B4FA Week in Review – 1 November 2018

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B4FA Week in Review – 1 November 2018

November 1st, 2018 / B4FA.org

This week, University of Ghana plant geneticist Eric Yirenkyi Danquah won the 2018 World Agriculture Prize in Nanjing, China, to recognize his founding and leadership of the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI). WAACI serves as an educational center for Ghana-based plant breeders and seed scientists, working in partnership with International Programs in Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (IP-CALS).

Danquah is the first African to be awarded the prize, which was established in 2013 by the Global Confederation of Higher Education Associations for Agricultural and Life Sciences and Nanjing Agricultural University. The prize recognizes faculty members from agricultural and life science universities who contribute to the mission of the university through education, research and knowledge transfer for the benefit of society.

“Professor Dr. Eric Danquah has been the driving force behind the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement, training the next generation of African plant breeders in Africa for Africa,” said IP-CALS Ronnie Coffman in a release. “This is a breakthrough effort to establish and sustain the science needed for the improvement of lives and livelihoods in rural Africa. Eric’s global impact will be evidenced well into the future because of WACCI’s success at promoting the careers of up-and-coming plant breeders. Making the most of young people’s potential is the planet’s best hope for survival.”

Meanwhile, 35 organizations are uniting in a global coalition of research for development partners to create a sustainable integrated Fall armyworm management programme adapted to Africa. They held their first meeting from 29-31 October at the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. According to a release by CIMMYT, the conference was organized by the African Union Commission (AUC), AGRA, CABI, CIMMYT, FAO, icipe, IITA and USAID. We look forward to hearing about the outcomes of this meeting in the near future.

From the B4FA Fellows we heard from Lominda Afedraru, who writes about the hoped-for release of a vitamin-fortified GMO banana, which Ugandan scientists have been working on since 2005 with the aim of helping rural families consume enough of this vital nutrient. Researchers have successfully bred the banana to produce a high vitamin A content, and its colour is more golden than that of conventional bananas. The National Agricultural Research Laboratories (NaRL) is prepared for a 2021 release date provided that the nation passes its biosafety law. We also hear from B4FA Fellow Michael Ssali, who writes about why the nation needs to pay attention to irrigation for its agricultural sector.

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In the news...

B4FA Week in Review – 1 November 2018

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