Mission

Semilla Nueva develops high-yielding, climate-resilient maize seeds that have been conventionally bred (non-GMO) to have higher levels of the most important missing nutrients: zinc, iron, and quality protein. Our approach to large-scale adoption of these seeds relies on three strategies: 1. Breeding commercially competitive biofortified seeds, which can increase incomes and prevent crop losses for farmers who currently use older hybrid seeds or recycled Open-Pollinated Varieties (OPVs); 2. Piloting subsidies to seed companies to profitably sell new, higher-yielding, climate-resilient, biofortified seeds at prices the poorest of the poor can afford. 3. Working with governments to institutionalize these subsidies. Our goal is for a minimal amount of subsidy to support hundreds of thousands of farming families to use biofortified seeds, consume biofortified maize, and sell biofortified maize into the market, while improving their incomes. The biofortified maize sold in the market will be purchased and eaten by millions of poor consumers, improving the nutrition of these populations. In 2023, three seed companies in Guatemala produced and sold our seed, reaching over 24,000 farmers and feeding 800,000 people. Our seed is being used by the governments of Guatemala and El Salvador, with testing in process for El Salvador and Eastern Africa and a plan to reach 3 million farmers, feeding 100 million people within the next ten years.