The graduation of the first group of 23 researchers from the African Plant Breeding Academy will help develop the capacity of local scientists in producing plants that can improve food security and nutrition across the continent.

An article in The Star, Kenya, explains how the Academy, which is hosted by the World Agroforestry Centre in Nairobi, is part of African Orphan Crops Consortium.

Orphan crops are those which have largely been neglected by science because they are considered to have little economic value. However many orphan crops are a vital part of the diets of local people and many are highly resilient and adapted to local conditions.

Tony Simons, Director of the World Agroforestry Centre, said the Academy is looking to combine opportunities and science for accelerated plant breeding. He explained how the Green Revolution had a massive impact in Asia and Latin America; turning food deficits into food surpluses due to an enormous effort in plan breeding.

“Africa missed out because the level of investment, infrastructure, capacity and ability to use those techniques was not there," Simons said.

John Onditi, a potato breeder and one of the graduates says through the Academy he has been exposed to the use of modern molecular approaches in plant breeding that h plans to share with fellow scientists.

The Academy graduates come from 11 African countries and represent 21 different institutions.

Dr Howard Shapiro, chief agricultural officer with Mars Incorporated and a senior fellow with the World Agroforestry Centre, noted that only 57 plants in the world have been genetically sequenced.

"Now we are adding another 101 and with the training, the breeders have the ability to make decisions about plant breeding quicker, which will lead to better plants with, among other things, much higher nutrient content. This is a huge leap for the diversity and sustainability of African agriculture and the start of a very different future for rural and urban food consumption patterns," he said.

Read the full story: 23 Botanists Graduate From the African Plant Breeding Academy

See a segment on orphan crops in Al Jazeera English’s Innovate Africa program (from 07.05-13.50 minutes): http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/innovate-africa/2014/11/transforming-food-20141117151248500352.html

Find out more about the African Plant Breeding Academy