Blogs
What can be done to prevent the outbreak of coronavirus from affecting agriculture?
Nutrition, health and food security
Source: Fana Television (3 Jun 2020)
CIMMYT joins EIAR and Ministry of Agriculture on panel discussing strategy to prevent food insecurity in Ethiopia during COVID-19 pandemic.
Farm mechanization under COVID-19
Innovations
As the current pandemic and restrictions create labor constraints, CIMMYT experts discuss the role scale-appropriate farm machinery can play in addressing them.
Fight against viruses, also in defense of maize and our food
Environmental health and biodiversity
Source: Donne del Food (31 May 2020)
B.M. Prasanna, director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program and the CGIAR Research Program on Maize, discusses the viral disease maize lethal necrosis.
Breaking Ground: Yoseph Beyene breeds desirable maize varieties for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa
Innovations
CIMMYT breeder applies new tools and technologies to accelerate genetic gains, make breeding more efficient, and keep up with the changing dynamics of biotic and abiotic stresses.
Battling devastating viral diseases, also in plants
Nutrition, health and food security
Maize lethal necrosis has taught us that intensive efforts to keep human and plant diseases at bay need to continue beyond the COVID-19 crisis.
Stripe rust hits wheat crop in Nepal
Environmental health and biodiversity
Source: Seed Quest (27 May 2020)
Nepal Agricultural Research Council and CIMMYT scientists suspect new races of stripe and leaf rust in the Nepal hills and terai in the recent 2020 wheat season.
CIMMYT for Mexico in times of a global pandemic
Nutrition, health and food security
CIMMYT representatives discuss the impact of the pandemic on Mexico and why CIMMYT works towards more resilient agri-food systems with healthier and more prosperous people.
Plant-based materials catch on with home-goods designers
Capacity development
Source: The Manila Times (26 May 2020)
Mexican designer Fernando Laposse partnered with CIMMYT and works with a village of Mixtec farmers to transform unused maize husks into furniture.
Africa’s smallholders to bear the brunt of COVID-19
Nutrition, health and food security
Source: SciDev.net (25 May 2020)
As COVID-19 pandemic threatens smallholder farmers, it could be an opportunity to shift priorities and increase support to agriculture.
Preserving the legacy of biodiversity
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Maize and wheat seeds from all over the world are preserved at the CIMMYT genebank, used to bring new varieties to farmers, and backed up at the Global Seed Vault.
Scaling up research for development in CGIAR
Capacity development
ILRI incorporates CIMMYT tool into their scaling framework and recommends other CGIAR centers to do the same.
New Publications: Cropping pattern zonation of Pakistan
Innovations
Zoning study shows the reach of 25 crops in Pakistan.
This little seed went to market
Capacity development
Seed companies in Malawi share how they chose their flagship varieties and got them onto the commercial market.
Fawligen registered in Bangladesh
Environmental health and biodiversity
Source: PR Newswire (18 May 2020)
CIMMYT contributed to rapid assessment and registration of biological control for fall armyworm.
International analytics award goes to CGIAR centers for sustainable agriculture tools
Innovations
The 2020 IAAA award recognizes groundbreaking data systems and tools helping more than 150,000 farmers in Mexico.
