Africa Plant Breeding Academy Class IV

The University of California, Davis has opened registration for Class IV of the African Plant Breeding Academy^SM in collaboration with The African Union New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Agency, the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), The Alliance for a Green Revolution for Africa (AGRA), Mars, Incorporated and the African Orphan Crops Consortium. The UC Davis African Plant Breeding Academy is a premium professional certificate program. To date, more than 80 scientists from 25 countries across the African continent have participated. This program is part of global professional training coordinated by UC Davis Plant Breeding Academy serving crop improvement professionals in the North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, making the UC Davis Plant Breeding Academy the most recognized program of its kind. The program covers the fundamentals and the most recent developments in plant breeding theory and practice. UC Davis is often recognized as a top University in the world for teaching and research in agriculture.

The goal of the African Plant Breeding Academy is to train practicing African plant breeders in the most advanced theory and technologies for plant breeding in support of critical decisions for crop improvement. This includes the latest concepts in plant breeding, quantitative genetics, statistics and experimental design. It also includes accurate and precise trait evaluations, development of appropriate strategies to integrate genomics into breeding programs, and experience in identifying and utilizing DNA-based markers in breeding programs. The instructors are internationally recognized experts in plant breeding, genetics, and seed technology. The program is delivered in three 2-week sessions at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in Nairobi, Kenya.