Environmental health and biodiversity

The world needs better management of water, soil, nutrients, and biodiversity in crop, livestock, and fisheries systems, coupled with higher-order landscape considerations as well as circular economy and agroecological approaches.

CIMMYT and CGIAR use modern digital tools to bring together state-of-the-art Earth system observation and big data analysis to inform co-design of global solutions and national policies.

Our maize and wheat genebanks preserve the legacy of biodiversity, while breeders and researchers look at ways to reduce the environmental footprint of agriculture.

Ultimately, our work helps stay within planetary boundaries and limit water use, nutrient use, pollution, undesirable land use change, and biodiversity loss.

News

tag icon Environmental health and biodiversity

Ram Kanwar Malik named Honorary Member by the Weed Science Society of America for research on herbicide-resistant weed Phalaris minor affecting wheat crops.

Explainers

tag icon Climate adaptation and mitigation

Over millennia, natural selection and humans have systematically adapted the plant species that provide food and other vital products, changing their physical and genetic makeup for enhanced productivity, nutrition and resilience. Plant breeders apply science to continue improving crop varieties, making them more productive and better adapted to climate extremes, insects, drought and diseases.

Publications

tag icon Environmental health and biodiversity

Researchers evaluate the use of genomic selection in wheat breeding against deadly fungal disease.

Features

tag icon Environmental health and biodiversity

CIMMYT scientists in Turkey investigated the effect of soil borne diseases individually and in combination with drought on morphological and physiological traits in wheat germplasm.

News

tag icon Capacity development

Two new graduates join pool of research leaders focused on finding new sources of resistance against these pathogens.

In the media

tag icon Environmental health and biodiversity

Source: The New Yorker (6 Dec 2021)

A new article in the New Yorker praises the cutting-edge technology CIMMYT, CGIAR and other scientists are developing to produce a second Green Revolution that doesn’t repeat the mistakes of the first, putting the experiences and challenges of farmers at the heart of it.

Features

tag icon Environmental health and biodiversity

Researchers hypothesized that many wild wheat accessions in genebanks feature useful traits that can help diversify breeding programs.

In the media

tag icon Capacity development

Source: New Age (21 Nov 2021)

CIMMYT-Bangladesh country representative Timothy J. Krupnik was the guest of honor at a workshop organized by Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute on fall armyworm management.

In the media

tag icon Environmental health and biodiversity

Source: World Grain (11 Nov 2021)

Ravi Singh, head of global wheat improvement at CIMMYT, received the 2021 Borlaug Global Rust Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award.

News

tag icon Environmental health and biodiversity

SIS currently implemented in three states in India helps generate robust soil health data to support soil management and agriculture interventions.

News

tag icon Climate adaptation and mitigation

CIMMYT scientists recently joined peers in the international wheat research community to share latest findings, offer updates, and raise compelling questions at the 2021 Borlaug Global Rust Initiative Technical Workshop.

In the media

tag icon Climate adaptation and mitigation

Source: The Land (1 Nov 2021)

In an interview with The Land, Alison Bentley emphasized the importance of developing drought-tolerant wheat varieties to see better yields in tough seasons.

News

tag icon Environmental health and biodiversity

Renowned CIMMYT plant breeder recognized for elite wheat varieties that reduced the risk of a global pandemic and now feed hundreds of millions of people around the world.

Features

tag icon Climate adaptation and mitigation

Sustainable agri-food systems lead to better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all.

Features

tag icon Environmental health and biodiversity

Researchers point out the future of the disease, the ways to manage it and prevent it from spreading — within and across continents.