Theme: Nutrition, health and food security

As staple foods, maize and wheat provide vital nutrients and health benefits, making up close to two-thirds of the world’s food energy intake, and contributing 55 to 70 percent of the total calories in the diets of people living in developing countries, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. CIMMYT scientists tackle food insecurity through improved nutrient-rich, high-yielding varieties and sustainable agronomic practices, ensuring that those who most depend on agriculture have enough to make a living and feed their families. The U.N. projects that the global population will increase to more than 9 billion people by 2050, which means that the successes and failures of wheat and maize farmers will continue to have a crucial impact on food security. Findings by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which show heat waves could occur more often and mean global surface temperatures could rise by up to 5 degrees Celsius throughout the century, indicate that increasing yield alone will be insufficient to meet future demand for food.

Achieving widespread food and nutritional security for the world’s poorest people is more complex than simply boosting production. Biofortification of maize and wheat helps increase the vitamins and minerals in these key crops. CIMMYT helps families grow and eat provitamin A enriched maize, zinc-enhanced maize and wheat varieties, and quality protein maize. CIMMYT also works on improving food health and safety, by reducing mycotoxin levels in the global food chain. Mycotoxins are produced by fungi that colonize in food crops, and cause health problems or even death in humans or animals. Worldwide, CIMMYT helps train food processors to reduce fungal contamination in maize, and promotes affordable technologies and training to detect mycotoxins and reduce exposure.

Increasing yield gain in Afghanistan

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on October 18, 2022. Posted in Publications.

Faced with climate change and having to keep pace in the race to feed the world’s growing population, farmers of staple crops like wheat are under pressure to constantly increase yield per hectare.

Increasing yield gains is especially important in Afghanistan, where per capita consumption of wheat is nearly three times more than the global average and wheat accounts for up to 60% of daily caloric intake of the average Afghan citizen.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) develops and distributes improved seed targeted toward diverse wheat growing regions in the developing world, including Afghanistan, a net importer of wheat. A study by CIMMYT scientists, published in Crop Science, measured yield gain and improvement in a variety of traits of CIMMYT developed varieties compared against local wheat, over a 14-year period. The results showed the CIMMYT varieties confer yield gains, contributing to an increase in Afghanistan’s wheat productivity.

In terms of yield, the CIMMYT varieties showed an increase of 123 kilograms per hectare (kg/ha) over the time interval studied, compared to 107 kg/ha for local varieties.

“This study shows continual increases in yield from CIMMYT varieties across Afghanistan,” said lead author Rajiv Sharma. “This shows the potential of genetically improved germplasm to increase yields, strengthen resistance to diseases and improve other important traits.”

Researchers also examined specific traits, like days to heading and overall plant height. Days to heading refers to the number of days from planting to when the plant is ready to be harvested and overall plant height is the highest measurement a plant reaches. This is important because if a wheat plant grows too high, it will lodge (fall over) under its own weight, rendering it non-harvestable.

Across the CIMMYT varieties there was a 1.8 day per year reduction in days to heading. This is a positive sign for Afghan wheat production as research has shown that crop durations will be reduced because of climate-associated stresses. Shorter crop duration also reduces the cost of crop production, since shorter crop duration reduces the requirements for water, labor, fertilizer, and other resources.

In terms of plant height, the CIMMTY varieties showed a gain of 0.77 cm per year. Although a negative correlation between plant height and grain yield has been reported in other studies, this is not the case in Afghanistan. Increased plant height is often an indicator of higher biomass (the amount of aboveground volume including leaves and stems which might fall to the ground) which drives higher yield, provided the plant does not lodge. Higher biomass is also required in many developing countries, including Afghanistan, to produce straw that is used dry fodder feed for livestock. This appears to result from selections to increase overall production, mitigate negative impacts and fulfil the changing preference of farmers.

“This kind of evaluation is important in determining the efficacy of CIMMYT’s efforts to provide improved wheat varieties tailored to diverse production environments around the world,” said Alison Bentley, co-author of the study and director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program. “It also makes a strong case for continued investment in plant breeding and for the collaboration between Afghanistan and CIMMYT.”

Read the study: Plant breeding increases spring wheat yield potential in Afghanistan

Cover photo: Farmers working in a field in the Shibar Valley in Bamian province, Afghanistan. (Adam Ferguson/The New York Times)

Leading Norwich plant scientists call for action to mitigate food crisis

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on October 17, 2022. Posted in In the media.

Guidance from an interdisciplinary group of experts lists crucial actions for governments and investors to move towards long-term resilience in agrifood systems as part of a World Food Day campaign.

Plant health scientists from The Sainsbury Laboratory, the John Innes Institute at Norwich Research Park, and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) have collaborated on guidance divided into short-, medium- and long-term priorities, designed to mitigate impending food crises and stabilize wheat supply chains.

In the short-term, wheat production must be increased and wheat flour can be blended with other low-cost cereals. Increasing the local, regional and global resilience of wheat supply is the medium-term solution, while long-term proposals center on ensuring diversity in agro-ecosystems.

Read the original article: Leading Norwich plant scientists call for action to mitigate food crisis

CIMMYT and China: A successful partnership since 1974

Written by Mike Listman on October 16, 2022. Posted in Videos.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is a non-profit international organization focused on applied agricultural research and training. It empowers farmers through science and innovation to nourish the world in the midst of a climate crisis.

