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.
Sculptor captures demeanor of Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug
Nutrition, health and food security
Artist Katharine McDevitt, creator of a new bronze representation of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Norman Borlaug, is fascinated by sculptures representing pre-Hispanic deities.
Innovation key to wheat yield potential advances, says in-coming CIMMYT DG
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Martin Kropff, incoming CIMMYT director general, joined the global wheat community at the CIMMYT research station in Ciudad Obregon in Mexico for annual Visitors’ Week.
Canadian foodgrains bank highlights CIMMYT’s Christian Thierfelder’s work in conservation agriculture
Innovations
Christian Thierfelder, CIMMYT senior agronomist stationed at Harare, Zimbabwe, was recently profiled by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank for his work promoting conservation agriculture techniques for smallholder farmers in Africa. Conservation agriculture systems are not only better for soils but help make agriculture more ‘climate-smart’, argues Thierfelder. “The conventional system can only make use of the water that is in the ridge and not further down in the soil,” he said. “In conservation agriculture systems, there is access to deeper layers and a lot of water has infiltrated. The maize can actually access the water much better because of an improved root system.”
Green manures help Zambian and Malawian farmers feed crops and livestock
Climate adaptation and mitigation
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has tasked CIMMYT with a new project to introduce green manure cover crops to smallholder farmers in eastern Zambia and central and southern Malawi.
Industrial water run-off can sustainably boost crop production
Nutrition, health and food security
An irrigation project in Ethiopia uses industrial runoff from a brewery to nourish wheat crops, diverting it from a nearby river and protecting the health of local residents.
CIMMYT joins global move to adopt climate-smart agriculture
Capacity development
Climate-smart agriculture can be “an effective tool to address climate change and climate variability,” according to Kai Sonder, head of CIMMYT’s geographic information systems (GIS) unit, who was one of 754 participants from 75 countries, including 39 CIMMYT representatives, at the third annual Global Science Conference on Climate-Smart Agriculture, held in Montpellier, France, during 16-18 March.
Seed improvement to prevent rust disease key to boosting wheat productivity
Capacity development
A new project in Ethiopia aims to improve the livelihoods of wheat farmers by encouraging the development and multiplication of high-yielding, rust-resistant bread and durum wheat varieties.
Global partnership propels wheat productivity in China
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Benefits of three decades of international collaboration in wheat research have added as much as 10.7 million tons of grain – worth US $3.4 billion – to China’s national wheat output.
Tribute to Dr. Norman E. Borlaug on his 101st birth anniversary
Nutrition, health and food security
Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) and CIMMYT India staff members gathered together at NASC Complex, New Delhi to pay tribute to the late Dr. Norman E. Borlaug on what would have been his 101st Birth Anniversary on 25 March. HS Gupta, director general, BISA, garlanded Borlaug’s statue, in front of the office block at NASC Complex. Staff members offered flowers in respect to the Nobel Laureate. Gupta apprised the staff members about Borlaug’s great contributions, including high-yielding wheat varieties which helped solve hunger around the world and particularly in South Asia. BISA and CIMMYT staff members resolved to work hard and follow Borlaug’s footsteps.
SIMLESA’s seamlessly integrated solution for a perennial problem
Innovations
Southern Africa smallholder farmers can attain food security and more income through sustainable intensification of maize-based farming systems. This was revealed during recent field learning tours in Malawi and Mozambique last month. On show were farmer-tested improved maize–legume technologies being disseminated by CIMMYT’s Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) project.
“First Lady of Wheat” in Mexico to celebrate her father, Norman Borlaug
Gender equality, youth and social inclusion
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.
