African Centre for Crop Improvement

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ACCI

African Centre for Crop Improvement

“Training African Breeders on African Crops, in Africa”

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The African Centre for Crop Improvement (ACCI) was started in 2002 with the ambitious goal of becoming a world-class training centre for African plant breeders.

Based at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, its PhD graduates are part of a new generation of African scientists who are highly trained global experts on the continent’s food security crops.

Latest News

Top Scholars in South Africa Honoured

Forty-four of the country’s leading scholars and scientists, including our ACCI director, Prof Hussein Shimelis, were inaugurated as Members of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) at the annual Awards Ceremony on 23 October 2024.

The event happened at a ceremony at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in Pretoria. The main criteria for election as a member are academic excellence, scientific leadership, science in the service of society — or a commitment to significantly assist the Academy in achieving its objectives.

Prof Hussein Shimelis

“I am humbled and honoured to be one of the distinguished members of this august academy, to advance its objectives and services to society,” said Shimeles.

“The award recognises my contributions to creating a critical mass of plant breeding and crop science researchers who are advancing plant breeding in Africa,” he said.

Rwanda Sci-Tec Conference

The director of UKZN’s African Centre for Crop Improvement, Professor Hussein Shimelis, was in Kigali, Rwanda this week to participate in the 2nd Rwanda Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) Conference. It was organised by Rwanda’s Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, the National Council for Science and Technology and local and international partners.

At the event Prof Shimelis met some of UKZN’s ACCI alumni, who were on the local organising committee, panel leader, moderator or presenters. In the photo are Shimelis (second left) with (from left): Dr Alphonse Nyombayure, programme coordinator of genetic resources conservation, Dr Athanase Nduwumuremyi, programme coordinator of roots and tubers crops and Dr Damien Shumbusha, project manager at FAO.

The conference is a biennial event to discuss the role of science and technology in addressing diverse societal challenges. This year’s conference theme was a global issue: Promoting Climate-Resilient Agriculture Through Science, Technology, and Innovation for Improved Food Security and Nutrition.

The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) was one of the key partners of the event. Shimelis was on a panel that discussed promoting the use of technologies and innovation  for sustainable agriculture and food transformation for economic productivity. “I highlighted the role of plant breeding capacity, innovations and technologies, and support needs to boost agricultural production and productivity in Africa in the face of climate change,” said Shimelis. 

Delegates at the conference in Rwanda, including board members, keynote speaker and panellists.

Master’s Project Aims to Improve South African Sorghum

Mr Asande Ngidi’s master’s research through UKZN’s African Centre for Crop Improvement (ACCI) focused on the differences in growth, crop yield, biomass distribution and carbon storage in different sorghum varieties to combat the threat of climate change and food insecurity.
Mr Asande Ngidi’s research aimed to improve the yield of sorghum

Research alliance to unlock African millet’s potential

Finger millet and pearl millet have a lot to offer Africa, but they urgently need research and development.  Besides being gluten-free, they are also high-potential, niche-opportunity crops due to their climate resilience, rich nutritional compositions, various health benefits, and extended grain storage quality.

New sorghum variety bred by TARI and UKZN’s ACCI is top performer in Tanzania

A new sorghum variety bred by the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) and the ACCI is the best performer in a seed multiplication field in the Nzega District of the Tabora Region in Tanzania.
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