Can food technology innovation change the status of a food security crop? A review of cassava transformation into "Bread" in Africa

Article purchased; Published online: 26 Sept 2016Reducing both hunger and high expenditure on food imports is a priority for most developing African countries. Countries that hitherto have relied heavily on food imports are seeking new approaches to increase the utilization of locally grown crops. This review uses the case of cassava to propose that scientific and technological innovations, supported by public investment and appropriate policies, offer opportunities for better utilizing locally grown crops, encouraging agro-industrial development, reducing import expenditure and providing much-needed income (“bread”) to smallholders. The review highlights areas that require further research in order to achieve sustainable development in the processing of raw cassava root into cassava flour for bread production

The IITA agripreneur movement: a dynamic approach to youth empowerment across Africa

The Agripreneur Movement of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) allows youth to assume their rightful place in African agricultural transformation. It started as a single exploratory agribusiness incubation at IITA Headquarters in 2012, involving 37 youths. It has since grown to 10 countries through nine sponsoring organizations. We compiled the characteristics and outcomes of 40 Agripreneur projects between 2012 and 2021 to describe the movement’s growth. With time, the movement operated across 195 locations engaging 518 trainers within 493 training cohorts and 263 different learning enterprises. These efforts led to the training of 25,616 youth in modern agriculture and agribusiness, resulting in 1,661 modernized farms and 2,592 business start-ups. Of the learning enterprises, 38% involved crops, 32% involved agro-processing, and 30% involved animal husbandry, suggesting a sound balance in promoting agribusiness opportunities. About $38.5 million was directed toward the training and support of Agripreneurs between 2012 and 2021. We trace the origins of the Agripreneur Movement as isolated agribusiness incubations in Nigeria through its expansion to other countries and its adoption within the youth empowerment agendas of other development organizations, including the African Development Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the Mastercard Foundation. In this way, the legion of youth working with and inspired by the IITA Agripreneur Movement makes major contributions to and secures their rightful place within a complex array of rural development opportunities. What must occur next is its mainstreaming across the vocational agriculture systems and developmental sovereign loans of African countries

The contribution of nitrogen by promiscuous soybeans to maize based cropping the moist savanna of Nigeria

Agronomic results indicate that maize grain yields generally are higher when the crop is planted following soybean than in continuous maize cultivation in the moist savanna agroecological zones of West Africa. Many factors have been hypothesized to explain this phenomenon, including enhanced N availability and the so-called `rotational effect'. There is, however, hardly any quantitative information on the residual N benefits of promiscuous soybeans to subsequent cereal crops grown in rotation with soybean. Three IITA promiscuous soybean breeding lines and two Brazilian soybean lines were grown in 1994 and 1995 at Mokwa in the southern Guinea savanna, Nigeria, to quantify the nitrogen contribution by soybeans to a succeeding crop of maize grown in rotation with soybean for two consecutive years, 1996 and 1997 using two methods of introducing 15N into soil (fresh 15N labelling and its residual 15N) and three maize cultivars (including one cultivar with high N use efficiency) used as reference plants. The nodulating soybeans fixed between 44 and 103 kg N ha−1 of their total N and had an estimated net N balance input from fixation following grain harvest ranging from −8 to 43 kg N ha−1. Results in 1996 and in 1997 showed that maize growing after soybean had significantly higher grain yield (1.2 – 2.3-fold increase compared to maize control) except for maize cultivar Oba super 2 (8644-27) (a N-efficient hybrid). The 15N isotope dilution method was able to estimate N contribution by promiscuous soybeans to maize only in the first succeeding maize crop grown in 1996 but not in the second maize crop in 1997. The first crop of maize grown after soybean accumulated an average between 10 and 22 kg N ha−1 from soybean residue, representing 17–33% of the soybean total N ha−1. The percentage 15N derived from residue recovery in maize grown after maize was influenced by the maize cultivars. Maize crop grown after the N-efficient hybrid cultivar Oba Super 2 (844-27) had similar 15N values similar to maize grown after soybeans, confirming the ability of this cultivar to use N efficiently in low N soil due to an efficient N translocation ability. The maize crop in 1997 grown after maize had lower 15N enrichment than that grown in soybean plots, suggesting that soybean residues contributed a little to soil available N and to crop N uptake by the second maize crop. The differential mineralization and immobilization turnover of maize and soybean residues in these soils may be important and N contribution estimates in longer term rotation involving legumes and cereals may be difficult to quantify using the 15N labelling approaches. Therefore alternative methods are required to measure N release from organic residues in these cropping systems

