To mark International Women’s Day 2023, Nele Verhulst, cropping systems agronomist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), shares progress from the Women in Crop Science group and how their work tries to contribute to gender equality in agriculture and science. Growing up in the nineties in Belgium, I was interested in feminism, but I also assumed that
Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO)’s research station at Kiboko, Kenya, where several partner institutions including the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), conduct significant research activities on crop breeding and seed systems, is now equipped with five new seed drying machines along with a dedicated shed to house these units, a cold room for storing breeding materials,
Anticipating appropriate and timely responses to climate variability and change from an agricultural perspective requires forecasting and predictive capabilities. In Africa, climate-related risks and hazards continue to threaten food and nutrition security. Crop simulation models are tools developed to assist farmers, agronomists and agro-meteorologists with insights on impacts to possible management decisions. Such tools are enablers for taking an appropriate
As climate change effects intensify, new innovations that enable smallholder farmers to adapt are no longer an option but a necessity. Significant parts of Zimbabwe are semi-arid, receiving less than 600mm of rainfall per year. Smallholder farming communities in districts such as Buhera have embraced feed production and water conservation innovations deployed by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
As a warming planet desiccates crops around the world, threatening livelihoods and nutrition, farmers in Bihar, India, are boosting their wheat yields with a deceptively simple adaptation. “Farmers can plant their wheat crop several weeks earlier, so that their wheat matures earlier and they are able to harvest their wheat before the heat gets bad,” said Amit Kumar Srivastava, a
The best results in combating pests and diseases exacerbated by climate change and protecting agricultural food systems originate from strategic partnerships between national governments and international research organizations. Such a synergy between Zimbabwe’s Department of Research and Specialist Services (DRSS) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) was recognized for its effectiveness at an event hosted by Zimbabwe
The United Nations International Day of Women and Girls in Science (IDWGIS) is observed annually on February 11 to highlight the gender gap in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Data shows that women are given smaller research grants than their male colleagues, are underrepresented in cutting edge fields, and account for a lower percentage of STEM
Happy Makuru Daudi, Head of Groundnut Research Program at the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) based at Naliendele Research Center in Mtwara, is a plant breeder specializing in groundnut. For the United Nations International Day of Women and Girls in Science, she shares with us her passion for what she does and why more women should venture into plant breeding.