media mentions

Highlights from around the world

  • Ethiopia

    A study of plant DNA showed that farmers in Ethiopia have widely adopted improved rust-resistant bread wheat varieties since 2014. Ten varieties accounted for over 81% of the wheat area sampled; of these, four were rust-resistant varieties released after 2010, corresponding to an estimated additional 225,500 tons of production in 2016-17, valued at $50 million.

    One of the initiatives contributing to this impact was the Wheat Seed Scaling project. CIMMYT and its partners identified and developed new rust-resistant wheat varieties, championed the speedy multiplication of their seed, and used field demonstrations and strategic marketing to reach thousands of farmers in 54 districts of Ethiopia’s major wheat growing regions.

    The project points up the need to identify new resistance genes, develop wheat varieties with durable, polygenic resistance, promote farmers’ use of a genetically diverse mix of varieties, and link farmers to better and more profitable markets. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded the project, and the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) was a key partner.

    Kenya

    CIMMYT announced the successful development of three CIMMYT-derived fall armyworm-tolerant elite maize hybrids for eastern and southern Africa.

    By leveraging tropical insect-resistant maize germplasm developed in Mexico, coupled with elite stress-resilient maize germplasm developed in sub-Saharan Africa, CIMMYT worked intensively over the past three years to identify and validate sources of native genetic resistance to fall armyworm in Africa.

    Together with national agricultural research system (NARS) partners, CIMMYT will nominate these hybrids for varietal release in target countries in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in eastern and southern Africa. After national performance trials and varietal release and registration, the hybrids will be sublicensed to seed company partners on a non-exclusive, royalty-free basis. This will allow accelerated seed scaling and deployment, for the benefit of farming communities.

    Zimbabwe

    As part of a rural resilience project, CIMMYT published a guide to stress-tolerant crop varieties for smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe.

    The guide is a critical output of a project led by CIMMYT and the international humanitarian response agency GOAL, in collaboration with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the Government of Zimbabwe and other partners.

    Among the project components is the promotion of stress-tolerant seed and climate-smart agriculture practices to rural smallholders.

     

  • Mexico

    CIMMYT released a new category of maize inbred lines called CIMMYT Maize Genetic Resource Lines (CMGRL). They are derived from crosses between elite CIMMYT lines and landrace accessions, populations or synthetics from the CIMMYT Germplasm Bank.

    The inaugural class of CMGRLs includes five subtropical-adapted lines for tolerance to drought during flowering and grain-fill, and four tropical-adapted lines for tar spot complex resistance. CIMMYT will periodically release CMGRLs as superior lines are identified for economically important abiotic and biotic stresses as well as end-use traits.

    The 2020 Innovative Applications in Analytics Award (IAAA) – which emphasizes novelty and creativity
    in analytics applications along with real-world impact – was awarded to CIMMYT, the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) for their Integrated Analytics for Sustainable Agriculture in Latin America project.

    The winning submission recognizes groundbreaking data systems and tools by publicly funded research and field technicians who advise more than 150,000 farmers who participate in MasAgro, CIMMYT’s bilateral collaboration project with Mexico for sustainable maize and wheat production.

     

  • China

    The CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (WHEAT) and the International Center for Agriculture in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) announced a partnership with the Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences (JAAS) in China to open a new screening facility for the deadly and fast-spreading fungal wheat disease Fusarium head blight, or FHB.

    The new facility, based near the JAAS headquarters in Nanjing, aims to identify and characterize genetic sources of resistance to FHB and, ultimately, develop new FHB-resistant wheat varieties that can be sown in vulnerable areas around the world. It will capitalize on CIMMYT’s world-class collection of disease-resistant wheat materials and the diversity of the more than 150,000 seed samples in its Wheat Germplasm Bank.

    India

    Research by an international team of scientists, including CIMMYT agricultural systems and climate change scientist Tek Sapkota, identified the optimum rates of nitrogen fertilizer application for rice and wheat crops in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of India.

    By measuring crop yield and nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes over two years, Sapkota and his colleagues reported that the optimum rate of N fertilizer for rice is between 120 and 200 kilograms per hectare, and between 50 and 185 kilograms per hectare for wheat. The results of the study have the potential to save farmer’s money and minimize dangerous greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining crop productivity.

    Nepal

    The Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) announced the release of six new wheat varieties for multiplication and distribution. They will offer increased production for Nepal’s nearly one million wheat farmers and boosted nutrition for its 28 million wheat consumers.

    The varieties are tailored to the conditions in a range of wheat-growing regions in the country and to stresses including wheat rust diseases and wheat blast.

    The five high-zinc, biofortified varieties were developed through conventional crop breeding, by crossing modern high-yielding wheat with high-zinc progenitors such as landraces, spelt wheat and emmer wheat.

     

  • Genomic atlas for wheat improvement

    In a landmark discovery for global wheat production, an international team led by the University of Saskatchewan and scientists from CIMMYT sequenced the genomes for 15 wheat varieties representing breeding programs around the world, enabling scientists and breeders to identify influential genes much more quickly for improved yield, pest resistance and other important crop traits.

    The research results, published in Nature, provide the most comprehensive atlas of wheat genome sequences ever reported. The 10+ Genome Project collaboration involved more than 95 scientists from universities and institutes in Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

    Massive-scale genomic study

    Researchers working on the Seeds of Discovery (SeeD) initiative have genetically characterized 79,191 samples of wheat from the germplasm banks of CIMMYT and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).

