CIAT's New Brachiara Hybrids for Africa

The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) has been conducting Brachiaria breeding since 1988. Brachiaria is the leading species of grass suitable for livestock forage. New hybrids boast of superior forage quality, yield and adaption that could lead to productivity and profitability for the milk and meat producer. An agreement was recently forged between CIAT and DowAgroSciences to bring the new hybrids to Africa, where the grass species originated.

Under the agreement, Dow AgroSciences will evaluate and commercialize the new Brachiaria hybrids developed by CIAT's Tropical Forages Program starting in 2011.

"Our agreement with Dow AgroSciences, which focuses major commercial and technical resources on livestock productivity, represents an important step toward ensuring that productive new grass hybrids can spread as quickly and widely as possible to bolster global food security," said Joe Tohme, research director for CIAT's Agrobiodiversity Research Area.

For more on this news, see  http://www.dowagro.com/newsroom/corporate/2011/20110621a.htm.