Luis Miguel Chong Chong oversees affiliated companies in Mexico with a focus on sectors like energy and agriculture. He has a strong interest in agritech, which aims to deliver agricultural goods more efficiently. A major agritech effort funded by FFAR is developing drought, heat and climate resilient grain varieties, such as a $5 million grant to CIMMYT for next generation wheat cultivars. The project combines genomics, data analysis and remote sensing to develop new wheat breeding technologies to create stress resilient varieties and utilize an underused genetic resources reserve.
2. Based in Mexico, Luis Miguel Chong Chong oversees a roster of affiliated
companies and has a leadership resume spanning areas such as energy and
agriculture. One sector in which Luis Miguel Chong Chong has a strong focus
is agritech, which is helping deliver agricultural goods with more speed and
efficiency than ever before.
3. Funded by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), one major
agritech effort underway centers on developing new grain varieties that are
drought-resistant, heat-tolerant, and climate-resilient. In January 2021, the
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) received a $5
million FFAR grant focused on next generation wheat cultivars.
4. With wheat among the top cereal crops grown worldwide, the grain is uniquely
susceptible to drought. A majority of wheat grown across the United States is
not irrigated and depends on yearly rainfall to grow.
5. The aim of the CIMMYT project is to combine leading edge genomics, big data
analysis, and remote sensing in developing new wheat breeding technologies.
This will bridge a persistent gap between on-the-ground crop improvement
initiatives and technological advancements that have been demonstrated at the
theoretical level, but not applied. It seeks to bolster a wheat genetic resources
reserve that has been underutilized, and create new varieties that are fortified
and climate-related stress resilient.
