Abstract
This paper reviews the role of African Universities in postgraduate training of biotechnology scientists in agriculture. It highlights examples of various graduate programs that have been established, and the impact they have had so far. The paper also highlights the role and impact of various development partners. It also discusses various initiatives in agricultural biotechnology that have been established on the African continent, and their impact on capacity-building. It concludes by showcasing the Masters degree program in Biotechnology at the University of Zimbabwe, which trained 82 postgraduate students, over 2 decades, and is currently being revived.
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Abbreviations
- AATF:
-
African Agricultural Technology Foundation
- ABI:
-
African Biotechnology Initiative
- ABSPII:
-
Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II
- ACCI:
-
African Center for Crop Improvement (South Africa)
- AGERI:
-
Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute (Egypt)
- AGRA:
-
Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa
- ARC:
-
Agricultural Research Council (South Africa)
- ASBMB:
-
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- AU/NEPAD/ABNE:
-
African Union African Biosafety Network of Expertise (Burkina Faso)
- BeCA:
-
Biosciences East and Central Africa (Kenya)
- Bio FISA:
-
Finnish Southern Africa Partnership Programme to Strengthen NEPAD/SANBio Network
- BMGF:
-
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- BNARI:
-
Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute (Ghana)
- BTZ:
-
Biotechnology Trust of Zimbabwe
- CARP:
-
Community Action Research Program
- CBSV:
-
Cassava brown streak virus
- CFT:
-
Confined field trial
- CIAT:
-
International Center for Tropical Agriculture
- CMV:
-
Cassava African mosaic virus
- COP:
-
Conference of Parties
- CSIR:
-
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
- CYMMIT:
-
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre
- DDPSC:
-
Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
- DFID:
-
UK Department for International Development
- DST:
-
Department of Science and Technology (South Africa)
- FARA:
-
Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa
- GTZ:
-
Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit
- HGBF:
-
Howard G. Buffet Foundation
- IAR:
-
Institute for Agricultural Research (Nigeria)
- ICGEB:
-
International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (South Africa)
- IFPRI/PBS:
-
International Food Policy Research Institute Program for Biosafety Systems
- IITA:
-
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
- ILRI:
-
International Livestock Research Institute (Kenya)
- IPBO:
-
Institute for Plant Biotechnology Outreach (Belgium)
- ISAAA:
-
International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications
- KARI:
-
Kenya Agricultural Research Institute
- MARI:
-
Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute (Tanzania)
- MOP:
-
Meeting of the Parties
- MSU:
-
Michigan State University
- NABNET:
-
North Africa Biosciences Network (Egypt)
- NARO:
-
National Agricultural Research Organisation (Uganda)
- NARS:
-
National Agricultural Research Systems
- NEPAD:
-
African Union New Partnership for Africa’s Development
- NEWEST:
-
Nitrogen-use efficiency, water-use efficiency and salt tolerance
- NGICA:
-
Network for the Genetic Improvement of Cowpea for Africa
- NRCRI:
-
National Root Crops Research Institute (Nigeria)
- PBS:
-
Program for Biosafety Systems
- PRRI:
-
Public Research and Regulations Initiative
- QUT:
-
Queensland University of Technology
- RAEIN–Africa:
-
Regional Agriculture and Environment Initiatives Network–Africa
- RF:
-
Replicative form
- RUFORUM:
-
Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture
- SABIMA:
-
Strengthening Capacity for Safe Biotechnology Management in sub-Saharan Africa
- SADC:
-
Southern African Development Community
- SANBio:
-
Southern African Network for Biosciences
- SANGL:
-
Southern African GM Detection Laboratories
- SCARDA:
-
Strengthening Capacity for Agricultural Research and Development in Africa
- SFSD:
-
Sustainable Farming Systems Database
- SRO:
-
Sub-regional organization
- TWAS:
-
The World Academy of the Sciences
- UCB:
-
University of California Berkeley
- USAID:
-
United States Agency for International Development
- WABNET:
-
West African Biosciences Network (Senegal)
- WACCI:
-
West African Crop Improvement Center (Ghana)
- WARDA:
-
West Africa Rice Development Association (Benin)
- ZIMBAC:
-
Zimbabwe Biotechnology Advisory Council
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Sithole-Niang, I. (2014). The Role of African Universities in Training and Mentorship of Biotechnology Scientists to Embark on Future Challenges in Africa. In: Wambugu, F., Kamanga, D. (eds) Biotechnology in Africa. Science Policy Reports, vol 7. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04001-1_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04001-1_10
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