ICRISAT and CIMMYT Launch New Initiative to Fast-Track Climate-Resilient Crops for Dryland Farmers in Africa and India

Nairobi, Kenya - The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and CIMMYT, with funding support from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, have launched a landmark research initiative to dramatically shorten the time required to develop climate-resilient and market-preferred crop varieties for farmers in the drylands of Eastern Africa and India.

The five-year initiative, Applying Modern Tools to Enhance Precision and Speed of Dryland Crops Breeding, will initially focus on sorghum and groundnut as proof-of-concept crops while establishing a scalable framework for dryland crop improvement across Africa and South Asia.

The partnership brings together the complementary strengths of CGIAR centers, ICRISAT, and CIMMYT, alongside national agricultural research systems in Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and India, as well as the University of Queensland, a global leader in predictive breeding science.

Novo Nordisk Foundation Senior Scientific Lead, Dr de Bang, said accelerating crop improvement in dryland systems demands collaboration that goes beyond business-as-usual.

See https://pressroom.icrisat.org/icrisat-and-cimmyt-launch-new-initiative-to-fast-track-climate-resilient-crops-for-dryland-farmers-in-africa-and-india