Carlos Barragan García works on soil fertility as well as inclusive business models for smallholder farmers working in maize agri-food value chains. He has a degree in agroecological engineering from Chapingo Autonomous University and collaborates with the MasAgro project in Mexico’s state of Oaxaca. Barragan was recently awarded the MAIZE Youth Innovators Award 2019 – Latin America in the category of change agent for his involvement in this work.
The awards, an initiative of the CGIAR Research Program on
Maize (MAIZE), seek to recognize the contributions of young women and men who
are implementing innovations in Latin American maize-based agri-food systems.
This is the third instalment of the awards, following Asia in October 2018 and
Africa in May 2019. The awards ceremony took place at the 23rd Latin American
Maize Reunion in Monteria, Colombia on October 9, 2019.
Carlos Barragan García, center, receives the MAIZE Youth Innovators Award 2019 – Latin America from CIMMYT Maize scientists Luis Narro (left) and Felix San Vicente (right). Photo: Carlos Alfonso Cortes Arredondo/CIMMYT.
Jose Esteban Sotelo Mariche is an agronomist from the
coastal region of Oaxaca, Mexico with a specialization in food security and
rural development. He works with smallholder native maize farmers, helping them
to produce more maize using sustainable practices and to commercialize their
native maize in local and international markets. Jose Esteban was recently
awarded the MAIZE Youth Innovators Award 2019 – Latin America in the category
of change agent for his involvement in this work.
The awards, an initiative of the CGIAR Research Program on
Maize (MAIZE), seek to recognize the contributions of young women and men who
are implementing innovations in Latin American maize-based agri-food systems.
This is the third instalment of the awards, following Asia in October 2018 and
Africa in May 2019. The awards ceremony took place at the 23rd Latin American
Maize Reunion in Monteria, Colombia on October 9, 2019.
Jose Esteban Sotelo Mariche, center, receives the MAIZE Youth Innovators Award 2019 – Latin America from CIMMYT Maize scientists Luis Narro (left) and Felix San Vicente (right). Photo: Carlos Alfonso Cortes Arredondo/CIMMYT.
Eduardo Cruz Rojo did not come from a farming family, and
never expected to work in agriculture. However, this 26 year old from Alfajayucan,
Hidalgo, Mexico with a degree in logistics has been able to earn enough money
from agriculture to quit his office job just by employing innovative and
sustainable eco-friendly solutions on his maize farm to reduce pests and
increase yields—and he is helping other farmers in his community to do the
same. Eduardo was recently awarded the MAIZE Youth Innovators Awards 2019 – Latin
America in the Farmer category for this work.
The awards, an initiative of the CGIAR Research Program on
Maize (MAIZE), seek to recognize the contributions of young women and men who
are implementing innovations in Latin American maize-based agri-food systems.
This is the third instalment of the awards, following Asia in October 2018 and
Africa in May 2019. The awards ceremony took place at the 23rd Latin American
Maize Reunion in Monteria, Colombia on October 9, 2019.
Eduardo Cruz Rojo, center, receives the MAIZE Youth Innovators Award 2019 – Latin America from CIMMYT Maize scientists Luis Narro (left) and Felix San Vicente (right). Photo: Carlos Alfonso Cortes Arredondo/CIMMYT.
Omar Garcilazo Rahme works to
help smallholder farmers in Mexico improve their nutrition and livelihoods by
cultivating huitlacoche, an edible maize fungus prized by consumers and chefs
that is considered a delicacy. Omar developed a new and simple technique that
would allow farmers to grow the fungus without having to invest in greenhouses
or even change anything about their traditional maize production system, with
excellent results. He was recently awarded the MAIZE Youth Innovators Award
2019 – Latin America in the category of researcher for his involvement in this
work.
The awards, an initiative of the CGIAR Research Program on Maize (MAIZE), seek to recognize the contributions of young women and men who are implementing innovations in Latin American maize-based agri-food systems. This is the third instalment of the awards, following Asia in October 2018 and Africa in May 2019. The awards ceremony took place at the 23rd Latin American Maize Reunion in Monteria, Colombia on October 9, 2019.
Omar Garcilazo Rahme, center, receives the MAIZE Youth Innovators Award 2019 – Latin America from CIMMYT Maize scientists Luis Narro (left) and Felix San Vicente (right). Photo: Carlos Alfonso Cortes Arredondo/CIMMYT.
