International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center

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International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
CIMMYT
www.cImmyt.org
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International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
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• More than one out of four people on earth are
  poor.
• One out of seven are hungry.
• The vast majority of these people live in
  developing countries.
• CIMMYT works for them.

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• CIMMYT conducts research on maize and wheat to
  help people overcome hunger and poverty and to
  grow crops without harming the environment.

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• CIMMYTs mission is to alleviate poverty by
  increasing the profitability, productivity, and
  sustainability of maize- and wheat-based farming
  systems.

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CIMMYTs goal is to improve the lives of poor
people
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• ending their hunger,
• raising their incomes,
• preserving their land, water, and other natural
  resources, and
• helping their children to a better life.

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Why is CIMMYTs Work Important?
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• The world has not solved the problems of hunger
  and poverty.
• Globally, we produce enough food for everyone.
• Locally, people are starving and malnourished.
  They lack resources to grow or buy enough food.

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Facts about Population, Poverty, and Hunger
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• The world will gain 2 billion people in the next
  25 years, and 97 of them will be born in
  developing countries
• Nearly half of the worlds people (2.8 billion)
  rely on less than US 2 per day to meet all their
  needsfor food, shelter, clothing, health, and
  education
• Half of all children in the poorest countries are
  still malnourished

Source World Bank (2000).
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Maize and Wheat Important forPoor People
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• Seventy percent of the worlds people live in
  rural areas and depend on agriculture for food
  and income
• Maize and wheat are among the three most
  important basic foods in low-income nations (the
  other one is rice)
• Maize and wheat provide, on average, 25 of all
  food calories consumed in low-income nations
• Maize and wheat are essential to food security of
  many low-income nations, and many poor households
• Poor people in developing countries spend 50-80
  of their disposable income on food compared to
  the 10-15 spent in Europe and the US

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Rising Demand for Maize and Wheat
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• By 2020, the worlds farmers will have to produce
  40 more grain to meet demand for cereals,
  including wheat and maize
• By 2020, 67 of the worlds wheat consumption and
  57 of the worlds maize consumption will occur
  in developing countries
• In developing countries, demand for wheat and
  maize will rise faster than demand for rice
• Demand for wheat will grow by 1.58 per year
  demand for maize will grow by 2.35 per year

Source Pinstrup-Andersen, Pandya-Lorch,
and Rosegrant (1999) Rosegrant et al. (1997).
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Developing CountriesImporting More Maize and
Wheat
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• By 2020 wheat will constitute more than 50 of
  the developing worlds net cereal imports
• Maize will constitute 33
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• But Will Imports Solve the Hunger Problem?
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• Many developing nations cannot generate enough
  foreign exchange to buy the grain they need
• Demand is unlikely to be met through global trade
• Since 1960, the share of world grain consumption
  that is traded has remained constant at about 10

Source Rosegrant et al. (1997) McCalla (2000).
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Natural Resources for Agriculture In Jeopardy?
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• The world has 8.7 billion hectares of
  agricultural lands, pastures, forest, and
  woodlands 25 of this area has been degraded in
  the past 50 years, and each year another 5 to 10
  million hectares suffer the same fate
• The 70 of the worlds freshwater that goes to
  agriculture is a dwindling resource
• Even if irrigated agriculture becomes more
  efficient, the world will need at least 17 more
  freshwater to meet food needs
• Increased ozone pollution, acid rain, and global
  warming also threaten the future productivity of
  agriculture

Source Shah and Strong (1999).
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CIMMYT Origins and Early Impacts
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• Mexico and the Rockefeller Foundation began a
  specialized research program on maize, wheat, and
  other crops in 1943
• CIMMYTfounded in 1966traces its origins to that
  program
• Success in developing high-yielding, semidwarf
  wheats enabled a quick response in the mid-1960s
  to the threat of famine in South Asia
• Millions of farmers across South Asia adopted
  those wheats, creating the Green Revolution
• Norman Borlaug, an early leader and continuing
  inspiration in CIMMYTs wheat research, was
  awarded the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize for developing
  those life-saving wheats

Norman Borlaug Receives Nobel Peace Prize
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Our Partners

• CIMMYT works in close partnership with
• National public agricultural research systems
  throughout the developing world
• Other centers of the Consultative Group on
  International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
• Advanced research institutes (ARIs)
• Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
• Farmers
• Private organizations

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Our Products and Services

• Efficient maize and wheat varieties, with
  built-in genetic resistance to important
  diseases, insects, and other selected stresses
• Conservation and utilization of maize and wheat
  genetic resources from throughout the world
• Development of more sustainable maize and wheat
  production systems

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Our Products and Services

• Strategic research on conserving natural
  resources, economics, biotechnology, crop
  physiology, and ecosystem management
• More efficient research methods
• New scientific knowledge and information
• Introductory, intermediate, and advanced training
• Technical consultation with a wide range of
  collaborators

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Funding
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• Many governments and organizations, including
  foundations and private organizations, help
  CIMMYT researchers fulfill their mission

Foundations (CGIAR members) 2
Foundations (Non-CGIAR members) 5
CGIAR members (South) 5
Non-CGIAR members (South) 2
Advanced research institute agreements (Private)
3
Advanced research institute agreements (Public) 4
Investors in CIMMYT