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Crops for the Future: New international organisation announced
For immediate release.
A new international organisation dedicated to neglected and underutilised crops will be announced on Sunday 30 November 2008 at the Annual General Meeting of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research in Maputo, Mozambique. Crops for the Future has evolved from a union of the International Centre for Underutilised Crops (ICUC) and the Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species (GFU). It will be hosted in Malaysia by Bioversity International in a joint venture with the University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus.
Over half of humanity’s food comes from only three crops – rice, wheat and maize. Thousands of others are also important, but overlooked, as sources of nutrition, food, animal feed, medicines and other resources. Hannah Jaenicke, interim Global Coordinator of Crops for the Future, explained that “In times of changing climates, and economic and social upheavals, it is essential that we promote diversity. These underutilised or orphan crops are vital to support poor peoples’ coping strategies and to encourage sustainability.”
Emile Frison, Director General of Bioversity International was enthusiastic about the role of Crops for the Future. “Bioversity International has been working on neglected and underutilized species for many years. I am delighted that by hosting and supporting Crops for the Future, we will strengthen the global commitment to the use of a wide range of agricultural biodiversity.”
Sayed Azam-Ali, Professor of Tropical Agronomy and Vice-President (Research) at The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus also welcomed the new organization. “This partnership has enormous significance for the future of underutilised crops,” he said. “I am delighted that we can use our excellent facilities and expertise to help carry out studies on a wide range of potentially important crops.”
Hannah Jaenicke explained that the mission of Crops for the Future is “to support, collect, synthesize and promote knowledge on neglected and underutilised species for the benefit of the poor and the environment. It will do so by complementing and strengthening the efforts of other players active in international agricultural research and development”.
The new organization is expected to start operating early in the new year.
—Ends —
Notes to editors:
The University of Nottingham is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 100 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and Times Higher (THES) World University Rankings.
Bioversity International, part of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, is the world’s largest organization dedicated to researching the use of agricultural biodiversity to improve the lives of poor people.
For further information:
Professor Sayed Azam-Ali Tel: +603 8924 8306
Dr Jeremy Cherfas Tel: +39 06 6118 234
Dr Hannah Jaenicke, Tel: +94 777 418471
Lindsay Brooke, Tel: +44 (0)115 951 5751
Belgium extends banana support
Rome Italy, for immediate release
The Government of Belgium has extended its commitment to the banana with a substantial increase in its support for the banana genebank, hosted at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL) and managed by Bioversity International. Belgium has pledged euros 600,000 a year to the International Musa Collection.
"This is a tremendous vote of confidence in the work of the banana collection and in Bioversity," said Emile Frison, Director General of Bioversity International.
The collection houses more than 1200 varieties of banana, including traditional varieties, improved cultivars and several wild relatives vital to breeding efforts. These accessions are held in trust for the global community under the terms of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. In addition to conserving banana diversity in storage, the centre also distributes disease-free material around the world to more than 100 countries and carries out fundamental research on cryopreservation (long-term storage at ultra-low temperatures) in its Global Centre of Excellence in Plant Cryobiology.
"This support will enable us to continue to take care of and expand the world's banana resources to nearly 2000 varieties in years to come and, moreover, to help poorer tropical countries to make better use of banana diversity," said Professor Rony Swennen, director of the collection.
Belgium plays a key role in banana research and conservation. In addition to supporting the genebank, it also funds the activities of the Consortium for Improving Agricultural Livelihoods in Central Africa (CIALCA), which is building integrated systems to enhance food production in D.R. Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.
For further information, contact Jeremy Cherfas
Bioversity International presenta "Formare i formatori" un’iniziativa della campagna Diversitá per la Vita rivolta alle scuole.
Un progetto per l’inserimento dei temi della biodiversità nel curriculum scolastico dei ragazzi delle scuole secondarie italiane.
Nell’ambito della campagna Diversità per la Vita e in vista dell’Anno Internazionale per la Biodiversità annunciato dalle Nazioni Unite per il 2010, Bioversity International lancia un progetto specificamente rivolto ai ragazzi delle scuole medie e superiori, per aiutarli a comprendere il significato della biodiversità ed il suo ruolo nel garantire una migliore alimentazione, difendere le identità culturali e salvaguardare la salute del pianeta.
La presentazione ai docenti delle scuole medie e superiori del progetto “Formare i formatori: portare la biodiversità sui banchi di scuola”, si terrà martedì 25 novembre 2008 dalle ore 16.00 alle 18.00 a Roma presso la Biblioteca dell’Accademia Nazionale delle Scienze sita all’interno di Villa Torlonia.
“Saranno i ragazzi di oggi ad affrontare le sfide dei cambiamenti climatici e della perdita di biodiversità. Per questo Bioversity International intende lavorare fianco a fianco con gli insegnanti per guidare gli studenti verso una comprensione più profonda della biodiversità e di come essa riguardi le loro vite da vicino.” Dice Ruth Raymond, Direttrice della campagna.
Biodiversità e cambiamenti climatici, biodiversità e sviluppo sostenibile, biodiversità e alimentazione, sono questi i moduli didattici che saranno sviluppati da Bioversity International in collaborazione con l’Associazione Nazionale Insegnanti di Scienze Naturali, esperti di formazione, ricercatori del CNR e dell’Università di Napoli con il patrocinio dell’Accademia Nazionale Delle Scienze. I moduli saranno integrati nei programmi didattici di Scienze Naturali nel corso del 2009-2010, con l’obiettivo di guidare gli studenti alla comprensione non solo di cosa la biodiversità rappresenta per l’ambiente e gli ecosistemi, ma anche del suo valore come preziosa risorsa e “assicurazione” per il futuro dell’umanità.
