WACCI: African Centre of Excellence (ACE) for Training Plant Breeders and Seed

Scientists

Fourth ACE Project Workshop, Cotonou, Benin November 16-19, 2015 1

Dr. John S. Y. ElebluCoordinator, Research Programmes, Francophone West Africa

WACCI

West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI)

Established in June, 2007 to train plant breeders (in an innovative 4-year PhD program) over a 10-year period

(AGRA-PASS grant)

VisionTo become the foremost Centre for the training of

Plant Breeders for Africa

• To transform WACCI into a sustainable world class platform for the training of Plant Breeders and Seed Scientists & Technologists

• To enrol 65 PhD students in Plant Breeding and 60 MPhil students in Seed Science & Technology between 2014 and 2018

The Objectives of the WACCI-ACE Project

3

Update DLI 2.1: PhD Students Enrollment - Cohort 8 (2015)

TCHALA NoudifouleTogo

WAAPP, Togo

OBENG-BIO Ebenezer

GhanaUSAID

DEWA Messan Koussakana

TogoWAAPP, Togo

DAWUD Maryam Abba

NigeriaWAAPP, Nigeria

SSREMBA GodfreyUganda

EU-Intra ACP Mobility

BANLA Essohouna Modom

TogoWAAPP, Togo

MELOMEY Leander Dede Ghana

Syngenta Foundation

DADZIE Abu Mustapha

GhanaUSAID

MOHAMMED Saba Baba

NigeriaWAAPP, Nigeria

UTOBLO Obaiya Grace NigeriaDAAD

DIATTA ElisabethSenegal

Purdue-SMIL

SEYNI Ousmane DiakiteNiger

Purdue-SMIL

BARNOR Teye MichaelGhanaUSAID

NGALAMU TonySouth Sudan

EU-Intra ACP Mobility

DIANGAR MoussaSenegal

WAAPP, Senegal

4; 27%

11; 73%

Regional SpreadNational Regional

11; 73%

4; 27%

GenderMale Female

Update DLI 2.1: PhD Students Admitted – Cohort 9 (2016)NAME GENDER COUNTRY

1 Mr. Ousseini Ardaly Abdou Oussou

Male Niger

2 Ms. Juliana Mariama Vangahun Female Sierra Leone3 Mrs. Augusta Jebeh Barka

Female Sierra Leone

4 Mrs. Rukaiya Aliyu Sami Female Nigeria5 Mr. Luka Atwok Opio Awata Male South Sudan6 Mr. Mahamadou Gado Djibo Male Niger7 Mr. Wendm Ygzaw Gesesew Male Ethiopia8 Mr. Bassirou Sani Boubacar Gaoh

Male Niger

9 Mr. Nathan Aliel Kachiguma Male Malawi10 Mr. Bedasa Mekonnon Dosho Male Ethiopia11 Mr. Aminu Kurawa Ibrahim

Male Nigeria

12 Mr. Tighankoumi Jnr. Gmakouba Male Togo13 Mrs. Adelaide Pingdewinde

OuedraogoFemale Burkina Faso

14 Mrs. Pearl Abu

Female Ghana

15 Mr. Michael Kwabena Osei Male Ghana16 Mrs. Rosemary Kusi-Adjei Female Ghana17 Mr. Kwabena Bediako Asare

Male Ghana

18 Mr. Yahaya Abdul Rahman Sadiq

Male Nigeria

19 Mr. Cheikh Oumar Diallo Male Senegal20 Mr. Dans Kiamue Johnson Male Liberia21 Mr. Prince Emmanuel Norman Male Sierra Leone22 Mr. Abdulwahab Saliu Shaibu Male Nigeria

18; 82%

4; 18%

Regional SpreadRegional National

16; 73%

6; 27%

GenderMale Female

Enrollment to date

82 Students Enrolled

30 Female (37%)43 Anglophone (52%)39 Francophone (48%)

MPhil Seed Science & Technology

Developed MPhil SST curriculum

Obtained accreditation for MPhil SST programme

Admission of quality students into MPhil programme in progress

Update DLI 2.2: New MPhil Programme

Innovative 2-yr MPhil SST Programme– 1 year Coursework

– 3 months experiential learning at Private Seed

Companies, National Seed Programmes, ISU-SSC,

Cornell-NYSAES and other collaborating institutions

– 1 year thesis research

Delivering

New Accredited Programmes…MPhil in Seed Science and Technology in collaboration with Iowa

State University, USA the NARS in Ghana and the private sector

Update DLI 2.2: Mphil Students Enrollment – Cohort 1 (2015)

ESHUN Kwesi Benjamin Ghana

SACKEY Evans Agortey Ghana

VUKANIA Daisy Hatong Ghana

Lorpu Kezelee Liberia

OSSOM Mathias Korle Ghana

ACHEAMPONG Anthony Ghana

ISSAH Abdul-Rashid Ghana

AMIHERE Kwame Blay Ghana

SARKODIE Jonathan Ghana

Davidetta Moore Coleguwor

Liberia

Prince Eburey Appiah Ghana

9; 82%

2; 18%

Regional SpreadNational Regional

8; 73%

3; 27%

GenderMale Female

Innovative Pro-grammes/

Curriculum Excellence built into

the programme Excellent facilities English language profi-

ciency course (Franco-phone)

Student Bursaries Stable & Friendly Environment in Ghana Impact of our Gradu-

ates

Attracting Regional Students

4

3

4

1

3

2

1 1 1 1 1

WACCI Cohort 9 PhD Students

11

• Two boreholes, drip irrigation system, water storage system, seed store, generator

• 2.5 acres irrigable area fenced and gated (Expansion to 5 acres)

• 1,750 hybrids have been evaluated

Multi-locational trials of 10 hybrid varieties (9 - 11 t/ha) ongoing

WACCI Model Farm

Partner Engagement

WACCI, UG

AGRAGates &

Rockefeller Foundations

CGIAR Centres and Universities outside Africa

Local & Regional Institutions

(Universities, NARI’s, Private Sector, NGOs)

KNUST, CSIR, BNARI, ARCN, IER, BecA-ILRI,

INERA, INRANPremium Foods, M&B

Seeds, Seed Co.

