CIMMYT aims to improve the livelihoods of poor farmers in the developing world by providing practical solutions for more efficient and sustainable farming. Among the options to improve efficiency, scale-appropriate and precise planting machinery is a crucial yet rarely satisfied need

According to the Millennium Development Goals Report of 2013, the proportion of people living in extreme poverty (less than US $1.25 a day) has been halved at the global level, yet 1.2 billion people still live in extreme poverty.

15 October 2014 will mark the sixth celebration of the International Day of Rural Women, a United Nations (UN) day dedicated to recognizing “the critical role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women, in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.”

Preliminary results from a CIMMYT-led pilot study in 10 seed markets across eastern Kenya show that there is a significant difference in the way that men and women engage with improved maize seed markets.

The CCAFS Climate Smart Village (CSV) program recently earned significant media attention for its successes in the Indian states of Bihar, Haryana and Punjab where the program is being implemented. The CSVs were featured in BBC News as well as several newspapers in the region.

In Swaziland, maize is a staple crop and a source of income for many of the nation’s farmers. “The work on our staple crop cannot be overstated,” said Dr. Vusumuzi Mkhonta, acting director, Department of Agriculture, Research and Specialist Services in Swaziland. “If anything were to happen to maize, the entire population might perish.”

In communion with family members, Mexican and global partners and past colleagues, CIMMYT mourns the passing and celebrates the extraordinary life of Alejandro Ortega y Corona, former CIMMYT maize scientist who died in his native Mexico on 9 September at the age of 83.