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.
On September 23, 2021, the United Nations is convening a Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) as part of the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The Summit will launch bold new actions to deliver progress on all 17 SDGs, each of which relies in part on healthier, more sustainable and equitable food systems.
According to the UN, the term “food system” encompasses every person and every process involved in growing, raising or making food, and getting it into your stomach. The health of our food systems profoundly affects the health of our bodies, as well as the health of our environment, our economies and our cultures. When they function well, food systems have the power to bring us together as families, communities and nations.
As the world’s largest public agricultural research network, CGIAR has made invaluable contributions to global efforts to reach these 17 goals. CIMMYT plays an important role in these efforts.
Throughout September, in recognition of the historic UN Summit, we are highlighting the impact of CIMMYT research to attain the SDGs, in collaboration with the broader CGIAR and development community.
Cover photo: Across the globe, maize and wheat make up a large part of human diets and are an integral element of a healthy and sustainable food system. (Photo: A. Cortés/CIMMYT)
Together with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Feed the Future, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the CGIAR Research Program on Maize (MAIZE) are pleased to announce the release of “Fall Armyworm in Asia: A Guide for Integrated Pest Management.”
The publication builds on intensive, science-based responses to fall armyworm in Africa and Asia.
“I have encountered few pests as alarming as the fall armyworm,” wrote USAID Chief Scientist Rob Bertram in the guide’s Foreword. “This publication … offers to a broad range of public and private stakeholders — including national plant protection, research and extension professionals — evidence-based approaches to sustainably manage fall armyworm,” Bertram adds.
“Partners from a wide array of national and international institutions have contributed to the mammoth task of formulating various chapters in the guide,” said B.M. Prasanna, director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program and of MAIZE. “While the publication is focused on Asia, it provides an updated understanding of various components of fall armyworm integrated pest management that could also benefit stakeholders in Africa.”
In January 2018, CIMMYT and USAID published a similar guide on integrated pest management of fall armyworm in Africa, which reached a large number of stakeholders globally and is widely cited. Prasanna spearheaded the development and publication of both guides.
Planning meeting and field day with farmers who want to participate in the Agriba Sustentable project, in El Greco, Pénjamo, in Mexico’s Guanajuato state. (Photo: CIMMYT)
A new partnership announced today between the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), PepsiCo and Grupo Trimex will greatly contribute to scale out sustainable farming practices in the central Mexican states of Guanajuato and Michoacán, which together form the country’s second wheat producing region.
The project Agriba Sustentable — a shortened reference for Bajío Sustainable Agriculture — will promote the adoption of conservation agriculture-based sustainable intensification practices among local farmers who will have access to PepsiCo’s wheat grain supply chain via Grupo Trimex.
“A part of the wheat that we use in Mexico for our products comes from the Bajío region,” said Luis Treviño, Director of Sustainability at PepsiCo Latin America. “However, agricultural production in the region has needs and areas of opportunity that we were able to identify thanks to the experience and deep knowledge that CIMMYT has developed over the years.”
Agriba Sustentable is the latest example of the new business models that CIMMYT is exploring as part of its integrated development approach to agri-food systems transformation, which seeks to engage multiple public, private and civil sector collaborators in cereals value chain development and enhancement efforts.
CIMMYT agronomist Erick Ortiz (center) meets with farmers from Colorado de Herrera, Pénjamo, in Mexico’s Guanajuato state, who want to participate in the Agriba Sustentable project. (Photo: CIMMYT)
“The project’s specific goal is to improve the sustainability of the wheat production system in the Bajío region by enabling the adoption of technological innovations and sustainable production practices among at least 200 farmers in the Grupo Trimex supply chain during the first year of implementation, and to gradually scale out to reach many more farmers,” said Bram Govaerts, Director General of CIMMYT.
CIMMYT’s long-term field trials in Mexico have shown that conservation agriculture-based sustainable intensification practices raise wheat yields by up to 15% and cut greenhouse gas emissions by up to 40%.
“The farming practices that CIMMYT promotes reduce environmental impact,” said Mario Ruiz, Sourcing Manager of Grupo Trimex. “Conservation agriculture can cut CO2 emissions by up to 60% from reduced diesel consumption, lower fuel use by up to 70% and water consumption by 30%.”
