The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) applies the potentials of plant breeding to develop improved maize and wheat varieties that naturally resist pests and diseases, thrive in marginal areas, and yield more grain. Wheat varieties developed in CIMMYT and its predecessor organization saved South Asia from famine and hunger in the 1960s, which marked the onset of the Green Revolution. The social and economic benefits of this Green Revolution were recognized worldwide when the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to CIMMYT’s plant breeder, Norman Borlaug.

CIMMYT varieties are well adopted all over the world. Recent studies showed that wheat varieties developed by CIMMYT and its partners are planted to more than 64 million hectares in developing countries, representing more than 75% of the area planted to modern wheat varieties in those countries. Its maize varieties on the other hand, are being planted on nearly half of the area sown to improved varieties in non-temperate areas of the developing world. CIMMYT also developed more nutritious varieties of maize, which won recognition from the 2000 World Food Prize.

CIMMYT also develops better cropping practices tailored to the needs of resource poor farmers. It builds capacity by training researchers on technical know-how, and teaching farmers the use of new farming practices and seed production.

CIMMYT’s research priority programs include genetic resources, impacts targeting and assessment, African livelihoods, tropical ecosystems, rainfed wheat systems, and intensive agro-ecosystems. Through its genebank, CIMMYT has important worldwide collections of maize, wheat, and related species for conservation and use of genetic diversity to produce new varieties that will address food production constraints. Also, CIMMYT undertakes several disciplinary research programs on maize improvement, wheat improvement, biotechnology, social sciences, and crop and resource management.

The abbreviation "CIMMYT" is derived from its Spanish name- Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo. CIMMYT was one of the first international research centers to be supported through the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

For more information on CIMMYT, visit http://www.cimmyt.org

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