China

The People’s Republic of China and CIMMYT hold a longstanding partnership based on a shared mission to improve the lives of millions of people in China through science drive, evidence-based solutions. Through close cooperation with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), CIMMYT partners with government agencies, universities, and farmers’ organizations to increase the productivity of maize and wheat systems.

CIMMYT enjoys a productive relationship within academia in China. Seven CIMMYT scientists work closely with the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs. Conservation agriculture practices developed by CIMMYT and refined by Chinese scientists reduce tillage and improve water use. Farmer adoption of the innovative raised bed planting system now spans nearly 200,000 hectares in rainfed and irrigated zones of the Yellow River Basin of Gansu and Shandong Provinces.

Our impact

• Over 4 decades, the CIMMYT-China collaboration has resulted in up to 10.7 million additional tons of wheat, worth US $3.4 billion, based on 2011 prices, to China’s national wheat output.
• CIMMYT maize varieties have been planted on more than 1 million hectares across China.
• CIMMYT relies on South-South collaboration between China, India, and Brazil, as well as numerous countries in Africa, to tackle the causes of low farm productivity, such as lack of mechanization, and drudgery in women’s work in eastern and southern Africa.
• The CIMMYT-China partnership has developed 30 training courses to increase technical capacity in agriculture research. More than 1,000 Chinese scientists and graduate students have attended these courses in China.