial seed production.
CIMMYT has worked to enhance the capacity of NARES and seed company partners in Eastern and South Africa (ESA), Asia, and Latin America, in utilizing molecular markers for QA/QC in breeding and commercial seed production. This has resulted in more reliable and accurate outcomes. In addition, webinars and user-friendly software have boosted results for NARES maize breeders, regulatory agencies, and seed companies. These combined efforts mean a dependable, cost-effective, and efficient QA/QC system for the maize seed value chain in the Global South.
Better tools
With traditional means, obtaining a genetically homozygous or true-to-type maize line requires six to eight generations of inbreeding, and thus, more than ten years for developing a new hybrid. The technique of doubled haploid (DH), which enables derivation of 100% genetically homozygous lines in just two generations, is now integral to modern maize breeding. CIMMYT has pioneered the development of tropical maize DH technology, by developing and disseminating tropicalized haploid inducers, establishing centralized DH facilities in Mexico, Kenya and India, and providing DH development service to partners.
Regional on-farm trials (ROFTs) is a crucial step in maximizing the impact of breeding investments. ROFTs help scientists understand performance of the pipeline hybrids under diverse farmers’ management conditions, besides environment, soil variability, etc.
In ESA, ROFT networks for maize are expanded significantly over the last few years, from 20-30 sites per product profile to up to 300 sites, encompassing a wide range of smallholder farming practices. The experimental design was simplified to use less germplasm entries to be tested per farm, making it easier for the farmers to participate in the network, while improving data quality. Collaboration with NARES, seed companies, NGOs, and development partners was significantly stepped up to capture the social diversity within the target market segments. Gender inclusion was prioritized.
Training workshop organized by CIMMYT at the Maize Doubled Haploid Facility in Kunigal, India. (Photo: CIMMYT)
Strengthening the capacity of NARES and SMEs to systematically access and utilize improved maize germplasm is critical for increasing genetic gains in the stress-prone tropics. But partner institutions are at different stages of evolution, which means capacity strengthening must be tailored to institutional strengths and constraints.
Accelerated Breeding has been strengthening regional CGIAR-NARES-SME collaborative maize breeding networks via activities such as exchanging elite tropical germplasm (inbred lines, trait donors, and breeding populations) through field days, and widely disseminating CIMMYT maize lines (CMLs) requested by institutions globally.
Partners participate in CGIAR maize stage-advancement meetings – they are given access to multi-location trial data and participate in the selection process of promising hybrids to be advanced from the different breeding stages. CGIAR maize teams also assessed the capacity of different NARES institutions, and formulated continuous improvement plans in consultation with respective NARES teams for further support.
Better varieties
Systematic integration of new breeding techniques and innovations in CGIAR maize breeding pipelines are leading to better varieties, at a much faster pace, and at lower cost. Given the impacts of climate change, this is indeed the need of the hour.
Maize breeders need to respond rapidly to emerging and highly destructive insect-pests and diseases. For instance, the invasion of fall armyworm (FAW) in Africa (since 2016) and Asia (since 2018) has ravaged maize crops across more than 60 countries. CGIAR maize team in Africa responded to this challenge and made progress in identifying diverse sources of native genetic resistance to FAW, resulting in elite hybrids and open-pollinated varieties (OPVs) adapted to African conditions.
Since 2017, CIMMY has strengthened the maize insectary capacity of KALRO-Katumani byoptimizing the FAW mass rearing protocol and screening of maize germplasm under FAW artificial infestation at Kiboko Station, Kenya. The station now has sixteen 1,000m net houses. The intensive work since 2018 led to identification of FAW-tolerant inbred lines by CIMMYT and their distribution to over 90 public and private institutions in 34 countries.
NARES partners across 13 countries in Africa have undertaken national performance trials of three FAW-tolerant hybrids developed by CIMMYT. Kenya, Zambia, Malawi, South Sudan and Ghana released the three hybrids in 2022-23, while several more countries are expected to release these hybrids in the coming months.
Drought and heat tolerant maize ears are harvested through a CIMMYT project. (Photo: J.Siamachira/CIMMYT)
Climate change is also exacerbating maize diseases. Affecting at least 17 countries in the Americas, the Tar Spot Complex (TSC) disease affects maize in the cool and humid regions. It causes premature leaf death, weakens plants, and reduces yields by up to 50%. CIMMYT maize team in Mexico has mapped genomic regions conferring TSC resistance, and is using these markers in breeding programs.
The Global South is also particularly vulnerable to drought and high temperature stresses. In the past five years, 20 drought- and heat-tolerant maize hybrids have been released in Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Socio-economic studies in India and Nepal showed that farmers who adopted these hybrids realized higher grain yields, and increased income compared to the non-adopters.
