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Institute for International Crop Improvement
The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center established the Institute for International Crop Improvement to serve as the next step toward enabling the Center to advance its mission to “Improve the human condition through plant science” by helping to “Feed the hungry and improve human health.” Working through partnerships in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, the Institute pursues crop improvement through advanced technology for a meaningful impact on food production and food quality.
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Mission
Crop improvement using the most effective technology for a meaningful impact on food production,
food quality, and food security.
Opportunity & Vision
One billion people worldwide are undernourished. On average, every six seconds a child dies of malnutrition. The Institute for International Crop Improvement at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center believes that through science and its application such suffering can and should be ameliorated.
Our goal is to bring to the small farmers in places such as Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria improved crops that yield more per acre, are richer in essential nutrients, and resistant to disease, insects, and drought. The work at the Institute focuses on “food security crops,” such as cassava, sweet potato, groundnuts, cowpeas, sorghum, millets, and banana. When times are hard, these are the crops on which people depend.
The Institute for International Crop Improvement takes the scientific advances of the laboratories of the Danforth Center and other scientific institutions through the process of field testing and safety reviews so they are ready for a farmer’s field.
Who Makes This Type of Research Possible?
Even with an advanced team of scientists, none of this work would be possible without funding, grants and in-kind donations. The Institute for International Crop Improvement at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is generously supported by a number of private sources and government entities, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Buffett Foundation, the Monsanto Fund, the McDonnell family, USAID from the American People, Japan Tobacco International and Gyllings Data Management, Inc.
  
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