CIMMYT works throughout the developing world to improve livelihoods and foster more productive, sustainable maize and wheat farming. Our portfolio squarely targets critical challenges, including food insecurity and malnutrition, climate change and environmental degradation.
Through collaborative research, partnerships, and training, the center helps to build and strengthen a new generation of national agricultural research and extension services in maize- and wheat-growing nations. As a member of the CGIAR consortium of 15 agricultural research centers, CIMMYT leads the CGIAR Research Programs on Maize and Wheat, which align and add value to the efforts of more than 500 partners.
CIMMYT crop-breeding research begins with its Germplasm Bank, a remarkable living catalog of genetic diversity comprising over 28,000 unique seed collections of maize and over 140,000 of wheat. From its breeding programs, each year CIMMYT sends half a million seed packages to 600 partners in 100 countries. With researchers and farmers, the center also develops and promotes more productive and precise maize and wheat farming methods and tools that save money and resources such as soil, water, and fertilizer.