Impacts

Josephine Tafadzwa Pasipanodya

I am Josephine Tafadzwa Pasipanodya, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Namibia. I am a Zimbabwean national, and a recipient of the MoBreed scholarship which I applied for and was fortunately awarded in 2017. The crop of my research focus is bambara groundnut [Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc], an orphan crop widely produced in drier parts of Africa mostly by women. My particular interest is on its genetic diversity assessment and enhancement for semi-arid production environments using conventional and genomic-assisted approaches. Bambara groundnut is a crop of agronomic, nutritional and socio-economic importance amongst the rural population owing to its drought tolerance, high protein, and energy levels as well as income generated from selling the grain. Its drought tolerance levels make it possible for the crop to produce yield under marginalized conditions thereby contributing to crop diversification and food security. Thus, it is an important crop for the mitigation of climate change effects. The crop is an affordable plant-based protein and there exists a potential for value-addition through processing into various products such as flour, milk, etc. The MoBreed scholarship has enabled me to have decent upkeep through the monthly stipend. Academically, I have managed to undertake field and laboratory-based research trials and have acquired skills through International training in molecular-assisted breeding. To date, I have managed to assemble germplasm from different agro-ecologies and characterized it under prevailing conditions of Namibia, a typical hot-dry environment. Further, I have gained an insight into the production practices, varietal demands and perceived challenges to bambara production in Namibia. All in all, the research seeks to identify high yielding varieties that can address the needs of the subsistence farmers, and to upscale the productivity of bambara groundnut to meet future production demands.

Shitta Ndenum Suzzy

I am Shitta Ndenum Suzzy, a PhD candidate at Jimma University Ethiopia. I applied for the Mobreed studentship position in 2017 and started my mobility in 2018.I am focusing my research on African yam bean, using multifaceted approach which includes; phenotyping, genotyping, nutritional and anti-nutrient analysis. In fact, I am motivated to add new knowledge which will contribute to African yam bean improvement. I am hopeful my research will make available genetic and genomic information as well as phenotypic data. African yam bean is a unique crop, it produces both edible pulses and tubers. The crop has received little research attention, as such its potentials in food and nutritional security is yet to be exploited.The Mobreed scholarship allowed me gained hands on practical exposure on next generation sequencing, other molecular biology techniques and data analysis. It also exposed me to build new networks in addition to learning new culture. So far, I have been able to extensively phenotype over a hundred AYB germplasm in addition to genotyping among other activities. By the end of this scholarship, my research will contribute in promoting African yam bean, encourage production, acceptability and the crop’s consumption. Additionally, my findings will bring other researchers onboard to continue in the search.

Carlos Houdegbe

My name is Aristide Carlos Houdegbe, a Republic of Benin citizen and currently PhD student under MoBreed Program at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. I applied to the MoBreed Program call for PhD scholarship in 2017 and I was luckily selected. My investigations focus on Spider plant (Gynandropsis gynandra (L.) Briq.), a traditional African leafy vegetable with a high nutritional and medicinal potential, which thrives in tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world. Spider plant is used as food and medicine and its leaves are rich in vitamins, minerals and other health-promoting secondary metabolites. The species provides substantial incomes for local communities and there is an increasing interest for its cultivation in urban areas especially in Africa for fighting hidden hunger. In addition, the species is closed to Arabidopsis thaliana with C4 photosynthesis making it a potential model plant for scientists. As far as I am concerned,The MoBreed scholarship enables me to understand the genetic basis of yield in the species and to develop improved populations. So far, I am able to select genotypes with high yield and develop improved populations for farmers and breeding program. The improved populations have an increased yield of up to 50%. At the end of this research, my results will help farmers to have access to improved cultivars to overcome the low productivity, and therefore improve their incomes and increase the vegetable availability for consumers. The newly developed cultivars have also enhanced nutritional content, that will help fight malnutrition and hidden hunger in Africa and Asia.

Tilahun Wondimu Fufa

My name is Tilahun Wondimu Fufa. I am from Ethiopia. I had applied to the scholarship in 2017. Glory be to the almighty God, I had been nominated and started my PhD study at Ebonyi State University in Nigeria under the MoBreed programme in 2018. I am investigating on taro (Colocasia esculenta L. Schott.). It is popularly known as cocoyam in West Africa. It is an herbaceous plant widely grown for its edible corms and sometimes for its leaves and petioles. It make a significant contribution to the diets and economic benefit of people in West Africa explicitly in Nigeria. The corms are rich in carbohydrate contents while the leaves are in protein. It also contain appreciable amounts of minerals, vitamins and essential amino acids like phenylalanine and leucine. Besides, taro has small starch grains as compared to other food crops which can aid diabetic patients, the aged people and children with the allergy and intestinal disorders. The production of taro is worthwhile and the cost is 1.6$ per kilogram. The crop is orphan and constrained by many factors. Low productivity, diseases and poor eating quality are some of it. Taro is rich in oxalate content. Oxalate is an organic acid significantly affecting taro eating quality. Besides, high doze of oxalates in our food results in nutrient deficiency and formation of kidney stone in human being. Kidney stone is fatal. My research focuses on diversity study and improving taro populations for high dry matter and low oxalate contents. The scholarship enables me to collect taro accessions from different sources for phenotyiping and genotyping. So far, the accessions were phenotyped, genotyped and ready for analysis. The work will impact the grass root by recommending taro variety with acceptable eating quality (low oxalate) and high dry matter content. It also help researchers by providing taro base population for further taro breeding.

Dèdéou A. Tchopkonhoue, PhD scholar investigating on ''Synsepalum Dulcificum''

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.

Mariam Coulibaly, PhD scholar investigating on Kersting’s groundnut

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.

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