Through joint research efforts to improve photosynthesis and increase total plant biomass, it is expected that over the next 20 years wheat yields will rise by 50 per cent, said the Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA), Francisco Mayorga Castañeda.
During the Global Donor Meeting of the International Consortium for Increase Wheat Yields, SAGARPA said that Mexico is one of the main drivers of this Consortium, since millions has been invested to boost research leading to increased rice production.
The department said the increase in the productivity of wheat will have a direct impact on global food security and Mexico, so that initiatives such as the Program Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture (MASAGRO), driven by the Federal Government and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), are of major importance for this purpose.
Addressing representatives of 18 countries and 27 national and international organisations, Mr Mayorga Castañeda said MASAGRO is aimed at producers of corn and wheat to increase their productive capacity and ensure better returns.
He said wheat is the most important food crop worldwide and is considered the second priority in the developing world after rice, providing 20 per cent of calories and proteins consumed worldwide.
For his part, the Director General of CIMMYT, Thomas Lumpkin, stated that CIMMYT has one of the most important maize and wheat germplasm banks worldwide, which will contribute to the seed improvement and increase production, to reduce the effects of climate change and price volatility.
