Nairobi, Kenya
May 5, 2026
CGIAR has received a Gates Foundation grant to develop the next generation of high-impact crop varieties targeting a 25–30% improvement in productivity for farmers across Africa and beyond
Group photo of participants at the Gates Foundation Breakthrough Products Planning Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: Maria Monayo, CIMMYT.)
How do you design crop varieties that farmers will adopt and markets will reward? CGIAR has received a grant from the Gates Foundation to design and develop varieties for 12 priority crops –the next generation of high-impact, in-demand crop varieties that will break through persistent barriers to adoption.
At the launch of the Breakthrough Product Network in March 2026 in Nairobi, breeding teams from CIMMYT, the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, International Rice Research Institute(IRRI), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and International Potato Center (CIP), alongside representatives from the Gates Foundation, outlined key steps to develop groundbreaking crop varieties targeting a 25–30% improvement in productivity and value compared to the cultivars they replace, while responding more closely to the needs of farmers and markets.
Achieving this vision requires foreseeing market intelligence to inform variety design, increased accuracy for breeding pipelines, the integration of digital tools and shared services, and improved coordination with national research institutions.
Starting with demand: the Crop Concept approach
As part of this grant, the Crop Concept approach – implemented by CIMMYT, the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, and Ghent University – introduces a new process, called concept testing, to identify unmet market needs and translate them into clear product concepts that guide breeding investments..
The process begins by identifying demand, shaped by farmer challenges, consumer preferences, nutrition priorities, and broader market trends. From these insights, teams develop product concepts-early ideas for crop varieties that could address these gaps.
These concepts are then tested with farmers and other stakeholders early in the development process, before significant breeding resources are committed. Market researchers will use tools such as short explainer videos and AI for speech recognition, so that farmers can react to the proposed ideas and give their feedback on the characteristics they value most.
The Insight and Idea Generation & Concept Development team. (Photo: Maria Monayo, CIMMYT.)
Concepts with strong potential are further refined and prioritized before moving to the next stage: developing Target Product Profiles (TPPs); a detailed description of the ideal variety suited to a specific market segment.
Speaking during the meeting, CIMMYT Market Research Specialist Pieter Rutsaert explained that the method has already been successfully applied to crops such as maize, groundnut, and sorghum in countries including Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. “By grounding variety design in market insights and farmer needs, breeding programs can focus their resources on varieties that are more likely to be adopted,” he said.
Delivering breakthrough crops requires optimized breeding pipelines
Achieving ambitious breeding targets requires both strong product design and highly efficient breeding pipelines. As part of the grant, a second workstream, focused on providing breeders with the services and technical support needed to develop breakthrough varieties, was also launched in Nairobi.
The service grant includes three components: breeding program optimization, shared breeding services and strengthened collaboration with national research institutions for variety testing and delivery.
Dorcus Gemenet, Quantitative Genetics Team Lead in CGIAR Breeding for Tomorrow program, led discussions on how improved data systems and quantitative genetics support can help breeding programs deliver breakthrough varieties.
She emphasized the importance of closer collaboration between breeders and data scientists to ensure that decisions across the breeding pipeline are guided by reliable data. Clearly defined Target Product Profiles (TPPs), well-structured data, and early engagement with analytics teams are critical to achieving the ambitious genetic gains expected, as per Breeding for Tomorrow’s methodology.
“Breeding programs have committed to ambitious targets, with breakthrough products expected to deliver 15–30% more genetic gain than current varieties,” said Gemenet. “This makes it even more important to optimize breeding pipelines. This is why our program is working with a suite of very engaged crop teams and breeding leads to design more efficient systems.”
Adama Seye, Quantitative Geneticist Specialist, CGIAR Breeding for Tomorrow, and Ismail Rabbi, IITA Cassava Breeding Lead, working together on breeding pipeline optimization at the Breakthrough Product Network meeting in March 2026 in Nairobi. (Photo: Maria Monayo, CIMMYT.)
Shared infrastructure and services to accelerate delivery
Participants also emphasized that achieving such breakthroughs depends on sustained investment and shared research infrastructure. Support from the Gates Foundation enables breeding programs to pursue targeted product development while benefiting from shared services across CGIAR.
These services include genotyping platforms, integrated data and analytics systems, and phenotyping support, including drone-based technologies. As shared resources across the Breakthrough Product Network, they enable economies of scale, standardization, and improved data quality.
By identifying common needs across crops, countries, and breeding programs, these shared services make it possible to accelerate the development of breakthrough varieties. Shared resources are cost-effective, scientifically stronger, and more resilient.
Collaboration with national research systems is key
Recognizing that impact ultimately depends on delivery to farmers, the grant also supports stronger coordination with national agricultural research and extension systems (NARES). This includes co-defining clear roles for partners in the breeding process, building capacity across the network, and embedding on-farm verification trials as standard practice.
By bringing these elements together, CGIAR and its partners aim to ensure that the next generation of crop varieties deliver real value to farmers and markets alike.
Discussions in Nairobi made it clear that developing breakthrough crops requires a deeper understanding of farmers, markets, and the systems that connect them, alongside a strong, collaborative breeding community working across crops and regions to deliver the varieties of tomorrow, which this new grant will precisely help CGIAR achieve.
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The Breakthrough Product Network includes teams working on maize, rice, wheat, dryland crops, beans, cassava, yam, cowpea, potato, sweet potato and banana.
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