Advertisement

Eight complete training in plant breeding

Eight students selected from five West African countries on scholarship to undergo a four-year doctorate degree (PhD) programme in plant breeding at the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI),  have graduated.

They are Moses Adeolu Adebayo and Ndubuisi Damian Njoku from Nigeria; Mamadou Coulibaly, Mali; Issaka Ahmadou and Mamadou Ibrahim Aissata, Niger; Solomon Gyan Ansah and Maxwell Darko Asante, Ghana; and Some Kousao, Burkina Faso.

WACCI was established at the University of Ghana (UG) in 2007 with funding from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) to train 40 plant breeders in the West African sub-region at the PhD level.

The idea for the establishment of the centre was conceived from a partnership between UG and Cornell University, USA, based on the successful model of the African Centre for Crop Improvement (ACCI), University of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic after the graduation ceremony in Accra, the Programme Officer of AGRA in charge of Education and Training, Dr Rufaro M. Madakadze, said the rationale behind the scholarship scheme was to increase the number of plant breeders on the African continent.

She said the lack of plant breeders in the sub-region posed danger to the growth and development of the agriculture sector, adding that if the problem was not rectified it would adversely affect food security in the sub-region.

“This model is based on the premise that we can train African plant breeders in Africa working on African crops in African environment,” Dr Madakadze said.

The Director of WACCI, Prof. Eric Yirenkyi Danquah, said the vision of the institution was to be a prime centre for the training of plant breeders for West and Central Africa.

That, he said, would equip plant breeders with knowledge and considerable field experience to lead the conversion of genetic and molecular discoveries into innovative solutions that would benefit agriculture in Africa.

Touching on maize breeding programme, Prof. Danquah said it was aimed at training students and addressing productivity.

“Since its inception in 2009, some improved varieties developed by WACCI have been distributed to the national agriculture research institutes in Ghana and Mali for evaluation,” he said.

One of the graduands, Mrs Aissata, thanked AGRA for sponsoring the course and urged more females to undertake plant breeding programme.

Connect With Us : 0242202447 | 0551484843 | 0266361755 | 059 199 7513 |