According to PepsiCo Mexico, Agriba Sustentable is an important step for its global vision PepsiCo Positive (pep+), which seeks to offset its agricultural footprint by promoting sustainable farming on 2.8 million hectares globally. The plan also aims to improve the livelihoods of 250,000 people who are part of their global agricultural supply chain and to source sustainably 100% of the company’s key ingredients by 2030.
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The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is the global leader in publicly-funded maize and wheat research and related farming systems. Headquartered near Mexico City, CIMMYT works with hundreds of partners throughout the developing world to sustainably increase the productivity of maize and wheat cropping systems, thus improving global food security and reducing poverty. CIMMYT is a member of the CGIAR System and leads the CGIAR Research Programs on Maize and Wheat and the Excellence in Breeding Platform. The Center receives support from national governments, foundations, development banks and other public and private agencies. For more information, visit staging.cimmyt.org.
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), together with CIMMYT and partners, organized a State Level Maize Day in the state of Haryana to discuss sustainable maize production systems for future generations.
A CIMMYT researcher and a field worker lay out wheat seed for planting at the center’s headquarters in Texcoco, Mexico. In experimental trials, hundreds or thousands of wheat lines are planted for evaluation, each in small quantities, and so they are carefully laid out and sown by hand. (Photo: CIMMYT)
To help feed a growing world population, wheat scientists have turned to innovative technologies like genomic selection to hasten selection for positive traits — such as high grain yield performance and good grain quality — in varieties that are still undergoing testing. Instead of being shackled by the long duration of traditional breeding cycles, genomic selection allows scientists to make predictions regarding which traits will present when crossing two varieties; allowing breeders greater guidance and lessening potential time lost when crossing varieties that do not display potential for genetic gain. To reap the benefits of genomic selection, it is vital that the predictive models employed are as accurate as possible.
Currently, wheat breeders select characteristics like grain yield performance early in the breeding process, while selecting traits like good grain quality at a later stage in the breeding process.
In an article in the journal G3 Genes, researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), and partners, led by CIMMYT scientist José Crossa along with Leonardo A. Crespo, Maria Itria Ibba and Alison R. Bentley, endeavored to determine if genomic prediction models could select for both characteristics simultaneously in the breeding process. This would improve selection accuracy in both early and later breeding stages, resulting a reduction in time and expense in delivering improved wheat varieties. They also tested the accuracy of a set of specific mathematical corrections applied to genomic predictions. These correction models identify correlations between genomic predictions and observed breeding values, such as increased yield or grain quality.
Considering two or more traits, like grain yield and good grain quality, is an example of a multi-trait model. The team examined this multi-trait model against a single trait model that improves one specific trait. Overall, the researchers found that prediction performance was highest using the multi-trait model.
However, the team also demonstrated that when breeding programs arrive at their genetic predictions, applying a specific correction method will account for differences between the predicted breeding value and the actual observed breeding value. Current correction models tend to underestimate that difference, which results in breeding programs not running as efficiently as possible.
By partnering selections from different stages in the breeding process and examining the resulting genetic predictions through a more appropriate correction model, the team has shown that breeding programs can use this to their benefit in developing and ultimately releasing improved wheat varieties that meet growing yield needs worldwide and respond to abiotic and biotic stressors.
Gyanendra Pratap Singh (center), Director of ICAR-IIWBR, presents at the 60th All India Wheat and Barley Research Workers’ Meet. (Photo: Courtesy of ICAR-IIWBR)
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center’s (CIMMYT) legacy of work with the Indian Centre for Agricultural Research (ICAR) has once again produced more successful collaborations this year. This solid partnership resulted in the release of new varieties poised to bring new, superior yielding, disease-resistant, high-quality wheat varieties suitable for different production environments to Indian farms.
The National Variety Release Committee announced the release of nine new varieties at the 60th All India Wheat and Barley Research Workers’ Virtual Meet on August 23–24, 2021, hosted by the Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research (IIWBR) of ICAR. Of the nine new varieties identified, five were selected by national partners from CIMMYT international trials and nurseries.
At the event, ICAR-IIWBR director Gyanendra Pratap (GP) Singh highlighted the impressive growth trajectory of India’s wheat production, estimated at 109.52 million tons of wheat harvested in 2021, a figure which was 86.53 million tons in 2015 and less than 60 million tons in 1991. Singh highlighted that this success is dependent upon the deployment of superior wheat varieties, bridging yield and information gaps, strengthened seed value chain, supportive government policies and, of course, farmer support to adopt new varieties and technologies.
