The Seed Biotechnology Center at the University of California Davis, in partnership with World Agroforestry, NEPAD, AGRA and the African Orphans Crop Consortium (AOCC) has been organizing regular courses for Africa’s top plant breeders to upgrade their skills in advanced crop breeding since 2013. The course runs for 3 two-week sessions spread over 18 months.

The Aim of the Course

The aim of the course is to train 250 African breeders in the most advanced theory and technologies for plant breeding to enhance their capacity in critical decision-making in crop (and tree) improvement. The course covers a wide range of innovative concepts and methods in plant breeding, quantitative genetics, statistics, as well as experimental design. It also includes skills for accurate trait evaluations, development of appropriate strategies to integrate genomics into breeding programmes, and experience in identifying and utilizing genomic data and DNA-based markers in breeding programmes. The training is delivered by internationally-recognized experts in plant breeding and seed technology, and takes place at the World Agroforestry headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.

Who Should Attend?

Participants include plant breeders who manage breeding programmes in Africa. They are invited on a full scholarship and are expected to be working on any African crop.

Calls for applications can be accessed here.

Frequency: Every 18 months

Duration: 6 weeks spread over 18 months