News Overview

COP28’s Food, Agriculture and Water Day, 10 December, witnessed increased support for food systems transformation and cemented CGIAR’s key role in delivering that change through research and innovation. The announcements came alongside news that 152 countries have mobilized behind the COP28 UAE Declaration on Agriculture, Food Systems and Climate Action. Announcements included: Sharm-El Sheikh Support Programme CGIAR, in collaboration with

COP28 climate talks put food and agriculture on the menu, but world’s largest publicly funded agricultural research organization says now it’s time for countries to pay the bill    14 December 2023, DUBAI – The world’s largest publicly funded agri-food research organization called for greater ambition after food and agriculture received unprecedented attention during the UN’s annual climate talks.   The

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

As we launch into a busy 2024, CGIAR Genetic Innovation (GI) Science Group is sharing some highlights from its interconnected portfolio of research Initiatives. Of course, our key end results are the delivery and adoption of improved varieties by smallholder farmers – and we’ll be compiling those within our annual Technical Reports soon. For now, check out this sample of

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

Also published in Farmers Review Africa, Smart Farmer Kenya, and included in Peoples’ Daily, “Challenging gender stereotypes to promote inclusion at workplace.” In agricultural research, a notable gender gap persists, particularly within the crop breeding sector. While women have often been well-represented in breeding labs and offices, they’ve been less present in field research work. In Kenya, the disparity in

In mid-February, a dedicated gathering of biometricians and quantitative genetics experts from CGIAR’s Centers convened in Nairobi for a week-long hackathon. Their mission? To refine CGIAR’s Breeding Analytics Pipeline, a cutting-edge tool designed to guide decision-making processes in global crop breeding.  With a plethora of algorithms and software available for analyzing crop breeding data, harmonization and automation across CGIAR-NARES breeding

Dr Namukolo Covic is the Director General’s Representative to Ethiopia for the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), CGIAR Ethiopia Country Convenor, and CGIAR Regional Director for East and Southern Africa. Below she discusses how CGIAR can support countries following the African Union Heads of States Summit’s endorsement of the post-Malabo roadmap that outlines a framework for Africa to achieve sustainable