At an event hosted by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), the African Plant Breeding Academy was launched by the African Orphan Crops Consortium (AOCC).
The Academy will aim to boost research on neglected crop species across the continent.
10 December 2013: At an event hosted by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), the African Plant Breeding Academy was launched by the African Orphan Crops Consortium (AOCC). The Academy will aim to boost research on neglected crop species across the continent.
ICRAF will host the academy for a five year period and will train approximately 250 scientists in plant breeding. The Academy’s work will focus on approximately one hundred species that have received limited research attention because they are of low global economic value. Species to be explored will include the baobab, marula, Ethiopian mustard, African eggplant, amaranth, bananas and moringa. The advances made through the academy will be shared with smallholder farmers across Africa. The Academy was launched at ICRAF on 3 December 2013, following the start of the first training course held at the Academy.
The AOCC is a consortium that includes the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Mars Incorporated, ICRAF, Beijing Geonomics Institute, Life Technologies, World Wildlife Fund, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and others. ICRAF and ILRI are members of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). [ICRAF News] [AOCC Press Release]