The CIMMYT-derived varieties announced at the meeting include DBW296, DBW327, DBW332, HUW296 and JKW261. A few days earlier, variety PBW869 was released by the Punjab Agricultural University for growing in Punjab State under conservation agriculture practices.
“An innovative and powerful feature of ICAR-CIMMYT collaboration has been the introduction of long-term (10-month) rotational involvement of Indian young scientists in CIMMYTs breeding program at Mexico as well as in wheat blast screening in Bolivia,” said Arun Joshi, CIMMYT Regional Representative for Asia and Managing Director, Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA). “In this way, the breeding program of CIMMYT is an excellent example of joint breeding program with national institutions.”
At the 60th All India Wheat and Barley Research Workers’ Meet, participants highlighted new varieties, production growth and strengthened collaboration. (Photo: CIMMYT)
Beyond expectations
In addition to these important new wheat varieties, some CIMMYT-derived wheat varieties that were released in recent years have now been deemed suitable for regions beyond their initial region of cultivation, showing wide adaptation and yield stability.
Wheat variety DBW222, released in 2020 for the northwestern plain zone, has now been deemed suitable for cultivation in the northeastern plain zone. Similarly, DBW187, which was initially released for the northeastern plain zone, and then for northwestern plain zone as well for early sowing, is now also extended for sowing in the central zone, together representing 25 million hectares of the 31 million hectares of wheat grown in India.
“Farmers prefer these types of varieties that give them flexibility during sowing time, and have high, stable yields, and disease resistance,” GP Singh said at the meeting.
A major achievement discussed at this year’s event was that three of the new varieties — DBW187, DBW303 and DBW222 — achieved record-high demand in Breeders Seed Indent, with first, second and seventh ranks, respectively. This is a reflection and indirect measure of popularity and demand for a variety. IIWBR’s innovative strategy to implement pre-release seed multiplication and create demand for seeds from new varieties has led to a faster turnover of improved varieties.
According to Ravi Singh, Distinguished Scientist and Head of Global Wheat Improvement at CIMMYT, the collaborators are “further expanding our partnership through the support from the Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat (AGG) and zinc-mainstreaming projects, to expand testing of larger sets of elite lines in targeted populations of environments of the four South Asian countries where various IIBWR-affiliated institutions shall expand testing in the 2021–22 crop season.” CIMMYT looks forward to continuing ongoing and new collaborations with the ICAR-IIWBR programs to deliver even faster genetic gain for yield and grain zinc levels in new varieties, he explained.
Speaking during the meeting Alison Bentley, Director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program, highlighted the collaborative efforts underway as part of the AGG project to accelerate breeding progress. “Innovations and discoveries in breeding approaches are being rapidly made — with further investment needed — to quickly and equitably accumulate and deploy them to farmers,” she said.
Have you ever considered that bread and pasta are made from different types of wheat? How about the fact that there are thousands of different wheat products consumed around the world, and each one has unique characteristics and processing requirements?
Scientists at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) understand that the quality of the final product, be it spaghetti, a loaf of sourdough bread or a tandoori naan, is highly dependent on the quality of the grain and the flour it becomes. Every year, CIMMYT analyzes thousands of wheat lines in detail at its Wheat Quality laboratory to determine the nutritional, processing and end-use quality of the grain. In this short video, CIMMYT’s Wheat Quality lab head Maria Itria Ibba explains exactly what they are looking for and how they find it.
First, CIMMYT scientists test the overall grain quality by analyzing grain weight, density, protein content, moisture content and hardness.
The grains are then milled into flour, which is again analyzed for moisture content, protein content, color and protein quality. Protein quality is especially important to determine the end-use for the type of flour, and CIMMYT conducts several tests to determine this characteristic. Bread and durum wheat flours specifically are analyzed for overall protein quality by checking SDS-sedimentation volume. Mixographs are used to assess the flour’s mixing and absorption characteristics, and alveographs are used to measure dough deformation properties.
At the end of the tests, bread wheat flours are transformed into leavened breads and scored based on the loaf’s volume and crumb quality. Durum wheat flour, used to make Italian-style pasta, is scored based on grain quality, flour yellowness, high protein content and protein quality.
CIMMYT’s work ensures that wheat-derived foods produced in developing countries are nutritious, affordable, and maximize profits for each actor in the value chain.
