Americas
CIMMYT has several offices in the Americas, including global headquarters in Mexico and a regional office in Colombia. Activities are supported by an additional 140 hectares of stations in diverse agro-ecological zones of Mexico. CIMMYT’s genebank in Mexico stores 27,000 maize and 170,000 wheat seed collections – key to preserving the crop genetic diversity of the region. CIMMYT projects range from developing nutritionally enhanced maize to mapping regional climate change hot spots in Central America. The comprehensive MasAgro project aims to increase wheat production in Mexico by 9 million tons and maize production by 350,000 tons by 2030. CIMMYT promotes regional collaboration and facilitates capacity building for scientists, researchers and technicians.
CIMMYT for Mexico in times of a global pandemic
Nutrition, health and food security
CIMMYT representatives discuss the impact of the pandemic on Mexico and why CIMMYT works towards more resilient agri-food systems with healthier and more prosperous people.
Plant-based materials catch on with home-goods designers
Capacity development
Source: The Manila Times (26 May 2020)
Mexican designer Fernando Laposse partnered with CIMMYT and works with a village of Mixtec farmers to transform unused maize husks into furniture.
Preserving the legacy of biodiversity
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Maize and wheat seeds from all over the world are preserved at the CIMMYT genebank, used to bring new varieties to farmers, and backed up at the Global Seed Vault.
International analytics award goes to CGIAR centers for sustainable agriculture tools
Innovations
The 2020 IAAA award recognizes groundbreaking data systems and tools helping more than 150,000 farmers in Mexico.
Breaking Ground: Sylvanus Odjo finds the right technology for each farmer
Innovations
CIMMYT postharvest specialist tests drying and storage technologies to help reduce grain losses.
New greenhouse honors scientist, aims to further maize wild relatives research
Nutrition, health and food security
In an environment designed for experimental study and regeneration, maize ancestors can thrive.
From popcorn to roti
Nutrition, health and food security
What do wholegrain foods look like around the world?
Why heirloom tortillas are an endangered species
Environmental health and biodiversity
Source: Maclean's (6 Mar 2020)
Preserving ancient maize landraces in Mexico is key for biodiversity, food security and future sustainability.
One-minute science: Trent Blare and blue maize products
Environmental health and biodiversity
Consumers near Mexico City perceived blue maize tortillas to taste better. They were willing to pay up to a third more to buy them for special family events or to consume them in restaurants.
New publication: Scaling agricultural mechanization services in smallholder farming systems
Innovations
Study shows service provider models in Africa, Latin America and South Asia increase smallholder access to agricultural machinery, but can remain dependent on projects to tackle major bottlenecks for scaling.
Bringing landraces back home, 50 years later
Nutrition, health and food security
Half a century earlier, scientists collected and preserved samples of maize landraces in Morelos, Mexico. Now, descendants of those farmers were able to get back their ancestral maize seeds and, with them, a piece of their family history.