Third Annual Review Meeting (2021)

In 2021, amid the challenges of the ongoing pandemic, the third annual meeting was held virtually via Zoom on October 25-26. During the inaugural session, B. M. Prasanna delivered a presentation on “OneCGIAR and Emerging Opportunities for Maize R4D,” discussing the institutional transformation of CGIAR into OneCGIAR and the development of double haploid services for NARS and SMEs. Hailu Wardofa from USAID shared insights on “USAID’s Perspective on OneCGIAR’s Revised Research Portfolio.” Dr. Sudha provided an update on the “Genomic Tools for Accelerated Genetic Gains in HTMA,” followed by Dr. Vinayan, who discussed advancements in improved germplasm and genetic gains through genomics-assisted maize breeding. Mitch Tuinstra, a professor from Purdue University, gave a detailed presentation on high-throughput phenotyping platforms and algorithms for heat and drought phenotyping. Dr. Zaidi, the project leader, highlighted the product pipeline, seed production, and deployment efforts in target countries across South Asia. The technical session on “Development of Stress-Resilient Maize Germplasm and Products,” chaired by Sujay Rakshit, Director of ICAR-IIMR, commenced afterward. On the second day, respective country teams provided updates on their progress.