Climate adaptation and mitigation
Climate change threatens to reduce global crop production, and poor people in tropical environments will be hit the hardest. More than 90% of CIMMYT’s work relates to climate change, helping farmers adapt to shocks while producing more food, and reduce emissions where possible. Innovations include new maize and wheat varieties that withstand drought, heat and pests; conservation agriculture; farming methods that save water and reduce the need for fertilizer; climate information services; and index-based insurance for farmers whose crops are damaged by bad weather. CIMMYT is an important contributor to the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security.
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.
Scientists seal agreement to boost adaptability of wheat to climate change
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Maize opportunities and challenges for Asia
Capacity development
Compared with other cereals, maize has recorded the fastest annual growth in Asia at around 4 percent, but consumption is rising faster than yields.
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.
Food security successes earn ‘sultan of wheat’ World Food Prize
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Sanjaya Rajaram, 2014 World Food Prize laureate, is credited with producing 480 wheat varieties, leading to increased yields and food for more than 1 billion people a year.
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.
Research on climate-resilient wheat keeps Green Revolution on track
Climate adaptation and mitigation
As the global population grows from a current 7 billion to a projected 9.6 billion by 2050, wheat breeders involved in the battle to ensure food security face many challenges.
Raising wheat productivity across North Africa and West Asia
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Wheat is a staple and strategic crop across most of North Africa and West Asia, accounting for almost 40 percent of the region’s total food supply.
China’s wheat production critical to global food security
Climate adaptation and mitigation
China’s domestic agricultural activities are vital to ensuring food security for its 1.4 billion people and – as the world’s largest wheat producer – the country plays a major role in shaping international markets.
Young researchers trained to develop resilient farming systems
Capacity development
Participants learned about crop management technologies based on conservation agriculture and acquired skills to plan strategic research trials.
Wheat area expansion faces a headwind requiring increased spending on R&D to raise yields
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Over the last 50 years big increases in agricultural production have come through improved yields. Since 1990, wheat is the only major crop to experience an overall decline in area.
The global warming challenge for wheat
Climate adaptation and mitigation
The expected average rate of warming over current wheat areas for the next few decades is a little less than 0.5 °C per decade, which implies a negative yield impact of about 2 percent per decade.
CCAFS climate smart village program progress makes news in India
Climate adaptation and mitigation
The CCAFS Climate Smart Village (CSV) program recently earned significant media attention for its successes in the Indian states of Bihar, Haryana and Punjab where the program is being implemented. The CSVs were featured in BBC News as well as several newspapers in the region.
Australian wheat breeders’ relationship with Mexico spans more than 40 years
Climate adaptation and mitigation
In Australia, over 90 percent of local wheat varieties can be traced back to CIMMYT varieties, reports Kim Honan in a 17 September article on ABC’s Rural website.