Agrobiodiversity
Hoan and sweetpotato: a sweet, budding love affair
Nguyen Thi Hoan, a farmer in Vietnam, reaps the rewards of improved sweetpotato farming practices.
CIAT turns to space technology for monitoring crop performance
CIAT and several Colombian and U.K.-based organizations are partnering to develop a platform that will allow rice and palm growers in Colombia to have thriving livelihoods without harming the environment.
GCP21 calls for regional approach to stem the outbreak of cassava mosaic disease in Southeast Asia
The Global Cassava Partnerships for the 21st Century (GCP21) has called for urgent regional approach to halt the spread of cassava mosaic disease (CMD) that is threatening cassava production in Southeast Asia—a region that accounts for about 55 million tons of cassava and host billions of dollars in cassava investment. The GCP21 is rallying stakeholders in Southeast Asia to come together to address the challenge posed by CMD. A regional meeting will soon be held with a view to developing a detailed plan of action and collaboration on interventions needed, in order to prevent the disease from negatively impacting the vibrant cassava industry in the region.
Farming in transition: How smallholder farms in the Mekong could thrive amid a changing landscape
In the continuing journey to identify what makes smallholder farming systems in the Mekong sustainable and resilient, the Hands and Minds project finds out a number of things: (1) livestock intensification could be done in a way that could both increase profitability and reduce labor demands; (2) smallholders could be farming increasingly infertile soils, and this can be reversed by adopting management practices that efficiently manage nutrients from various sources in the farm; (3) the interaction between farmer and extension worker is crucial in enabling farmers adopt eco-resilient practices.
BMS – A key system for CIAT breeders
Last April, a BMS (Breeding Management System) workshop was held, as a joint effort among Cécile Grenier (researcher at CIAT’s Rice Program), representatives from the Integrated Breeding Platform (IBP), and CIAT’s Data and Research Methods team.
How drone-assisted breeding can help stop rice hoja blanca disease
CIAT and FLAR are collaborating to breed more rice varieties that are highly resistant to a virus that can cause up to 70 percent yield loss.
Time to talk Internet of Things and agricultural technology
Wednesday, 23 May, between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 m. (Colombian time), you will have a chance to join experts and take a close look at the rise of agritech and how green technology can enable more earth-friendly agriculture.
Golden Cassava Prize awarded to a CIAT researcher
Dr. Hernán Ceballos, a plant breeder at CIAT’s Cassava Program, and Alfred Dixon, IITA Director of the Development and Delivery Office, will receive the Golden Cassava Prize at the triennial Global Cassava Partnership for the 21st Century (GCP21) meeting to be held in Benin from 11 to 15 June.
Inspired by the past, empowered for the future: CIAT looks forward to its next 50 years
Officially unveiled today, our annual report, “Building a Sustainable Food Future: CIAT in Review 2017-2018,” features our primary actions and achievements over the past year. In addition to highlighting many of the pioneering efforts we have launched, the report examines future directions for years to come.
More cassava for less time
Dr. Michael Gomez Selvaraj and his colleagues at the CIAT Phenomics Platform are developing a technique that can identify the genes and factors that cause early bulking of roots, which can help establish how to shorten the growth cycle of cassava.
About agrobiodiversity research at CIAT
CIAT develops more resilient and productive varieties of cassava and common bean, together with tropical forages for livestock. We also help improve rice production in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The superior crop varieties that result from our collaborative work offer many valuable traits, such as high yield and stress tolerance, which are vital for guaranteeing global food supplies in the face of rapidly rising demand, shifting disease and insect pressures, rampant environmental degradation, and the looming threat of climate change.
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This CIAT Blog was launched in January 2016. For articles related to agrobiodiversity prior to this date, visit our former blog. Please note the old AgBio blog is no longer updated.