The CGIAR at 40Launch of the MAIZE Research Program

Thomas A. LumpkinDirector General

CIMMYT

Waterwater tables

surface water

Soilsdegradationhillside erosion

Nutrientsfertilizer costimbalanced use

Energypeak oilbiofuel

Climate changeheat, drought, extreme events

Demandpopulation growth

changing diets

Converging Challenges to MAIZE

East African Drought ‘Worst in 60 Years’

The MAIZE CGIAR Research ProgramEnsure food security, improved income and a healthier environment for 900 million poor who rely on maize for their livelihood.

Targeting

• 64% of the maize area in less developed countries

• 900 million (>90%) maize-dependent

poor

• 62 million (1/3 of all) stunted children

Areas & farmers not targeted by the private research sector

Only 5% of the private maize research investment goes to LDCs

Building on Strength and Focus

CIMMYT: Sustainably increase the productivity of maize and wheat systems to ensure global food security and reduce poverty

IITA: To enhance food security and improve livelihoods in Africa through research-for development.

Global Alliance of 350 Partners

CIMMYT, IITASAGARPA - Mexico, KARI - Kenya, Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture

CIAT, ICRAF, ICRISAT, IFPRI, ILRI, IRRI 130 national agricultural research institutes. 18 regional and international organizations.21 advanced agricultural research institutes.75 universities.46 private sector organizations.42 NGOs and farmer associations.11 countries that host MAIZE offices.

How to Manage so Many Partners?

90% of the decisions are made here in a highly collaborative manner

Primary Research partners: IITASAGARPA, KARI, SFSA

Oversight by R&D partners, all regions

Action Agenda: ‘9 Strategic Initiatives’

1. Socioeconomics for targeting and supportive policies

2. Sustainable intensification and income opportunities for the poor

3. Smallholder precision agriculture4. Stress tolerant maize for the poorest5. Doubling maize productivity6. Integrating postharvest management7. More nutritious maize (with CRP4)8. Seeds of Discovery – open the black

box of genetic diversity9. Modern tools and methods for NARS

and SMEs

What’s New? - System-based Approaches with GRiSP & CRP1

South Asia/CSISA

SIMLESA

Integrated system based approaches to maximize farm-level productivity, income, resilience and sustainability along stronger value chains.

• NARS in 4+5+1 countries• Farmers as experimenters• Agribusiness• ICT tools• CIMMYT – ICRISAT – ILRI – IFPRI – IRRI

MasAgro - TTF

CSISA

What’s New? - Seeds of Discovery

Collaborators:• Next generation sequencing: Joint venture between CIMMYT and DArTs P/L,

CINESTAV or INIFAP, Cornell University• Phenotypic characterization and marker-trait associations with researchers

across the globe• Informatics and web platforms: SCRI Scotland, DArTs P/L, Cornell University• IP and Science Advisory Team

New technologies enable us to unlock the entire native genetic diversity of our 27,000 land races of maize

What’s New? – Maize Resilient to Climate Change

We are able to develop drought tolerant maize

The challenges

To combine drought and heat tolerance

To reach farmers in Africa, Asia and Latin America ; > 80% of all maize is rainfed

To get seed to the poorest

What farmers grow today

Drought tolerant

Lobell et al 2011 Climate change impact on maize

What Will MAIZE Achieve?

Benefit (*) 2020 2030

Productivity increase 7% 33%

Annual producer benefit USD 2.0 billion USD 8.9 billion

Farmers 17 million 70 million

Food (30% calories) for 135 million consumers 600 million consumers

Environment and equity Greater resilience, reduced deforestation; increased biodiversity and soil productivity, seed sector diversity

(*) Without impact from past research that is currently been deployed