New drought-tolerant crops for resilient dryland livelihoods
- From
-
Published on
15.03.23
- Impact Area

An international collaboration of world-leading scientists led by ICARDA Morocco has delivered six ground-breaking new durum wheat and barley varieties tolerant to increasingly severe droughts ravaging the region.
As the climate crisis intensifies, so too do the frequency and strength of drought episodes, especially in dryland countries such as Morocco, which has experienced unprecedented droughts in the last decade. The impact on agriculture and cereals can be devastating as demonstrated by a record 69% drop in total cereal production over the 2021-22 season due to one of the worst agricultural seasons in the country’s history.
Under the DIIVA-PR project, funded by the Crop Trust, ICARDA in Morocco, alongside its partners, INRA-Maroc and Benchaib Semences, has recently developed six promising new drought-tolerant varieties of durum wheat and barley, to help increase production, resilience, and nutritional quality for farmers. With their climate-smart and enhanced food quality traits, such as heat, drought, and pest resistance, the new varieties aim to strengthen food and nutrition security and improve the livelihoods and resilience of Moroccan farmers.
Related news
-
New project launched to tackle mastitis in smallholder dairy farms in Kenya
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)14.05.25-
Health
A new three-year project has been launched to reduce mastitis cases in dairy cattle and curb…
Read more -
-
Outlining the framework from livestock to nutrition pathways
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)14.05.25-
Nutrition
-
Poverty reduction, livelihoods & jobs
Animal-source foods provide important nutrients in the diet and contribute to nutrition, growth and …
Read more -
-
Under the surface: research identifies 20,700 hectares that can produce crops in Senegal
The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)13.05.25-
Nutrition, health & food security
In Senegal, water from the rainy season doesn’t fully disappear—it seeps into the clay-sandy soi…
Read more -