Africa
CIMMYT’s work in Africa helps farmers access new maize and wheat systems-based technologies, information and markets, raising incomes and enhancing crop resilience to drought and climate change. CIMMYT sets priorities in consultation with ministries of agriculture, seed companies, farming communities and other stakeholders in the maize and wheat value chains. Our activities in Africa are wide ranging and include: breeding maize for drought tolerance and low-fertility soils, and for resistance to insect pests, foliar diseases and parasitic weeds; sustainably intensifying production in maize- and wheat-based systems; and investigating opportunities to reduce micronutrient and protein malnutrition among women and young children.
Training to fill gaps in Ethiopia’s maize seed system
Capacity development
The Nutritious Maize for Ethiopia (NuME) project recently organized a three-day training workshop on quality protein maize (QPM) seed production and quality control, as part of the project’s activities to enhance QPM seed production.
Improved maize to boost yields in nitrogen-starved African soils
Climate adaptation and mitigation
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.
Ethiopia’s seed co-ops benefit entrepreneurs and smallholder farmers
Nutrition, health and food security
Government-subsidized farmer-run cooperatives produce high-yielding, disease-resistant wheat seed, accelerating distribution and helping smallholder farmers grow healthy crops.
Global wheat-rust research aids Ethiopian farmers
Climate adaptation and mitigation
The 2014 World Food Prize laureate, Sanjaya Rajaram’s adaptable, high-yielding wheat varieties are grown on more than 58 million hectares worldwide.
Q+A: Young scientist wins award for “Taking it to the Farmer”
Innovations
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.
Enhancing the nutritional quality of maize
Nutrition, health and food security
Malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency, which can cause blindness and stunting, increased infant and maternal mortality and lower IQs, are at epidemic levels in some parts of Asia.
Scientists ship 2 tons of wheat seed samples around the world
Climate adaptation and mitigation
CIMMYT seed samples — International Wheat Nurseries — are sent to government and university research institutions and national agricultural research systems around the world.
CIMMYT prepares to launch second phase of SIMLESA in Kenya and Tanzania
Innovations
Representatives from the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Queensland Alliance for Agricultural and Food Innovation (QAAFI), the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the national agricultural research systems (NARS) of Kenya and Tanzania, and CIMMYT scientists from Ethiopia, Kenya and Zimbabwe met between 14-17 October in Arusha, Tanzania, to finalize activities to meet the objectives of the second phase of CIMMYT’s Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) project.
Gender matters in farm power
Gender equality, youth and social inclusion
The goals of the Farm Power and Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Intensification (FACASI) project are to address the issues of declining farm power in eastern and southern Africa, and to reduce the labor burden that comes with low farm mechanization, by promoting small-scale mechanization based on two-wheel tractors.
Scale-appropriate mechanization: the intercontinental connection
Capacity development
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
CIMMYT Ethiopia expands its agronomy work in wheat-based systems
Innovations
CIMMYT Ethiopia joined the Ethiopian Highlands project of Africa RISING ‘Africa Research in Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation’ in June.
Celebrate World Food Day with CIMMYT on 16 October
Nutrition, health and food security
Join CIMMYT in celebrating World Food Day on 16 October!
Partnering with seed companies to disseminate fertilizer-friendly maize seed in East Africa
Nutrition, health and food security
NuME organizes financial management workshop for partners
Capacity development
CIMMYT’s Nutritious Maize for Ethiopia (NuME) project recently organized a half-day workshop to refresh the knowledge of financial officers from partner institutions on various accounting and reporting procedures, with specific reference to financial procedures that apply to projects funded by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD).
Addressing challenges in maize breeding to deliver improved seed to African smallholder farmers
Capacity development
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.”
