We believe in
a world free from hunger.

 
 

We believe in
the power of plants.

 
 

We believe in
an inclusive market.

 
 

We believe in
purpose-driven science.

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About ILCI

At the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Crop Improvement, National Agricultural Research Institutes advance their unique goals in collaboration with leading experts in the field, defining their unique goals and driving advancement in crop improvement to reduce malnutrition and hunger, and provide equitable benefits to women and youth.

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Featured project

Caribbean-Atlantic Seed Systems Initiative

The ILCI-Caribbean-Atlantic Seed Systems Initiative (CASSi) strengthens alliances between researchers and farmers to effectively get improved seeds into the market.

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Our global network

Uganda

Host: East African Center of Innovation for Finger Millet and Sorghum (CIFMS) led by the National Semi arid Resources Research Institute (NaSARRI)

Haiti

Host: Central American and Caribbean Crop Improvement Alliance (CACCIA) co-led by Quisqueya University

Nepal

Quick Win: Breeding pulse crops towards protein biofortification with the Nepal Agricultural Research Institute

Senegal

Host: Crop Innovation in West Africa (CIWA) led by the Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles (ISRA)

Costa Rica

Host: Central American and Caribbean Crop Improvement Alliance (CACCIA) co-led by the Instituto Nacional de Innovación y Transferencia en Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA)

Malawi

Host: Center of Innovation for Crop Improvement for East and Southern Africa (CICI-ESA) led by Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR)

Nigeria

Quick Win: Identification of QTL/genes associated with resistance to Taro Leaf Blight (TLB) and yield quality in Colocasia esculenta in biparental mapping population with the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI)

Tanzania

Partner country: Center of Innovation for Crop Improvement for East and Southern Africa (CICI-ESA) and the East African Center of Innovation for Finger Millet and Sorghum (CIFMS) in collaboration with the Tanzania Agriculture Research Institute (TARI)

Mozambique

Partner country: Center of Innovation for Crop Improvement for East and Southern Africa (CICI-ESA) in collaboration with the Instituto de Investigação Agrária de Moçambique (IIAM)

Burkina Faso

Partner country: Crop Innovation in West Africa (CIWA) in collaboration with the Institut de l’Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles (INERA)

Niger

Partner country: Crop Innovation in West Africa (CIWA) in collaboration with the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du Niger (INRAN)

Kenya

Partner country: East African Center of Innovation for Finger Millet and Sorghum (CIFMS) in collaboration with the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization

Cornell University

ILCI headquarters and objective area partners: breeding informatics, cross-cutting themes, genomics, institutional capacity and priority setting

Cultural Practice, LLC

Objective area partner: Cross-cutting themes

RTI International

Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation

Colorado State University

Objective area partner: Trait discovery

Kansas State University

Objective area partner: Phenomics

Clemson University

Objective area partner: Phenomics

Centers of Innovation for Crop Improvement

Led by National Agricultural Research Institutes in each country, these centers act as regional hubs to drive tools, technologies and methods that target crops that are essential for food security

Uganda

East African Center of Innovation for finger millet and sorghum (CIFMS)

Malawi

Center of Innovation for Crop Improvement for East and Southern Africa (CICI-ESA)

Costa Rica & Haiti

Central American and Caribbean Crop Improvement Alliance (CACCIA)

Senegal

Crop Innovation in West Africa (CIWA)

Recent highlights

MSI collaborationsTW TurnerUncategorized
May 25, 2023

TW Turner Fellowship celebrates inaugural year at Cornell, points to future collaborations with HBCUs

When the first eight Thomas Wyatt Turner Fellows arrived at Cornell University in the summer of 2022, they launched a new program for creating the next generation of leaders in…
Uncategorized
May 25, 2023

Crop Improvement program assistant Morgan-Bell honored for integrity and inclusion

When Monifa Morgan-Bell moved from Jamaica to upstate New York as a teenager, she was shocked by the change in culture, food and weather. It took her several years to…
Researchers obverse a bean field in Costa RicaCACCIAPriority settingUncategorized
May 12, 2023

New red bean variety expands options for farmers in Costa Rica

Beans are a staple crop for Costa Rican farmers, and a new variety of red bean released this spring is adapted to low-fertility soils, possesses increased resistance to disease and…

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