International maize genetic resources advisory committee meetings documents

In May 2006, a Maize Germplasm Network Meeting was held at CIMMYT Headquarters in Texcoco, Mexico, sponsored by the Crop Trust, the World Bank and CIMMYT. Thirty particip ants, from Mexican and international institutions, were invited by the meeting co-organizers, Dr. Suketoshi Taba, the Head of the CIMMYT Maize Collection at the time, and Dr. Major Goodman (North Carolina State University, USA), “…to develop and make recommendations on what, where, and how the world maize genetic resources should be conserved in the long term.” The end-product of this meeting was a document entitled, “Global Strategy for the Ex situ Conservation and Utilization of Maize Germplasm,” which was completed in September 2007 (http://repository.cimmyt.org/xmlui/handle/10883/17829). The objective of the document was “…to provide a framework for the efficient and effective ex situ conservation of the globally important collections of maize.”
Close to a decade later, in February 2016, the International Maize Genetic Resources Advisory Committee (IMGRAC) was convened at CIMMYT Headquarters. The main objectives of this committee are to implement and update the global maize conservation strategy, provide global assessments, technical advice, and recommendations for the conservation and use of genetic resources of maize and related species to individual genebanks, other globally important holders of the crop collection, and the C rop Trust as needed. This advisory committee will reach out to the global user community through its representation, as well as through targeted communications and information sharing. The purpose of this meeting is not only to take stock of the areas of accomplishment, but also to address those that have stagnated. The 2007 global strategy provides a framework for an analysis of what has been successful and what has failed, and to prioritize our future actions. This site provides a platform for sharing the presentations given at the IMGRAC Meeting, as well as other documents that are generated by the group. IMGRAC Meeting Steering Committee: Denise E. Costich (CIMMYT), Michael Abberton (IITA), Paula Bramel (CropTrust), Cinta Romay (Cornell), Terry Molnar (CIMMYT) IMGRAC Committee Chair: Bill Tracy (University of Wisconsin-Madison)