Biotech Updates

Grant Establishes African Seed Institute in Kenya

March 18, 2011

Iowa State University and University of Nairobi were recipients of a grant from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) which is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to help millions of small-scale farmers be uplifted from poverty and hunger.

The grant will allow the two universities to partner with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center and the private business experts to establish a Seed Enterprise Management Institute at the College of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences in Kabete, Kenya. The institute will conduct capacity building activities in sub-Saharan Africa such as seed training to graduate students in African universities, support the production of improved seed varieties, and create a web-based network for information exchange on seed technology.

For more details on the news, see http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2010/apr/semi.