Securing Mexico's Food Future: Private Sector Urged to Invest

In the past decade, considerable progress has been made in Mexico in the fight against malnutrition and hunger. The latest estimates published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization show that, on average, 19.3% of Mexico’s population faced moderate or severe food insecurity between 2022 and 2024. Even though nearly 2 in 10 Mexicans still struggle daily to access enough and varied food, this is a positive outcome. Between 2014 and 2016, the average prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in Mexico was 24.9%, which shows that more than 5% of the population has escaped extreme poverty and hunger over the past 10 years.

Mexico needs to invest seriously in agricultural research and development to protect these gains and continue on the path to agricultural resilience and food security. Without this investment, Mexican farmers will struggle to cope with prolonged drought conditions caused by climate change. For example, in Sinaloa, the maize harvest is expected to fall to less than 2 million metric tons in 2025, down from an average of 5 to 6 million metric tons achieved in previous years with regular rainfall patterns.

The effects of climate change combined with economic uncertainty and other sources of insecurity are adding pressure on Mexico’s rural livelihoods. Ground-breaking agricultural research on crop improvement and climate smart farming practices offer proven pathways to resilience and food systems transformation. Even though these assets are readily available, funding for crucial research that mainly comes from the public sector is also drying up as governments and development agencies shift priorities to deal with multiple and worsening crises. This year, one of the world’s leading funding agencies that contributed nearly 30% of the official development assistance offered to governments and development actors around the world has effectively shut down and many countries have reduced their development cooperation budgets. As one of the world’s leading publicly funded research-for-development organizations CIMMYT now has to look for alternatives to help address these shortfalls. We urgently need the private sector operating in Mexico to partner with us.

What’s at stake?

The loss of funding from long-standing public partners is weakening CIMMYT’s ability to drive innovation in nonprofit agricultural research-for-development and threatening the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and vulnerable communities across Mexico and the world. Lack of funds will cause damaging cutbacks in CIMMYT’s vital work and serious repercussions for Mexico’s staple crops value chains, including the following:

• Halting development of affordable and climate-resilient maize and wheat seeds developed from the global germplasm biodiversity and adapted to Mexico’s diverse farming conditions, particularly of the disease-resistant, nutrient-dense, drought- and heat-tolerant varieties that farmers urgently need to adapt to climate change.
• Dismantling the world’s largest and most effective global maize and wheat disease monitoring systems, which provide crucial advance warning and support to Mexican farmers in case of sudden disease or pest outbreaks globally.
• Canceling ongoing campaigns and efforts that foster wider adoption of regenerative agriculture in Mexico’s main growing regions including a unique network of long-term trials.
• Losing access to the most important international testing and seed sharing networks of maize and wheat, the two staple crops that feed 4.5 billion people and provide over 40% of global dietary calories and protein.

All Contributions Go a Long Way

CIMMYT is calling for private sector investments in agricultural R&D for a resilient tomorrow. With support from businesses operating in Mexico, we can empower farmers, nourish communities and restore ecosystems. CIMMYT welcomes one-time or multiyear investments in the following initiatives:

Fields for the future: Benefit at least 500 individuals with a community farming project with an annual investment of US$3 million for three years.

Plants with purpose: Support at least 30 farming communities that will receive improved seeds to help them adapt to a changing weather by investing US $2 million annually for three years.

Seeds of hope: Support at least 100 farmers who will receive improved, climate-resilient seeds for increased productivity and nutrition with a US$1.5 million annual investment for three years.

In a time of global uncertainty, marked by economic volatility, endemic conflict and increasingly extreme weather, Mexico’s food systems are more vulnerable than ever. CIMMYT has significantly contributed to safeguarding food security, advancing climate resilience and strengthening Mexican agriculture over the past 80 years. Today, more than ever, CIMMYT needs everyone’s support to continue this transformational work. CIMMYT’s donation page is available here.