What types of maize do we need? For what uses? What characteristics should they have to be useful in production and processing?

Bioleft is organizing this virtual meeting to listen to these demands and use them to guide future evaluation, preselection, and participatory breeding tasks based on the diversity conserved in INTA's Genebank. We want to discuss production alternatives and the introduction of this diversity into farmers' fields, analyzing what conditions are needed to produce continuously and sustainably across territories.

Who is this call for?

• Maize producers for food.
• Seed producers linked to maize for consumption.
• Researchers and technical teams working with maize, genetic diversity, agroecological production, or food chains.
• Processors, mills, chefs, or organizations with specific demands (polenta, flours, fresh sweet corn on the cob, sweet corn, popcorn, or other uses).

The meeting will feature presentations by:

• Raquel Defacio (INTA Genebank): What types of maize do we have in Argentina? 
• Alfredo Zeballos (Bioleft): Strategy to generate new collaborative maize varieties — a proposal to link the materials identified in the bank with the needs and feedback of producers directly in the field.
• Milton Vélez: Presentation on the agronomic development and breeding of his maize variety UPL Adelia.