Innovation expo showcases cutting-edge research at Alliance Bioversity & CIAT Campus

By Deborah Mongína

The Alliance Bioversity & CIAT hosted an Innovation Expo at its campus in Cali, Colombia, offering a window into the transformative research and innovation activities taking place on-site. The event, held on 26 October 2024, showcased interactive booths highlighting key research areas such as rice varieties, gene editing, food systems, diverse fruit varieties, cassava, beans, and the expansive CIAT gene bank.

The expo featured advancements in sustainable agricultural development, with a focus on enhancing food security, crop resilience, and genetic diversity. Key exhibits included CIAT’s impressive bean collection, with nearly 38,000 distinct varieties, underscoring the organization’s dedication to preserving genetic diversity. Visitors to the rice and cassava booths learned about recent progress in developing high-yield, climate-resilient crops, vital for addressing global food security challenges. The gene-editing display demonstrated emerging techniques that could significantly improve crop resilience and disease resistance.

The event concluded with a lunch featuring foods made from CIAT’s focus crops, allowing attendees to experience the nutritional potential of these innovations. This immersive experience highlighted the tangible impacts of CIAT’s research, affirming its crucial role in advancing sustainable food systems worldwide.