Year: 2015
Mexico meeting outlines scientific roadmap for increasing wheat yields
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Mexico aims to boost domestic wheat production 9 percent by 2018, said a government official at a conference in Ciudad Obregon in the northern Mexican state of Sonora.
Happy Seeder, happy farmers: tillage in a single pass
Capacity development
Gulshad Nabi (Chand) is a progressive farmer from Chak Dahir, Tehsil Muridke in the Sheikhupura District of Punjab Province, Pakistan. He cultivates wheat and basmati rice, which constitute his family’s only source of livelihood. Heavy tillage and burning of rice residues are the common practices for growing wheat in the region, resulting in the loss of soil nutrients, air pollution and poor food security and livelihoods for farmers like Gulshad.
CIMMYT showcases advances in agricultural technology and development in Pakistan
Capacity development
The Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP), led by CIMMYT and funded by USAID, presented the latest advances in agricultural technology and provided a platform for local industry to explore innovative technologies, products and services at the Pakistan Agriculture Conference and Expo 2015 in Islamabad.
IICA-CIMMYT agreement to strengthen Latin American agriculture
Nutrition, health and food security
The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and CIMMYT laid the groundwork for strengthened, joint research-for-development in Latin America, signing a new Cooperation Framework Agreement at CIMMYT’s offices in El Batán on 17 March.
BISA and CIMMYT-India join in Agricultural Science Fair
Capacity development
The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) organized the Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela (Agriculture Science Fair) during 10-12 March. Initiated in 1972, the Mela is an important annual event for IARI to raise awareness about agricultural technological developments and for receiving feedback from farming communities. The Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) and CIMMYT India mounted an exhibit on their work and staff discussed farming practices and mechanization with several farmers and scientific community members, as well as handing out printed materials to visitors.
Climate-smart agriculture to combat global warming
Capacity development
Agriculture has the potential to be “part of the solution to reduce the impact of climate change,” according to Dr. R.S. Paroda, Chairman of the Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences, who was one of nearly 100 participants at a launching and planning workshop for Flagship Projects on climate-smart agriculture of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS). Held on 24-25 February in New Delhi, the event was jointly organized by CIMMYT and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), with participants from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and other partnering countries.
Center pivot crop irrigation system conserves water
Innovations
The Center Pivot System saves a significant amount of water while allowing the measured distribution of a precise amount to plants.
Conservation agriculture minimizes unfavorable environmental impacts
Innovations
Scientists aim to improve rural incomes and livelihoods through sustainable management of agro-ecosystem productivity and diversity, while minimizing unfavorable environmental impacts.
Farmer interventions in water distribution have profound impact
Innovations
Children from Hidalgo, Mexico, help water run over the furrows of a field where conservation agriculture is practiced.
Water program targeting smallholders sustains food insecure households
Nutrition, health and food security
A CARE International program aims to sustain food security for food insecure households in rural Ethiopia.
Floodwaters put food security at risk by halting crop production
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Water plays a vital role in crop production, but flooding in vulnerable regions also ruins crops and hinders aid agencies’ efforts to reach people affected by crisis.