LOS BAÑOS, Philippines (2 June 2025) – Faster and smarter crop breeding depends on better digital tools, and making sure these tools can work together is critical. To support this, developers, data scientists, and breeders from the BrAPI Community gathered at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) for a weeklong hackathon focused on improving digital systems used in breeding programs.
In the global push to finance and scale nature-positive transitions in food systems, the conversation often revolves around capital, who pays for it and who receives it. But the real challenge goes deeper. Mobilizing funds is fundamental, but it’s not the only part of the equation. What matters just as much is ensuring that finance is aligned with national
CGIAR INITIATIVES Accelerated Breeding Primary Impact Area Nutrition, health & food security Related Impact Areas
In the small town of Nanga-Eboko, located in the Haute-Sanaga department at the heart of Cameroon’s Centre Region, a 42-member association called “Les Experts du Cameroun” has grown from a modest tree nursery into a regional model. Boosted by the digital MyFarmTrees project, their journey highlights how technical training, digital traceability, and cooperative spirit can tangibly impact landscape restoration and local livelihoods.
As climate variability, water stress, and food insecurity intensify across agrifood systems, innovation alone is no longer enough—scaling innovation equitably and sustainably is now the imperative.
What can we learn from nationally-representative data on adoption of agricultural innovations? This question motivated a recent virtual event with CGIAR System Council and senior management, in which SPIA presented summary findings from the first pillar of our Work Plan: Country Studies with results from four countries – Ethiopia, Uganda, Bangladesh and Viet Nam. Beyond SPIA’s mission of analyzing, expanding, and deepening the
By Nina Jovanovic and Jacob Ricker-Gilbert June 18, 2025 Increasing farmer adoption of improved crop varieties is a key way to improve agricultural productivity and reduce poverty in low-income countries. Yet in these areas, smallholder farmers’ reported yields for such varieties often fall far short of researchers’ and policymakers’ expectations. What accounts for this gapbetween the high yield numbers documented in
ICRISAT publishes first-of-its-kind speed breeding protocol for finger millet In a significant advancement for crop science, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has introduced a speed breeding protocol for finger millet. This globally first-of-its-kind innovation drastically shortens the crop’s growing cycle, paving the way for faster and more efficient breeding efforts. Dubbed “Rapid-Ragi”, the new method enables