Biotech Updates

Call for Proposals by the Global Crop Diversity Trust

September 19, 2008

The Global Crop Diversity Trust initiated in 2007 is calling all interested parties to submit proposals for consideration in early 2009. This call is being made in coordination with the complementary calls of the Generation Challenge Programme and of the Global Initiative on Plant Breeding. The grants will enable breeders and others to screen germplasm collections for important phenotypic characteristics and to make the information generated publicly available.

The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research’s (CGIAR) Generation Challenge Programme: Genotyping Support Services (GSS) promotes the use of molecular markers to assess the potential value of germplasm by linking grantees with high-throughput genotyping facilities they may not otherwise have access to. The call for proposals by GSS targets breeding programmes and/or germplasm collections in national agricultural research systems (NARS), academia, and civil society organizations in developing countries.

See press release for more details on how to submit proposals at http://www.croptrust.org/main/trust.php?itemid=84