Established in 1974, the research partnership between the People’s Republic of China and CIMMYT is improving the lives of millions of people in China through science-driven, evidence-based solutions. CIMMYT has five offices and over 20 collaborators throughout China.

The CIMMYT–China collaboration over four decades has added some 10.7 million additional tons of wheat to China’s national wheat output. Since 2000, CIMMYT germplasm has been planted on more than one million hectares across the country.

We look forward to many more years of collaboration to improve the lives of millions of people in China and the world.

Cover photo: An agricultural landscape in Yunnan Province, China. (Photo: Michelle DeFreese/CIMMYT)

Planting Better Seeds a Key for Mexico’s Food Security

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on October 14, 2022. Posted in In the media.

In an article for Mexico Business News, Bram Govaerts, Director General of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), provides context for the organization’s seed systems strategy in relation to current challenges in agriculture.

Despite producing roughly 27 million tons of white maize used each year, Mexico imports approximately 18 million tons of yellow maize for fodder and raw material. To reduce reliance on imports, productivity of staple crops needs to be increased, during a time when climate change, conflict, COVID-19 and cost of living are all causing additional pressures.

Developing seeds with high yields and resilience to the impacts of climate change is required to close yield gaps in a sustainable way. However, the needs of smallholders differ from those of commercial farming, so inclusivity in seed systems is essential.

Read the original article: Planting Better Seeds a Key for Mexico’s Food Security

CIMMYT delivers seed to Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on October 14, 2022. Posted in News.

The Ambassador of Mexico to Norway, Ulises Canchola Gutiérrez, delivers a box of CIMMYT maize and wheat varieties to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. (Photo: Petra Pajdakovic/Crop Trust)

The Ambassador of Mexico to Norway, Ulises Canchola Gutiérrez, delivered a deposit from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault on October 12.

CIMMYT was the ninth depositor in the Seed Vault in 2022, with a contribution of 263 accessions of maize and 3,548 accession of wheat.

“Professionally, I am pleased to carry out this activity that contributes to the conservation of genetic resources and guarantees food security of two of the major crops that feed the world,” said Rocio Quiroz, assistant research associate at CIMMYT. “When we prepare a shipment as a team, it is extraordinary because we contribute to the perpetuity of each accession deposited in the vault. Very few people have the privilege of doing so.”

Maize and wheat seeds begin their journey to the Seed Vault from CIMMYT Headquarters in Texcoco, near Mexico City, on September 22. (Photo: Francisco Alarcón/CIMMYT)

What is the Seed Vault?

The Seed Vault is a genebank collection that holds duplicates of seeds from more than 1,700 genebanks around the world, playing the role of a backup collection. By protecting these varieties from catastrophic loss, the Seed Vault contributes towards food security for future generations.

Owned by Norway and managed in partnership between the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food, NordGen, and the Crop Trust, the Seed Vault currently holds 1,165,041 seed varieties, with capacity for millions more.

In 2020, CIMMYT was the largest contributor, providing 173,779 maize and wheat accessions from 131 countries.

Colleagues from CIMMYT’s germplasm bank prepare a delivery of 263 accessions of maize and 3,548 accession of wheat. (Photo: Francisco Alarcón/CIMMYT)

How is germplasm stored at CIMMYT?

CIMMYT’s own germplasm bank contains approximately 150,000 unique collections of wheat seed and its ancestors and is the largest unified collection in the world for a single crop.

For maize, the germplasm bank contains more than 28,000 samples, including the world’s largest collection of maize landraces, representing nearly 90% of maize diversity in the Americas.

Carolina Sansaloni, manager of the wheat genebank at CIMMYT, said, “I am proud of all CIMMYT germplasm bank staff that made a great effort to send an additional 3,800 accessions to the Svalbard as safety duplications. This contribution is for the food security of humanity.”

Exploring the potential for scaling nutritious cereal-based foods

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on October 13, 2022. Posted in Features.

Agrifood systems contribute to at least 12 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To advance these goals, agrifood systems need to deliver more nutritious food to more people and simultaneously be environmentally sustainable and resilient. Changes are required at multiple levels to include more sustainable farming, reduce food losses in distribution and retail, and increase the intake of healthier foods by consumers.

Recent studies show that piecemeal interventions focusing on only one aspect or area are insufficient to make the required transformation. Issues related to food security and improved nutrition are complex, and their solutions must transcend traditional disciplinary and institutional boundaries.

Agrifood systems research looks to understand how systems work and actions by governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the private sector that can positively influence outcomes at scale. Researchers and development professionals use this approach to assess how different actors, practices and policies share the production, marketing, availability, and consumption of food. Agriculture, trade, policy, health, environment, transport, infrastructure, gender norms and education all have a role to play in achieving resilient agrifood systems that deliver greater benefits to farmers and consumers.

CIMMYT combines the expertise of economists, agronomists, crop breeders, nutritionists, and gender specialist to create more sustainable, nutritious, and profitable agrifood systems in multiple ways. It works to ensure that cereal crops are grown in the most sustainable way, that the public and private sectors are informed about consumer preferences, and that quality improved seed is available to farmers when they need it. CIMMYT also aims to better understand how cereal based foods are processed and sold to consumers and develop options for promoting the consumption of more nutritious cereal-based foods.

Pasta and other supplies on display in a supermarket, Mexico.

Consumer demand in Mexico

Recently, CIMMYT partnered with the National Institute of Public Health of Mexico (INSP), to compare access to healthy processed cereal-based food in supermarkets, convenience stores, and corner stores for consumers from low- and high-income neighborhoods in Mexico City. Discussions continue to rage about how policies can support more nutritious and healthier diets in Mexico, including the new requirement for food warning labels on the front of packaging.

