At the same time than the launch of the WHEALBI project, an international initiative started : the International Wheat Yield Partnership (IWYP).
Its mission is to unlock wheat’s potential and help meet growing wheat demands.
This initiative was launched in Mexico, at the CIMMYT, in March 2014.
The press release
Ciudad Obregón, Mexico, 25 March 2014
A new international partnership seeks to increase wheat yields by 50 percent by 2034. This will address demand for wheat – one of the world’s most important crops – that is growing much faster than production. The new International Wheat Yield Partnership (IWYP) brings together research funders, international aid agencies, foundations, companies and major wheat research organizations. It was launched at the Borlaug Summit on Wheat for Food Security in Ciudad Obregón, Mexico. The Summit marked the 100th birthday of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Norman Borlaug, credited with sparking the agricultural ‘Green Revolution’ of the 1960s and helping to save over one billion people from starvation.
Steve Visscher, Chair of the IWYP board of founding partners and BBSRC Deputy Chief Executive, said, “We need a collective global approach to make more wheat available. It is the most widely grown staple food crop and new varieties with increased yield will be vital to feed the world’s growing population.”
The world’s population is estimated to reach 9.6 billion by 2050 and wheat production will have a crucial role in food security and the global economy. The World Bank estimates that
global wheat production must increase by 60 percent between 2000 and 2050 to meet rising demand. However wheat yield increases in developed nations have slowed since 1990. Politically destabilizing wheat price spikes seen in 2007-08 and 2011 are likely to be repeated if wheat production falls short of demand.
The IWYP research program provides a unique vehicle for new discoveries and their rapid incorporation into wheat crops grown throughout the world. IWYP will stimulate new research, amplify the output from existing programs and make scientific discoveries available to farmers in developing and developed nations.
“By working together, IWYP members will enable scientific breakthroughs that are out of reach via existing mechanisms,” added Visscher. “One focus of IWYP will be to improve wheat’s use of the sun’s energy. Other important crops, like maize, are much more efficient at turning sunlight’s energy into food.”
More informations on the IWYP website