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Last update: 8 October 2009

Researchers complete draft genome sequence for cassava

A team of academic, governmentand industry researchers has completed a first draft of the cassava (Manihot esculenta) genome. The project is an important first step in accelerating the pace of research on this subsistence crop and addressing some of the many limitations that face cassava farmers around the world.

The impetus for the genome sequence began in 2003 with the formation of The Global Cassava Partnership (GCP-21), co-chaired by Dr. Claude Fauquet, director of the International Laboratory for Tropical Agriculture Biology (ILTAB) at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center (DDPSC) in St. Louis, and Dr. Joe Tohme of CIAT in Cali, Colombia. This, in turn, led to a 2006 proposal by Fauquet, Tohme and 12 other international scientists to DOE JGI's Community Sequencing Program, which was selected for a pilot project.

See the News Release.

New issue of Challenges & Innovations now available

The fifth issue of CIAT's e-newsletter, Challenges & Innovations, is now online. It includes news of an exciting discovery that could radically reduce the need for nitrogen fertilizer, the latest in the long-running "Enola" bean biopiracy saga, as well as a closer look at CIAT's new research structure. This edition also features a Cassava Special.

See this e-newsletter.

Cassava "accident" brings tolerance hope

When a consignment of carotene-rich cassava roots was packaged and sent for bioavailability tests, there was the usual, hopeful wait for results. Ten months later and those results, soon to be officially announced, suggest that the carotene contained in yellow-flesh of the so-called "egg yolk" cassava has good bioavailability, meaning it can be easily absorbed by humans, and converted into the essential micronutrient vitamin A. This in itself is great news for CIAT and researchers working as part of the CGIAR-wide HarvestPlus program. But the story doesn't end there.

See the News Release.

Car fuelled by cassava is a world first

The first vehicle completely powered by a biofuel made from cassava roots is already on the move in the department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia.

The test run is being carried out using a CIAT pick-up truck. CIAT, together with Clayuca, a consortium that supports cassava research and development in Latin America and the Caribbean, recently inaugurated a pilot small-scale processing plant that produces hydrated ethanol using cassava, sugar sorghum, or sweet potato as raw material. This fuel contains 4%-5% water, hence its name of hydrated ethanol.

See the News Release.

New legal decision against bean pirate

A US citizen who claimed he had "invented" a new bean, and took out a patent on the yellow "Enola" variety has once again had his claim defeated in the courtroom. But despite the result, the case raises important questions about the effectiveness of biopiracy laws, and their ability to adequately protect small farmers.

See the News Release.

Social bio-refinery for poor communities inaugurated

A small-scale ethanol processing plant, which uses cassava, sugar sorghum, and sweet potato as raw materials, has been unveiled at CIAT to mark the 10th anniversary of Clayuca—a consortium that supports cassava research and development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

See the News Release.

Bean varieties released in Ecuador using CIAT materials and methodology

Ecuador's National Institute for Agricultural Research (INIAP), through its National Program of Andean Legumes and Grains, released three new bean varieties applying the CIAL participatory methodology, designed by CIAT, and using plant material developed by this Center.

See the News Release.

CIAT Annual Report 2008 online

The CIAT Annual Report 2008 is now online. It contains details of some the Center’s important advances in research to tackle hunger and poverty in the tropics. It also features financial results, together with the outlook and challenges for 2009 and beyond.

See the report.

Download the report (full text, 1347 kb).

CIAT researcher wins international award

An award-winning scientist in Colombia has paid tribute to his Colombian colleagues for their dedication, which led to him winning an international science prize. To show his appreciation, Dr Andy Jarvis, of CIAT and Bioversity International, near Cali, will use part of the prize money to create a scholarship for a promising scientist from the region to help with his research into the effects of climate change on agricultural biodiversity.

See the News Release.

CIAT takes the lead to ease coffee-climate pressure

CIAT is at the forefront of efforts to help coffee farmers in Central America rise to the challenge of climate change. The organization will play a key role in a project to study the impact of rising temperatures and decreasing rainfall on coffee production in the region, and identify ways for farmers to adapt.

See the News Release.

New shipment of seeds to the North Pole

As the first anniversary of the inauguration of the Svalvard Global Seed Vault (Norway) draws near, CIAT has made a second shipment of duplicate seeds of beans and tropical forages to this fortress built on a remote archipelago near the North Pole to safeguard the world's most important food crops in case of any catastrophe.

See the News Release.

New digital map of Africa's depleted soils to
offer insights critical for boosting food production

Nairobi, Kenya (13 January 2009)—Responding to sub-Saharan Africa's soil health crisis, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) announced today an ambitious new effort to produce the first-ever, detailed digital soil map for all 42 countries of the region. This project combines the latest soil science and technology with remote satellite imagery and on-the-ground efforts to analyze thousands of soil samples from remote areas across the continent to help provide solutions for poor farmers, who suffer from chronically low-yielding crops largely because of degraded soils.

