Africa Biosciences Challenge Fund (ABCF) Empowering African scientists to solve Africa’s agricultural challenges Rob Skilton 11 Sept 2012
May 11, 2015
Africa Biosciences Challenge Fund (ABCF)Empowering African scientists to solve Africa’s agricultural challenges
Rob Skilton11 Sept 2012
• Research placements and individual/small group trainees (270 individuals; 21 African countries)• Training workshops (48 workshops; 1100
trainees; 21 African countries)• Institutional capacity building• Linkages, information, creating awareness• Conferences
BecA-ILRI Hub: Capacity building
Components of ABCF
• ABCF Research Fellowships
• Training workshops
• Creating awareness and institutional capacity building
ABCF Research Fellowships
• Large demand for Hub, inadequate funds
• Capacity building through research
• NARIs and universities
• Up to 6 months at Hub
• Competitive; targeted
ABCF Research Fellowships
• Country priorities
• Pathway to impact
• Deliver new technologies
• Strengthen ongoing projects
• Innovative research
• Attach to BecA-ILRI Hub activities
• Leverage funding
• Partnerships for research
Research outputs, plus:Building capacity to do research
Technical skills Analytical skills Good lab practice and H&S Science communication
• Presentations • Publications
Develop partnerships Research sustainability
ABCF Research Fellowships
Growing numbers of ABCF Fellows 2010-2012
Sept 2010 - Feb 2011
Mar 2011 - Aug 2011
Sept 2011 - Feb 2012
Mar 2012 - Aug 2012
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Total: 51
Women: 33%Men: 67%
ABCF Fellows: represented countries
BecA countries (12)Non-BecA countries (3)
• Cassava viruses in Congo• Trypanosomiasis epidemiology in
Uganda• Cavies, goat and chicken diversity for
improvement• Taro tissue culture and disease
diagnostics• Control of theileriosis in East Africa
ABCF Fellows: Thematic groups
• Striga resistance in sorghum• Passion fruit virus diagnostics• Maize-Sorghum Hybrid• PPR thermostable vaccine in Sudan• New molecular tools to study theileria
diversity• East Coast Fever: rapid sero-diagnostics• ‘Disease reports’
ABCF projects: examples of outputs
• Cassava virus -CBSD (DRC)• Potential new races of Ug99 (Kenya)• Possible new Taro virus (Ethiopia)• Ndumu virus in pigs (Uganda)• ASFV diversity (Uganda)• Theileria (Sudan and South Sudan)
Example of outputs: ‘Disease reports’
Alex Bombom (Uganda)• Maize-Sorghum Hybrid• Invited BMGF proposal
Felix Meutchieye (Cameroon)• Cameroon goat diversity• BecA-Sweden project
Dora Kilalo (Kenya)• Passion fruit virus diagnostics• BecA-Sweden project
ABCF Fellows: leveraging funding
• Introduction to Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics (2011, 2012)
• Advanced Genomics and Bioinformatics (2011, 2012)
• Scientific Research Paper Writing (2010, 2011, Nov 2012)
• Laboratory Management and Equipment Operations (2012)
ABCF: Annual Workshops
BecA countries: 15Non-BecA countries: 2
Raising awareness in the 18 BecA countries
• Country Visits: 39 institutions and organisations visited in 2011/2012
• Mailing list• Website• Meetings/Conferences• Annual letter
2011/12BurundiCameroonDR CongoEthiopiaRwandaSudanTanzania
PlannedEquatorial GuineaMadagascarSão Tomé and Príncipe
Country visit : Burundi
4 workshop participants
• Agrobiotech
• Phytolabu
• Burundi University;
3 ABCF Fellowships (Taro)
BecA-Sweden plant tissue culture and diagnostics project
Mushroom Lab partner on FANS
project
• Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Burundi (ISABU)
Institutional capacity building
• National Agricultural Biotechnology Centre, EIAR, Holetta, Ethiopia
• Gulu University, Uganda
• Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute (MARI), Tanzania
Partners
• AusAID through the BecA-CSIRO partnership• Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs through
the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (sida)
• The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation • Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable
Agriculture
• African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD)
• Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA)
• United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)
• International Foundation For Science (IFS)
Other capacity building partnerships
Thank you