CIMMYT
CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center) is a non-profit CGIAR-affiliated research organization founded in 1966 in Mexico. It develops climate-resilient maize and wheat varieties and operates the world's largest genebanks for these crops, partnering with NARS, governments, and donors across 88 countries to serve smallholder farmers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1966
- HeadquartersTexcoco, Mexico
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What CIMMYT does
CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center) is a non-profit international agricultural research and training organization founded in 1966 in Mexico and headquartered in Texcoco, State of Mexico. As a core CGIAR Research Center, it operates across 88 countries with 1,837 staff of 58 nationalities and runs the world's largest maize and wheat genebanks, holding approximately 28,000 unique maize samples including over 24,000 farmer landraces. CIMMYT's core products and technologies include climate-resilient maize and wheat varieties distributed through national seed systems, AI-driven predictive breeding and genomic selection pipelines, the MARPLE field-deployable wheat rust diagnostic platform, the Digital Climate Advisory Services (DCAS), the Atlas of Climate Adaptation in Indian Agriculture (ACASA-India), the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) initiative, the Feed the Future AID-I hub, the MasAgro program covering more than 1 million hectares in Mexico, and 46 agronomic research platforms across 16 Mexican states.
CIMMYT serves two primary segments: smallholder farmers in the Global South (with more than 9.2 million households reported to have benefited from climate-smart crop solutions in Africa) and National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in developing countries. Secondary segments include major food and beverage companies (Grupo Bimbo, GRUMA, PepsiCo, Syngenta) seeking sustainable sourcing, plus development organizations and NGOs. The business model is grant-funded: revenue derives from bilateral government grants (a $40 million U.S. Government award in 2026), foundation grants (Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Crop Trust), CGIAR pooled funding, and corporate philanthropy (AgMission/PepsiCo $6.7 million in 2024). CIMMYT does not sell products commercially; improved varieties, knowledge, and digital tools are delivered to farmers at no cost through NARS, seed companies, NGO partners, and CGIAR channels.
The organization is led by Director General Bram Govaerts and is governed as an independent non-profit under the CGIAR framework with its own Board of Trustees. Strategic priorities center on accelerating climate-resilient breeding, expanding digital advisory platforms, and broadening crop coverage through the CGIAR Breakthrough Product Network.
CIMMYT firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CIMMYT
- Legal name
- International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
- Website
- https://cimmyt.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1966
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center) is a non-profit CGIAR-affiliated research organization founded in 1966 in Mexico. It develops climate-resilient maize and wheat varieties and operates the world's largest genebanks for these crops, partnering with NARS, governments, and donors across 88 countries to serve smallholder farmers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CIMMYT industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Agricultural Research Services
- SIC
- Agricultural Services (700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Carbon, Sustainability & Farm Certification Support (Agro-Environmental Advisory) (AFACABAL)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Sustainable/Regenerative Agriculture & Conservation Practices (EDAOAOAO)
Keywords
Where CIMMYT is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Texcoco
- HQ country
- Mexico
- HQ region
- Latin America
Offices18 records
Markets served
CIMMYT business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Grants and Donor Funding: CIMMYT is primarily funded through grants from governments, foundations, and international development agencies. Major funders include the U.S. Government ($40 million grant), Gates Foundation, African Development Bank, USAID, and various national governments. This constitutes the primary revenue stream for this non-profit international organization.
- CGIAR System Funding: As a core CGIAR Research Center, CIMMYT receives pooled funding through the CGIAR system for collaborative research initiatives.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
CIMMYT product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CIMMYT develops and distributes improved maize and wheat varieties and sustainable farming practices to smallholder farmers in the Global South. As a non-profit CGIAR Research Center, it operates the world's largest maize and wheat genebank and delivers outputs through partnerships with national research systems, governments, NGOs, and seed companies, free of charge to farmers. Its research integrates AI-driven predictive breeding, genomic selection, and digital advisory services to address climate resilience and food security.
Product overview
CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center) is a non-profit agricultural research organization that operates as a platform of interconnected programs rather than a single software product. Its core offerings include the MasAgro program for Mexico, Digital Climate Advisory Services (DCAS) for delivering localized climate information, the Global Surveillance Advisory System and MARPLE Diagnostics for wheat disease detection, the Atlas of Climate Adaptation in Indian Agriculture (ACASA-India) for climate planning, the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) initiative, and Feed the Future AID-I for scaling innovations. CIMMYT maintains the world's largest maize and wheat genebanks and operates 46 agronomic research platforms globally. The organization leverages AI-driven predictive breeding, genomic selection, and speed breeding technologies to accelerate development of climate-resilient crop varieties.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- MasAgro (Crops for Mexico) Agricultural innovation program that introduced high-yielding crop varieties, conservation agriculture practices, and income-generation activities for smallholder farmers across 30 states of Mexico, helping over 300,000 farmers adopt improved maize and wheat varieties on more than 1 million hectares.