Cornell Univ.Purdue Univ.

Univ of IllinoisIowa State Univ.

ICRISAT, IITA

GCP, JICA, USAID, DAAD,WAAPP, SFSA,

WAAPP, WORLD BANK,

Establishment of the Consortium for Agricultural Education and Innovation

Frontrunners in West Africa

Activity Responsible ACE/Persons Deadlines

Development of the framework

WACCI September 30, 2015

Review and inputs from other ACEs

ACEs representatives October 15, 2015

Discussion of the CAEIFWA documents and plans during the next ACE meeting, Cotonou, Benin

ACEs November 2015

Formation of the Steering Committee

ACE Directors November 2015

Action Plan To Strengthen Partnerships • Co - supervision of students

• Training workshops

• Faculty and Staff Exchange

• Seminars

• Breeding Programmes and Joint Research Proposals

• Genotyping and Data Analysis

• Stakeholder Meetings

• A seat on the WACCI Advisory Board (CORAF-WECARD)

Donors/SponsorsAGRA ICRISAT Drylands CerealsGCP DAAD

Cornell University USAIDPurdue University EU Intra-ACP Mobility

ProjectKirkhouse Trust Global Change

Institute/University of Queensland

VW Foundation AGRA SSTPWAAPP Premium FoodsSyngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture

Revenue Generated (Jan 1, 2014 – Nov 18, 2015)SPONSOR/DONOR STUDENT(S)/PROJECT AMOUNT (USD)AGRA 1. ABDOU SOULEYMANE

2. SANATU ALIDU MUSTAPHA3. DIENI ZAKARIA4. DIALLO CHIAKA5. AKAOGU IJEOMA CHINYERE

2,440,188

WAAPP Sierra Leone 1. KARIM KUMBA YANNAH2. ISATA KAMANDA

123,642

WAAPP Senegal 1. KANFANY GHISLAIN2. BATHE DIOP3. AISSATOU SAMBOU4. MOUSSA DIANGAR

131,699

CORNELL NEXTGEN CASSAVA

1. OLUMIDE ALABI ALABA2. LYDIA EZENWAKA3. KAYONDO ISMAIL

164,397

Scholarships

SPONSOR/DONOR STUDENT(S)/PROJECT AMOUNT (USD)

USAID 1. ABU MUSTAPHA DADZIE2. EBENEZER OBENG-BIO3. MICHAEL TEYE-BANNOR

64,689

SYNGENTA FOUNDATION (SFSA)

1. LEANDER DEDE MELORME 29,155

PURDUE SMIL 1. ELISABETH DIATTA2. SEYNI DIAKITE OUSMANE

68,906

WAAPP TOGO 1. DEWA KASA MESSAN2. BANLA ESSOUHOUN3. TCHALA GILBERT

NOUDIFOULE

96,432

INTRA-ACP 1. GODFREY SSEREMBA2. TONY NGALAMU

106,740

WAAPP NIGERIA 1. MARYAM ABBA DAWUD2. MOHAMMED SABA BABA

23,078

Scholarships

SPONSOR/DONOR STUDENT(S)/PROJECT AMOUNT (USD)

ICRISAT DC DRYLANDS CEREALS SCHOLARSHIP

49,993

DAAD PART-SCHORLARSHIP FOR 7 PHD STUDENTS

98,303

GCI/UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND

DEMAND-LED PLANT VARIETY DESIGN

105,000

PURDUE UNIVERSITY

FUNCTIONAL SORGHUM GENE DISCOVERY PROJECT

41,078

KIRKHOUSE TRUST PHD SCHOLARSHIP FOR SOBDA GONNE

48,543

AGRA SSTP FIELD TRIAL AND EVALUATION OF MAIZE HYBRIDS

37,834

SELF-PART SCHOLARSHIP FOR PHD STUDIES

9,043

Student Projects

• Total Revenue Generated from January 1, 2014 to November 18, 2015 is:

US$3,638,715

Total Revenue Generated

Status of Expenditure (Committed)• Seed Laboratory Equipment - US$233,861.76

• Farm Irrigation Facilities - US$49,500

• Network Equipment & Accessories - US$15,100

• Computers & Accessories - US$15,600

• Vehicles (4 X 4 & Bus) - US$217,000

• General Office Consumables - US$24,500

• Tuition scholarships (MPhil & PhD Students) - US$86,737

• Accounting software (purchased) - US$750

Challenges and Coping Strategies• Funding for qualified students

Continous resource mobilization efforts• Qualified female students willing and able to enroll

Create innovative recruitment strategies to attract female students

• Unavailability of qualified plant breeders in some countries WACCI products (graduates)

• Limited space at WACCI Expansion of existing lecture room Construction of new facility to host

Seed Science and Technology Laboratory Bioinformatics Laboratory Tissue Culture Laboratory Cold room Lecture rooms Conference rooms Offices

Acknowledgements: Partners

WAAPP

The NARS in WCA