The study showed that availability of healthy products was scarce in most stores, particularly in convenience stores. Compared to supermarkets in the low-income areas, those in high-income areas exhibited a greater variety of healthy products across all categories. A follow up study is underway that examines the outcomes of the new food label warnings on product availability and health claims.

Other CIMMYT studies have explored the demand by lower- and middle-income consumers in central Mexico for healthy cereal-based foods, including their demand for blue maize tortillas and whole grain bread. These studies help policy makers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) design strategies on how to increase access and consumption of healthier processed wheat and maize products in fast-evolving food systems.

Farmer Gladys Kurgat prepare wheat chapatti with help from her nephew Emmanuel Kirui for her five sons at home near Belbur, Nakuru, Kenya. (Photo: Peter Lowe/CIMMYT)

Blending wheat products in Kenya

In many parts of the world, the Ukraine-Russia war has intensified the need to change how wheat-based products are formulated. For example, Kenya is a country where wheat consumption has been growing rapidly for a decade, yet imports have comprised 90% of its wheat supplies, which up until recently came from Ukraine and Russia. Wheat flour blending in Kenya is a promising option for reducing wheat imports, generating demand for other, lesser-utilized cereals, such as sorghum, and increasing the nutrient profile of bread products. But wheat blending, despite having been discussed for many years in Kenya, has yet to gain traction.

In response, CIMMYT and the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) are exploring the feasibility of reducing wheat imports in Kenya by replacing between 5-20% of wheat flour with flour derived from other cereals, including sorghum and millet. While existing evidence suggests that consumers may except up to 10% blending in cereal flours, the stakes are high for both the wheat industry and government. Robust and context specific evidence is needed on consumers’ willingness to accept blended products in urban Kenya and the economic feasibility of blending from the perspective of millers and processors.

Among the critical questions to be explored by CIMMYT and JKUAT: What flour blends will consumers most likely to accept? What are the potential health benefits from blending with sorghum and millet? Is there enough sorghum and millet readily available to replace the wheat removed from flour? And finally, what is the business case for wheat flour blending?

Cover photo: Wheat harvest near Iztaccíhuatl volcano in Juchitepec, Estado de México. (Photo: CIMMYT/ Peter Lowe)

The critical role of smallholder farmers of the Eastern Gangetic Plains in the global food chain

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on October 13, 2022. Posted in Features.

The Eastern Gangetic Plains (EGP) are vulnerable to climate change and face tremendous challenges, including heat, drought, and floods. More than 400 million people in this region depend on agriculture for their livelihoods and food security; improvements to their farming systems on a wide scale can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) has been supporting smallholder farmers to make agriculture more profitable, productive, and sustainable while also safeguarding the environment and encouraging women’s participation through a partnership with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). On World Food Day, these projects are more important than ever, as scientists strive to leave no one behind.

The EGP have the potential to significantly improve food security in South Asia, but agricultural production is still poor, and diversification opportunities are few. This is a result of underdeveloped markets, a lack of agricultural knowledge and service networks, insufficient development of available water resources, and low adoption of sustainable farming techniques.

Current food systems in the EGP fail to provide smallholder farmers with a viable means to prosper, do not provide recommended diets, and impose undue strain on the region’s natural resources. It is therefore crucial to transform the food system with practical technological solutions for smallholders and with scaling-up initiatives.

Zero tillage wheat growing in the field in Fatehgarh Sahib district, Punjab, India. It was sown with a zero tillage seeder known as a Happy Seeder, giving an excellent and uniform wheat crop. (Photo: Petr Kosina/CIMMYT)

ACIAR: Understanding and promoting sustainable transformation of food systems

Over the past ten years, ACIAR has extensively focused research on various agricultural techniques in this region. The Sustainable and Resilient Farming Systems Intensification in the Eastern Gangetic Plains (SRFSI) project sought to understand local systems, demonstrate the efficacy of Conservation Agriculture-based Sustainable Intensification (CASI) approaches, and create an environment that would support and scale-up these technologies.

To establish a connection between research outputs and development goals, the Transforming Smallholder Food Systems in the Eastern Gangetic Plains (Rupantar) project expands on previous work and partnership networks. This is a collaborative venture with CIMMYT that demonstrates inclusive diversification pathways, defines scaling up procedures for millions of smallholder farmers in the region, and produces a better understanding of the policies that support diversification.

Building the future and inspiring communities

Men and women both contribute substantially to farming activities in the EGP of India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, but gender roles differ according to location, crops and opportunities. It is a prevalent perception supported by culture, tradition, and social biases that women cannot be head of the household.

In Coochbehar, India, the unfortunate passing of Jahanara Bibi’s husband left her as head of her household and sole guardian of her only son. Though a tragic event, Bibi never gave up hope.

Going through hardships of a rural single female farmer intensified by poverty, Bibi came to know about CASI techniques and the use of zero-till machines.

Though it seemed like a far-fetched technique at first and with no large network to rely on for advice, Bibi decided to gather all her courage and give it a try. Being lower cost, more productive, adding income, and saving her time and energy all encouraged Bibi to adopt this zero-till machine in 2013, which she uses to this day. Today, she advocates for CASI technology-based farming and has stood tall as an inspiration to men and women.

“I feel happy when people come to me for advice – the same people who once thought I was good for nothing,” said Bibi.