Cover photo: At CIMMYT’s Wheat Quality lab, researchers evaluate how different bread wheat varieties behave at the time of baking. (Photo: CIMMYT)
Uganda is one of the fastest economically growing nations in sub-Saharan Africa and is in the midst of socio-economic transition. Over the past two decades the country’s GDP has expanded, on average, by more than 6% each year, with per capita GDP reaching $710 in 2019. Researchers project that this will continue to rise at a rate of 5.6% each year for the next decade, reaching approximately $984 by the year 2031.
This growth is mirrored by a rising population and rapid urbanization within the country. In 2019, 24.4% of the Uganda’s 44.3 million citizens were living in urban areas. By 2030, population is projected to rise to 58-61 million, 31% of whom are expected to live in towns and cities.
“Changes in population, urbanization and GDP growth rate all affect the dietary intake pattern of a country,” says Khondoker Mottaleb, an economist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). “Economic and demographic changes will have significant impacts on the agricultural sector, which will be challenged to produce and supply more and better food at affordable prices.”
This could leave Uganda in a precarious position.
In a new study, Mottaleb and a team of collaborators project Uganda’s future food demand, and the potential implications for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of zero hunger by 2030.
The authors assess the future demand for major food items, using information from 8,424 households collected through three rounds of Uganda’s Living Standards Measurement Study — Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA). They focus on nationwide demand for traditional foods like matooke (cooking banana), cassava and sweet potato, as well as cereals like maize, wheat and rice — consumption of which has been rising alongside incomes and urbanization.
A conceptual framework of changing food demand in the Global South. (Graphic: CIMMYT)
The study findings confirm that with increases in income and demographic changes, the demand for these food items will increase drastically. In 2018, aggregate consumption was 3.3 million metric tons (MMT) of matooke, 4.7 MMT of cassava and sweet potato, 1.97 MMT of maize and coarse grains, and 0.94 MMT of wheat and rice. Using the Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System (QUAIDS) estimation approach, the authors show that in 2030 demand could be as high as 8.1 MMT for matooke, 10.5 MMT for cassava and sweet potato, 9.5 MT for maize and coarse grains, and 4 MMT for wheat and rice.
Worryingly, Mottaleb and his team explain that while demand for all the items examined in the study increases, the overall yield growth rate for major crops is stagnating as a result of land degradation, climate extremes and rural out-migration. For example, the yield growth rate for matooke has reduced from +0.21% per year from 1962-1989 to -0.90% from 1990-2019.
As such, the authors call for increased investment in Uganda’s agricultural sector to enhance domestic production capacity, meet the growing demand for food outlined in the study, improve the livelihoods of resource-poor farmers, and eliminate hunger.
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is offering a new set of elite, improved maize hybrids to partners for commercialization in the tropical lowlands of Latin America and similar agro-ecological zones. National agricultural research systems (NARS) and seed companies are invited to apply for licenses to commercialize these new hybrids, in order to bring the benefits of the improved seed to farming communities. In some countries, depending on the applicable regulatory framework for commercial maize seed, successful applicants may first need to sponsor the products through the national registration / release process prior to commercialization.
The deadline to submit applications to be considered during the first round of allocations is September17, 2021. Applications received after that deadline will be considered during the following round of product allocations.
Information about the newly available CIMMYT maize hybrids from the Latin America breeding program, application instructions and other relevant material is available in the CIMMYT Maize Product Catalog and in the links provided below.
Applications must be accompanied by a proposed commercialization plan for each product being requested. Applications may be submitted online via the CIMMYT Maize Licensing Portal in English or Spanish.
Alternatively, applications may be submitted via email to GMP-CIMMYT@cgiar.org using the PDF forms available for download at the links below. Each applicant will need to complete one copy of Form A for their organization, then for each hybrid being requested a separate copy of Form B. (Please be sure to use these current versions of the application forms.)
A list of women leaders in STEM features Evangelina Villegas—a plant chemist at CIMMYT during its early days whose ground-breaking work on quality protein maize (QPM) helped combat malnutrition among developing communities worldwide.
As the world turns its attention to the policy-shaping discussions during this week’s Pre-Summit of the UN Food System Summit, the need for science and innovation to advance the transformation of food, land and water systems is clear.
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), with its 50-year track record of impact, success and high return on investment, is essential to these efforts.
Our new institutional brochure, Maize and wheat science to sustainably feed the world, links CIMMYT’s mission, vision and excellence in science to the urgent needs of a world where an estimated tenth of the global population — up to 811 million people — are undernourished.
