The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Government of Malawi launched five projects on food security, fisheries and environment.

The late wheat breeder Norman Borlaug was so dedicated to his work that he was away from home 80 percent of the time, either travelling or in the field, recalls his daughter, Jeanie Borlaug Laube.

CGIAR gender specialists met at CIMMYT El Batán last week, 26 February – 1 March, to discuss the next steps in the global comparative field study of gender norms, agency and agricultural innovation. This team of principal investigators from MAIZE and WHEAT will conduct more than 70 cases globally by the close of 2015.

Gender research and outreach should engage men more effectively, according to Paula Kantor, CIMMYT gender and development specialist who is leading an ambitious new project to empower and improve the livelihoods of women, men and youth in wheat-based systems of Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Pakistan.

CIMMYT Gender Specialist Lone Badstue attended a CGIAR Gender Network meeting in the Philippines during 19-23 January. Participants discussed CGIAR’s progress and results in gender research, along with plans for collective, cross-program activities that contribute to CGIAR innovation.

15 October 2014 will mark the sixth celebration of the International Day of Rural Women, a United Nations (UN) day dedicated to recognizing “the critical role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women, in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.”

Preliminary results from a CIMMYT-led pilot study in 10 seed markets across eastern Kenya show that there is a significant difference in the way that men and women engage with improved maize seed markets.

In Swaziland, maize is a staple crop and a source of income for many of the nation’s farmers. “The work on our staple crop cannot be overstated,” said Dr. Vusumuzi Mkhonta, acting director, Department of Agriculture, Research and Specialist Services in Swaziland. “If anything were to happen to maize, the entire population might perish.”