Complete removal of wheat from the human diet would further cripple global efforts to feed the current global population of 7.2 billion, said Julie Miller Jones, a leading nutritionist.

CIMMYT entered an important new partnership with Pakistan’s National Rural Support Program (NRSP) on 7 November 2014 for wheat varietal evaluation, promotion and deployment, as well as on-farm agronomic interventions and community-based seed production enterprises.

Sub-Saharan African farmers typically apply less than 20 kilograms of fertilizer per hectare of cropland — far less than their peers in any other region of the world. In 2014, partners in the Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS) project developed 41 Africa-adapted maize varieties that respond better to low amounts of nitrogen fertilizer and are up for release in nine African countries through 24 seed companies.

Whether you are a scientist, a researcher or simply interested in learning more about the vital staple crop that provides 20 percent of the world’s calories, the Wheat Atlas can help.

Government-subsidized farmer-run cooperatives produce high-yielding, disease-resistant wheat seed, accelerating distribution and helping smallholder farmers grow healthy crops.

The 2014 World Food Prize laureate, Sanjaya Rajaram’s adaptable, high-yielding wheat varieties are grown on more than 58 million hectares worldwide.

Conservation agriculture is becoming a vital part of the rural landscape throughout Mexico and Latin America, leading to a major World Food Prize Field award for Bram Govaerts.

Sanjaya Rajaram, 2014 World Food Prize laureate, is credited with producing 480 wheat varieties, leading to increased yields and food for more than 1 billion people a year.

CIMMYT seed samples — International Wheat Nurseries — are sent to government and university research institutions and national agricultural research systems around the world.

As the global population grows from a current 7 billion to a projected 9.6 billion by 2050, wheat breeders involved in the battle to ensure food security face many challenges.

China’s domestic agricultural activities are vital to ensuring food security for its 1.4 billion people and – as the world’s largest wheat producer – the country plays a major role in shaping international markets.