The CropIB conference brings together different stakeholders from the international agri-food community to discuss innovations and solutions for challenges in agriculture. This year the conference took place in Amsterdam, from the 16th to the 18th of April, 2023. Our team leader, Marc Heijde was invited as a speaker to present the latest developments in plant breeding to adapt to the changing environments and (consumers) market. Marc’s speech aimed to provide a better understanding of African agribusiness and Research environment and identify opportunities in the sector.

The open doors fellowship program ( ODFP ) targets African female researchers to help them acquire soft and hard skills to strengthen their placements within the hosting situation. During the webinar, the first cohort ( Adeola Ajayi, Madina Diancoumba and Anique Godjo ) shared their short research stay experience in Belgium. Laura Cortada, the project coordinator, explained the new guidelines for the call. The ODFP program received a grant from VLIR-UOS for 2022 – 2025. Through this grant, a total of sixteen female researchers will be sponsored, with each cohort having eight participants.

The call is officially open today: 10th of November 2022 till 10th of January, 2023

Anique Godjo from Benin joined the OPDF in 2022. At the time, Anique was working on a sweet potato breeding project. She also has an extensive research background on nematodes. Anique was hosted by Dr Emmy Dhooghe & Dr Ellen De Keyser (Plant Sciences) at ILVO during her short research stay in Belgium.

How does the Fellowship address the challenges faced by women in science and research?

 

The Open Doors Fellowship Program addresses these challenges by supporting women scientists by providing them with soft skill training and helping them with their career development by growing their research network, hence giving them more funding opportunities.

INTERVIEW WITH ANIQUE GODJO

In October 2022, the VIB-IPBO team organized a 3- day workshop in Nairobi, Kenya. We met with partners from Kenyatta university (KE, our host), Moi university (KE), Addis Ababa University (ET), Haramaya university (ET), Muni University (UG), Makerere University (UG) and France. The consortium discussed the current state of expertise in genome editing within their institutions and the need to bridge the current expertise gap by working together to equip their staff and students with practical experiences in genome editing. 

Prolonged periods of drought have led to a decrease in food production. Thus, food security is not guaranteed, especially in developing countries. VIB set up a specific program to better arm these countries against climate change. Climate-smart Bananas ( CLISMABAN ) focused on developing drought-tolerant bananas using genome editing.

You are invited to the 2022 African Diaspora Agrofood Forum. The theme for this 6th edition is Investment, Trade and Transformative Development. 

This is a hybrid event scheduled for the 21st and 22nd of October 2022. The first is for the conference and the second day will be the annual agrofood exhibition in Brussels, Belgium.

This event is organized by The Food Bridge. For any inquiries contact: info@thefoodbridge.org or thefoodbridge@gmail.com

Twelve African scientists attended this course for one month. The study focused on: The latest scientific developments and tools to accelerate maize breeding (both conventional breeding and biotechnological techniques); The latest essential insights in the regulatory framework and environmental risk assessment principles in Africa and Europe, and methods to collect reliable data that allow a thorough environmental risk assessment of new maize varieties. The participants also attended three workshops where they developed skills in public presentations, scientific communication and how to write competitive EU proposals. 

On June 30 and July 1, VIB-IPBO organized a symposium on genome editing and the potential of this technology to be transformative towards a more resilient and sustainable agriculture in Africa. During this event, we  elaborated on the ongoing research in the field on crops that are relevant to the continent. We looked at the regulatory frameworks and their capacity to enable technology adoption. The socio-economic potential of this technology was adressed to better understand if Africa is eager to adopt this technology and if there is any benefit for the continent in doing so.

The start of the Open Doors Fellowship Program developed by VIB-IPBO is bringing the attention of international agricultural research institutions working in Africa. This month, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) features Dr Laura Cortada in the interview 'Bridging the gender gap in research across Africa'. In this interview, Laura presents the program's objectives and the opportunities it offers to the participants, alongside its expected outcomes and how IPBO foresees the future of our program.

At VIB-IPBO today, we also celebrate the International Women's Day. 

As a not-for-profit research organization, part of our contribution focuses on giving women researchers better opportunities to acquire hard and soft skills to navigate their career paths successfully. And we also work towards forging positive visibility of women's scientific achievements. And we are proud to say that we work on this 365 days a year. 

Our Flagship Project is the Open Door Fellowship Program, designed to support the professional development of women researchers in African institutions with our international partners and collaborators. And we intend to work closely with their institutions to generate awareness about the need to develop and implement meaningful policies that can contribute to #BreakingTheBias. But we also work in the field with our partners to ensure that women and men in the farming communities can access technologies relevant to their socio-economic needs because gender equality is needed everywhere. 