See the News Release.

CIAT's new E-Newsletter

CIAT's new quarterly e-newsletter "Challenges & Innovations" was launched last 12 August in replacement of its previous bulletin, CIAT-News, and distributed to a vast audience of over 36,000 subscribers, including researchers, donors, NARS, and stakeholders of different countries.

This e-newsletter, also published in Spanish, aims to become one of the Center's main communication channels to disseminate the advances and impact of its research in the tropics.

See the News Release.

CIAT-led institutional Knowledge Sharing Project of the CGIAR delivers promising results

CIAT has been leading the Knowledge Sharing (KS) Project of the CGIAR on behalf of the ICT-KM Program since 2004. With a key objective to encourage open and inclusive sharing of knowledge, expertise and experiences among CGIAR staff and research partners, the Program’s knowledge sharing work is aimed at supporting learning and change to improve the effectiveness and impact of CGIAR work.

See the News Release.

Rice growers will promote a "technological revolution" to confront the world's food crisis

The Latin American rice sector is committed to joining efforts to confront the current world food crisis. It will promote a technological revolution as the only viable solution for meeting regional demand for rice over the long term and for contributing towards supplying the world with one of humanity's staple grains.

The announcement was made in Guayaquil, Ecuador, during the XXIII Meeting of the Administrative Committee of the Latin American Fund for Irrigated Rice (FLAR, its Spanish acronym). The Fund brings together 22 public and private institutions of 15 countries, and their strategic partner, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT, its Spanish acronym).

See the News Release.

New module for Graduate Course in Rural Business Development

CIAT and the Tropical Agronomic Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) have worked together since 2002 to create and implement a Diploma Course in Rural Business Development. Starting this year, the course will have a new module on Business Orientation and Managerial Capacities of Associative Enterprises in Rural Areas, which will be held from 16 to 27 June 2008 at CIAT's headquarters in Palmira, Colombia.

Registrations are open until 28 May.

More information

US Patent Office rejects US company's patent protection for bean commonly grown by Latin American farmers

Controversial Court patent case for simple yellow legume has become rallying point for "biopiracy" concerns

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today rejected all of the patent claims for a common yellow bean that has been a familiar staple in Latin American diets for more than a century.

See the News Release.

Partnership with TTDI to enhance cassava production and farmer livelihoods in Thailand

CIAT scientists are developing new cassava varieties that will enable smallholder farmers in Thailand to produce more revenue. A 5-year collaboration with Bangkok-based Thai Tapioca Development Institute (TTDI) aims to adapt cassava to growing conditions in Thailand while optimizing its marketability.

See the News Release.

Research examines seed-aid effectiveness

Findings already influencing policies of donor and recipient governments

Emergency seed aid, a critical intervention during times of crisis for farmers in the developing world, has had a range of unexpected effects— and the easiest solution, seed handouts, is rarely the best, according to a new paper published today in The Journal of Development Studies.

See the News Release.

Dr. Hawtin continues as CIAT DG

The Board of Trustees of CIAT unanimously confirmed the continued appointment of Dr. Geoff Hawtin as CIAT Director General (DG) pending the selection of a new DG in early 2009.

See the News Release.

Colombia ships seeds of staple food crops to the
Svalbard Global Seed Vault for safeguarding

Colombia is participating in one of the world's most ambitious projects. Known as the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, the project aims to preserve, safe from any catastrophe, humanity's agricultural heritage.

See the News Release.

The Rural Innovation Institute Foundation will not continue

Six months after announcing its creation, the Rural Innovation Institute Foundation suspended its activities definitively, as announced by its Executive Director Jacqueline Ashby.

The promoters of this initiative were CIAT, the Colombian Corporation for Agricultural Research (CORPOICA), and the AlvarAlice Foundation of Cali, Colombia.

See the News Release.

CIAT appoints new Interim Director General

Geoff Hawtin, a British-Canadian scientist and expert in plant genetic resources, will be the new Interim Director General of CIAT, in replacement of anthropologist Joachim Voss, who will retire in January 2008.

See the News Release.

Restructuring research at CIAT to better address new challenges

CIAT reorganized its research agenda to increase its competitiveness and generate new products of world coverage.The agenda that for many years focused on 14 major projects in multiple areas will now concentrate on six product-based programs (knowledge and technologies) that aim to support the poor farmers of the tropics in their pursuit of a more competitive agriculture.

See the News Release.

Innovative project carried out by CIAT to empower small farmers

Coffee pulp is commonly used to fertilize crops, but can you imagine a small farmer taking advantage of this waste to produce fuel for his motorcycle?

CIAT does envision this possibility and is conducting a pilot-scale project in several areas of Colombia that mainly aims to develop low-cost innovative systems to produce bioethanol (fuel alcohol), biodiesel, and pure vegetable oil that will generate rural employment while protecting the environment by reducing air pollution.

See the News Release.