African and Asian Countries Collaborate for Legume Project

Rich in nutrients, especially protein, and with high commercial potential, legumes hold great promise for fighting hunger, increasing income and improving soil fertility in many poverty stricken countries, especially in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa where they are considered as staples. A new project aimed at enhancing the productivity of certain legumes for improving food security and reducing poverty among smallholder farmers in Africa and Asia was initiated by 14 national agricultural research institutions from countries including Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Mali, Myanmar, Senegal and Zimbabwe.

The Tropical Legumes Project, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is a two-pronged project. The first prong, led by the Generation Challenge Program (GCP) of the Consultative Group on Agricultural Research (CGIAR), will focus on Sub-Saharan Africa and the development of beans, cowpeas, groundnuts and chickpeas. The second component focuses on large-scale breeding and seed multiplication and distribution. Led by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) with the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the second prong will also focus on soybean and pigeon pea development. In addition to equipping and supporting project scientists, the project will also ‘plant seeds’ by supporting Masteral and PhD students from selected regions of Africa and Asia.

Read more at http://www.icrisat.org/Media/2007/media21.htm