CIMMYT
USAID launches partnership to combat crop-threatening fall armyworm in South Sudan
Nutrition, health and food security
Source: Africa News (13 Mar 2019)
CIMMYT, USAID, FAO, CABI and AgBiTech formed a partnership in South Sudan to combat fall armyworm.
The Molecular Maize Atlas encourages genetic diversity
Environmental health and biodiversity
With so much germplasm to categorize, what’s the best way to label them? Seeds of Discovery is working on the answer.
Preparing for invasive pests before they arrive
Nutrition, health and food security
Source: Undark Magazine (11 Mar 2019)
CIMMYT, USAID-funded Feed the Future and Plant Protection Society Nepal held a preventative workshop in Nepal on fall armyworm.
Women empowerment vital to achieve food security: Australian envoy
Gender equality, youth and social inclusion
Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (9 Mar 2019)
Australian High Commissioner to Bangladesh visited female farmers adopting conservation agriculture for sustainable intensification technologies through CIMMYT project funded by ACIAR.
Workshops, seminars mark Women’s Day in city
Gender equality, youth and social inclusion
Source: Times of India (9 Mar 2019)
CIMMYT and Icar-Atari Ludhiana organized a workshop on the eve of International Women’s Day titled ‘Empowering rural women for addressing agricultural air pollution’.
Scientists say lethal maize disease contained in eastern Africa
Nutrition, health and food security
Source: Xinhua (7 Mar 2019)
Boddupalli Prasanna, director of global maize program at CIMMYT, said the maize lethal necrosis disease is under control in the region but not eradicated.
Machine learning for smarter seed selection to reduce risks for Mexican maize farmers
Innovations
Source: AgroNews (4 Mar 2019)
CIMMYT and BioSense Institute jointly won the CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture Inspire Challenge in 2018 for machine learning for smarter seed selection.
New publication: Gender and agricultural innovation in Oromia Region, Ethiopia
Gender equality, youth and social inclusion
Source: Addis Standard (1 Mar 2019)
Drawing on GENNOVATE case studies from two wheat-growing communities, the authors examine how women and men smallholders innovate with improved wheat seed, row planting and the broad bed maker.
Fighting the fungi that destroy wheat
Innovations
Source: Dhaka Tribune (2 Mar 2019)
CIMMYT researchers propose long-term solutions to fighting wheat blast, including a diagnostic tool for wheat blast surveillance and a platform for open data and science to combat the fungus.
New CIMMYT pre-commercial maize hybrids available from eastern and southern Africa breeding programs
Nutrition, health and food security
CIMMYT is offering a new set of improved maize hybrids to partners, to scale up production for farmers in these areas.
Women’s equality crucial for Ethiopia’s agricultural productivity
Capacity development
Source: The Reporter (16 Feb 2019)
A new report shows that gender inequality in Ethiopia is hampering efforts to reach the government’s goal of wheat self-sufficiency by 2022.
New partnership announced for sustainable maize production in Colombia
Nutrition, health and food security
The project will develop maize varieties adapted to the country’s farming conditions and will promote sustainable intensification practices among farmers.
Call for interest: Development trait prioritization as part of a sub-Saharan African crop variety replacement strategy
Innovations
The CGIAR Excellence in Breeding Platform (EiB) is looking to provide matching funding for two projects.
