IITA x Breeding for Tomorrow 5 takeaways for any breeding teams
CGIAR Breeding for Tomorrow’s Accelerated Breeding team, together with Market Intelligence, recently spent ten days with IITA’s breeders working across maize, cowpea, soybean, cassava, yam, and banana. The goal was simple: strengthen alignment of Market Segments and Target Product Profiles (TPP), review breeding pipelines, and data systems.
IITA x Breeding for Tomorrow 5 takeaways for any breeding teams
CGIAR Breeding for Tomorrow’s Accelerated Breeding team, together with Market Intelligence, recently spent ten days with IITA’s breeders working across maize, cowpea, soybean, cassava, yam, and banana. The goal was simple: strengthen alignment of Market Segments (MS) and Target Product Profiles (TPP), review breeding pipelines, and ensure that data systems and operational practices fully support the delivery of impactful varieties.
Beyond the technical work, the visit revealed important lessons for any breeding program seeking to improve product design, data flows, and pipeline efficiency.
Here are five biggest takeaways.
1. Start with clear market segments: everything else depends on it
Across all six crops, progress accelerated once teams revisited their Market Segments - the unique combination of consumer and grower needs for a specific crop in a given region – using a shared framework.
Across CGIAR Centers, 418 distinct crop market segments have been identified and linked to a unique Target Product Profile (TPP) each, defining essential traits, acceptable thresholds, and measurement scales that guide breeding toward farmer, processor, and consumer needs.
During the visit, Market Strategist Agnes Mbugua Gitonga provided insights into the market segments as they exist in West and Central Africa. Together with the IITA team, prioritised market segments were agreed on, with key emphasis on breakthrough products that would further reinforce IITA’s impact. Full alignment on MS and TPPs for maize was achieved, consistent with Accelerated Breeding 2025 goals. Other crops quickly followed with similarly high levels of agreement.
The lesson was that before refining traits or redesigning pipelines, investing in defining who the product is for and what the demand signals are is key. Clarity at this stage removes ambiguity and accelerates every decision downstream.
2. TPP alignment is easier when teams share a common language
A major advantage of meeting in person was the ability to co-develop TPPs in real time. Whether discussing cowpea drought tolerance, cassava market classes, or soybean demand, the shared discussions helped teams converge on:
- Priority traits
- Target environments
- End-user expectations
- Feasibility within the breeding cycle
The result was a level of consensus not previously achieved.
“For all crops, alignment on MS and TPPs is now between 90 and 100 percent complete,” said Adama Seye, Quantitative Geneticist for Accelerated Breeding. “This visit allowed us to sit with each crop team, revisit assumptions, and confirm the corresponding Target Product Profile. The progress was tangible.”
The second lesson was that TPP alignment accelerates when teams use the same frameworks, terminology and examples, and when they can challenge assumptions face-to-face.
3. Mapping pipelines builds clarity and reveals where optimization is needed
Beyond MS and TPPs, each crop team mapped its entire breeding pipeline and breeding strategy using the Breeding Portal and the Breeding Scheme Manager. This exercise confirmed:
- Where trait discovery supports (or fails to support) product goals
- Which steps add value, and which create bottlenecks
- Where improvements could unlock better data
- How workflows could be streamlined across teams
The integration of breeding strategies, market segments, and TPPs creates a strong foundation for data-driven investment decisions, focusing resources where they can deliver the greatest impact.
For all crops, this activity sparked renewed interest in pipeline optimization and operational improvements.
The lesson is that a well-mapped pipeline makes strengths and gaps visible and gives teams a shared roadmap for continuous improvement.
4. Strong data systems make alignment sticks
A recurring theme was the need to anchor breeding decisions in strong, integrated data systems. IITA teams are actively adopting:
- The Enterprise Breeding System (EBS), CGIAR-developed and maintained breeding data management platform, now integrating MusaBase, CassavaBase, and YamBase
- Bioflow, CGIAR Breeding Analytics Pipeline
- The Breeding Portal, where updated pipelines, MS and TPPs are already available
- The Breeding Scheme Manager where all schemes are documented.
The lesson was that aligning MS and TPPs is only the first step. Embedding them into data systems ensures the decisions last and translate into actual pipeline improvements.
5. Cross-team engagement is the Catalyst for system-level change
Meeting with operational teams during field visits highlighted the importance of strong trial management and data collection practices, which directly influence data quality and pipeline performance.
One of the most notable outcomes of the engagement was the shift in collaboration.
As Hapson Mushoriwa, IITA Breeding Lead, put it: “There is a before and after the visit. Breeding leads were proactive, engaged, and eager to align. Their coordination ensured smooth conversations, and cross-crop sessions helped build a shared sense of purpose”.
The final takeaway was that real alignment happens when teams feel supported and connected to a broader mission. Tools matter, but people and relationships move the system forward.
Where we go from here
The visit generated strong momentum. IITA crops teams now have:
- Updated Market Segments and Target Product Profiles
- Clearer breeding schemes
- A deeper understanding of how EBS and Bioflow strengthen decision-making
- Concrete recommendations for improving trial operations and data quality
Most importantly, the engagement reinforced IITA’s connection to CGIAR Breeding for Tomorrow’s systemwide transformation. As teams begin applying next steps, additional support and follow-up engagements will continue. For any breeding team striving to deliver more impactful varieties, the message is simple: Start with clarity, map your pipelines, integrate your data, and invest in collaboration. Everything else builds from there.
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This work contributes to CGIAR Breeding for Tomorrow Science Program, as part of its Accelerated Breeding Area of Work. Written by Julie Puech.