Harnessing the power of partnerships and innovation: CIMMYT Annual Report 2018

Abstract

In response to shifting priorities of funding partners in 2018, the Center has pursued stability, organizational unity, efficiency, and strong science to make maize and wheat cropping systems more productive and durable. Building on the release of a new wheat genome reference map, our researchers more precisely tagged genes for valuable traits, including disease resistance, heat tolerance, and grain quality, in more than 40,000 CIMMYT wheat lines. While the maize-hungry fall armyworm spreads from Africa to Southeast Asia, CIMMYT joined with more than 40 partners in an international consortium advancing the fight against the devastating insect pest. In Mexico, a local initiative is connecting leading food-processing companies with farmers who, guided by CIMMYT and partners, are growing their maize, wheat, and other crops in resource-conserving, climateresilient ways. A CIMMYT-led study on gender has explored the lives and viewpoints of 7,500 men and women from farming communities in 26 countries, providing invaluable information that will lead to better productivity and food security. Advances in those areas are also coming from the use of appropriate machinery and implements for efficient and climate-smart agriculture on small farms, as one result of CIMMYT-led initiatives in Mexico, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe. A manual developed with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations offers technical and business advice for local entrepreneurs of mechanized services, such as sowing or threshing, for smallholder farmers. In a positive signal for seed companies and nutrition specialists, as part of taste tests in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania, consumers indicated their willingness to pay a premium for quality protein maize (QPM), which contains enhanced levels of the amino acids needed to synthesize protein. 2018 showed us that the only constants are the passion and values of our staff and partners, which help CIMMYT to have major impact on the livelihoods of smallholders and the poor. This Annual Report pays tribute to them.