With no regrets from life and grateful for all the support she received, Bibi dreams of her future as a female agro-entrepreneur. Being a lead female farmer of her community and having good contact with the agriculture office and conducive connection with local service providers, she believes that her dream is completely achievable and can inspire many single rural female farmers like herself to encourage them to change perceptions about the role of women.

Cover photo: Jahanara Bibi standing by her farm, Coochbehar, India. (Photo: Manisha Shrestha/CIMMYT)

Making purple maize a seed of prosperity for Peruvian farmers

Written by Andrea Carvajal on October 12, 2022. Posted in Features.

In Mexico there is an indigenous poem that says, “We are grains of maize from the same cob; we are one root of the same path.” So, it is not surprising that the path of Alicia Medina Hoyos, a researcher with the National Maize Research Program at El Instituto Nacional de Innovación Agraria (INIA), began life in a rural community in Cupisnique, Cajamarca, Peru, at 1,800 meters above sea level.

At an early age, she realized the importance of maize as a feature of identity. This prompted her to dedicate her life to contribute to food security through research on starchy maize, soft maize types used for human consumption with 80% starch in their composition.

Medina studied Agronomy at the National University of Cajamarca, where her thesis brought her into contact with Luis Narro, a Peruvian researcher linked to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), which she has been associated with ever since.

“This permanent contact has been key to strengthening my capacities to actively participate in the co-creation of better opportunities for producers in Peru and Latin America,” said Medina. Her connection with CIMMYT has helped her to maintain an enriching exchange of knowledge and experiences with researchers such as Terry Molnar, a specialist in native maize, as well as with the more than 130 colleagues who make up the Latin American Maize Network.

It has also provided opportunities to showcase Peruvian agricultural research. In 2022, Peru hosted the XXIV Latin American Maize Meeting, an event jointly organized by CIMMYT and INIA every two years. Medina explained, “The event is a great opportunity to show Cajamarca, producers, organizations, to highlight the best we have, and to promote purple maize.”

Award-winning research

On International Women’s Day in 2019, Medina received an award from the College of Engineers of Peru for the effort, dedicated work, and contribution of engineering to the service of society.

When asked what it meant to receive this award, Medina said, “Research in starchy maize and, in recent years, in purple maize, has taken me to Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia and Japan, and has given me the satisfaction of receiving awards that motivate me to continue putting research at the service of producers.”

This is without losing sight of the other valuable awards that Medina has received: the Personage of the Bicentennial, awarded in 2021 by the Provincial Municipality of Contumazá, Peru; the compass that Chile gave her in 2021 as recipient of the Strait of Magellan Award for Innovation and Exploration with Global Impact; and the SUMMUM Research Award given by the Summum Awards Advisory Committee in 2019.

Purple maize holds many health benefits due to its high content of anthocyanins and antioxidants. (Photo: Alicia Medina Hoyos/INIA)

Why is purple maize so important?

Purple maize comes from a breed called kulli. The team of researchers led by Medina — who obtained the variety — brought a population of purple maize from Huaraz, Peru, and crossed it with another from Cajamarca. Ten years of breeding gave rise to the INIA 601 maize, characterized by its high yield and high content of anthocyanins and antioxidants that are beneficial to health, cancer prevention, and lowering high blood pressure and cholesterol.

“In 2011 I had the opportunity to go to Japan, followed by working with a team of Japanese experts in Cajamarca,” explained Medina. “There, we started a project that gave more importance to purple maize, not for its production but for its color and therefore anthocyanin content. We saw the characteristic of the color in the husk. In 2013, we determined the amount of anthocyanin in this variety and it turned out that it was higher in the husk than in the cob. That gave us the option to market both parts.”

Medina explains how teamwork with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) laid the foundations so that today, 500 Peruvian producers “who see that there are profits, are convinced, by listening to their testimonies, in dissemination and training events” grow the maize in 12 of the 13 provinces that make up Cajamarca and market a kilo of cob and purple maize bract at $5 USD each.

There is currently high demand for the product in grain, grain flour, whole, dried, chopped and chopped dried forms; transnational companies based in Lima acquire the purple maize to extract the pigment and anthocyanin, and export it to the United States, Japan and Spain. “In fact, there are companies that produce whiskey with purple maize flour from Cajamarca,” Medina added.

In October 2021, a new agricultural campaign began in the Peruvian fields and Medina continues to promote agriculture based on the dream of seeing purple maize become a flagship product of the country, while becoming the engine of agribusiness in the region of Cajamarca, so that producers benefit in a better way, have more income and see the real magnitude of the grain they grow every day.

Cover photo: Medina assesses purple maize in Peru, which she introduced to the country. (Photo: Alicia Medina Hoyos/INIA)

Elite maize seeds handed over to seed sector stakeholders in Nepal

Written by Alison Doody on October 12, 2022. Posted in News.

Govinda Prasad Sharma, Secretary of Nepal’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development hands-over diverse maize seed inbred lines acquired by CIMMYT to the National Agricultural Research Council. (Photo: Bandana Pradhan/CIMMYT)

Maize is Nepal’s second most important crop for food security. Although the country’s diverse ecology can support maize production throughout the year, maize seeds and other grains, are largely imported each year.

Access to quality maize seed is one of the issues. Almost 85% of Nepalese farmers are unable to access quality certified maize seeds leaving them vulnerable to lower productivity. Traditional seeds, for example, are often unable to withstand extreme weather conditions induced by climate change. Nepal also has low seed replacement rates — around 20% for major cereals, which means that over 80% of farmers are either recycling seeds or use substandard quality seeds for each cropping season.