- Digital Climate Advisory Services (DCAS) Digital platform delivering localized climate information and agricultural recommendations directly to smallholder farmers to help them anticipate climate risks, improve yields, and build resilience against climate variability.
- MASAGRO Innovation Hubs Network of innovation platforms across Mexico serving more than 4,000 farmers with climate-smart agricultural practices, with over half being women farmers, contributing to sustainable practices across more than 10,000 hectares.
- Global Wheat Health Alliance International partnership jointly led by CIMMYT and Cornell University within the HyBread investment to accelerate disease resistance in wheat for vulnerable farming communities in South Asia and East Africa.
- Global Surveillance Advisory System System developed in partnership with John Innes Centre to protect wheat and maize harvests from transboundary pests and diseases while accelerating delivery of disease-resistant varieties.
- Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) Global movement endorsed by G7 focusing on crop improvement and soil health, investing in improving and spreading 60 indigenous 'opportunity' crops such as sorghum, millet, groundnut, pigeon pea, and yams to enrich soils and human diets.
- Feed the Future Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative (AID-I) Rapid Delivery Hub Partnership between government agencies, private and public partners including CGIAR to provide farmers with greater access to markets and extension services for improved seeds and crop varieties, reducing risk to climate and socioeconomic shocks.
- Atlas of Climate Adaptation in Indian Agriculture (ACASA-India) Web-enabled digital platform developed by ICAR-led NARES in collaboration with BISA-CIMMYT to support location-specific, data-driven climate adaptation planning for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners across India's diverse agro-ecological regions.
- Agronomic Research Platforms CIMMYT operates 46 agronomic research platforms across 16 Mexican states focused on climate resilience and improved crop varieties, with platforms also operating across Latin America.
- Seed Distribution Network Global seed distribution network that provides breeding lines for maize and wheat to partners worldwide, including many varieties offering superior yields and resilience in dry conditions and against crop diseases and pests.
- Maize and Wheat Genebanks World's largest collection of maize and wheat germplasm offering untapped genetic material to develop more resilient varieties, supported by the Crop Trust.
Quantifiable outcome
- 80% reduction in irrigation water use demonstrated in conservation agriculture platform
- +8 more outcomes
Companies that use CIMMYT
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
CIMMYT technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability7 records
Feature6 records
CIMMYT partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.
- IFDC (International Fertilizer Development Center)coreIFDC opened an office at CIMMYT headquarters in Texcoco, Mexico as part of a joint effort to establish a Fertilizer Innovation Center (FIC) for Mexico and Central America. The project aims to develop affordable, science-based fertilizer solutions to improve soil health and crop yields, and reduce fertilizer import dependency in the region.
- ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics)coreFive-year research initiative funded by Novo Nordisk Foundation to accelerate development of climate-resilient crop varieties for dryland farmers in Eastern Africa and India, initially focusing on sorghum and groundnut. Employs AI-driven predictive breeding, genomic selection, and speed breeding technologies.
- Frontier Counties Development Council (Kenya)secondaryPartnership to strengthen climate-smart agriculture in Kenya's arid and semi-arid lands, where farmers face mounting challenges from droughts, floods, and shifting growing seasons. Agreement to establish joint technical working team.
- Government of UzbekistancoreLetter of Intent signed to deepen collaboration on wheat sector development, aiming to boost productivity, build climate resilience, and strengthen national food security. Partnership to support breeding program modernization, advanced laboratory capacity, and seed system development.
- Munich Security ConferencesecondaryCIMMYT signed joint statement on food security emphasizing the importance of resilient agricultural systems as strategic infrastructure for global security.
- IFPRI (International Food Policy Research Institute)coreMoU to deepen collaboration on strategic research and policy initiatives addressing global food security challenges. Joint research focuses on scaling innovations in agronomy, mechanization, crop breeding, and nutrition.
- Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences (JAAS)secondaryDelegation visit focused on maize and dryland crops research collaboration, including knowledge exchange, field visits to Kiboko Research Station for drought tolerance testing, and Maize Lethal Necrosis screening facility.
- KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology)coreMoU signed to collaborate on genomic innovation and sustainable food systems, focusing on bioinformatics, capacity building, and data platform development. Builds on respective strengths in agricultural science and computational biology.
- ICBA (International Center for Biosaline Agriculture)secondaryAgreement to jointly advance ecological and sustainable intensification of cereal and legume cropping systems in semi-arid and dryland areas. Covers soil health, salinity management, crop productivity and breeding, gender-transformative capacity development.
- John Innes CentrecoreStrategic partnership established in 2021 to advance collaborative wheat research, combining upstream science with field-level translation. Includes Global Surveillance Advisory System and Global Wheat Health Alliance to protect wheat and maize harvests from transboundary pests and diseases.
- MyAgrosecondaryPartnership for participatory pearl millet variety trials in Senegal, engaging 250 farmers across 20 villages. Leverages MyAgro's village entrepreneur network and mobile layaway platform.
- FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization)corePartnership under Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) movement endorsed by G7, focusing on crop improvement and soil health in Africa and Central America.
- World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg)secondaryNon-profit partnership to promote vegetable farming, intercropping systems, and connect vegetable farmers to markets for greater financial security.
- Charles Sturt UniversitysecondaryResearch partner in climate-smart agriculture project in Australia, working on regenerative agriculture practices.
- South East Research FarmsecondaryResearch partner in Canada for climate-smart agriculture practices and regenerative agriculture research.
- FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations)coreFAO supports farmer engagement and extension services while CIMMYT provides agronomic research through demonstration plots in the SIFAZ project in Zambia.
- Total LandCare (TLC)secondaryPartnership to train farmers in southern and eastern Africa on intercropping systems with maize and legumes.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves10 records
Expansion highlights6 records
CIMMYT competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics): Fellow CGIAR research center focused on dryland crops in the semi-arid tropics. CIMMYT and ICRISAT launched a five-year climate-resilient crop initiative in 2026, sharing AI-driven breeding and genomic selection tools. Direct peer in mission, governance model, and farmer segments.
- IRRI (International Rice Research Institute): CGIAR research center leading global rice improvement. Same funding model (CGIAR pooled funding plus grants), same non-profit international research mandate, and same delivery model through national partners. Co-participant in the CGIAR Breakthrough Product Network for next-generation crop varieties.
- IFPRI (International Food Policy Research Institute): CGIAR research center focused on food policy research. CIMMYT and IFPRI signed an MoU in 2026 to collaborate on scaling agronomy, mechanization, crop breeding, and nutrition innovations. Comparable mission and governance structure.
- IITA (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture): CGIAR research center focused on tropical agriculture in Africa. Co-participant in the CGIAR Breakthrough Product Network. Same non-profit international research center governance model and smallholder farmer target segments.
- CIP (International Potato Center): CGIAR research center focused on potato and sweetpotato improvement. Co-participant in the CGIAR Breakthrough Product Network. Same pooled funding model, same global non-profit agricultural research mandate.
- ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas): CGIAR research center focused on dryland agriculture in non-tropical regions. Highly comparable mission (climate-resilient dryland crops), governance structure, and partner network for technology transfer to smallholder farmers.
- World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg): Non-profit international agricultural research center focused on vegetable farming and intercropping systems. Active partner with CIMMYT in promoting vegetable farming and connecting farmers to markets. Comparable non-profit research-and-extension model.
- ICBA (International Center for Biosaline Agriculture): International non-profit research center focused on saline and dryland agriculture. Active CIMMYT partner for joint work on cereal and legume cropping systems in semi-arid areas. Comparable mission, scale, and partner-driven delivery model.
- Bioversity International and CIAT Alliance: CGIAR research center alliance focused on agricultural biodiversity and tropical agriculture. Co-participant in the CGIAR Breakthrough Product Network. Same non-profit international research center model with shared CGIAR funding and partner delivery.
Broad incumbents
- Corteva Agriscience: Largest publicly traded pure-play agriculture company, with proprietary maize and wheat seed businesses and substantial breeding R&D investment. Operates in the same crop categories CIMMYT serves but captures value through commercial seed sales rather than public-good research. Comparable end-customer (the farmer) but a commercial rather than non-profit model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CIMMYT social profiles
Digital presenceCIMMYT financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CIMMYT leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
CIMMYT funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors3 records
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CIMMYT M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
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Frequently asked questions about CIMMYT
What does CIMMYT do?
CIMMYT develops and distributes improved maize and wheat varieties and sustainable farming practices to smallholder farmers in the Global South. As a non-profit CGIAR Research Center, it operates the world's largest maize and wheat genebank and delivers outputs through partnerships with national research systems, governments, NGOs, and seed companies, free of charge to farmers. Its research integrates AI-driven predictive breeding, genomic selection, and digital advisory services to address climate resilience and food security.
Is CIMMYT a public or private company?
CIMMYT is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was CIMMYT founded?
CIMMYT was founded in 1966. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is CIMMYT based?
CIMMYT is headquartered in Texcoco, Mexico, in the Latin America region.
How does CIMMYT make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Grants and Donor Funding is the primary driver. The others are CGIAR System Funding.
Who are CIMMYT's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics), IRRI (International Rice Research Institute), IFPRI (International Food Policy Research Institute), IITA (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture), CIP (International Potato Center), ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas), World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg), ICBA (International Center for Biosaline Agriculture) and Bioversity International and CIAT Alliance. Corteva Agriscience is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does CIMMYT have an API?
No public API is recorded for CIMMYT.
What industry is CIMMYT in?
CIMMYT's product category is Agricultural Research Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFACABAL, Carbon, Sustainability & Farm Certification Support (Agro-Environmental Advisory), with a secondary code of EDAOAOAO, Sustainable/Regenerative Agriculture & Conservation Practices. Its SIC code is 700.