CIMMYT Annual Report 2017

In 2017, CIMMYT and partners were at the center of global responses to several grave challenges to maize and wheat agriculture. In South Asia, we supported the fast-track release by Bangladesh of a new variety that resists wheat blast, a deadly and mysterious disease that appeared for the first time in the region in 2016. In Africa, our staff coordinated with global, regional, and national partners on an integrated strategy to control fall armyworm, a pest from the Americas that since 2016 has devastated over 1.5 million hectares of Africa’s maize. In the Americas, CIMMYT provided Haiti with 150 tons of improved maize seed to assist farmers and replenish emergency reserves as part of the nation’s recovery from the impact of earthquakes, droughts, and hurricanes. Successful resource mobilization this year included exciting new directions and partnerships, such as the agreement with Henan Agricultural University in China, to open a joint maize and wheat research center, or the launch with Nestlé in Mexico of a responsible sourcing collaboration in which thousands of Mexican farmers will use sustainable practices to produce more than some 400,000 tons of maize and wheat. In support of the dynamic new CGIAR research portfolio for 2017-22, CIMMYT is providing leadership and guidance and will oversee the new Excellence in Breeding Platform.