Speed Breeding for Accelerated Crop Improvement in East Africa Workshop
An event like this would be the first of its kind where not only the knowledge and technology is being taught, but also the low-cost alternatives are built by the participants.
The Idea
Following on our previous OpenPlant project where we developed a bench-top controlled environment chamber for speed breeding, we are now in the endeavour of facilitating the adoption of “Speed Breeding” in East Africa. We are proposing to carry out a two-day workshop at (KALRO), Njoro, Kenya, targeting researchers and breeders in Kenya, Ethiopia and Sudan. Our aim is to focus the workshop on:
· Introduction to “Speed Breeding”.
· How to effectively incorporate “Speed Breeding” into breeding programme.
· Developing low-cost and local sourced “Speed Breeding” facilities.
· Appropriate crop husbandry under “Speed Breeding” conditions.
· “Speed Breeding” for short day plants and horticultural crops.
An event like this would be the first of its kind where not only the knowledge and technology is being taught, but also the low-cost alternatives are built by the participants. Therefore, enforcing the knowledge shared, and most importantly empowering the participants with open-hardware solutions. To do so we are asking for funding to OpenPlant to cover the cost of the materials necessary to build three cabinets and travel/accommodation for one facilitator.
The Workshop is being done together with Dr Oluwaseyi Shorinola, FLAIR Research Fellow at BecA-ILRI Hub. He has secured funding to cover the rest of the expenses including flight, accommodation, and transportation for participants from around Kenya, Ethiopia and Sudan.
The Team
Dr Oscar Gonzalez,
Research Scientist, Quadram Institute Bioscience, Norwich, UK
Dr Ricardo Ramirez,
Postdoctoral Scientist, John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK
Sreya Ghosh,
Post Graduate Research Student, John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK
Luis Yanez,
Researcher, Earlham Institute, Norwich, UK
Dr Marcela Mendoza,
Postdoctoral Scientist, Aarhus University, DK
