Capacity development
CIMMYT training courses play a critical role in helping international researchers meet national food security and resource conservation goals. By sharing knowledge to build communities of agricultural knowledge in less developed countries, CIMMYT empowers researchers to aid farmers. In turn, these farmers help ensure sustainable food security. In contrast to formal academic training in plant breeding and agronomy, CIMMYT training activities are hands-on and highly specialized. Trainees from Africa, Asia and Latin America benefit from the data assembled and handled in a global research program. Alumni of CIMMYT courses often become a significant force for agricultural change in their countries.
Towards inclusive and sustainable grain marketing
Capacity development
CIMMYT’s MasAgro program organized its first forum on grain marketing titled on 9 November.
Of maize farmers, coming calves, waxing oxen, and comely camels
Capacity development
The gospel of ngamia. When despite drought, maize becomes a ‘source’ of farm labor and protein, with surplus sold to purchase a calf: “I got so much harvest, and yet I planted this seed very late, and with no fertilizer.”
CIMMYT empowers a new generation of maize breeders in Zambia
Capacity development
CIMMYT conducted a training course in Zambia for maize breeders teaching modern maize breeding methods.
Big data for development research
Capacity development
Both private and public sector research organizations must adopt data management strategies that keep up with the advent of big data if we hope to effectively and accurately conduct research.
Global conference underscores complex socio-economic role of wheat
Capacity development
A recent gathering of more than 600 scientists highlighted the complexity of wheat as a crop and emphasized the key role wheat research plays in ensuring global food security.
Transforming maize farming failures to successes in Kenya’s drylands
Capacity development
KDV4 is one of the DT varieties sold in Kenya’s eastern drylands alongside other improved varieties, developed by CIMMYT.
Changing the pace of maize breeding in Africa through doubled-haploid technology
Capacity development
Two words – accelerated breeding – are synonymous to doubled-haploid (DH) based maize breeding. This was the core message shared with 56 maize breeders from 10 African countries who recently participated in a two-day training workshop organized by CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program (GMP) in Nairobi, Kenya, from September 23–24, 2015. The breeders benefited from the knowledge and experience of resource persons from public and private institutions in France, Germany and USA who have dedicated years of research on the DH technology that is changing the pace of maize breeding.