BEIJING, Jan 14 (Alliance News): China, in partnership with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), has announced plans to deepen collaboration on crop breeding and production with African and South Asian countries, officials shared at the China-CIMMYT for South-South Cooperation Forum in Sanya, Hainan province.
The forum highlighted the role of wheat as a global food security cornerstone, particularly as climate change increasingly affects production in low-latitude regions like South Asia and Africa. Hans Braun, a scientist with CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program, emphasized the importance of developing disease- and stress-resistant wheat varieties.
Chinese and Pakistani scientists have jointly created two high-yield wheat varieties resistant to yellow rust, a destructive crop disease in Pakistan. These varieties, pending approval for commercial production, are expected to significantly boost local wheat output.
Awais Rasheed of the China-Pakistan Joint Wheat Molecular Breeding Lab highlighted the role of South-South collaboration in fostering molecular breeding and developing elite cultivars.
China aims to use its technological, genetic, and human resource strengths to enhance wheat breeding, crop management, and post-harvest processing for the Global South, according to Professor He Zhonghu of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and China’s CIMMYT representative.
Further efforts will include joint monitoring and prevention of crop diseases like fusarium head blight, expanding knowledge sharing, and introducing fusarium-resistant wheat varieties to increase yield. Short-term training programs and seminars will also be hosted in China and participating countries, with input from local universities and agricultural institutions.
The partnership, strengthened by CIMMYT and the UN World Food Program, will address food security challenges and enhance regional wheat production capacity.