WEBINAR: How plant breeding can be deployed to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 10 June 2020. How plant breeding can be deployed to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on food and nutrition security across the African continent. Presentation 1: Professor Eric Yirenkyi Danquah, Director, West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) Ghana - How plant breeding can be deployed to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on food and nutrition security across the African continent: Insights & perspectives from Western Africa

1. Turning the Covid-19 adversity into
an opportunity for innovation in
plant breeding for food and
nutrition security in West Africa
Eric Y. Danquah, PhD
Professor & Director, WACCI
University of Ghana
Seminar on “How plant breeding can be deployed to mitigate the impacts of Covid-19 on
food and nutrition security across the African continent: Insights & Perspectives from
Western Africa”, Institute for Agriculture Research & the Faculty of Agriculture,Ahmadu
Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, June 10, 2020

2. • Context
• Plant Breeding - The Historical Game
Changer
• Challenges of the Food Systems in West
Africa
• Food and Nutrition Security: Insights
from West Africa
• Accelerating Plant Breeding for Food
and Nutrition Security in West Africa
• Looking Ahead
• Take Away Messages
• Conclusion
Outline

3. The West Africa
sub-region
• Over 401 million people (UN 2020);
Median age, 18.2 years
• 13 of the 16 countries are among the
Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in the
world (UN, 2018)
- Poverty
- Human resources
weakness
- Economic
vulnerability
• Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, not
classified among LDCs
• Agriculture is the mainstay of the
economies
Benin BN
Burkina Faso BF
Cabo Verde CV
Côte d’Ivoire CI
Gambia GM
Ghana GH
Guinea GN
Guinea Bissau
GB
Liberia LB
Mali ML
Mauritania MR
Niger NE
Nigeria NG
Senegal SN
Sierra Leone SL
Togo TG

4. Low Productivity of the Staple Crops in West Africa

5. Lessons from the Covid-19 Pandemic
• Restrictions in human movement
• Border closures
• Disruption in food supply chains
• Limitation in ability to perform
research
• Food systems highly susceptible to
shocks
COVID-19 cases West Africa
Total Cases: 37, 872
Deaths:785

6. Plant Breeding – The Historical Game Changer

7. 1935–2000: Yields
reach 9 mt/ha
1865–1935: Yields
stuck at 1.5 mt/ha
Start of
adoption of
hybrid seed
History of US Maize Yields, 1865 - 2000

8. 1862 and 1890, USA
Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890 in
the USA establishing land grant
universities- Creation of land grant
colleges - major impact on
innovation in breeding plant in
universities in the USA over 150
years (Legislation, US Congress)
1960s, SE Asia
The Green Revolution in South East
Asia in the 1960s - transformed
agricultural production, food
security and livelihoods (Political
will)
1996 – 2006, Brazil
Agricultural Transformation in
Brazil – EMBRAPA (investments in
research and training in science-
based agriculture)
2000 – 2015, EU
The economic, social and
environmental benefits of plant
breeding in the European Union -
Compelling 15-year study on the
impact of plant breeding
(sustained regional funding for
plant breeding) – (Noleppa, 2016)
Selected Impact Stories

9. Crops Demand (MT) Supply (MT)
Cowpea 150,000 2,800
Groundnut 250,000 5,000
Maize 200,000 70,000
Sorghum &
MIllet
200,000 10,000
Rice* 225,000 350,000
• Inadequate physical and
human capacity for innovation
• Lack of funding for STI
• Lack of investments in
commodity value chains
• Inherently low yielding
varieties
• Informal Seed Sector
• Low adoption rates of
improved varieties
• Lack of appropriate
technologies for scaling up
production, processing and
post-harvest management
• Lack of political will for
transforming agriculture
Predicted Shortfall in Availability of Certified Seeds
of Six Major Crops for the 2020 Cropping Season in 13
Countries
Source: CORAF, 2020* Rice is the only exception
Challenges of the Food Systems inWA
Note: Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Mauritania not
included in this forecast. Chad is the only country included in this forecast
which is not in WA

10. WAAPP (2008 - 2019
(over $500 m)
WASP (2012 - 2017)
(US$ 17 m)
MDFT & Competitive
Projects
Contributing in a sustainable manner to meeting
the food needs of the people, economic and
social development and poverty reduction in
member states
• 400 improved technologies
generated
• 335 Innovation Platforms
created
• 3 m tons increase in food
production
• 34% increase in incomes of
beneficiaries
• 100 million farmers using
improved technologies
• 14 varieties (rice & maize)
released
• 10,000 tons of quality seeds
produced
• 800 K Farmers and users
trained
• 1206 Young Scientists
trained (MSc & PhD)
• 97 Small and medium-
sized Enterprises
supported
2025 STRATEGIC POLICY FRAMEWORK OF ECOWAS DEPART
OF AGRICULTURE, ENVORONMENT & WATER RESOURCES
Food and nutrition security: Insights from West Africa
Regional Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP) aligns with the Comprehensive
African Agenda Development Plan (CAADP)

