EiB news

Dawn of a pan-African method for designing varieties with impact

Market and crop development specialists in Africa are making important steps towards embedding customer- and product-driven breeding practices in the region in 2020.

One the chief obstacles to agricultural development in Africa is the low rate at which farmers adopt improved varieties with the potential to improve livelihoods, resilience, food security and better nutrition.

EiB Annual Meeting 2019 Highlights

A common vision for CGIAR breeding backed by funders, with a view to One CGIAR

At its 2019 annual meeting, the CGIAR Excellence in Breeding Platform outlined an ambitious vision for breeding program modernization designed to deliver on the two key metrics demanded by the donors behind Crops to End Hunger: greater rates of variety turnover and genetic gain in farmers’ fields.

CGIAR and NARS cassava and yam breeders visit Brazil

During the week of 12 August 2019, cassava and yam breeders from CGIAR and national agricultural research centers in Colombia, Nigeria, Uganda and Tanzania participated in an EiB-sponsored visit to Brazil.

After carrying out assessments at 13 CGIAR centers, the trip was one of the improvement opportunities identified by EiB breeding operations and phenotyping specialists Steve Corak and Gustavo Teixeira.

Enterprise Breeding System hackathon

First steps taken to unify CGIAR-NARS breeding software


Photo credit: CIMMYT / Eleusis Llanderal Arango

From 21 October to 1 November, software developers and administrators from several breeding software projects met at the headquarters of the International Maize & Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico to work on delivering an integrated solution to crop breeders.

Digitization survey results announced

In March 2019, EiB surveyed its members to identify the models of equipment currently used to digitize breeding operations.

These include package printers, label printers, barcode readers, electronic data collectors and seed counters that can be used to speed up, standardize and introduce efficiency savings into breeding program operations.

The survey results will be used to guide the outreach agenda of EiB module leaders, while the makes and models of equipment preferred by EiB users are available for reference on the EiB Toolbox.

Groundnut breeders in Malawi learn how to link product profiles and genotyping for faster variety turnover

A rich source of protein, oils and other nutrients that requires few inputs to produce, groundnut is considered both an important contributor to household nutrition and a cash crop. To accelerate the development and adoption of improved varieties, a workshop on the use of product profiles low-cost genotyping was held for groundnut breeders in Malawi. 

Breeders find strength in diversity at EiB contributor meeting

Around 115 members of the CGIAR breeding community, plus others representing national programs, universities, funders and the private sector, met for a three-day discussion of how to co-develop the next generation of advanced breeding programs that will improve the rate at which resource-poor farmers are able to adopt improved varieties that meet their needs.

Photo: Attendees at the meeting (Sam Storr/CIMMYT)

CGIAR leaders meet on future of breeding program improvement

A meeting of scientific leaders in the CGIAR agreed that a cultural change is the way forward to drive breeding technology adoption, higher rates of genetic gain and more effective replacement of outdated crop varieties in the developing world.

Greater accountability, adoption of transparent metrics, and a clearer division of breeding program processes will form a part of a culture of continuous improvement to meet CGIAR commitments to have an impact on the lives of farmers and consumers.