HCS Spring 2019 Seminar Series 

The Challenges of Meeting the Challenges of Africa Crop Improvement

Speaker: Dr. Clay Sneller 

The issues of climate change and the world’s burgeoning population affect Africa perhaps more than any other place in the world.  Despite this, gains in agriculture productivity in Africa are lower there than most anywhere else in the world, as is the ability to respond to the challenges.  The African population, particularly women and rural residents, is very vulnerable to food insecurity due to widespread poverty and subsistence farming.  There are many production, economic, technological, ecological, and social aspects to the challenges facing Africa.  I am participating in efforts to address just one aspect, plant breeding.  There are many challenges for breeding for Africa including resources, access to technology, and seed dissemination.  I will discuss how these issues impact the efficiency, effectiveness, and impact of African breeding programs, and recent efforts to begin to upgrade these vital programs.  In particular I will discuss efforts to integrate molecular plant breeding into African programs.