Biotech Updates

CIMMYT Inaugurates Biosciences Facilities in Mexico

February 27, 2013

A new US$25 million research complex was inaugurated at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center's (CIMMYT) headquarters in El Batan, Mexico. The new bioscience complex will allow faster development of valuable seed with more precise characterization of its genetic traits, such as heat and drought tolerance, disease and pest resistance, and seed health, as well as the nutritional and industrial quality of the grain.

The grand opening gathered a crowd of more than 100 guests, including CIMMYT's partners Bill and Melinda Gates, Carlos Slim, Mexico's Secretary of Agriculture Lic. Enrique Martínez y Martínez, and Dr. Eruviel Ávila Villegas, Governor of the State of Mexico.

CIMMYT Director General Thomas A. Lumpkin said, "We will see the introduction of modern and more sustainable farming practices, including precision and conservation agriculture, backed by intelligent mobile phone services in farmers' fields and digital tools in labs that will open our access to the full genetic diversity of maize and wheat to benefit the world's poorest farming communities."

For more information, read the news release at http://www.cimmyt.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1560:carlos-slim-bill-gates-and-mexican-dignitaries-visit-cimmyt-to-inaugurate-bioscience-facilities&catid=635:2013.