BILL & Melinda Gates Agricultural Innovations (Gates Ag One) and the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) are to partner to strengthen research into improving staple crops grown by millions of African farmers.
AATF works across more than 20 countries in Eastern, Southern, and West Africa to develop innovations that address low agricultural productivity and support improved livelihoods for smallholder farmers.
For instance, AATF has released five new hybrid rice varieties adapted for African conditions that have increased yields from three tonnes per hectare to 10 tonnes per hectare.
AATF also coordinated a global partnership towards the development and release of pod borer resistant (PBR) cowpea in three West African countries, which contains a gene that produces a protein lethal to the biggest pre-harvest pest, the Maruca pod borer.
With climate change increasing the spread of harmful insects to new areas, the development provided farmers with an additional tool for climate adaptation.
“We are excited to forge this new partnership with Gates Ag One to build on our efforts and results to date that have contributed significant advances in agricultural productivity across Africa,” said Dr Canisius Kanangire, Executive Director at AATF.
AATF, which was established 20 years ago, manages public-private partnerships for the transfer of innovative technologies to increase access to the latest innovations by smallholder farmers in Africa.
An estimated 65 percent of the world’s arable land is in sub-Saharan Africa, yet yields are currently only around a third of the global average.
“AATF is a leading player in the sector that works to develop, adapt and commercialise agricultural technologies that boost smallholder farmers’ productivity and climate resilience,” said Joe Cornelius, CEO of Gates Ag One.
“We’re excited to be partnering with AATF to bring innovations to farmers across Africa to bolster yields and food security,” he said.
Gates Ag One, a non-profit affiliate of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was created to leverage advances in global crop science to serve the growing needs of smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
The organisation invests in early scientific discoveries to accelerate the development of improved crops that can close the yield gap.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
Full list: Covenant University ranks among Top 10 varsities in Africa
Covenant University, in Ota, Nigeria, has been ranked 7th in Times Higher Education’s (THE) inaugural Sub-Saharan Africa University Rankings for…
PEPC: Tinubu’s Chicago University admission transcript has female gender, Witness tells court
The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) sitting in Abuja on Friday, admitted in evidence a transcript in…
‘How gunmen slaughtered vigilante operative in Enugu’
Gunmen have reportedly killed a member of the vigilante group, otherwise known as the Central Neighborhood Watch in…
Nigerians have reacted to the recent ‘implosion’ of a submersible called Titan which claimed the lives of…
‘NFF may have seen enough of him’, Ike Shorunmu speaks on possible renewal of Peseiro’s contract
Former Super Eagles goalkeeper, Ike Shorunmu, has expressed doubts about the renewal of head coach Jose Peseiro’s contract by…
LAST week, in fulfilment of his campaign promise, President Bola Tinubu signed into law the Student Loan Bill as…
“The case challenges the President’s unilateral appointment of an Administrator for Rivers State and the…
The London Fire Brigade described it as...
A member of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and a member of the Kano…
The Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development has entered into partnership with the National…
Niger Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, has inaugurated a Committee on State Boundary to resolve boundary…
The Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF), to be disbursed by the Federal Ministry of Marine…
This website uses cookies.