    The findings of the study, published in Nature Communications, are described as “a massive-scale genotyping and diversity analysis” of the two types of wheat grown globally – bread and pasta wheat – and of 27 known wild species.

    The results show distinct biological groupings within bread wheats and suggest that a large proportion of the genetic diversity present in landraces has not been used to develop new high-yielding, resilient and nutritious varieties.

     

Nutrition, Health and Food Security

Nutrition, Health and Food Security

Poverty reduction, livelihoods and jobs

Poverty reduction, livelihoods and jobs

Gender equality, youth and social inclusion

Gender equality, youth and social inclusion

Climate adaptation and mitigation

Climate adaptation and mitigation

Environmental health and biodiversity

Environmental health and biodiversity

CGIAR Research Programs and Platforms

© 2021 International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
We would like to thank all funders who supported this research through their contributions to the CGIAR Trust Fund.

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CREDITS

Editors-in-chief
Marcia MacNeil, Rodrigo Ordóñez
Project coordination
Leslie Domínguez, Emma Orchardson
Art directors
Alfonso Cortés, Nancy Valtierra
Layout and design
Nancy Valtierra
Web design
Ricardo López
Graphics and illustrations
Marcelo Ortiz, Eliot Sánchez, Nancy Valtierra
Writers and editors
Nima Chodon, Madeline Dahm, Leslie Domínguez, Alison Doody, Wasim Iftikar, G. Michael Listman, Marcia MacNeil, Steven McCutcheon, Marta Millere, Emma Orchardson
Contributors
T.S. Amjath Babu, Frederic Baudron, Hans Braun, Shiela Chikulo, Olaf Erenstein, Velu Govindan, M.L. Jat, Timothy Krupnik, Sylvanus Odjo, B.M. Prasanna, Harminder S. Sidhu, Jelle Van Loon
Photography
Francisco Alarcón, Alfonso Cortés, Wasim Iftikar, Peter Lowe, Ranak Martin, S. Mojumder/Drik, Matthew O'Leary, Love Kumar Singh/BISA, F. Sipalla, Dhruba Thapa/NARC, Szefei Wong/Dreamstime, CIMMYT Archives
Video
Silvia Rico
ISSN
0188-9214
Correct citation
CIMMYT. 2021. Resilience. Renewal. Transition. CIMMYT Annual Report 2020. CDMX, Mexico: CIMMYT.
AGROVOC descriptors:
Maize; Wheat; Plant breeding; Genetic resources; Innovation adoption; Plant biotechnology; Seed production; Food security; Sustainability; Research policies; Economic analysis; Cropping systems; Agricultural research; Organization of research; Developing countries. Additional Keywords: CIMMYT. AGRIS category codes: A50 Agricultural Research; A01 Agriculture– General Aspects. Dewey decimal classification: 630

© International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), 2021. All rights reserved. The designations employed in the presentation of materials in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of CIMMYT or its contributory organizations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. CIMMYT encourages fair use of this material. Proper citation is requested.

ACRONYMS

ADB
Asian Development Bank
AGG
Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize and Wheat
ACIAR
Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
BBS
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics
BIOFOCS
Bioactive food components
BISA
Borlaug Institute in South Asia
CCAFS
CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security
CIAT
International Center for Tropical Agriculture
CIMMYT
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
CMGRL
CIMMYT Maize Genetic Resource Lines
C02e
Carbon dioxide equivalent
CSISA
Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia
CtEH
Crops to End Hunger
EIAR
Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research
EiB
CGIAR Excellence in Breeding Platform
EMT
Executive Management Team
EU
European Union
FAO
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
FACASI
Farm Power and Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Intensification
FCDO
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office of the United Kingdom
FHB
Fusarium head blight
IAAA
Innovative Applications in Analytics Award
ICAR
Indian Council of Agricultural Research
ICARDA
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas
IFPRI
International Food Policy Research Institute
IIASA
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
IITA
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
IRD
Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
IRRI
International Rice Research Institute
ITDA
Integrated Tribal Development Agency
JAAS
Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences
KALRO
Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research Organization
KPI
Key performance indicators
MAIZE
CGIAR Research Program on Maize
N20
Nitrous oxide
NARC
Nepal Agricultural Research Council
NARS
National Agricultural Research Systems
ORMAS
Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society
PAU
Punjab Agricultural University
PROGRESS
Program for Growth and Resilience
SADER
Mexico's Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development (Secretaría de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural)
SDGs
Sustainable Development Goals
SeeD
Seeds of Discovery
STMA
Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa
ZBRF
Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund
UN
United Nations
UNDP
United Nations Development Programme
USAID
United States Agency for International Development
WFP
United Nations World Food Programme
WHEAT 
CGIAR Research Program on Wheat
$
Unless otherwise indicated, all amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars

Sustainable Development Goals

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations (UN) Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity, for people and the planet. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.

The SDGs set the pathway for agricultural, social, and economic development. They address the global challenges we face, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice.

CGIAR transformed its approach to ensure that its work is aligned with the ambitious goals. CIMMYT, through its research-for-development activities, contributes to empower women, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve the health and nutrition of the world's poorest people.

CIMMYT’s work contributes to the following SDGs:

About CIMMYT

CIMMYT – the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center – 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 www.cimmyt.org.