Improved wheat variety Cortazar being grown for seed in farmer's field
Wheat variety Cortazar flourishes in a farmer's field, being grown for seed for the small seed company Bidasem, in the central Mexican plains region known as the Bajío. Cortazar, released in 1994, was developed for the Bajío by the Mexican National Institute of Forestry, Agriculture and Livestock Research (INIFAP), using parent materials all from CIMMYT. Although it is an older variety, its high yields make it ever-popular with Bidasem's customers.
Bidasem produces maize, wheat and oat seed, and also markets seed of other crops. It does not have its own fields, instead working closely with trusted farmers to grow seed. Despite their small size, Bidasem and similar companies play an important role in reaching small farmers with improved seed that offers them better livelihoods. “Our aim is to provide farmers with quality seed at accessible prices, that is adapted to the conditions we have here in the Bajío," says director general María Esther Rivas. "It’s a great satisfaction, when farmers achieve the yields they need.”
Photo credit: X. Fonseca/CIMMYT.
For more on seed production at Bidasem, and CIMMYT's role in providing the best seed, see CIMMYT's 2012 e-news story "The seed chain: producing better seed for small farmers," available online at: www.cimmyt.org/en/newsletter/598-2012/1398-the-seed-chain....
Improved wheat variety Cortazar being grown for seed in farmer's field
Wheat variety Cortazar flourishes in a farmer's field, being grown for seed for the small seed company Bidasem, in the central Mexican plains region known as the Bajío. Cortazar, released in 1994, was developed for the Bajío by the Mexican National Institute of Forestry, Agriculture and Livestock Research (INIFAP), using parent materials all from CIMMYT. Although it is an older variety, its high yields make it ever-popular with Bidasem's customers.
Bidasem produces maize, wheat and oat seed, and also markets seed of other crops. It does not have its own fields, instead working closely with trusted farmers to grow seed. Despite their small size, Bidasem and similar companies play an important role in reaching small farmers with improved seed that offers them better livelihoods. “Our aim is to provide farmers with quality seed at accessible prices, that is adapted to the conditions we have here in the Bajío," says director general María Esther Rivas. "It’s a great satisfaction, when farmers achieve the yields they need.”
Photo credit: X. Fonseca/CIMMYT.
For more on seed production at Bidasem, and CIMMYT's role in providing the best seed, see CIMMYT's 2012 e-news story "The seed chain: producing better seed for small farmers," available online at: www.cimmyt.org/en/newsletter/598-2012/1398-the-seed-chain....