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.
MasAgro offers tortillas made of maize hybrids in highlands workshop
Capacity development
On 11 November 2014, representatives of Mexico’s highland maize value chain attended a workshop at CIMMYT headquarters in El Batán, Mexico. MasAgro- Maize Network partners, a representative from the milling industry and members of the MasAgro-Farmer team tested hybrid grains from the CIMMYT highlands maize genetic improvement program.
Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram presented with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman 2015 Award, the highest honor conferred on overseas Indians
Nutrition, health and food security
On 9 January 2015, Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram, the India-born plant scientist who led wheat breeding research at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) based in Mexico for more than three decades, received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award in Gandhinagar, India.
Securing our daily bread: boosting Africa’s wheat production
Nutrition, health and food security
Africa’s demand for wheat is being driven by population growth, urbanization, as well as from a growing female work force who prefer fast and easy to make wheat products, like bread or pasta.
Anti-wheat fad diets undermine global food security efforts
Nutrition, health and food security
A discussion paper aims to highlight unsubstantiated nutritional claims about wheat and gluten, while shining a spotlight on the important role of wheat and fiber in human diets.
Training to fill gaps in Ethiopia’s maize seed system
Capacity development
The Nutritious Maize for Ethiopia (NuME) project recently organized a three-day training workshop on quality protein maize (QPM) seed production and quality control, as part of the project’s activities to enhance QPM seed production.
Reaching out to smallholder farmers in Pakistan
Nutrition, health and food security
CIMMYT entered an important new partnership with Pakistan’s National Rural Support Program (NRSP) on 7 November 2014 for wheat varietal evaluation, promotion and deployment, as well as on-farm agronomic interventions and community-based seed production enterprises.
Scientists seal agreement to boost adaptability of wheat to climate change
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Highlights of the 12th Asian Maize Conference
Capacity development
The 12th Asian Maize Conference and Expert Consultation on “Maize for Food, Feed, Nutrition and Environmental Security” convened in Bangkok, Thailand from 31 October to 1 November 2014.
Ethiopia’s seed co-ops benefit entrepreneurs and smallholder farmers
Nutrition, health and food security
Government-subsidized farmer-run cooperatives produce high-yielding, disease-resistant wheat seed, accelerating distribution and helping smallholder farmers grow healthy crops.
Enhancing the nutritional quality of maize
Nutrition, health and food security
Malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency, which can cause blindness and stunting, increased infant and maternal mortality and lower IQs, are at epidemic levels in some parts of Asia.
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.
Strengthening maize policies and public-private partnerships in Asia
Nutrition, health and food security
Policies designed to promote maize industry growth require data and information, which is often difficult to obtain in Asian countries. This was discussed during the technical session on improving maize seed systems in Asia at the 12th Asian Maize Conference.