Genic SNP markers and legume synteny reveal candidate genes underlying QTL for Macrophomina phaseolina resistance and maturity in cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L) Walp.]

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Macrophomina phaseolina </it>is an emerging and devastating fungal pathogen that causes significant losses in crop production under high temperatures and drought stress. An increasing number of disease incidence reports highlight the wide prevalence of the pathogen around the world and its contribution toward crop yield suppression. In cowpea [<it>Vigna unguiculata </it>(L) Walp.], limited sources of low-level host resistance have been identified, the genetic basis of which is unknown. In this study we report on the identification of strong sources of host resistance to <it>M. phaseolina </it>and the genetic mapping of putative resistance loci on a cowpea genetic map comprised of gene-derived single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Nine quantitative trait loci (QTLs), accounting for between 6.1 and 40.0% of the phenotypic variance (R²), were identified using plant mortality data taken over three years in field experiments and disease severity scores taken from two greenhouse experiments. Based on annotated genic SNPs as well as synteny with soybean (<it>Glycine max</it>) and <it>Medicago truncatula</it>, candidate resistance genes were found within mapped QTL intervals. QTL <it>Mac-2 </it>explained the largest percent R²and was identified in three field and one greenhouse experiments where the QTL peak co-located with a SNP marker derived from a pectin esterase inhibitor encoding gene. Maturity effects on the expression of resistance were indicated by the co-location of <it>Mac-6 </it>and <it>Mac-7 </it>QTLs with maturity-related senescence QTLs <it>Mat-2 </it>and <it>Mat-1</it>, respectively. Homologs of the <it>ELF4 </it>and <it>FLK </it>flowering genes were found in corresponding syntenic soybean regions. Only three <it>Macrophomina </it>resistance QTLs co-located with delayed drought-induced premature senescence QTLs previously mapped in the same population, suggesting that largely different genetic mechanisms mediate cowpea response to drought stress and <it>Macrophomina </it>infection.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Effective sources of host resistance were identified in this study. QTL mapping and synteny analysis identified genomic loci harboring resistance factors and revealed candidate genes with potential for further functional genomics analysis.</p

Technology generation to dissemination:lessons learned from the tef improvement project

Indigenous crops also known as orphan crops are key contributors to food security, which is becoming increasingly vulnerable with the current trend of population growth and climate change. They have the major advantage that they fit well into the general socio-economic and ecological context of developing world agriculture. However, most indigenous crops did not benefit from the Green Revolution, which dramatically increased the yield of major crops such as wheat and rice. Here, we describe the Tef Improvement Project, which employs both conventional- and molecular-breeding techniques to improve tef\u2014an orphan crop important to the food security in the Horn of Africa, a region of the world with recurring devastating famines. We have established an efficient pipeline to bring improved tef lines from the laboratory to the farmers of Ethiopia. Of critical importance to the long-term success of this project is the cooperation among participants in Ethiopia and Switzerland, including donors, policy makers, research institutions, and farmers. Together, European and African scientists have developed a pipeline using breeding and genomic tools to improve the orphan crop tef and bring new cultivars to the farmers in Ethiopia. We highlight a new variety, Tesfa, developed in this pipeline and possessing a novel and desirable combination of traits. Tesfa\u2019s recent approval for release illustrates the success of the project and marks a milestone as it is the first variety (of many in the pipeline) to be released