Over the past four years, researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), through Nepal Seed and Fertilizer (NSAF) project supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), have been assisting the National Agricultural Research Council (NARC) and private seed company partners to test market ready and multiple stress tolerant hybrid and synthetic maize varieties at various locations across Nepal and evaluate their suitability for cultivation. These maize varieties have come from CIMMYT’s maize breeding hubs in Mexico, Zimbabwe, Colombia and India as well as the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

After over two years of testing and identifying the best performing varieties, Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Govinda Prasad Sharma handed over the seeds of selected maize varieties to NARC and seven partner seed companies for further testing, variety registration and seed scale up in Nepal. The handover ceremony took place on August 18, 2022 at the Quality Hybrid Seed Production and Seed Business Management International Training Workshop, which gathered together a diverse range of maize stakeholders from Nepal and South Asia.

These new high-performing, climate-resilient varieties will help Nepal increase their national maize yield, enhancing food security and livelihoods.

Nutritious and climate resilient

The maize seeds include varieties enriched with provitamin A and zinc, aflatoxin tolerant synthetics, white and yellow kernel hybrids, and sweet and popcorn maize varieties. As well as being good for nutrition, the seeds are high yielding. Synthetic varieties have the potential to yield 6-7 metric tons (t) per hectare, while the hybrid varieties may yield over 10t — a significant increase from 3-5t of local seeds.

Climate change resilience is a vital trait for modern crops. Climate change is posing a threat to crops, with traditional varieties often unable to withstand extreme weather conditions. Included in the handover were climate resilient, early maturing seeds which take less than 100 days to mature in the summer season, reducing their exposure to drought. Among the handed over seeds were varieties tolerant to fall armyworm — a devastating pest threatening maize production in Nepal.

Stress tolerant and high yielding varieties suitable for such extreme conditions are needed now more than ever to increase on-farm yield levels. Nepal also needs a vibrant last mile seed delivery system and mechanisms to support and serve under-reached populations, including women and smallholder farmers. Sharma acknowledged CIMMYT’s support in sharing these elite and diverse maize seeds, which will contribute towards the government’s efforts of self-sufficiency in major cereals including maize.

“USAID is pleased to be collaborating with both the Government of Nepal and private sector partners through the NSAF project to enhance maize production and productivity at the farmer level,” said Jason Seuc, director of the Economic Growth Office at USAID.

“Once the range of maize seeds become widely available in the market, these varieties will play a major role in enhancing the food and nutrition security to millions of farmers who use maize directly or indirectly in the food chain, especially for those living in the hills.”

The exclusive allocation of the new products to partners complements the project team’s efforts to support private seed companies who have recently acquired research and development licenses and can subsequently register varieties under their own brands.

“We are handing over not only seeds and technologies to our partners but also responsibility, so that these varieties can make it to the farmers’ field in the shortest time possible,” said AbduRahman Beshir, NSAF’s seed systems lead at CIMMYT.

This crucial initiation also supports Nepal’s efforts to compete with imports and promote self-sufficiency through the private sector-led hybrid seed industry. Ultimately, farmers will have better access to quality maize seeds and increase crop productivity and income.

Forging collaborative ties from south to south

Written by Andrea Carvajal on October 11, 2022. Posted in News.

He Zhonghu presents at the Second International Wheat Congress in Beijing. (Photo: Fei Wei/CAAS)

More than 900 experts from 67 countries gathered for the Second International Wheat Congress, which took place from September 12-16 in-person in Beijing and online, to exchange ideas on how to improve the development of the wheat industry around the world, and call for increased global cooperation in the scientific and technological innovation of wheat to guarantee food security.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) was honored to be one of the three organizers of this major world-class event, together with the Crop Science Society of China (CSSC) and the Institute of Crop Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ICS-CAAS).

This Congress as part of Wheat Initiative activity was established three years ago after the merger of two important conferences: the International Wheat Genetics Symposium and the International Wheat Conference. On this occasion, with Future Wheat: Resilience and Sustainability as the central theme, key issues included: use of diversity; evolution and germplasm; Triticeae genome structure and functional genomics; breeding and new technologies; crop management under climate change; biotic and abiotic resistance and physiology; and processing quality, nutrition, and human health.

In her capacity as co-host of the congress, Claudia Sadoff, CGIAR Executive Managing Director, stressed that the global partnership between China and CGIAR has been of special importance in strengthening achievements in scientific research.

“The priority is to increase grain yields, disease resistance, climate resilience, and nutritional quality through breeding modernization,” said Sadoff. “This is especially important as we are facing a food system crisis, with wheat at its heart. The global food crisis requires a system approach to stabilize wheat supply.”

Bram Govaerts, Director General of CIMMYT, reiterated this point, indicating that “meetings like this can be source of concrete proposals for consolidating enabling partnerships that will lead to the enduring transformation of wheat based agri-food systems worldwide”.

What’s next for global wheat?

Asking what’s next is a disturbing question when faced with a crop like wheat that is an important commodity for more than 35% of the world’s population, with global production exceeding 760 million tons in 2020. The same question that Alison Bentley, Director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program, seeks to respond to build future resilience.

“It is important that we understand where the risks are in our global food system so that we can respond to and address the impacts,” Bentley explained, while presenting a roadmap for future wheat research and development, where food security and nutrition plays a decisive role taking in consideration the effects of climate change and population growth.

