EXTRACT:

“A key challenge in true partnership is to strike the right balance between management that serves the programme as a whole and creating ownership so all partners can nurture a network spirit.

True partnerships are vital for linking ‘upstream’ innovation to ‘downstream’ uses, says CGIAR’s Jean-Marcel Ribaut.

Agricultural research for development spans a broad spectrum of activities — from ‘upstream’ research, generally at universities or advanced research institutes, to much more ‘downstream’ research by plant breeders to put better crops in farmers’ hands.

As a result of this spread, activities can become fragmented, with little communication between specialised teams along the research & development (R&D) chain. This is often counterproductive, especially when researchers stretch beyond their area of expertise.

In addition, broader and more diverse research portfolios often compromise efficiency and create unhealthy competition for funding. And resulting research projects may never turn into products that improve farm productivity.

True and effective partnerships — connecting the right people from complementary teams — is one obvious way to improve R&D effectiveness."

SciDevNet, 9 July 2014

EXTRACT:

"Improved crops have helped farmers maintain yields in times of drought. But as climate change looms, will the gains keep coming?

Building local capacity for research and development (R&D) can also help accelerate progress. But this is heavily dependent on local governments and private-sector investment, so progress varies from crop to crop, and region to region. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been a powerful force in this regard, expanding local access to drought-tolerant crop varieties and building regional expertise.

Two such projects are the Generation Challenge Programme, an initiative from CGIAR (the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) that aims to strengthen agricultural R&D in the developing world, and the Water-Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) project, a public–private partnership that unites agricultural researchers in Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania and South Africa with international experts in the public and private sectors."

Nature, 25 September 2013

EXTRACT: "Patricia Ondere has  been growing maize, beans and groundnuts on her two-acre farm in Sega, Siaya County, Kenya. She's lately added sorghum. Samuel Gudu, genetics and plant breeding expert, says sorghum has enormous potential. Many farmers over-depend on maize, which is the country’s staple crop at the expense of other viable crops suitable to address perennial food shortage." [Samuel Gudu is a GCP researcher working on this comparative genomics sorghum project, among others] The Star, Kenya, 10 May 2013

EXTRACT:

"Chickpeas are the world’s second most widely grown legumes, providing protein and acting as a staple food in the developing world. Known as the ‘orphan crop’ due to their narrow genetic base, farmers have been forced to plant low yielding varieties as there were no other options available to them, until now. Scientists from the Generation Challenge Programme (GCP) have successfully completed the draft genome sequence of chickpeas."

DFID Research, 5 April 2013

• Related journal article, published in Nature, 28 January, 2013 –  Draft genome sequence of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) provides a resource for trait improvement
• GCP Press release – International team unravels the chickpea genome

EXTRACT:

"When plant scientists searched the maize genome for clues as to why some plants can tolerate toxic aluminium in soil, they found three copies of the same gene known to affect aluminium tolerance..."

Newswise, 20 March 2013

View abstract of related journal article

AlertNet News Blog, 17 June – Rio+20: CGIAR calls for equal sharing of natural resources

The article The protein kinase PSTOL1 from traditional rice confers tolerance of phosphorus deficiency, published in Nature on 22 August 2012, highlights a scientific breakthrough – the isolation of a gene that enhances root growth thereby enabling rice to take up significantly more phosphorus, a critical nutrient for plant growth. Some of the media coverage from IRRI and GCP press releases:

• BBC, 22 Aug – Wild rice gives yield boost
• BBC, 23 Aug – Video of TV interview (Youtube)
  

Other news agencies (wide syndication)

• Reuters, 23 Aug – Researchers identify gene that improves rice yields in poor soil
• AFP, 22 Aug – Gene breakthrough could boost rice yields by 20 percent

More media coverage:

• Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug – Gene helps rice grow in phosphorus-poor soils
• Herald Sun, Australia, 23 Aug – Gene breakthrough could boost rice yields
• The Hindu, 23 Aug – Growing rice in soil poor in phosphorus possible
• The Australian, 23 Aug – Gene breakthrough could boost rice yields
• The China Post, 24 Aug – Gene breakthrough could boost rice yields by 20 percent
• International Business Times, 24 Aug – Gene That Can Boost Rice Output Discovered by Scientists
  
• ABC Radio Australia, 24 Aug – Scientists identify gene that can boost rice yields (podcast)
• Environmental News Network, 23 Aug – Rice Genes
• United Press International, 23 Aug – Wild rice gene can increase crop yields
• Jakarta Globe, 23 Aug – Rice Gene That Frees Soil Nutrients Could Boost Yields in Indonesia
• Yahoo India, 22 Aug – India rice gene creates new varieties
• Phys.org, 22 Aug – Gene breakthrough could boost rice yields by 20 percent
• AlertNet, 22 Aug – Researchers identify gene that improves rice yields in poor soil
• RedOrbit, 22 Aug – Rice Gene Allows Crop To Thrive In Nutrient Deficient Soil
• Perth Now, 23 Aug – Gene breakthrough could boost rice yields
• Courier Mail, 23 Aug – Gene breakthrough could boost rice yields
• Adelaide Now, 23 Aug – Gene breakthrough could boost rice yields
• Philstar, 23 Aug – Scientists discover rice gene that increases grain production
• ZeeNews, 23 Aug – Rice gene that increases grain production found
• AsianScientist, 27 Aug – Rice gene discovery linked to larger roots
• SciDev.Net, 30 Aug – Phosphorus uptake gene 'could boost rice yields'
  
• ISB News report, Nov/Dec – Back to the roots – a novel rice protein kinase enhances phosphorus uptake
  
• ScienceNews, 23 Feb 2013 – Salvage job

Nature links

• The article – The protein kinase PSTOL1 from traditional rice confers tolerance of phosphorus deficiency
• Commentary by Leon Kochian – Plant nutrition: Rooting for more phosphorus

Nature Press release, 18 Aug: Genetics: Increasing rice yields (pp 535–539) A gene that can enhance rice yields in crops that normally rely on fertilizers containing phosphorus, an essential element for plant growth, is characterized in this week’s Nature. The gene makes crops tolerant to low concentrations of phosphorus, partly by enhancing root growth, which enables plants to acquire more phosphorus and other nutrients. Introduction of this gene into modern rice varieties is expected to enhance productivity under low-phosphorus conditions. Rice is an important source of energy to many populations, such as in Asia, the world’s largest producer of rice. However, limited availability of phosphorus fertilizers contributes to low crop yields and high poverty in this region. Sigrid Heuer and co-authors suggest that a gene found in phosphorus-deficiency-tolerant rice in India, which is absent in other modern rice varieties, could address this problem. They show that grain yield can be increased in intolerant varieties by making them express the so-called phosphorus-starvation tolerance 1 (PSTOL1) gene. The authors highlight the importance of exploring varieties of crops with valuable genes, such as PSTOL1, that could be used in breeding programs to improve plant yields. CONTACT Sigrid Heuer (International Rice Research Institute, Manila, Philippines) Tel: +63 2580 5600 2761

University of California (2007). Research to benefit African farmers. November 2007. Video and text

University of Calfornia-Riverside (2007). UCR Researchers Awarded Nearly $1.7 Million to Develop Improved Cowpea Varieties. Press Release , 6 November 2007, UC-R, USA. Press Release

Muranaka S (2007). Agriculture on unstable rain. Nihonkai shinbun, Japan, May 31, 2007. View article