Agrobiodiversity
Livestock: climate menace or opportunity for change?
The CIAT team will present nine research posters at the Tropentag 2016 conference in Vienna, Austria, themed: “Solidarity in a competing world – fair use of resources,” from September 18 – 21.
Four decades of innovation in the forage entomology and pathology laboratory
For 40 years, team work has been the central pillar of the entomology and pathology laboratory in CIAT´s Tropical Forages Program. The team´s main task is to evaluate damage to pastures caused by an insect pest commonly known as the spittlebug and a disease whose scientific name is Rhizoctonia solani.
Colombian-Japanese project offers an opportunity to strengthen Colombia´s rice sector
A group of researchers recently visited the town of Yosano in Japan to find out first-hand from Japanese rice growers about a new approach to rice agronomy that makes irrigated production more environmentally friendly, requiring less water and fewer applications of nutrients, such as nitrogen.
CIAT’s research boosts development of Nicaragua’s livestock sector
To share experiences that will increase the productivity of Nicaragua’s livestock sector and improve the quality and efficiency of the country’s cattle production, the Nicaraguan Institute for Agricultural Technology (INTA) organized the “First International Congress on Challenges and Opportunities to Increase National Livestock Productivity” in Managua.
Bean power: Finger on the pulse of a drought-resilient future
Against a hilly backdrop, Daud Bukuku examines a handful of brown beans from a large basket. The open fields behind him have just been harvested: his plot is freshly harvested. But he’s lucky to have had a harvest at all – the beans he proudly shows us didn’t crop up for everyone.
First drought-resilient, high iron beans for Uganda released
Five new bean varieties bred with high iron and resilience to the impacts of drought have been released in Uganda for the first time.
Cassava – A root that brings Corpoica and CIAT together
A total of eight cassava varieties will be released in Colombia´s Cauca Department, Caribbean region, and Eastern Plains during the second half of 2016. Coming at the end of an important collaborative process, this achievement also signals the start of new joint efforts by the Colombian Corporation of Agricultural Research (Corpoica) and CIAT. Planted to more than 200,000 hectares in Colombia, cassava is used mainly for food, livestock feed, and the production of native and fermented starch. The latter is the primary product of processors in Northern Cauca.
Eating high-iron beans reduces iron deficiency in just a few months
Eating specially-bred, high-iron beans twice-a-day for just four-and-a-half months reduced iron deficiency and anaemia in young women in Rwanda, according to a new study.
How much do countries benefit from one another’s crop diversity?
Bananas originated in South and Southeast Asia, and are now produced throughout the world’s tropics and eaten in at least 192 countries worldwide. Quinoa came from the South American Andes, and is currently cultivated in almost 100 nations. Countries clearly depend on one another’s crop diversity. But can we measure the extent of the benefits?
Brachiaria breakthrough: scientists home-in on apomixis
The US corn industry underwent a massive transformation during the 20th century. The introduction of hybrid seeds allowed farmers to grow row after row of uniform plants, which produced large quantities of grain. The seeds, which were produced by selectively breeding...
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.
Contact
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.