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.
Helping farming families thrive while fighting climate change in Mexico
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Women and youth help lead efforts to adopt climate-friendly farming and safeguard indigenous maize yields.
Climate insurance for farmers: a shield that boosts innovation
Climate adaptation and mitigation
New insurance products geared towards smallholder farmers can help them recover their losses, and even encourage investment in climate-resilient innovations.
Borlaug Dialogue delegates widen net to curb threat from fall armyworm
Nutrition, health and food security
World Food Prize laureates have joined forces with an international alliance battling the fall armyworm, an aggressive pest indigenous to the Americas with a voracious appetite, and now widespread throughout Africa.
Smallholder farmers to gain from targeted CRISPR-Cas9 crop breeding
Innovations
Gene editing technology could revolutionize the way scientists breed high-yielding drought, disease and pest resistant, high quality plant seeds, greatly reducing the time it currently takes to develop new varieties
New book highlights sustainable agriculture success story in Mexico
Innovations
A new book from Columbia University Press offers social sector organizations a how-to guide on applying new and creative methods to solve complex problems.
How a seed bank in Mexico produces data to help alleviate poverty
Innovations
Scientist Kevin Pixley leads a project to catalogue 178,000 corn and wheat seeds at the CIMMYT seed bank near Mexico City.
Asian scientists join cross-continental training to restrain wheat blast disease
Capacity development
Nine South Asia wheat researchers recently visited the Americas for training on measures to control a deadly and mysterious wheat blast disease.
Message from International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center after 7.1 Mexico earthquake
Although the full impact of the earthquake is unknown at this time, CIMMYT would like to express condolences to all those affected throughout the country.
Leading nutritionist cites whole grains as critical for better nutrition and health
Nutrition, health and food security
People who eat whole grain foods have a lower risk of almost all chronic diseases and are less likely to gain weight as they age, according to nutritionist Julie Miller Jones.
Breaking Ground: Francelino Rodrigues on high-tech farming
Innovations
Francelino Rodrigues’ expertise in precision agriculture brings a high-tech element to CIMMYT’s field trials.
CIMMYT sends largest ever seed shipment to revitalize agriculture in Haiti
Nutrition, health and food security
CIMMYT will send 150 tons of renewed, improved maize seed to Haiti, the largest seed shipment to any country in the organization’s history.
CIMMYT renames lab to honor Evangelina Villegas, World Food Prize laureate
Gender equality, youth and social inclusion
Villegas was recognized for co-developing quality protein maize.
Breaking Ground: Hands on experience gives Carolina Camacho insight into farming best practices
Innovations
Tending her own crops gives Carolina Camacho insights into the challenges farmers face that she could never have learned in a classroom.
A ton of seed shipped to the doomsday vault at Svalbard
Nutrition, health and food security
More than two-thirds of CIMMYT seed collections are now backed-up in the vault on an island in the icy Barents Sea, north of mainland Norway.
Maize seed and training aim to reduce aid dependency in Haiti
Capacity development
The Haiti Mayi project aims to kick-start a local seed sector, keep famine at bay, end dependence on international aid and reduce imports.