Founded 1967 | ||
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The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (known as CIAT from its Spanish-language name Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical) is a not-for-profit research and development organization dedicated to reducing poverty and hunger while protecting natural resources in developing countries. It is based in Palmira, Colombia. Over 300 scientists work there.
CIAT is one of the 15 specialized research centers of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), and is also the headquarters for the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).
Grain legume research
CIAT has a seed depository of 37,000 varieties of beans at a center in Colombia and, as of 2013, was engaged in research on developing better varieties of grain legumes. Goals are tolerance to drought and low phosphorus soils; heat tolerance; and improved nitrogen fixation. CIAT coordinated the activities of the Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) in 29 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa this effort with the support of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)