Medias

Genetic engineering lags behind conventional breeding in efforts to create drought-resistant maize.

CGIAR Climate's insight:

The project’s success is due in large part to its access to a large seed bank managed by one of its partners, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico City. Breeders from CIMMYT and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan, Nigeria, searched the collection for maize varieties that thrive in water-scarce regions. The researchers cross-bred these var­ieties and then mated the most drought-tolerant of their offspring.