Zhonghu He, CIMMYT Distinguished Scientist and Country Representative for China, said, “Thanks to the fact that this Congress was a hybrid event, there was a large online participation of researchers, students and representatives of entities from developing countries – a fact that reiterates the importance of the work that we have been doing together and can promote even further in the face of the challenges that we face today in terms of conflict, high cost of living, climate change and COVID-19.”

More than 900 experts from 67 countries united to discuss improved collaboration in wheat research and development. (Photo: Fei Wei/CAAS)

China and CIMMYT

China and CIMMYT have worked side-by-side on wheat and maize research for the past 40 years in areas such as varietal breeding, genomics research, sustainable farming systems, and training. China is the largest wheat producer and consumer in the world, and China has always considered CIMMYT as a strategic win-win partner for wheat research.

These four decades of work are reflected in results, such as the fact that more than 26,000 accessions of wheat preserved in CIMMYT’s genebank were introduced and are stored in China. This has enabled collaborative research on this cereal to add up to 10.7 million tons of grain, worth $3.4 billion USD. It has also enabled more than 200 Chinese scientists and students working in wheat to visit CIMMYT´s global headquarters in Mexico to receive training courses and complete thesis research.

In recognition of the partnership between China and CIMMYT, six wheat varieties derived from CIMMYT germplasm received national awards in China and seven scientists were awarded the China Friendship Award, the highest recognition of international scientists for their contribution to China. In 2016, CIMMYT received the International Science and Technology Cooperation Award from China State Council.

The 3rd International Wheat Congress will be held in Australia in 2024.

CGIAR Initiative: Excellence in Agronomy

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on October 11, 2022. Posted in Uncategorized.

Smallholdings represent over 80% of the world’s farms, mostly located in the Global South, and supply 50% of global food. Enhanced agronomy management has a great potential to increase productivity, sustainability, efficiency and competitiveness of these smallholdings, which is characterized by low and variable yields and profitability, smallholder farming challenges include water scarcity, climate change, low resource use efficiencies and declining soil health. These result in negative impacts on food and nutrition security, equitable livelihoods and ecosystem health. 

Smallholder farmers seasonally make critical agronomic decisions regarding crop choice, planting dates and pest, disease, weed, soil fertility and water management, often based on suboptimal practices and information. Traditional agronomic research enhances our understanding of basic processes, but with limited connection to stakeholder demand and often based on outdated approaches. The development, deployment and uptake of interventions is hampered by social, economic and institutional constraints, further confounded by adherence to conventional supply-driven innovation strategies.

Objective

This Initiative aims to deliver an increase in productivity and quality per unit of input (agronomic gain) for millions of smallholder farming households in prioritized farming systems by 2030, with an emphasis on women and young farmers, showing a measurable impact on food and nutrition security, income, resource use, soil health, climate resilience and climate change mitigation. 

Activities

This objective will be achieved through:

Facilitating the delivery of agronomy-at-scale solutions, including development and technical/user-experience validation and the co-creation and deployment of gender- and youth-responsive solutions to smallholder farmers via scaling partners.
Enabling the creation of value from big data and advanced analytics through the assembly and governance of data and tools; application of existing analytics and solutions for specific use cases; supply of information on climate impacts, inclusivity and sustainability of agronomic solutions; and national agricultural research system capacity strengthening.
Driving the next generation of agronomy-at-scale innovations by addressing key knowledge gaps and facilitating innovation in agronomy research through engagement with partners.
Nurturing internal efficiencies for an agile and demand-driven agronomy research and development community through internal organization and external partnerships for prioritization, demand mapping and foresight.

Nestlé Mexico and CIMMYT expand their collaboration for responsible sourcing through Plan Maíz

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on October 11, 2022. Posted in Press releases.

Nestlé and CIMMYT executives at CIMMYT HQ. (Photo: Francisco Alarcón/CIMMYT)

In the framework of National Maize Day, Nestlé Mexico, in collaboration with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), strengthens its commitment to support the development of farmers in Mexico, through the Plan Maíz initiative, which aligned with the goals of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), seeks to boost productivity, increase and improve the practices of regenerative agriculture to positively impact food security, environmental impact and social inclusion of the Mexican fields.

In Mexico, maize is not only a staple food, but also a fundamental component of the gastronomic and cultural heritage and identity of Mexicans. For this reason, since 2017, Nestlé Mexico and CIMMYT signed a collaboration agreement to work together and contribute not only to improve the quality of life of farmers, but also to take care of the resources that produce one of the most important grains for our country, for the world and for the agrifood sector.

The event, Plan Maíz, commitment to regenerative agriculture and sustainability, was attended by Bram Goavaerts, director general of CIMMYT, and Julieta Loaiza, Vice President of Communication and Corporate Affairs of Nestlé Mexico, as well as representatives and managers of both institutions, in order to present progress and ratify the agreements for the future, with the aim of continuing to combine resources and actions for the development of agriculture in Mexico.

“At Nestlé we are committed to the sustainability and development of the Mexican fields. We have more than 90 years of work, commitment and experience in this beautiful country, so we will expand our support for the development and training of farmers to improve their production processes through regenerative agricultural practices for the care of natural resources and food security in Mexico,” said Loaiza.

Govaerts said, “At CIMMYT we are very committed to maize and wheat producers in Mexico, so this Nestlé-CIMMYT alliance allows us to multiply the impact to protect and conserve Mexico’s agricultural resources and strengthen the food security of Mexicans.”

