Nutrition, health and food security

As staple foods, maize and wheat provide vital nutrients and health benefits, making up close to two-thirds of the world’s food energy intake, and contributing 55 to 70 percent of the total calories in the diets of people living in developing countries, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. CIMMYT scientists tackle food insecurity through improved nutrient-rich, high-yielding varieties and sustainable agronomic practices, ensuring that those who most depend on agriculture have enough to make a living and feed their families. The U.N. projects that the global population will increase to more than 9 billion people by 2050, which means that the successes and failures of wheat and maize farmers will continue to have a crucial impact on food security. Findings by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which show heat waves could occur more often and mean global surface temperatures could rise by up to 5 degrees Celsius throughout the century, indicate that increasing yield alone will be insufficient to meet future demand for food.

Achieving widespread food and nutritional security for the world’s poorest people is more complex than simply boosting production. Biofortification of maize and wheat helps increase the vitamins and minerals in these key crops. CIMMYT helps families grow and eat provitamin A enriched maize, zinc-enhanced maize and wheat varieties, and quality protein maize. CIMMYT also works on improving food health and safety, by reducing mycotoxin levels in the global food chain. Mycotoxins are produced by fungi that colonize in food crops, and cause health problems or even death in humans or animals. Worldwide, CIMMYT helps train food processors to reduce fungal contamination in maize, and promotes affordable technologies and training to detect mycotoxins and reduce exposure.

In the media

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Source: Wilson Center (29 Jul 2022)

On the episode, ECSP Director Lauren Risi and ECSP Advisor Sharon Burke speak with Bram Govaerts, Director General of CIMMYT and his colleague Kai Sonder, head of CIMMYT’s Geographic Information System Unit, about how to address the unfolding food crisis as we simultaneously build food system resilience in the medium and long term.

Publications

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Scientists in the Yaqui Valley, Mexico, release six decades of wheat research evidencing opportunities for improved wheat growth and yield.

Features

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CIMMYT supports practical solutions to the ongoing global wheat crisis by understanding consumer acceptance of foods baked from blended wheat flour.

News

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In 2009, a team of wheat scientists from CIMMYT, ICARDA, FAO, and national partners set off on a five-year expedition across Central Asia to collect as many landraces as they could find.

Blogs

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As the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues, practical actions now can build food system resilience.

Press releases

tag icon Nutrition, health and food security

Experts propose short-, medium- and long-term practical actions to respond to the looming global food crisis catalyzed by the Russia-Ukraine war.

News

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The G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting held on July 7-8 in Bali saw Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, highlight support for CGIAR as part of a proposed cooperation initiative to boost global food security.

News

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Collaboration between two CGIAR centers emphasizes opportunities for collaboration between agricultural researchers that could prove vital in the fight to establish food security.

Publications

tag icon Nutrition, health and food security

Analysis of evidence by scientists of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and CGIAR concludes that the scientific risks of genome editing are similar to those of traditional breeding.

In the media

tag icon Climate adaptation and mitigation

Source: Xinhua News (14 Jul 2022)

A letter of cooperation has been signed in China to signal the start of a new partnership aiming to meet the global challenge of climate change and ensure food security.

News

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CGIAR Initiative will put nutrition first, to increase access to sustainable healthy diets, and will work with partners across the production-to-consumption spectrum.

Publications

tag icon Nutrition, health and food security

A new study provides deeper insights into improving the performance of the country’s rice and maize seed value chains.

Press releases

tag icon Nutrition, health and food security

Regional CGIAR Initiative will improve the livelihoods of farmers, and the resilience and competitiveness of agrifood systems, in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Blogs

tag icon Capacity development

Afghan farmers need varieties with improved traits such as heat and drought resilience, incorporating functional variation from existing landrace collections.