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Opinion | | 26/7/2021
This opinion piece published in Frontiers in Plant Science briefly presents the breeder's equation and highlights the terms that can be manipulated to increase genetic gain per time and per dollar...
Identifying market segments and aligning breeding pipelines will focus CGIAR investments
Opinion | Adam Hunt | 29/6/2021
There is an urgent need for public breeding programs to prioritize and focus their efforts. Excellence in Breeding (EiB) is working with CGIAR partners to identify market segments and align breeding pipelines to them — with...
Teaming up for more impactful breeding
| Adam Hunt | 27/4/2021
Breeders, economists, gender specialists, and food technologists are gathering together to advance new approaches to breeding crop varieties that people will want.A two-day online “hackathon” jointly organized by the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB) and the Excellence in Breeding Platform focused on key improvements to the impact of breeding programs. As these clonally-propagated crops are a foundation of food...
Seeding excellence through breeding excellence
| Adam Hunt | 5/4/2021
Originally published by Asian Seed Magazine. Written by Adam Hunt, EiB Communications lead. CGIAR Excellence in Breeding is working with partners to catalyze a transformation of public crop breeding programs across Asia, Africa and the developing world.When parts of Asia looked to be on the brink of famine in the 1960s, scientists transformed agriculture through the Green Revolution. Catalyzed by the research-for-...
In a water-challenged world, crop breeders must do more than go with the flow
Opinion | Adam Hunt | 22/3/2021
With water sources dwindling and harsher climate conditions on the rise, farmers in the developing world need both better crop varieties and improved water management practices. This World Water Day, Gustavo Teixeira, EiB Module lead for Breeding Operations and...
New approaches to breed more inclusive crop varieties
Success story | Sam Storr | 5/3/2021
Hale Ann Tufan, right, inspects a cassava plant with Chiedozie Egesi, program director for the NextGen Cassava project, during a visit to research fields in Namulonge, Uganda. Credit: NextGen Cassava. New crop varieties can help farmers thrive in difficult agricultural conditions, feed...
Breeding scientists are women of their word
Opinion | Adam Hunt | 9/2/2021
If you had to choose one word that symbolizes “women in science,” what would it be? CGIAR Excellence in Breeding asked this question to an array of women working across the crop breeding domain. Their answers show us a scientific field full of hope and accomplishment, but still struggling with challenges. For this year’s...
Four ways One CGIAR breeding programs can walk the talk on innovation
Opinion | Adam Hunt | 11/1/2021
By Hugo Campos and Michael QuinnIn the face of accelerated climate change, COVID-19 and growing populations, breeding at One CGIAR has a chance to lead the way towards food security. But to achieve that, breeding programs need to consider not only genetic and scientific progress, but...
Crop breeding and soil management must go hand in hand
Opinion | Adam Hunt | 5/12/2020
Originally an EiB Op-Ed published on Farming First.Crop breeding is helping farmers in the developing world produce higher yields and better products under increasingly harsh conditions. This World Soil Day, Breeding Resource Initiative / EiB's phenotypinga and breeding operations expert Gustavo Teixeira,...
Here's how to embed continuous improvement in your work
How to | Adam Hunt | 23/11/2020
By Gustavo Teixeira, Theresa Heitman and Adam Hunt Crop breeding programs are setting an example for how to examine and improve their work – while embedding this process into organizational culture. It's all to better meet the needs of their customers, namely breeders, farmers and...