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About the Program and Strategy
The program strategy is to seize the
opportunity created by recent breakthroughs in genetics and farmer-based
approaches to breeding by implementing a program on genetic improvement
and dissemination of new varieties of African food crops. By
focusing genetic sciences on key biological and environmental constraints
to crop production in Africa in a range of crops critical to food
security, and involving farmers directly in their design and evaluation,
new varieties can serve a critical role in boosting productivity among
small-scale farmers in Africa. Through decentralized seed
multiplication and the development of private seed companies, farmers can
have ready access to seed of essential food crops that produce a larger
and more dependable harvest.
The centerpiece of the strategy is the
operation of a continuum of research and product development investments
which span the domains of biotechnology, breeding and seed systems and
that result in locally relevant crop varieties that are accessible to
farmers.
Priority Areas of Focus
The program supports work on seven crops of
importance to food security throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Maize and
cassava - Africa’s leading staple food crops - are given highest
priority. Grant funding is also targeted to improvement strategies with
high potential for impact focused on common beans, sorghum, rice, banana,
and cowpea. The program’s primary geographic focus is Eastern and
Southern Africa.
Priority Crop Constraints
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Maize |
Striga, Drought, Foliar diseases, Stem
borers |
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Cassava |
Mosaic virus, Bacterial blight, Green
mites |
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Rice |
Drought, RYMV, Blast, Gall midge |
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Sorghum |
Striga, Anthracnose, Stem borers |
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Banana |
Weevils, Black sigatoka, Nematodes |
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Cowpea |
Maruca pod borers, Bruchids, Viruses |
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Beans |
Pythium root rot, Angular leaf spot |
Grantees
Grantees/Investment partners may include any
institution or individual engaged in relevant crop research and variety
development activities of importance to small-scale farmers in sub-Saharan
Africa. To-date, these have included national agricultural research
institutes, international agricultural research centers, NGOs, and small
and medium-sized private seed companies.
Training Strategy
The program has an active interest in the
continuing development of crop scientists in Africa. Each year the
program sponsors 10 or more Ph.D. training fellowships aimed at equipping
African professionals to better manage the crop variety development
challenges of their home countries. The program supports an intensive
Ph.D. crop breeding training program at the University of Natal in
Pietermartzburg, South Africa. It also sponsors a number of Ph.D. fellows
training in applied crop biotechnology at the University of Cape Town,
South Africa. M.Sc. training in crop sciences is sponsored by The
Rockefeller Foundation through its Forum Project headquartered at Makerere
University in Kampala, Uganda, and through a separate grant to the
University of Zambia.
Outputs up to date
Below are listed some of the program outputs
which have reached farmers to-date. Fuller descriptions of these outputs
can be found on this website. A number of additional products are in
various stages of development.
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Disease-resistant
maize hybrids and open-pollinated varieties in Kenya, Uganda, and
Malawi.
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Drought-tolerant, early-maturing
open-pollinated maize varieties in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Kenya, Mozambique,
and Tanzania.
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Stress-resistant, early-maturing “Nerica”
upland rice varieties in West Africa and Uganda.
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Disease-resistant, early-bulking cassava
varieties in western Kenya.
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Root rot-resistant bean varieties in Uganda,
Rwanda, and Kenya.
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Disease-resistant matoke banana in Uganda.
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Striga control seed-based technology for
maize in Kenya.
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Program Updates |
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Alliance
for Green Revolution, AGRA
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