E’ prevista inoltre una seconda fase del progetto in cui si proporrà un percorso interdisciplinare per lo studio della biodiversità. Il percorso si articolerà in moduli didattici da integrare nell’insegnamento delle discipline umanistiche (arte, letteratura, geografia e storia) con l’obiettivo di illustrare come e quanto la biodiversità sia parte integrante del nostro retaggio artistico, storico e culturale.
La campagna Diversità per la Vita è stata ufficialmente presentata il 22 maggio 2008 a Roma, nella Giornata Internazionale della Diversità Biologica. In collaborazione con partner nazionali e internazionali, saranno promosse attività in tutto il mondo per creare un forte movimento globale a sostegno della biodiversità agraria. Diversità per la Vita ha tre target fondamentali: i politici e legislatori, le scuole ed i mass media.
Il messaggio che la Campagna si impegna a diffondere è comune a tutte le attività ed i Paesi della campagna: la diversità in tutte le sue forme, umana, culturale e agraria, è ciò che conferisce ricchezza e valore alle nostre vite.
Per ulteriori informazioni contattare:
Dott.ssa Nora Capozio
Campaign Liaison Officer
n.capozio(at)cgiar.org
Bioversity International launches “Teaching the Teachers” a campaign to bring biodiversity to Italian schools.
Italian secondary school students will soon be able to learn where tiny wild tomatoes were tamed and how the tomato became the bedrock of Italian cuisine. They will learn how agricultural biodiversity is linked with their cultural heritage and traditions.
“Teaching the Teachers” is a project that will work closely with teachers to develop school curricula on agricultural biodiversity and will help students to understand the importance of agricultural biodiversity for nutrition, health and sustainable development. The project launch will take place in Rome on 25 November 2008 from 16:00 to 18:00 at the National Academy of Sciences.
“It will be up to today’s youth to face the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss in the future. This is why we intend to work with them and their schools to build a better understanding of the role of biodiversity and how it encompass all aspects of human life” said Ruth Raymond, Head of Public Awareness at Bioversity International.
The importance of biodiversity and its relationship to climate change, sustainable development and nutrition are the subjects of four teaching modules that will be developed and tested during 2009-2010 within national science curricula. Students will be introduced to agricultural biodiversity as an important resource for productivity and resilience, for improved nutrition and as the best insurance against the challenges of climate change. In the second phase of the project, which will begin in 2009, students will also be introduced to the role that agricultural biodiversity has played in history, arts and literature.
For more information please contact:
Nora Capozio
Campaign Liaison Officer
n.capozio(at)cgiar.org
In collaboration with a wide range of partners, Bioversity International is mounting a global awareness campaign leading up to and culminating in 2010, the International Year of Biodiversity. The objective of the global campaign is to inspire people to use agricultural biodiversity to improve their nutrition, their livelihoods, their cultural identity, and the health of the planet.
New Fellowships for African scientists
Rome, Italy, for immediate release
Bioversity International is proud to announce the winners of two fellowships. Eunice Githae, a Kenyan, receives the Abdou Salam Ouédraogo fellowship, established by Bioversity International to honour the memory of this pioneering African forester. Judith Nantongo from Uganda has been awarded a fellowship funded by Austria to study forest genetic resources.
Eunice Githae is currently a research assistant at KEFRI, the Kenyan Forestry Research Institute. and is registered for a PhD at the University of Nairobi. She will use her fellowship to look in detail at the genetic diversity inherent in Acacia senegal, the source of gum Arabic, which is valuable also because it is a nitrogen-fixing tree that can be of great use in combating desertification and restoring damaged arid areas.
Acacia senegal is a very variable species. At least four varieties have been recognized, differing not only in external characteristics such as shape and size but also in the quality of the gum they exude. Githae will use molecular methods to examine populations of A. senegal and then to use that information to improve management plans for this economically important species.
"Knowledge of genetic structure and diversity is crucial in making appropriate strategies for improvement, sustainable utilization and conservation," Githae said. Despite its long history of utilization, there been no exhaustive evaluation of the genetic resource base of A. senegal. Her results will benefit the farmers, pastoralists, gum collectors and traders who make use of A. senegal directly and also the policy makers and agencies such as KEFRI that have to manage dryland species. Regional activities, such as the Network for Natural Gums and Resins in Africa (NGARA), will also be able to make use of the results.
Judith Nantongo will also be using molecular tools to look at a species of economic importance. In her case, the fellowship is part of a larger project, supported by the government of Austria, to investigate strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of Prunus africana to improve the livelihood of small-scale farmers. This tree has been much in the news because its bark contains compounds that are effective against enlarged prostate. As a result of pharmaceutical demand the tree is endangered throughout much of its range.
Among other things the project is attempting to domesticate superior examples of P. africana and to establish suitable reserves to preserve the genetic diversity of the species. The two-year fellowship will make a direct contribution to the larger project. Nantongo will be based in Austria at the Research and Training Centre for Forests, Natural Hazards and Landscape, where she will analyze the genetic diversity of samples from her native Uganda. This will help researchers to understand the pattern of variation in the population as a whole and to use that information to decide on areas for protection.
"Bioversity is committed to helping scientists in developing countries gain the skills and experience they need to make a greater contribution," said Elizabeth Goldberg, Head of Bioversity's Capacity Development Unit. "These two fellowships are the latest in a long line, and I am particularly happy that both went to women."
For further information, contact Elizabeth Goldberg.
