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.
Scientists in Afghanistan set new program to raise wheat harvests
Capacity development
Inadequate access to new disease-resistant varieties and short supplies of certified seed are holding up wheat harvesting and contributing to rising food insecurity in Afghanistan.
Radio broadcast highlights maize improvement in Pakistan
Nutrition, health and food security
Public and private sector maize stakeholders came together to discuss CIMMYT’s maize interventions and innovations in Pakistan during a recent radio interview.
Surveillance training to control wheat blast in Bangladesh
Capacity development
40 wheat pathologists, breeders and agronomists gathered to combat wheat blast at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) at Gazipur, Bangladesh.
USAID makes special visit to CIMMYT activities in Bangladesh
Capacity development
USAID’s Deputy Administrator visited Bangladesh to learn how CIMMYT engages with partners to help smallholder farmers uptake sustainable agriculture practices.
CIMMYT scientist cautions against new threats from wheat rust diseases
Innovations
Scientists are concerned over the proliferation of highly virulent fungal wheat diseases, including two new races of yellow rust and a new race of stem rust.
Breaking Ground: Caixia Lan on identifying building blocks for rust resistant wheat
Innovations
Support for research into breeding crops resistant to wheat rust is essential to manage the spread of the deadly disease, caused vast yield losses globally in recent years, says scientist Caixia Lan.
Crop sensors sharpen nitrogen management for wheat in Pakistan
Innovations
Pakistani and CIMMYT scientists are working with wheat farmers to test and promote precision agriculture technology.
Water-saving maize holds potential to boost farmer resilience to climate change in Pakistan
Climate adaptation and mitigation
New varieties of white maize in Pakistan have the potential to both quadruple savings of irrigation water and double crop yields for farmers.
Surface water irrigation has the potential to boost cereal productivity in Bangladesh
Innovations
For the first time, researchers have mapped rivers and freshwater canals in southern Bangladesh using geospatial tools.
Breaking Ground: Jiafa Chen on improving maize and building partnerships
Nutrition, health and food security
Jiafa Chen has helped identify new genetic resources that have been used in breeding new maize varieties that withstand environmental and biological stresses.
Participatory scaling of climate-smart agriculture
Capacity development
A recap of climate smart agriculture in Bihar, India through 2016.
New Publications: Rise of micro-satellites offers cost-effective way to collect data on smallholder farms
Innovations
Micro-satellites are emerging as an effective low-cost option to collecting data like sow date and yields on small farms across the developing world.
Advice for India’s rice-wheat farmers: Put aside the plow and save straw to fight pollution
Innovations
Recent media reports show that the 19 million inhabitants of New Delhi are under siege from a noxious haze.
Agricultural biodiversity key to future crop improvement
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Conserving and using agricultural biodiversity to create better crops can help meet several sustainable development goals and stave off further species extinctions.
Improved genetic analysis offers faster, more precise results to crop breeders
Innovations
Researchers improve global collaboration on harnessing genes in breeding that can help the crop withstand the effects of climate change.