The International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), and the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA) held a side event on October 14th named “Breaking the Bottlenecks to Scale Up Bean Seed Systems in Africa” during the World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogue.
The side event worked to inspire new ways of thinking about the adoption of improved varieties. The panelists were; Ian Barker, Head of Agricultural Partnerships at Syngenta Foundation; Margaret Catley-Carlson, Council of Advisors at World Food Prize; Ruben G. Echeverria, Director General at CIAT; Marco Ferroni, Executive Director at Syngenta Foundation; Edward Mabaya, Associate Director at Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development; Joyce Malinga, Director at Food Crops Research Institute, Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization; Jean-Claude Rubyogo, Seeds Expert at CIAT; and Louise Sperling, Seeds Expert at Catholic Relief Services.
The panelists discussed key requirements for scaling up innovative bean seed systems in Africa, drawing on case studies from the experience of member countries of the Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA), including Ethiopia, Kenya and Rwanda.
Since the event, articles have been written outlining the threats of beans, and the “White Gold” Revolution, as well as knowing that we must think ahead instead of ideologically, with modern seeds raising yield.
For more information on the topic, we encourage you to check out articles written on the CIAT Blog, and DevEx, as well as watch the CIAT video below.