The results of Plan Maíz obtained to date are significant: 400 farmers have benefited by adopting sustainable practices for the production of both maize and wheat, since they attended training and demonstration events that promoted a more sustainable commercial production model.

Thanks to the agreement’s training, the volume of maize and wheat produced grew to a cumulative total volume of more than 193,000 tons of maize and 21,690 tons of wheat. The project impacted more than 9,000 hectares of maize and wheat. In total, and during eight productive cycles, the accumulated number of hectares impacted amounted to more than 19,000, where there is a record of at least the adoption of sustainable practices such as: integral fertility, integral and responsible management of fertilizers and phytosanitary products, among others.

Nestlé has aimed to achieve zero net emissions in its operations by 2050. In this regard, it focuses its efforts on acting on climate change by supporting and expanding regenerative agriculture. This means refining and growing agricultural sustainability programs in key commodities.

To achieve this, they are intensifying their commitment to farmers so that the solutions they create for and with them achieve a positive and sustainable change both in their agricultural processes and in the main raw materials. Therefore, the goal is for 20% of maize and wheat from Plan Maíz to come from regenerative agriculture practices by 2025 and 50% by 2030, thus continuing to build on the commitment to develop the full power of food to improve the quality of life, today and for future generations.

About Grupo Nestlé Mexico:

Nestlé is the world’s largest food and beverage company. It is present in 187 countries around the world, and its 300,000 employees are committed to Nestlé’s purpose of improving the quality of life and contributing to a healthier future. Nestlé offers a broad portfolio of products and services for people and their pets throughout their lives. Its more than 2,000 brands range from global icons to local favorites. The company’s performance is driven by its nutrition, health and wellness strategy. Nestlé is headquartered in the Swiss city of Vevey, where it was founded more than 150 years ago. With 90 years of presence in Mexico, Nestlé is also the leading Nutrition, Health and Wellness company in the country, with the support of 32 global Research Centers, 17 factories in 7 states and 16 distribution centers, where 13,000 jobs are generated. Visit: www.nestle.com.mx

About the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT):

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is an international organization focused on non-profit agricultural research and training that empowers farmers through science and innovation to nourish the world in the midst of a climate crisis. Applying high-quality science and strong partnerships, CIMMYT works to achieve a world with healthier and more prosperous people, free from global food crises and with more resilient agri-food systems. CIMMYT’s research brings enhanced productivity and better profits to farmers, mitigates the effects of the climate crisis, and reduces the environmental impact of agriculture.

CIMMYT is a member of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food secure future dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources.

Press contacts:

Nestlé Mexico: Norma Vázquez | norma.vazquez@mx.nestle.com

Hill+Knowlton Strategies: Aremi de la Cruz | aremi.delacruz@hkstrategies.com

Read this article in Spanish.

Annual Report 2021 launched

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on October 10, 2022. Posted in News.

Today, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is excited to share with you the Annual Report 2021: From Discovery to Scaling Up.

Read the web version of the Annual Report 2021

Download the Annual Report 2021 in PDF format

Download the financial statements 2021

Our latest Annual Report captures the three ways in which CIMMYT science makes a difference:

The scientific pathway from discovery and validation: In 2021, we embarked on an ambitious initiative to apply environmental genome-wide association methods to predict how today’s maize, rice, sorghum, cassava, groundnut, and bean varieties will perform in the future under climate scenarios, and help them succeed in three or four decades from now.
Translating science to innovation: Last year, we made important strides in boosting the resilience of maize and wheat to a hotter and drier world — and to the threats of ever-evolving and invasive pests and diseases.
Scaling up innovation for farmers and society: In collaboration with dozens of public- and private-sector partners in the countries where we work, in 2021 we scaled up sustainable technologies and farming practices for hundreds of thousands of farmers.

CIMMYT director general Bram Govaerts presented the current challenges: “A global food crisis fueled by conflict, trade disruptions, soaring commodity prices and climate change.” He also expressed CIMMYT is ready to respond to the immediate and long-term threats facing humanity. “We have solid, science-informed solutions, policy recommendations and proven methodologies that will help avert the global food security crisis that looms,” he said.

We want to thank all our funders and partners for their collaboration and support, year after year.

Partnerships crucial for protecting plant health

Written by Sarah McLaughlin on October 6, 2022. Posted in News.

Prasanna Boddupalli presents at the International Plant Health Conference, September 2022. (Photo: International Plant Health Conference)

CGIAR research centers involved in the One CGIAR Plant Health Initiative joined forces at the International Plant Health Conference in London on September 21-23, 2022 to highlight the importance of global partnerships in effectively preventing and managing devastating pest and disease outbreaks in the Global South.

In an interactive side event on Plant Health Management in the Global South through Partnerships on September 21, the Plant Health Initiative team presented on and discussed: global diagnostic and surveillance systems against plant pests and diseases; risk assessment and preparedness for proactive response; integrated pest and disease management; mycotoxin mitigation strategy; and gender and social inclusion.

The CGIAR Plant Health Initiative, launched in January 2022, aims to protect agriculture-based economies of low and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America from pest and disease outbreaks in major crops by leveraging and building viable networks across an array of national, regional, and international institutions.

Building on a track record of more than 50 years of impactful research, the Plant Health Initiative aims to develop and deploy solutions through partnerships, and to achieve impacts that contribute towards several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Healthy crops for a healthy planet

Showing the strength of partnerships in action, researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Alliance Bioversity-CIAT (ABC), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the International Potato Center (CIP), and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) highlighted the Initiative’s activities and sought feedback from the plant health experts participating in the session.

