The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and Cargill Mexico will hold the second edition of the Cargill-CIMMYT Food Security and Sustainability Award during CIMMYT’s 50th anniversary celebration.
A bourse of US$25,000 will be awarded to projects that promote sustainable food security solutions in Mexico and are implemented by farmers, researchers and opinion leaders.
“Ultimately, Cargill and CIMMYT want to develop an operational strategy that can be replicated in other parts of Mexico and beyond,” said Cargill senior director of corporate responsibility, Michelle Grogg.
Effective sustainable intensification strategies in Mexico, or anywhere else, only achieve significant and sustainable yield increases when innovative leaders in the links forming the agri-business chain collaborate with each other, said CIMMYT’s director general, Martin Kropff.
Since 2015, Cargill has committed US$50,000 to support the awards.
Award winners in 2015 have made the most of their achievement by investing their prizes in the activities outlined below.
The farmer association representative invested their $10,000 award in a conservation project that helped renew machinery and equipment.
The researchers’ category $10,000 award went to technological developments aimed at reducing consumption of fertilizers and herbicides in agriculture soybeans.
And, the opinion leader category winner used its US$5,000 award to purchase a rainwater conservation system to help boost maize farmers’ productivity in the state of Hidalgo.
Cargill is also sponsoring a study to evaluate and outline a sustainable and responsible sourcing plan for the Mexican maize and wheat markets.
A task force, including Cargill and CIMMYT experts, will evaluate pilot areas and approaches, including ways to implement more sustainable and responsible sourcing practices in the local supply chain.
