GENES

Mobility for plant genomics scholars to accelerate climate/smart adaptation options and food security in Africa (GENES) is financed by European Union EACEA and will last 4 years.

Main objective

GENES Project aims at increasing the number of trained and qualified high-level molecular plant breeders in Africa through integrated intra-African program

Specific Objectives:

1) Produce for Africa 10 world-class PhD holders molecular plant breeders who will accelerate cultivar development to adapt to current and future challenges related to climate change and food and nutrition security;

2) Train 36 MSc holders genomics scientists and 8 support staff with strong capacity in cultivar development and new molecular breeding approaches to increase knowledge and prospects of improving major crops including cereals, pulses, vegetables, fruits, and biofuels used in Africa for food and nutrition security and the crop production industry;

3) Harmonize training programs and research agenda of the consortium members (universities) on the use of genomic breeding to accelerate cultivar development and increase the resilience of crop production systems;

4) Foster national, regional, and global collaboration and programmatic agenda that promote genomic breeding research and training for agricultural innovations within Africa.

Expected Result

1) Ten world-class plant genome specialists with awareness on the challenges of climate variability and food insecurity;

2) Thirty-six other scientists and 8 staff with strong capacities in cultivar development fostering molecular approaches;

3) Harmonized and state-of-art training programs in four Universities located in West, Central, and Eastern Africa;

4) Create a pragmatic and programmatic partnership among African universities within and beyond this consortium.

Partner countries or institutions

1- Centre for International Cooperation in Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD)

2- BecA-ILRI

3-African Plant Breeding Academy (AfPBA)

4-Montpelliar SupAgro

5-Plant Breeding E-learning Africa (Iowa State Unversity)

6-University of KwaZulu Natal