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February 2006 Newsletter
What is covered in this issue:
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Welcome to the African Crops News Service!
The
African Crops News Service covers current research and developments in
improvement of African crops and seed systems. The service
compliments the
africancrops.net website to enhance further the sharing of news and
information from projects supported by The Rockefeller Foundation and those
by other organizations on genetic improvement of African crops. The
service team welcomes short articles and information on your project and
organization, research networks and country for inclusion in the upcoming
issues of the newsletter. Read more on the African Crops News Service at
http://africancrops.net/News/
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NEWS:
CIMMYT
Three-Way IR-Maize Hybrids Announcement
In collaboration
with a wide range of partners from the public and private sector, CIMMYT has
developed and tested 26 Imidazolinone- resistant (IR) 3-Way maize hybrids
across 18 sites in several sub-Saharan African countries. Imidazolinone-resistance
(IR) is a natural form of herbicide resistance. The seeds of IR-hybrids and
IR-OPVs can be coated with Imidazolinone to provide an effective protection
against Striga. CIMMYT is making these hybrids available to
interested NARS and seed companies to enter them into trials which decide on
variety registration, release and eventual commercialization in various
sub-Saharan Africa countries. Interested organizations should contact CIMMYT
by 28 February 2006.
For more
information, visit:
www.africancrops.net/striga. You can also view the
summary of the
agronomic and performance data for the various hybrids at
http://www.africancrops.net/striga/Hybrid-data.xls
Deployment of
IR-maize through the StrigAway® Technology: Consideration for Potential Seed
Producers
CIMMYT in
partnership with African Agriculture Technology Foundation (AATF) and BASF
would like to enter agreements with interested
seed producers and disseminators to deploy the StrigAway® technology
involving the StrigAway® maize cultivars and herbicide
in Sub-Saharan Africa. Presently, CIMMYT
has entered into an agreement with the AATF and BASF for deployment of IR
maize hybrids and varieties under the trade name “StrigAway®” through a
network of NGOs, research institutes and farmer organizations in Kenya. This
partnership provides the necessary know-how and rights to deploy the
technology, and also raises awareness about the technology in Sub-Saharan
Africa. CIMMYT has set requirements that
should be met by interested seed producers
and disseminators. Interested seed producers and
disseminators should contact CIMMYT, AATF or BASF by
28
February 2006. More information about the announcement and
StrigAway®
technology is available at
www.africancrops.net/striga.
Report on Striga Control in Western Kenya
This report describes the second six-month
interval of the two-year
African
Agriculture Technology Foundation (AATF)
Striga Management Project (1 July through 31 December 2005) being undertaken
in collaboration with a network of NGOs, research institutes, farmer
organizations and seed companies in western Kenya. The overall objective of
the project is to confine, reduce and eliminate Striga infestation in west
Kenya,
thereby improving maize yields, food security and wellbeing among the rural
poor. More specifically, the project seeks to 1) independently evaluate
several different recommended Striga management technologies in
smallholders’ croplands of Western Kenya, 2) raise awareness concerning the
threat posed by Striga infestation, and its various control options among
farmers, their grassroots associations, development organizations and policy
makers, 3) test market recently-developed Striga management technologies and
products within smallhold farming communities that are severely affected by
Striga, and 4) develop integrated Striga confinement and eradication
strategies for western Kenya that may serve as a model for Striga management
efforts elsewhere. The full report is available at
www.africancrops.net/striga.
OTHER
NEWS
New
Variety Set to Double Maize Yields.
A new seed type promises farmers double maize yields in Kenya. The H6213,
launched by Kenya Seed Company, is said to produce up to 4600 kg of maize
per acre, up from an average of 2200 kg for other varieties. The new seed
was unveiled by Kenya Seed Company Managing Director Hosea Sitienei in Trans
Nzoia district. The company has produced 40 million kilogrammes of seed and
expects to sell 23 million kilogrammes during this year's planting season.
According to the company, all the varieties for various altitudes are
available at its stores and distributors. More information is available at
http://allafrica.com/stories/200602060717.html
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NEW
PUBLICATION
"Developing
Bt maize for resource-poor farmers" by Mugo et al., 2005.
African Journal of Biotechnology 4(13):1490-1504. This paper presents an
overview of the advances in the Insect Resistant Maize for Africa (IRMA)
project, which develops insect resistant maize varieties for resource-poor
farmers, using both conventional breeding and genetic engineering. View the
full paper at
http://www.academicjournals.org/AJB/PDF/Pdf2005/Spe%20Rev/Mugo%20et%20al.pdf
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POSTGRADUATE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
The CGIAR Gender and
Diversity Program (G&D).
The G&D Program invites applications for the Second Round of
Fellowships under a fellowship program for women crop scientists working in
national research institutes (NARIs) and universities in Kenya, Tanzania and
Uganda. The program is supported by The Rockefeller Foundation and
implemented by G&D. Application deadline is on 28 February 2006. For further
details on the Fellowships, visit:
http://www.genderdiversity.cgiar.org/resource/women_fellowships.asp
Kirkhouse
Scholarships:
The
Kirkhouse
Trust supports research and education in biological sciences. It supports
higher degree students in universities located within the developing world
with, possibly, 6-12 months training in a European or US laboratory. The
Trust mainly supports applicants for post-graduate study as part of
larger collaborative projects with Institutions. It rarely supports
individual applicants. For details, visit:
http://www.kirkhousetrust.org/scholarships.html
Rothamsted International
Fellowship Programme
for African Scientists:
Rothamsted
International is a
UK
non-profit organization working for sustainable agricultural development in
under-developed countries. Rothamsted International
Fellowships
are directed towards mid-career researchers in agricultural sciences.