On such as special day, we want to thank all our collaborators who work with our team to build more inclusive workplaces and societies: 

#UGent #AAWSE #ILVO #BeWise #IITA #AllianceForScience #ScienceStoriesAfrica #EOs #Leap-Agri EU #KenyattaUniversity  #GAP UGent

This 14th multi-disciplinary conference of the UGent Africa Platform hopes to showcase how scientists, policymakers, engineers, artists, writers, opinion-makers and educators anticipate these challenges and reflect on alternative trajectories of societal transformation. Therefore its principal focus is on the impact of climate change on African cultures, landscapes and societies.

In our third Plant Biotechnology and Breeding (Plant B+B) online café we have invited speakers Em. Prof. Dr Rony Swennen (IITA), Dr Jerome Kubiriba (National Agricultural Research Organization- NARO, Uganda) and Mary Mwangi (Kenyatta University, KU, Kenya)

Our invited scientists presented their findings on how the breeding work conducted by their teams has been instrumental in creating high-yielding cooking bananas and how these new varieties are finding their way to East African markets. Indeed, the speakers went further than the breeding work and will share their experiences on the key characteristics that lead to a better adoption by farmers of the newly bred banana lines and the acceptance by the local consumers. The researchers further discussed cross-cutting aspects such as how gender-responsive breeding and improved agronomical practices have a role to play in adopting and disseminating the new banana varieties to improve EA farmers’ livelihoods. 

In this new article from our Speaking Science 2021 course, we capture de story of Rose Harriet Okech, who is a researcher at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Nairobi (Kenya). She talks about how the availability of improved planting stock to farmers is hampered by long waiting times because breeding processes are generally lengthy. As the world's population continues to increase, the need for a food-safe planet increases even more. Rose is currently working on a gene-editing system that would help accelerate the development of plants with increased adaptability. 

If we want to feed 9.7 billion people by 2050, we need to act fast. Genetically modified crops can offer a solution. That is, if public opinion is on the side of science.

A VIB team is investigating the possibility of using the MinION, an ONT device, to set up 'mobile water clinics' in Africa.
The plan is to regularly check the water quality in wells in remote places by isolating the DNA in the water samples and checking for DNA from pathogens such as Ebola, diphtheria, salmonella and cholera.
"It's a small device, no bigger than a smartphone. You can take it with you, connect it to the computer and read DNA, anywhere in the world. In the other case, it is not easy to ensure the quality of the research samples if you have to transport them cooled through the bush for hundreds of kilometers to a lab', says molecular biologist Marc Heijde, who is helping to set up the project.

Climate change has a substantial impact on food systems' stability. Hampered food production and availability directly impact smallholder farmers, who are the most vulnerable stakeholders. Thus, to minimize climate change's detrimental effect, food production chains need to incorporate mitigation and adaptation mechanisms to guarantee food security.
This satellite event, "Applied Climate Research in Africa, " aimed to showcase examples of scientific actions undertaken in Africa to enhance agricultural systems' resilience to climate-related challenges. Four scientists from leading research centers presented their latest interventions to adapt crops and manage agricultural systems in Africa sustainably in the current scenario of climatic uncertainly. Our invited speakers provided an overview of actual relevant examples successfully implemented in Africa regarding breeding healthier crops, their deployment in the field, farmers' adoption of new technologies, and sustainable farming practices to achieve climate-resilient agricultural and food systems.

Farmers in Embu, Kirinyaga, Murang’a to get hybrid green banana varieties

Summary: In Kenya, bananas are the fourth most produced crop after sugar cane, maize and potatoes and the third most important food after maize and rice. The annual production is 1.5 million tonnes, which is lower than that in Uganda and Tanzania at 4.4 million and 4 million tonnes, respectively. ~ The star

Biotechnology, biofortification and healthy diets: food systems' interventions for enhanced nutrition.
In this new Plant B+B Online Cafe, we featured the scientific views of Prof Dr Dominique Van Der Straeten, Prof Dr Hans De Steur, and Prof Dr Carl Lachat (UGent). Our invited researchers presented their findings on how biotechnology is essential for crop biofortification and the socio-economic determinants for adopting biofortified varieties. Furthermore, we discussed how scientists could promote biofortified crops and what strategies could be used by scientists and practitioners to integrate biofortification into broader food system interventions for healthy diets.

On May 11th, Marc Van Montagu, Laura Cortada and Marc Heijde were received by the Belgian Minister of development and cooperation Meryame Kitir and her advisor Joke Bosteels. This meeting was an opportunity to share the IPBO vision on the use of science and technology to support the development of sustainable research and agrosystems in Africa. We presented how our vision is substantiated through three strategic priorities: Scientific Development and Technology Exchange, Education and Capacity Building, and awareness creation.

We presented the running projects like the work on the EU-funded LEAP-AGri project on Climate smart bananas (CLISMABAN). We also shared our vision on how capacity building can have a long-term impact on science and society. Finally, we explained how we intend to make an impact with two new upcoming projects. One is the “Open Door Fellowship Program” which aims to support African women in Science.

Picture made at the ministry of development and cooperation with from left to right; Minister Meryame Kitir, Marc Van Montagu, Marc Heijde, Laura Cortada and Joke Bosteels.