Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture Program (MasAgro)
National agricultural innovation initiative (2010-2020) led by CIMMYT and the Ministry of Agriculture to sustainably raise the maize and wheat productivity of small and medium-scale rainfed farmers.
illustrative atlas image · Wouter Groote Veldman / Unsplash01 The context
It built innovation networks (hubs) in 12 regions that connected farmers, researchers, suppliers and seed companies, spreading conservation agriculture, improved seeds, mechanization, ICT and post-harvest storage. In 2020 it was reconfigured under 'Cultivos para México'.
02 How it works
03 What it stands on
The evidence 3 ›
04 Lessons learned
The seed component showed mixed results: despite developing competitive varieties through public-private partnerships with more than 70 SMEs, sales of MasAgro hybrids remained small and multinationals retained market leadership. Lesson: developing innovation is different from scaling its adoption in concentrated markets; scaling requires specific market strategies, not just R&D.