11. Food and Agricultural Sector Development
Policy (FASDEP 1 and 2) and the Medium-
Term Agriculture Sector Investment Plan
(METASIP 1 and 2)
National programmes and activities align
with CAADP pillars (Maputo and Malabo
declarations) but scored 3.9 out of 10
(CAADP biennial review, 2018)
There is no commitment to applied
science for innovation
Insights From West Africa: Ghana
INVESTING FOR FOOD AND JOBS (IFJ):
AN AGENDA FOR TRANSFORMING GHANA’S AGRICULTURE (2018-2021)

12. West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI)
Established in June, 2007 to train plant breeders over a
10-year period (AGRA-PASS grant) - US$11.5 m initial
grant
Commitments – Over US$ 35 m
West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement
(WACCI)

13. Enrollment: 137
Male: 88
Female: 49
Francophone: 53 (38.6%)
Enrollment to Date from19 countries
PhD
MPhil
Enrollment: 55
Male: 35
Female: 20
Francophone: 13 (23.6%)

14. July 26, 2013
WACCI Graduates
July 26, 2014
July 24, 2015 July 22, 2016
July 26, 2017
July 20, 2018
July 19, 2019
July 19, 2019July 20, 2018
81 PhDs, (29 female 52 male)
15 MPhil Graduates
12 Countries

15. Over 170 publications since 2013
Publications
Euphytica (2018) 214:234

16. Sweet Potato (7)
Burkina Faso, Ghana
Groundnut (9)
Mali
Cassava (9)
Burkina Faso
Ghana
Cowpea (6)
Burkina Faso, Nigeria
Taro (4)
Ghana
Maize (11)
Mali
Ghana
Rice (19)
Burkina Faso, Ghana
65 Varieties released by WACCI and Graduates

17. KAEHAI (Start-up Lab)

18. Accelerating Plant Breeding for Food and Nutrition
Security
• Plant Breeders Bill; Science,Technology &
Innovation Strategy
• Need for an inclusive independent
regulatory/development authority to provide
strategy and oversight for agricultural
transformation
Policy Environment
• Human and infrastructure capacity
development
• Research and Development (1% of GDP)
Sustained Investments
1: Creation of an enabling environment

19. 2: The Process/Practice of Plant Breeding
Demand Led Varietal Design (DVLD) – A holistic approach to
new variety development driven by market requirements
Principles of DLVD
• Crop agricultural landscape - supply and
demand
• Policy and enabling environment
• Market analysis
• Target clients and market segments
• Variety design and market positioning
• Development stage and activity
plan/timetable
• Development costs
• Development investment case
• Project governance and decision-making
• Client awareness and raising demand
• Seed system and delivery to farmers
• Monitoring post release adoption
• Performance measures and risk

20. Technologies, Tools and Methods
4. Hybrid and Double HaploidTechnologies
Building modern platforms for trait discovery and varietal development
1. Genomics 2. Phenomics
Capacity Development
for use of genomic and
phenotypic data
5. Speed Breeding Techniques
West Africa Biosciences
Hub
• training
• service provision
Integrate high-throughput
phenotyping into breeding
programmes
3. Bioinformatics platform
6. Genetic Engineering 7. Genome Editing

21. • HighYielding, Drought Tolerant and Armyworm Resistant, Quality Protein Maize
and Pro-Vitamin A
Maize
• High yielding, drought tolerant,Yellow MottleVirus Disease Resistant Rice
Varieties with high protein and micro-nutrient content
Rice
• High yielding, Zinc, Iron, Protein,Vitamin A Rich, High Dry Matter, PPD and Starch
Cassava
• Higher yielding,Yellow Leaf CurlVirus and Bacterial Wilt Disease Resistant,
Drought and heat tolerant with long shelf life
Tomato
• Fast cooking, early maturing, striga, thrips and Cercospora leaf spot resistant,
drought tolerant and high yielding cowpea with large white colored grains
Cowpea
Product Profiles for New Varieties

22. 3: Public-Private partnerships for varietal release
and distribution
Varietal Development
Deliver resilient, productive
and nutritious varieties
ICT
Private
Sector
Public-Private
Partnerships
CGIAR & Other
Strategic partners
NARS
Improved livelihoods
and income
Varietal
Release
Varietal
Adoption
Strengthen existing partnerships
Establish new partnerships

23. Covid -19 pandemic
presents an opportunity
for building resilient
food systems in WA
WA urgently needs
political will for
commitments to
transforming agriculture
Strengthen CORAF to
provide strategy and
oversight in STI for Ag.
Development
National Commitment to long
term strategy for Ag. Development
and implementation of
transformation agenda involving all
relevant actors
Strengthen existing
partnerships and establish
new strategic partnerships
for efficiency and
effectiveness
Looking Ahead

24. Current and future adversities demand that each country develops
resilient food systems to secure food and nutrition security
Radical changes in policies and political will urgently needed to
drive agricultural transformation for socio-economic development
A well-funded, inclusive & independent National Agriculture
Development Authority would be needed in each country to drive
an agenda underpinned by science and technology for agricultural
transformation with capacity development at its core
Take Home Messages

25. C onclus ion
“Africa needs science, not just technology…What is
required in Africa in the future is much more first class
science, conducted by African scientists, to solve the
problems of African agriculture”
Prof. Thomas Odhiambo, 1990
“It is within the possibility of science and technology to
make even the Sahara bloom into a vast field with
verdant vegetation for agricultural and industrial
development”
President Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, 1963

26. THE NARS IN AFRICA
ThankYou