CIMMYT is also a crucial wellspring of response capacity to CGIAR — the largest global, publicly funded research organization scaling solutions for food, land and water system challenges.
Maize and wheat science to sustainably feed the world explains why we do what we do in light of these challenges.
CIMMYT leads maize and wheat research for food systems that deliver affordable, sufficient, and healthy diets produced within planetary boundaries.
Our research is focused on smallholder farmers in low- and middle-income countries and on improving the livelihoods of people who live on less than $2 a day.
CIMMYT science reaches them through innovation hubs, appropriate technologies, sustainable sourcing, and helps to address their needs and challenges through public policy guidance.
Applying high-quality science and strong partnerships, CIMMYT works for a world with healthier and more prosperous people, free from global food crises and with more resilient agri-food systems.
In 2020, faced with the extraordinary challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, MAIZE continued its mission to strengthen maize-based agri-food systems while improving the food security and livelihoods of the most vulnerable, especially resource-constrained smallholder farmers and their families.
MAIZE and its partners made great advances in the development of improved stress-tolerant maize varieties, the battle against fall armyworm (including the announcement of three first-generation fall armyworm-tolerant maize hybrids), testing and promoting of conservation agriculture and sustainable intensification, and in deepening our grasp of how to best empower women in the quest for gender equality and social inclusion in maize-based agri-food systems.
Led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) as its main CGIAR Consortium partner, MAIZE focuses on increasing maize production for the 900 million poor consumers for whom maize is a staple food in Africa, South Asia and Latin America.
We are proud to present highlighted impacts from WHEAT’s research in our 2020 Annual Report, showcasing the shared accomplishments through global partnerships for the eighth year of the program.
In 2020, the COVID-19 crisis devastated communities, economies, and livelihoods, especially of the world’s most vulnerable populations. At the same time, climate change continued to threaten wheat systems around the world. Under unprecedented challenges, WHEAT scientists and partners responded swiftly, generating new research evidence, forming new partnerships, and improving access to conservation agriculture and farm mechanization technologies.
This web-based report focuses on some of the major impacts the program has had on sustainable intensification, gender and social inclusion, and technological innovations for more productive wheat-based farming. Although they are reported for 2020, these impacts reflect years of dedicated science and strong collaborative relationships with partners.
We are deeply grateful for our partners in the science, research, policymaking, and funding communities who have allowed us to continue our work in the face of urgent and powerful challenges. We hope you enjoy this year’s Annual Report as we look back upon our outcomes and achievements in 2020 and set our targets for the future.
The fall armyworm is an invasive pest that eats more than 80 different crops, but has a particular preference for maize.
It is native to the Americas. It was first reported in Africa in 2016, and quickly spread throughout the continent. It reached India in 2018. It has since been reported in many other countries across Asia and the Pacific, and it reached Australia in 2020.
Millions of families in these regions are highly dependent on maize for their income and their livelihoods. If the fall armyworm keeps spreading, it will have disastrous consequences for them.
Scientists at CIMMYT have been working hard to find solutions to help farmers fight fall armyworm. Researchers have developed manuals for farmers, with guidelines on how to manage this pest. They have also formed an international research consortium, where experts from diverse institutions are sharing knowledge and best practices. Consortium members share updates on progress in finding new ways to tackle this global challenge. Scientists are now working on developing new maize varieties that are resistant to fall armyworm.
The fall armyworm can’t be eradicated — it is here to stay. CIMMYT and its partners worldwide will continue to work on this complex challenge, so millions of smallholder farmers can protect their crops and feed their families.
We began 2020 with grim news of the COVID-19 pandemic spreading from country to country, wreaking havoc on national economies, causing countless personal tragedies, and putting additional pressure on the livelihoods of the poor and hungry.
The global crisis exposed the enormous vulnerability of our food system.
If we have learned anything from the past year, it is that we need to urgently invest in science for renewed food systems that deliver affordable, sufficient, and healthy diets produced within planetary boundaries.
During this time, the dedication and resilience of the CIMMYT community allowed us to continue making important advances toward that vision.
We hope you enjoy reading our stories and will join us in actively working towards resilience, renewal and transition in our agri-food systems, to ensure that they are strong in the face of current and future crises.
Register for the Food Systems Summit and join the conversation online using #FoodSystems4SDGs.
