Giving Compass' Take:

• New research is showing how crop breeding and modeling can have a great impact on global food security by giving countries more access. 

• Although many food security organizations are still in the development phase, their potential to achieve sustainable change is promising, how can donors help fund these projects? 

• Here's an article about another innovative crop breeding plan to help food stability. 

CGIAR, a global network for agricultural research, is at work on an initiative that could better equip smallholder farmers and decision makers for the shocks of climate change. The CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture aims to democratize agricultural data and encourage a collaborative approach to addressing major food system problems, especially in regions where there is limited access to resources and negative impacts are more severe.

“CGIAR is the only international agricultural research organization that has its feet on the ground collecting data relevant for smallholder farming and agriculture in developing countries,” Dr. Martin Kropff tells Food Tank. “That is why it is important to start the Platform.” Kropff is Director General of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico, one of the 15 CGIAR research centers.

CIMMYT uses agricultural systems research to address food insecurity and malnutrition, climate change and environmental degradation through more productive maize and wheat farming.

Read the full article on how crop modeling can increase food availability by Anna Short at Food Tank.