Martin Kropff, CGIAR Science Director of Resilient Agrifood Systems, welcomed the participants to the session. Prasanna Boddupalli, CGIAR Plant Health Initiative Lead & Director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program, introduced the Initiative and its scope, emphasizing the inclusive partnerships. This was followed by presentations from Monica Carvajal (ABC), Lava Kumar (IITA), Alejandro Ortega-Beltran (IITA), Nozomi Kawarazuka (CIP), and Yanyan Liu (IFPRI).

Time was dedicated to engaging participants through Mentimeter polling on specific questions related to plant health management. Participants also shared their views on plant health research coordination, capacity strengthening, and knowledge exchange between the Global North and Global South, with a focus on improving food security and livelihoods of smallholders.

The event was successful not only in generating greater understanding of the Initiative amongst the participants, but also in developing significant interest from the participants to contribute to the Initiative’s goals with collective actions, all for the benefit of smallholders in the low- and middle-income countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Establishing wider networks for plant health

The Plant Health Initiative team, together with Kropff, also had a productive discussion on September 22 with Osama El-Lissy, International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretary, on opportunities for joint actions on plant health management in the Global South by IPPC and the CGIAR Plant Health Initiative, together with national partners.

Boddupalli also participated in a workshop on September 20 organized by Euphresco, a network of organizations that fund research projects and coordinate national research in the phytosanitary area, at the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in the United Kingdom, on shaping global plant health research coordination. The workshop participants discussed and endorsed several actions for advancing global plant health research coordination.

Participants of a workshop by Euphresco endorsed actions to advance research coordination for global plant health. (Photo: Euphresco)

Expanding BISA expertise to new horizons in South Asia

Written by Richa Sharma Puri on October 5, 2022. Posted in Features.

Ten years ago, a foundation was laid on the principles of Norman Borlaug to translate agrarian challenges into opportunities through collaboration between the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). This major step toward sustainable food and nutrition security was taken through the establishment of the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) as an independent, non-profit research organization.

Today, BISA is a global name in agriculture research with a vision to promote food security, nutrition, stable livelihoods, and eco-friendly practices in South Asia. Given the prominent challenges of climate change in these economically fragile agroecosystems, the partnership between BISA, ICAR, and CIMMYT plays a pivotal role in developing improved wheat and maize varieties with climate-smart and conservation agriculture-based practices.

A decade of impact

One of the most significant outcomes of BISA’s work has been its contribution to building a vast, solid network for evaluating and disseminating new high-yielding and climate-resilient wheat varieties for India and other South Asian countries in close partnership with ICAR and CIMMYT. BISA’s transformative solutions and science-led research are critical to targeting stressed resources and attaining global food security.

With support from ICAR and CIMMYT, BISA has developed state-of-the-art research facilities at its three strategically selected research stations, having 1,200 acres of land that the Government of India, jointly with the respective state governments, generously granted to the project. Located in three disparate agro-climatic and socioeconomic environments, these sites are model research farms supporting agriculture research in South Asia. The learning labs at BISA emphasize that scaling climate-smart villages also strengthen climate-resilient agriculture, primarily through addressing challenges such as residue burning. BISA’s collaborative and inclusive approach is more relevant today when the world is grappling with various food and nutrition insecurity challenges.

Time for expansion

BISA envisages attracting countries from south Asia, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), as well as National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS), national research institutes, private sector companies, and civil society organizations as active partners for expanding reach in the region. To this end, BISA has completed extensive work in Nepal and Bangladesh and has extended its services to Bhutan and Sri Lanka.

Still, more needs to be done in South Asian countries. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a strong commitment to harnessing the best of international scientific discoveries with local efforts. Collective action is to be garnered to provide trusted and effective mechanisms for developing and sharing cutting-edge agricultural technologies in the South Asian region.

Himanshu Pathak, Director General of ICAR, with Bram Govaerts, Director General of CIMMYT, discuss how BISA’s work can create food security in South Asia. (Photo: BISA)

To this end, a BISA High-Level Meeting was organized on September 1 and 2 in Delhi, with senior government representatives from the NARS in Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and India. The meeting provided a forum to identify opportunities to co-create and deploy innovative, multidisciplinary solutions to effectively address the transboundary challenges related to food, nutrition, and environmental security faced by farming communities in South Asia. This platform strives to unite the scientific community and thought leaders to support research and development across the agriculture domain.

Delegates from these countries felt that there is a need for a robust program of germplasm exchange within the region, which is essential to strengthening agriculture’s resilience. All countries expressed a significant need to raise their capacity of young researchers in advanced research techniques related to genomics, phenotyping, climate-smart agriculture, precision agriculture, and digital technologies. Delegates also discussed BISA’s role as a research and innovation regional catalyst, innovation hub, and integrated research platform to build resilient agrifood systems and achieve long-term sustainability and resilience for food security in South Asia.

BISA’s farm-ready research, from setting up climate-resilient villages and developing viable alternatives to rice residue burning to facilitating an open exchange of elite germplasm and cutting-edge technologies, reflects not only the vision of CIMMYT but also the philosophy of our mutual inspiration, Borlaug, who believed strongly in sharing knowledge and “taking it to the farmer”.

Cover photo: Delegates from Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India meet to deliberate on the significant issues in South Asia’s agriculture sector. (Photo: BISA)