Many developing countries have adopted new wheat production techniques to expand food supplies, but opportunities for raising output further and improving farmers' livelihoods remain great. In this book, three internationally recognized experts associated with the International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT) address decision makers in developing countries and international agencies, providing essential information about the prospects for increasing wheat productivity. The authors examine the characteristics of the wheat plant as a crop and as a food, explore recent scientific findings related to producing and handling the crop and suggest important areas for future research. They also look at specific wheat production problems and potentials in eight countries and propose means of organizing and operating an effective national wheat program. The book closes with a forecast of the outlook for food, wheat, and population to the end of the century.

Maize is the world's most widely grown cereal and a dietary staple throughout the Third World, but its full potential has only begun to be tapped. This book thoroughly examines the biological and economic issues relevant to improving the productivity of maize in developing countries. The authors explore a wide range of practical problems, from maxi

This paper outlines crop improvement, strategic agronomy, and natural resource management research concerns central to CIMMYT¦s mission and which models can help address. Authors also discuss related issues, including model documentation and data management. Although CIMMYT has little comparative advantage in model development per se, the center has much to contribute to others' development and refinement efforts, to the availability of quality data, and to the promotion of models and training in their use, and active participation in these areas will ultimately result in better models for CIMMYT's own aims.