Asia
As a fast growing region with increasing challenges for smallholder farmers, Asia is a key target region for CIMMYT. CIMMYT’s work stretches from Central Asia to southern China and incorporates system-wide approaches to improve wheat and maize productivity and deliver quality seed to areas with high rates of child malnutrition. Activities involve national and regional local organizations to facilitate greater adoption of new technologies by farmers and benefit from close partnerships with farmer associations and agricultural extension agents.
Genome-wide association study puts tan spot-resistant genes in the spotlight
Innovations
CIMMYT’s collaboration with scientists in Kazakhstan finds a new, promising source of genetic resistance to tan spot, a damaging wheat disease.
Seeding happy, cleaning air: Farmers adopting non-burn tech give hope
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Source: Down To Earth (1 Jul 2021)
The Happy Seeder—a machine that cuts and lifts the paddy straw while simultaneously sowing the wheat crop—is not just the least polluting, but also the most scalable solution that can be adopted by farmers ‘en masse’.
Capturing a clearer picture
Gender equality, youth and social inclusion
Researchers, extension services, partners and policymakers can better support feminization of agriculture processes in the Indo-Gangetic Plains through improved research and recommendations.
Cereal grain harvesting and post-harvest machinery in Nepal
Poverty reduction, livelihoods and jobs
National value chain study presents an overview of the country’s maize, wheat and rice harvesting equipment, from manufacturing and imports to farm-level service provision.
Bangladesh could largely reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture while increasing efficiency in production
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Farmers could save costs and contribute to climate mitigation by adopting easy-to-access farming methods like better nitrogen management, intermittent irrigation, and strip tillage, study shows.
Hybrid seed production and marketing advances
Capacity development
Fostering private sector engagement to develop and scale locally-produced hybrids seeds in Nepal.
Hands-on experience in seed production
Capacity development
Postgraduate students visit a hybrid maize seed company as part of drive to enhance partnerships between Nepal’s agricultural universities and the seed industry.
AAA drought-tolerant maize now available in Myanmar
Climate adaptation and mitigation
The TA5085 variety will benefit farmers producing under rain-fed conditions in drought-prone areas, like Myanmar’s central dry zones.
Report links wheat blast pandemic on three continents
Environmental health and biodiversity
Source: World Grain (19 Mar 2021)
Genetic analyses show that a destructive wheat blast fungus that travelled from South America to South East Asia is now established in Zambia under rain-fed conditions.
A view from above
Innovations
CIMMYT scientists use high-powered drones and space satellite imagery to accelerate crop improvement, fight pests and diseases and help farmers make better crop management decisions.
A challenge solved
Environmental health and biodiversity
Massive study of breeding lines across environments pinpoints genomic regions associated with yield potential and stress-resilience in bread wheat.
CIMMYT Releases 12 New Maize Lines
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Source: Seed World (14 May 2021)
CIMMYT has released a set of 12 new maize lines adapted to the tropical environments targeted by CIMMYT and partner institutions.
CIMMYT releases 12 new maize lines
Innovations
CIMMYT maize lines CML604A to CML615A are adapted to tropical maize production environments.
New zinc-fortified wheat set for global expansion to combat malnutrition
Nutrition, health and food security
Source: Reuters (15 Apr 2021)
Scientists at CIMMYT expect to sharply ramp up new wheat varieties enriched with zinc that can boost the essential mineral for millions of poor people with deficient diets.
Nepal launches digital soil map
Environmental health and biodiversity
Digital platform provides information that will help increase crop productivity and improve soil health.