How the world’s wheat is being sown in German fields
International agricultural research also benefits Europe: Ruth Hill from the International Food Policy Research Institute explains how findings from Africa, Asia and Latin America are making agriculture around the world more resilient to climate change.
Germany supports the international agricultural research network CGIAR. What impact does this have on Germany?
A study has shown that this research is bringing about a significant increase in productivity, particularly for wheat. Thanks to the technologies developed by CGIAR, an additional 661,000 tonnes of wheat are being produced in Germany every year. This is equivalent to more than three per cent of the wheat harvest in 2026.
What prompted you to look at the benefits to Germany of this international cooperation?
The public are increasingly keen to know to what extent spending money on farmers in other countries can be of benefit to their own country. This is a valid question, so we felt it made sense to present some figures by way of response.
So, the varieties developed by CGIAR are of use to Germany, even though they were originally developed for countries in other climate zones?
Yes, we’re talking here about genetic traits used in German varieties. Let me give you a specific example. One of the major advances that has led to a significant increase in productivity in South Asia, Latin America and also Africa to some extent has been the breeding of wheat varieties with significantly shorter stems than traditional varieties. Because the plants are shorter, they put more energy into forming the grains. This also makes them slightly more resilient. These breeding lines then started to be used in German wheat varieties.
‘German consumers also stand to benefit from our work, since food can be produced more cheaply.’
Ruth Hill has been Director of the Markets, Trade and Institutions Unit at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) since 2024. She previously spent many years as an economist at the World Bank, most recently as Chief Economist for poverty and equity. Her research focuses on agricultural markets, poverty and protection against climate risks.
Does Germany benefit in other ways?
Yes. One of CGIAR’s key missions is to increase agricultural productivity and as a result raise the incomes of farmers in low and middle-income countries. Thanks to this increased prosperity, people are able to buy more goods, including those exported from Germany. We’ve calculated that as a result of the growth in income generated by CGIAR technologies in countries of the Global South, Germany exports an additional three billion Euro worth of goods each year.
What’s more, German consumers also stand to benefit, since food can be produced more cheaply. Consequently, food prices are lower than they would be without these technological advances.
European countries are becoming hotter and drier as a result of climate change. At the same time, variations in the weather are increasing. Might we see the methods and genetic material developed by CGIAR in arid regions such as Kiboko in Kenya also becoming relevant for Germany in the future?
Yes, absolutely. For any future study, it would be interesting to turn our focus to the years ahead. Much of the breeding work at CGIAR has focused on stress tolerance in recent years – very often on heat stress or drought, but also on flooding.
As climate volatility increases, developing stress-tolerant varieties is becoming increasingly important for farmers worldwide. It is not just farmers in the Global South who need these technologies. They also offer great potential for Germany and other countries in the Global North.
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is part of the world’s largest network for agricultural innovation, CGIAR (Global Research Partnership for a Food-Secure Future, formerly the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research). Germany was a founding member of CGIAR in the 1970s. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is one of more than 60 donors worldwide. The focus is on resilient agricultural systems, greater food security and better living conditions for millions of people.
