RACHEAL NINSIIMA
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Department for
International Development of the United Kingdom (DFID) are investing $25.2M
(about shs655b) to improve the cassava’s productivity, build human and
technical capacity for plant breeding in sub-Saharan Africa. This is because
the tough woody plant is predicted to be one of the few crops that will benefit
from climate change as it can withstand drought, marginal soils and long-term
underground storage.
The five-year project is being hosted by Cornell University in the US
with five partner institutions: the National Crops Resources Research Institute
(NaCRRI) in Uganda, National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) and the
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Nigeria, Boyce
Thompson Institute (BTI) for Plant Research in New York and US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute of
the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, in California.
“Increased support for strengthening the research capacity in Africa
and harnessing novel technologies are critical to improving overall
agricultural productivity and food security for poor people,” said Yona Baguma,
project coordinator for NaCRRI.
Cassava breeding
is typically a lengthy process; it takes almost a decade to multiply and
release a new variety. Using the new technological process of genomic
selection (statistical
modeling to predict cassava performance before field testing and dramatically
accelerates the breeding cycle) new releases of cassava could be ready in as little
as six years.
The partners will share cassava data, expertise, and information on a
publicly available website www.cassavabase.org . In addition to
using the latest genomic information, project partners will also hold
awareness-building workshops for farmers, scholars, researchers and policy
makers.
ninsiima@observer.ug
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