Biotech Updates

Regional Climate Model for Crops in Africa

February 26, 2010

Crop breeders in three East African countries - Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania - will soon be able to analyze the impact of climate change on a wide variety of crops. The Michigan State University (MSU) in the U.S. has developed a customized regional climate model linked to crop growing and water models to help access crop yield.

The model can experiment with the impact of climate change, such as high temperature and water stress on a certain crop variety, thus saving time otherwise spent on field trials. "This will help speed up the agricultural research cycle," said Jennifer Olson, lead researcher and associate professor at MSU's College of Communication Arts and Sciences. While the model is still being perfected, it is expected to be demonstrated during a workshop in June.

View the full article at  http://allafrica.com/stories/201002240894.html