In 2022, certified seed production of CGIAR multiple stress-tolerant maize varieties reached 181,119 metric tons in sub-Saharan Africa (from 72,337 tons in 2016). This is estimated to cover ~7.4 million hectares, benefiting over 46 million people in 13 countries.
With maize facing unprecedented threats from climate change-induced stresses in the rainfed stress-prone tropics, CGIAR maize breeding programs working closely with NARES and private sector have demonstrated remarkable success in breeding as well as deploying climate resilient maize. These efforts rely on better processes and modern breeding tools, leading to drastically reduced breeding cycle time, cost saving, and improved efficiency.
The resulting improved varieties–resilient to major environmental stresses, diseases and insect-pests–are increasingly adopted by smallholders across sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America, showing that tomorrow is already here. The work continues to ensure that maize remains a constant source of food security and prosperity for generations to come in the tropical regions.
Seed viability test at the CIMMYT genebank. (Photo: Alfonso Cortés/CIMMYT)
The conservation of plant genetic diversity through germplasm conservation is a key component of global climate-change adaptation efforts. Germplasm banks like the maize and wheat collections at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) may hold the genetic resources needed for the climate-adaptive crops of today and tomorrow.
But how do we ensure that these important backups are themselves healthy and not potential vectors of pest and disease transmission?
“Germplasm refers to the source plants of either specific cultivars or of unique genes or traits that can be used by breeders for improved cultivars,” program moderator and head of the Health and Quarantine Unit at the International Potato Center (CIP) Jan Kreuze explained to the event’s 622 participants. “If the source plant is not healthy, whatever you multiply or use it for will be unhealthy.”
According to keynote speaker Saafa Kumari, head of the Germplasm Health Unit at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), we know of 1.3 thousand pests and pathogens that infect crops, causing approximately $530 billion in damages annually. The most damaging among these tend to be those that are introduced into new environments.
Closing the gap, strengthening the safety net
The CGIAR has an enormous leadership role to play in this area. According to Kumari, approximately 85% of international germplasm distribution is from CGIAR programs. Indeed, in the context of important gaps in the international regulation and standards for germplasm health specifically, the practices and standards of CGIAR’s Germplasm Health Units represent an important starting point.
“Germplasm health approaches are not necessarily the same as seed and plant health approaches generally,” said Ravi Khaterpal, executive secretary for the Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI). “Best practices are needed, such as CGIAR’s GreenPass.”
In addition to stronger and more coherent international coordination and regulation, more research is needed to help source countries test genetic material before it is distributed, according to Francois Petter, assistant director for the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO). Head of the CGIAR Genebank Platform Charlotte Lusty also pointed out the needed for better monitoring of accessions in storage. “We need efficient, speedy processes to ensure collections remain healthy,” she said.
Of course, any regulatory and technological strategy must remain sensitive to existing and varied social and gender relations. We must account for cultural processes linked to germplasm movement, said Vivian Polar, Gender and Innovation Senior Specialist with the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB). Germplasm moves through people, she said, adding that on the ground “women and men move material via different mechanisms.”
“The cultural practices associated with seed have to be understood in depth in order to inform policies and address gender- and culture-related barriers” to strengthening germplasm health, Polar said.
The event was co-organized by researchers at CIP and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).
The overall webinar series is hosted by CIMMYT, CIP, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), IITA, and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). It is sponsored by the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition (A4NH), the CGIAR Gender Platform and the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB).
The third of the four webinars on plant health, which will be hosted by CIMMYT, is scheduled for March 10 and will focus on integrated pest and disease management.
Whenever seed is transferred between countries, continents or regions there is an inherent risk that new plant pathogens could spread to previously non-infested areas — with potentially devastating consequences. FAO estimates that these pathogens are responsible for the loss of up to 40% of global food crops, and for trade losses in agricultural products exceeding $220 billion each year.
With old and new pests and diseases causing devastation across the world, it is becoming increasingly important to consider plant health. This is especially true at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), an organization which processes and distributes enormous quantities of seed each year and in 2019 alone sent over 10,000 tons to more than 100 partners in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe.
Amos Alakonya joined CIMMYT in July 2019, and as head of the organization’s Seed Health Unit he is acutely aware of the need to mitigate risk throughout the seed production value chain.
In the lead up to this year’s International Phytosanitary Awareness Week, the plant pathologist sits down to discuss pests, screening procedures, and explain why everyone should be talking about seed health.
Amos Alakonya, head of CIMMYT’s Seed Health unit. (Photo: Eleusis Llanderal/CIMMYT)
Can you start by telling us about the CGIAR Germplasm Health Unit consortium and what it does?
Within CGIAR we have a cluster called Genebank Platform whose main function is to support CGIAR efforts in conservation and distribution of germplasm. Ten CGIAR Centers have germplasm banks that work closely with germplasm health units to ensure that they only distribute plant materials free from pests and diseases.
