Rome, Italy | Tuesday, 4 August – CIMMYT, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), today signed a landmark global agreement to strengthen the world’s ability to feed people in a crisis while building more resilient agricultural systems for the future.
The new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) brings together the world's leading humanitarian organization and one of the world’s top food security innovation centers at a time when conflict, climate shocks, and economic disruption are placing unprecedented pressure on global food systems. WFP and CIMMYT will strengthen collaboration to help countries respond to food crises while building the resilience needed to withstand those yet to come.
Signed at WFP Headquarters in Rome by CIMMYT Director General Dr. Bram Govaerts and Matthew Hollingworth, Assistant Executive Director of WFP, the agreement establishes a framework for deeper collaboration. Together, WFP and CIMMYT span the full food security continuum, from protecting vulnerable populations during crises to restoring agricultural production and strengthening the resilience of the farming and agrifood systems on which future food security depends.
As the current world situation shows, all countries face an increasingly complex convergence of conflict, climate shocks, economic instability, and supply chain disruptions, and that calls for clear mandate complementarity working towards a common purpose. The future of food security will depend on stronger partnerships that bring together strategic foresight, humanitarian action, scientific innovation, and long-term investment in resilient agriculture.
By combining WFP's global humanitarian leadership with CIMMYT's science and innovation in food security and eight decades of experience working alongside smallholder farmers, this partnership reflects a shared commitment to helping countries not only respond to crises but build the resilient food systems needed to withstand those yet to come.
“Ending hunger calls for more than delivering food today. It requires helping people recover, rebuild their livelihoods, and restore the agricultural systems they depend on. Through this strengthened partnership with CIMMYT, we are combining WFP's global operational reach with world-class agricultural science to help communities recover faster, enable self-reliance, and build a more secure future," said Matthew Hollingworth, Assistant Executive Director, World Food Programme.
"Food security doesn't begin or end with emergency response. It begins with protecting people when crisis strikes, and it continues by helping farmers restore production, rebuild livelihoods, and prepare for the next shock. By bringing together WFP's humanitarian leadership and CIMMYT's hands-on innovation in seeds, farming systems, smallholder market development and nutrition, we're making humanitarian interventions more effective and our science and innovation faster in helping countries move from crisis to resilience – and in some cases preventing shocks from becoming crises in the first place, " said Dr. Bram Govaerts, Director General of CIMMYT.
The agreement builds on an expanding partnership between the two organizations, including the new Boosting Agrifood Systems Resilience (BOOST) Project in Sudan, funded by the African Development Bank. The four-year initiative will support more than 230,000 farming households, enabling the production of nearly one million metric tons of cereals and pulses, enough to meet the annual cereal needs of almost nine million people. By improving seed systems, promoting resilient farming practices, improving market linkages, and reducing post-harvest losses, the project is helping communities across Sudan recover from years of conflict to restore agricultural production, while reducing future dependence on humanitarian assistance.
The strengthened partnership reflects a shared belief that the future of food security lies in both responding quickly to crises, and helping countries anticipate, adapt to, and withstand them. By bringing together humanitarian action and agricultural science, CIMMYT and WFP are investing in solutions that save lives today while strengthening resilience for tomorrow.
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