“To increase my production, I don’t burn residues; I use them. I practice conservation agriculture.” This slogan was promoted by CIMMYT’s Global Conservation Agriculture Program (GCAP) from March to May 2015 through a communications campaign in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. The campaign aimed to inform farmers and agronomists of the devastating effects of residue burning and its potential risks. It also focused on topics such as the benefits of residue retention, sustainable alternatives to conventional practices, and how burning contributes to global warming.

“We’ve got the germplasm and improved varieties, but what can we do to overcome the hurdle of farmer adoption of these technologies?” Jon Hellin, value chain and poverty specialist for CIMMYT’s Socioeconomics Program presented this challenge and how crop-index insurance may be part of the solution, at a high-level Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) webcast event Wednesday, 28 January in London.

Sub-Saharan African farmers typically apply less than 20 kilograms of fertilizer per hectare of cropland — far less than their peers in any other region of the world. In 2014, partners in the Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS) project developed 41 Africa-adapted maize varieties that respond better to low amounts of nitrogen fertilizer and are up for release in nine African countries through 24 seed companies.

The 2014 World Food Prize laureate, Sanjaya Rajaram’s adaptable, high-yielding wheat varieties are grown on more than 58 million hectares worldwide.

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.

CIMMYT seed samples — International Wheat Nurseries — are sent to government and university research institutions and national agricultural research systems around the world.

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.

China’s domestic agricultural activities are vital to ensuring food security for its 1.4 billion people and – as the world’s largest wheat producer – the country plays a major role in shaping international markets.