Challenges in maize, wheat research

Maize and wheat are two of the world’s three most important staple foods and are essential to food security and socio-economic development, according to Dr. Masa Iwanaga, recently appointed director-general of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) based in Mexico.

In Asia alone, demand for maize is growing faster than the demand for any other cereals, including rice, and demand for wheat is rising rapidly as well, Dr. Iwanaga said.

Because of this, CIMMYT has initiated a long-term research strategy on drought-tolerant maize and wheat varieties as well as farming practices that can have beneficial economic and environmental impact, he added.

Dr. Iwanaga, who received a PhD in plant breeding and plant genetics from the University of Wisconsin, USA, has more than two decades of research and management experience in international development. He is the first Japanese to become director of a Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) center.

CIMMYT is one of the 16 ‘Future Harvest Centers’ of the CGIAR, a non-profit research and training organization dedicated to helping the poor in developing countries.