What is the procedure for introducing seed at CIMMYT?
At CIMMYT, researchers must follow the correct procedure when bringing in seed. Once someone has identified the need to bring in seed, contacted a supplier and agreed on the genotypes and amount required, the responsibility is transferred to the Seed Health Unit. We take care of communication with the seed supplier and provide support in acquisition of the necessary phytosanitary documentation that will ensure compliance with host country rules.
For instance, we will process and provide a plant import permit allowing us to bring in the seed while also stipulating the conditions it must meet before entry into Mexico. This document is used as the standard guide by the authorities in the supplier country, commonly referred to us National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO). The NPPO will then perform a pre-shipment verification and issue a phytosanitary certificate if the seed meets the standards stated in the import permit.
Because we distribute our materials as public goods, we ensure that all seed sent out or received can be used and distributed without restrictions from the supplier or the recipient. This is achieved by the signing of a standard material transfer agreement that complies with International treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. This is done through CIMMYT’s legal unit.
Petri dishes and a microscope in Amos Alakonya’s lab. (Photo: Eleusis Llanderal/CIMMYT)
Once we have received all the necessary documents, materials are cleared through customs and delivered to the lab, where we begin our analysis. The first thing we do is assess the material visually and confirm there is no discoloration and no foreign material like soil or seeds from other species. At the next stage, we set up several assays to detect fungi, bacteria and viruses. We only release seed to scientists or allow distribution after we’ve confirmed they are free from injurious pathogens. Overall, this process takes between 25 and 40 days, so scientists must plan ahead to avoid any inconvenience.
That sounds like a complex process. Do you face any challenges along the way?
There are several challenges but we work around them. One of the biggest ones is meeting up with time expectations. For example, every scientist wants to make sure that they’re on track, but sometimes the seed takes longer than expected to arrive or the documentation gets misplaced which means the seed cannot be released from customs in time.
Even after a delay, the seed has to still pass through the standard health testing procedure. Sometimes we find that the supplier’s NPPO hasn’t carried out the right tests, so we bring in seed that turns out to be non-compliant and may end up being destroyed as a result. However, we only recommend seed destruction in cases where we can’t mitigate.
That’s why it’s crucial that everyone — at all stages of the seed production value chain — is aware of the risks and appropriate mitigation processes. These include checking seed before planting, regular field inspections, and observing field hygiene and spraying regimes.
The theme for this year’s event focuses on transboundary threats to plant health. Are there any emerging ones that you’re concerned about?
Currently there are three main concerns. The first is Maize Lethal Necrosis. The disease was initially reported in the USA and Peru in 1977, but since 2011 the disease has been invading farms in east and central Africa. Because of this, maize breeders in the region cannot send seed directly to their partners in other regions of the world without going through a quarantine field station in Zimbabwe. This comes with additional costs and time burden to the program.
We’re also very concerned about wheat blast, which is now present in Bangladesh where we have trials and share seed in both directions. We have therefore already put in place screening tools against wheat blast to ensure we do not introduce it into experimental fields in Mexico.
And finally, we have the fall armyworm. This pest is indigenous to South America where it is less ferocious, but ever since it reached Africa around 2016 it has been causing destruction to maize and costing farmers lots of money to control through application of chemicals. This emerging disease really undermines food security efforts.
This is obviously an important topic to raise global awareness about. Why do you think it is so crucial to discuss seed health within CIMMYT internally as well?
Amos Alakonya, head of CIMMYT’s Seed Health unit. (Photo: Eleusis Llanderal/CIMMYT)
It’s very important that everyone working at CIMMYT, and especially those working with seed, is aware of the potential risks because about 30% of maize and 50% of wheat grown worldwide can be traced to CIMMYT germplasm. And it’s even more important for Mexico because most of our wheat breeding program is based here and it is also the center of origin for maize. With partners in more than 100 countries we have to be extremely vigilant. If anything goes wrong here, many countries will be at risk.
Ultimately, we want people to be aware of the important role they play in ensuring phytosanitary compliance because prevention is better than cure. We would like to envisage a situation where everybody in CIMMYT is aware of the mitigation processes that have been put in place to ensure safe seed exchanges.
Will you continue working to raise awareness beyond this year’s event?
Yes. In December 2018, the United Nations declared 2020 the International Year of Plant Health. Everybody will be encouraged to take this opportunity to inform people about the importance of seed health, especially as it relates to food security, environmental conservation and economic empowerment.
It’s exciting because this event only happens every 30 to 50 years, so this is really a once in a lifetime opportunity to showcase the work we do every day, both as a unit and in collaboration with our global partners.
Cover photo:
A mixture of maize seeds seen in close-up. (Photo: Xochiquetzal Fonseca/CIMMYT)
