Impacts

My name is Dèdéou Apocalypse Tchokponhoué. I am a PhD student under the Mobreed Program. I am from the Republic of Benin and I am currently taking my scholarship in South Africa and more precisely  at the university of Kwazulu Natal. I applied to this scholarship two years ago and have been very fortunate to be selected.  I am  investigating on Synsepalum Dulcificum, also known as the miracle berry. It is a shrub species from the sapotacee family which produces green fruits that turn to red once they are riped. My team and I are excited to investigate on this species mainly because it produces fruits that have a sweeting property as well as numerous applications. First of all, the fruit is consumed as a substitute to a synthetic sugar. This means that it can be used to replace sugar. This contribute to reducing the prevalence of diabete in our country. In terms of modern application, the species is used in food and beverage industries. It is also used in the production of drugs that are used to treat diabetes and certain cancers. Today, the miracle fruit has a big market. For instance, the Kg of it’s powder can cost up to 3000 US dollars. Basically within the condusive environment provided by the MoBreed Scholarship, I am able to tackle many new aspects and  my research is creating an impact on the following :

• stimulating the cultivation in the species for improved utilization by local population
• increasing the economic return of the species by releasing early fruiting, high fruit and pulp yielding material.

I am Coulibaly Mariam, a PhD candidate under the MoBreed Program. I am from Burkina Faso and I am carring out my PhD research at the University of Abomey-Calavi, in Benin Republic. I applied for the Mobreed program in 2017 and started my scholarship in 2018.My research focus on Kersting’s groundnut, an underground legume crop belonging to Fabaceae family and origin of West-Africa.My team and I focus our interest on Kersting’s groundnut (Macrotyloma geocarpum) because of its huge importance in providing proteins and essential amino-acids such as arginine. It provides substantial incomes for rural population; its price can hike from 1000 CFA (US$ 2) per kg in abundance period to 4000-5000 CFA (US$ 8-10) per kg in scarcity period. Moreover, the crop exhibits also several medicinal properties in traditional healthcare for local communities and contributes to soils nutrients cycling in most smallholder farming systems of its growing areas.The MoBreed scholarship, enabled me to collect a wide germplasm of Kersting’s groundnut across West-Africa and to characterise the accessions collected using morphological and molecular makers. At the end, this program will contribute to improve farmers livelihoods by providing high yielding and stable cultivars well adapted to different agroecological conditions and meeting farmers and consumers needs. This work will also contribute to promote the crop towards the increase of its production.