Two types of schemes are offered, one open to
scientists from all
developing countries and another for
African scientists.
Deadline for submission of pre-proposals is 3rd March 2006. For more details
on the Fellowship, see:
http://www.rothamsted-international.org/
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UPCOMING CONFERENCES
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First International meeting on Cassava
Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, 11-15 November 2006, University of
Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil.
http://www.geneconserve.pro.br/meeting/
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Plant Tissue
Culture Workshop ,
Luzerne
County Community College (Room 440 & 440A, Science Building), May 17 2006,
1333 South Prospect Street,
Nanticoke,
PA 18634-3899. USA.
http://www.biotechinstitute.org/events/egroup_detail.php?group_id=85
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The
Tropical Crop Biotechnology Conference 2006, 16-19 August at the
Cairns
International Hotel, Far North Queensland city of Cairns,
Australia.
http://www.tcbc2006.com.au/conference.html
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Breeding for Success: Diversity in Action
Conference, 18-21 April 2006,
Christchurch, New Zealand.
http://events.lincoln.ac.nz/apbc/
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International Association for Plant Tissue
Culture and Biotechnology (IAPTC&B),
August
13-18, 2006, Beijing
International Convention Center (BICC), Beijing China.
http://www.genetics.ac.cn/IAPTCB.htm
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SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS TOCs UPDATE
The Plant
Cell. February 2006; Volume 18, Issue 2.
View Table of Contents and abstracts at:
http://www.plantcell.org/current.shtml
African
Journal of Biotechnology.
2 February 2006; Vol 5(3):
View
Table of Contents, abstracts and
full text articles at:
http://www.academicjournals.org/AJB/contents/2006cont/2Feb.htm
Electronic Journal of Biotechnology:
January, 2006 issue, “Moving from science to development”. View Table of
Contents, abstracts and
full text articles at
http://www.ejbiotechnology.info/content/vol9/issue1/index.html#issues
African Journals Online (AJOL).
Did you know that you can access or order full text articles in 230
scientific journals through the African Journals Online website? AJOL is a
database of African-published journals that gives
greater visibility to the
participating journals, and to the research they convey. African Journals
Online (AJOL) providing access to African published research.
http://www.ajol.org
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ORGANIZATION PROFILE
 The
Danish Seed Health Centre for Developing Countries
The Danish Government has supported research and development to improve seed
health in developing countries since 1967. The Danish Seed Health Centre for
Developing Countries (DSHC) was established in 2004 by combining the
activities of the former Danish Government Institute of Seed Pathology (DGISP)
with the development activities of the Plant Pathology Section of the Royal
Veterinary and Agricultural University of Denmark. Collaboration with
developing countries has been a priority area to KVL for several years, and
the establishment of the Seed Health Centre is an important step to further
strengthen this collaboration. The DSHC will continue to be one of the
world’s primary centres of excellence within seed health and plant
pathology. In close cooperation with our partners in north and south, the
key competencies and future services of the Centre will continuously be
developed for the benefit of poor farmers in developing countries.
The DHSC Mission:
The DHSC Mission is to alleviate poverty and improve the nutritional status
of resource-poor people in the developing countries through improvement of
seed health and quality with emphasis on farm saved and locally produced
seed. Improvement of seed health and quality will contribute to: Increased
crop productivity, improved food quality and security.
Competencies:
The Centre has a unique global competence within the areas of seed
bacteriology, mycology and virology, build up during three decades of
servicing seed supply organisations in developing countries and in regions
with transitional economies. In addition, quality analysis of seed,
diagnostic surveys and data collection, analysis and dissemination are
important aspects of our key efforts. In combination with strong skills to
cooperate across multiple cultures this has earned us a worldwide reputation
as the leading unit in our field.
Contact Information:
Jan Torp,
PhD
Associate Professor
Head, Danish Seed Health Centre for Developing Countries
Department of Plant Biology
Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University of Copenhagen
Thorvaldsenvej 40
DK-1871
Frederiksberg, Denmark
Email:
jto@kvl.dk
Website:
www.shc.kvl.dk
Tel: +45.3528.3717 / +45.6133.8244
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Articles for March 2006 Issue
We invite articles, announcements and
other information for the next issue of AFRICAN CROPS NEWS SERVICE that
comes out in the third week of March 2006. To see previous newsletters, go
to:
http://www.africancrops.net/news
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inquiries, information and suggestions about AFRICAN CROPS NEWS SERVICE to:
The Manager
Africancrops.net
C/o FORMAT
P.O. Box
79 Village Market 00621
Nairobi,
Kenya
Email:
africancrops@wananchi.com
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The March 2006 Issue.
The March Issue of the African Crops
News Service newsletter is being processed. Do you have an article,
announcement, photos, website or profile you would like to be included in
this issue? The newsletter covers:
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research breakthroughs in improvement of African crops by
researchers, research
centres and networks
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announcements for meetings, grants, scholarships,
publications, training, websites, etc
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breaking news on African crops from media organizations from across
the globe
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profiles for research projects, departments, organizations, websites
and researchers
Kindly send your information and inquiries
to:
The Manager
Africancrops.net Website
c/o FORMAT
P.O.
Box 79 - 00621 Nairobi, Kenya
Email:
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