News Overview

Agriculture is always impacted by war. However, Russia’s war in Ukraine, fought between two major agricultural producers in an era of globalized markets, poses unprecedented implications for global agriculture and food security. Russia and Ukraine are significant exporters of maize, wheat, fertilizers, edible oils and crude oil. These exports have been compromised by the war, with the greatest impact being on

This story is written by P.H. Zaidi of CIMMYT and Passang Wangmo and Tsheltrim Gyeltshen of the National Maize Program, ARDC Wengkhar, Bhutan. The planting of maize hybrid Wengkhar Hybrid Maize 1 (WHM-1) has helped farmers in the Mongar district of Bhutan double their maize yield. WHM-1 was developed in partnership with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)

Solar powered peanut dryers in Togo are helping women-run cooperatives reduce their workload and increase their profits. A number of West African countries have climate and soil well-suited to groundnut cultivation. In the second half of the twentieth century, the region became a world leader in peanut production. In Togo, peanuts do well, but problems with postharvest processing have kept

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.

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

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

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

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