Nele Verhulst, Strategic Research Coordinator of the Global Conservation Agriculture Program (GCAP), led CIMMYT’s 21st International Training Course on Conservation Agriculture from 25 May-26 June. A total of 132 people have taken the course since its inception. This year, participating researchers from Guatemala, Peru, Ecuador and Mexico were trained in sustainable technologies and conservation agriculture (CA).

During Science Week (15-18 June) held at CIMMYT headquarters in El Batán, Mexico, scientists from around the world gathered to share the successes and review the activities of different CIMMYT programs. Attendees sought to find solutions to help meet global food needs related to basic cereals, as well as combat poverty and face the challenges posed by climate change.

The Wheat Productivity Enhancement Program (WPEP) in Pakistan, led by CIMMYT and funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is working to enhance and protect wheat productivity in Pakistan by supporting research leading to the identification, adoption and optimal agronomic management of new, high yielding, disease resistant wheat varieties.

The Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) and CIMMYT organized a training course on developing stress tolerant maize at BARI facilities in Gazipur, Joydebpur, Bangladesh, on 21 April 2015. The course, part of CIMMYT’s Heat Tolerant Maize for Asia (HTMA) project supported by the United States Agency for International Development under its Feed the Future initiative, gave maize scientists the opportunity to learn the principles, tools and techniques involved in developing high yielding maize hybrids with enhanced tolerance to major abiotic stresses such as drought and heat, as well as how to effectively deploy them.

The International Conference on MLN Diagnostics and Management in Africa, held on 12-14 May 2015 in Nairobi, Kenya, is the second meeting CIMMYT has organized this year on maize lethal necrosis (MLN), coming soon after an MLN diagnostics and screening workshop held in March. This points up how important the disease is to the entire CIMMYT fraternity in Africa.

An international conservation agriculture (CA) workshop to be held during China Science Week (30 June–4 July 2015) will bring CIMMYT CA researchers, colleagues and national researchers together with the objective of building agro-ecological capacity among researchers in western China. At the workshop, hosted by CIMMYT-China, participants will discuss subjects such as CA successes and the science and practical agronomy underpinning CA, and will view field displays of CA benefits.

A workshop to select case studies in Nepal for the Global Study on Gender Norms and Capacities for Agricultural Innovation was hosted by CIMMYT on 3 June 2015. This was the first meeting held by CIMMYT-Nepal since the devastating earthquake that hit the country in April, reaffirming staff commitment to continuing research despite the challenges and losses being faced across the country.

Twenty-two scientists, engineers, technicians and local manufacturers of agricultural machinery working in and with CIMMYT participated in an Agro-machinery Professionals’ Jamboree held in Jhenaidah District, Bangladesh, 27-30 April 2015. The objective of the Jamboree was to acquaint participants with agro-machinery such as seeders and reapers and develop their troubleshooting and operating skills. Participants shared their experiences and the challenges they face in the field, and brainstormed solutions together.

The International Winter Wheat Improvement Program (IWWIP) held its 2015 International Winter Wheat Traveling Seminar in Azerbaijan and Georgia on 24 May. More than 40 participants from 18 countries attended the seminar, which covered more than 1,000 kilometers in four days.

The CGIAR Research Program on MAIZE, CIMMYT and IITA are pleased to announce that as of 1 June 2015, the MAIZE CRP has been led by the former Director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program, who will now spearhead the CGIAR’s international maize research agenda. The CIMMYT Board, upon endorsement by the MAIZE Stakeholder Advisory Committee (StAC), has agreed to the CIMMYT Director General appointing Dr. B.M. Prasanna as MAIZE CRP Director.

The international training workshop “Approaches for integrated analysis of agricultural systems in South Asia: Field, to farm, to landscape scale,” jointly organized by CIMMYT and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI), was held at Karnal, Haryana, India, during 18-23 May. The workshop targeted farming systems and agricultural development researchers in South Asia and provided an overview of the approaches and tools used to assess agricultural systems.

The Wheat Productivity Enhancement Program (WPEP), led by CIMMYT and funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), held technical training sessions on wheat seed production from March to May 2015 for farmer enterprise groups (FEGs) in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province. The training was held in collaboration with the Outreach Programme of the Agriculture Research System in KP Province, which formed the FEGs, each comprising 30-35 persons including farmers, seed dealers and seed company representatives.