News Overview

Manila, Philippines – January 2024   In a development aimed at advancing global crop breeding, Genetic Innovation (GI), a science group within CGIAR, has entered into an agreement with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The agreement, signed at IRRI’s headquarters in the Philippines, will help support the effective implementation of GI’s activities, and particularly one of its constituents, Breeding Resources

By Sharifah Syed Alwee, Senior Director, Breeding, and Research Services Breeding Resources Initiative’s 2023 Progress Report can be found here. Dear readers, As we step into 2024, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the remarkable strides achieved by Breeding Resources Initiative (BRI) in 2023. The year has been pivotal in advancing our mission to provide CGIAR-NARES networks

The CGIAR Seed Equal Initiative under Work Package 6 on scaling equitable access to quality seed, led by Ranjitha Puskur, partnered with The Africa Seed Access Index (TASAI Inc.) and convened a 3-day stakeholder validation workshop to present and receive feedback on the proposed set of indicators and data collection tools for measuring inclusive access to seeds. Organized from May

CIMMYT is actively engaging a wide spectrum of stakeholders to define and harmonize target product profiles across Africa, with farmers at the heart. With the ever-changing climate conditions, including the unpredictable El Niño, and dynamic changes in government policies, understanding farmers’ preferences and market segmentation has become crucial for implementing impactful breeding programs. Market segmentation is a strategic process which

In the quest for agricultural productivity and food security, Nigeria has made significant strides in expanding the production and distribution of certified seeds for crops like maize, rice, and, to some extent, cowpea. However, a recent study by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), conducted under the CGIAR Seed Equal Initiative,

Roots, tubers, and bananas (RTB) are vital food sources for over 3 billion people in Africa, offering high calorie yields per hectare and essential nutrients. More resilient to drought than other crops, RTB are crucial for poverty alleviation. Often cultivated by women, they have diverse applications, spanning from food processing and industrial use to animal feed.  But the vegetative propagation of RTB

Photo “Sorghum bicolor Bild0902” by Marco Schmidt is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 (Market Intelligence Bulletin, Volume 1) Jason Donovan, Peter Coaldrake Governments and donors have challenged crop breeding programs led by CGIAR and national agricultural research and extension systems (NARES) to show the opportunity for impact from investments. Building evidence on the opportunity for impact requires data and insights

“Maize Field” by Black_Claw is licensed under CC BY 2.0 (Market Intelligence Bulletin, Volume 1) Pieter Rutsaert, Jason Donovan In Kenya, most farmers produce maize under rain-fed conditions and purchase hybrid maize seeds on an annual basis. Two factors are especially important in their decisions on which seed to acquire: where the production takes place (i.e., level of rainfall and