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MEDIA RELEASE| Enhancing African orphan crops with genomics

 

Nairobi, Kenya. 24 March 2020 — Malnutrition in many African nations is widespread but can be addressed by diversifying food systems with a wider range of nutritious crops. To support this, the African Orphan Crops Consortium is applying genome-enabled methods to improve the production of under-researched (‘orphan’) crops on the continent.

“Orphan crops”, explains Ramni Jamnadass, lead author of a Comment piece about the Consortium just published in Nature Genetics, “are crops that have received only minor investments in the past, but often are well adapted to local environments and cultures and are nutritious, being rich in vitamins, essential minerals and other micronutrients important for healthy diets. The reasons for their past neglect include a focus over the last century on increasing the yields of major crops as the primary providers of calories but with less attention being given to providing crucial micronutrients.”

In some cases, too, orphan crops have been difficult to research and improve because of their particular biologies. With the advent of new crop improvement methods that include genomic approaches, however, such barriers are easier to overcome.

The Consortium works on 101 orphan crops chosen as priorities for consumers and farmers in Africa. These encompass plants that are part of Africa’s historically neglected bounty of biodiversity. Many of the species are at threat, meaning that if they are not improved and brought into wider cultivation now, the opportunity to do so will be lost forever. The plant species included feature a wide range of nutritious foods, such as edible roots, leaves, seeds, and fruit.

The Consortium develops genomic resources of these crops and makes these available freely to all. At the same time, the UC Davis-led African Plant Breeding Academy empowers the continent’s plant breeders to use these resources through an intensive training and mentoring program. The Academy is a model for the importance of continuing education and professional development of Africa’s scientists. By the end of 2019, 114 alumni from 27 African nations, collectively working on more than 100 crops, had graduated. In the Academy’s teaching, participants share their experiences to support translational learning so that new breeding approaches can be fully exploited. This involves considering ‘orthologous’ genes that contribute to the same function across crops and for which knowledge of their role in one crop may be applied to another.

As Africa’s national economies transform there will be new opportunities for orphan crops to support forward-looking healthful food systems. These are needed to counter the current trend toward more homogenised diets, something which applies worldwide, with its negative consequences for human health and the environment.

Jamnadass concludes: “Though the challenges involved are complex, the rewards for society in diversifying food production are large. We encourage more colleagues to engage in orphan crop research and to support such work in Africa and globally.”

Read the article
Jamnadass R, Mumm RH, Hale I, Hendre P, Muchugi A, Dawson IK, Powell W, Graudal L, Yana-Shapiro H, Simons AJ, van Deynze A. 2020. Enhancing African orphan crops with genomics. Nature Genetics. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-020-0601-x

The team of authors above was drawn from ICRAF; University of Illinois, Urbana; University of New Hampshire, Durham; Scotland’s Rural College, Edinburgh; University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg; and University of California, Davis. The African Orphan Crops Consortium is supported by the African Union’s Development Agency. A list of other core Consortium partners is given in the article and on the Consortium’s web site.

Media enquiries: Jeanne Finestone, Head of Communications, ICRAF: j.finestone@cgiar.org; +254 711 946327.

Delivering Perennial New and Orphan Crops for Resilient and Nutritious Farming Systems

Abstract:
Supporting the diversification of African agricultural systems by the further integration of nutritious, perennial ‘new and orphan crops’ (NOC) is seen as an important means to address malnutrition in Africa. The approach may be of particular relevance in the context of climate change, with the diversification of food systems possibly supporting more resilient food provision in the face of more variable weather patterns. Here, we relate how perennial NOC can support dietary diversity at a subnational level within a seasonal context based on crop portfolios. We also explore the resilience of the production of perennial crops, based on year-on-year crop yield data for eastern and southern African countries provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT). These analyses support the role of perennial NOC in creating resilient food systems and indicate a potential for compensatory annual–perennial crop combinations, although further research is needed on this point. Making use of FAOSTAT country-level trend data, we also relate constraints and potential opportunities for perennial food crop production. We then explain how NOC are currently being promoted in the region, with specific reference to the work of the African Orphan Crops Consortium and its breeder-training programme. We discuss the challenges faced in delivering perennial NOC planting material to farmers, which are exacerbated by climate change, and the measures that are being taken to overhaul delivery systems.
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Breeders’ views on the production of new and orphan crops in Africa: a survey of constraints and opportunities

Abstract

New and orphan crops, which in the past have received only limited research attention, have great potential to support healthy diets in Africa. However, limited systematic data are available on the constraints to production faced by these annual and perennial crops, and the possible opportunities for intervention to remove critical barriers. We report on the results of a survey of African plant breeders to begin identifying constraints to crop production, guide the direction of crop genetic improvement activities and identify appropriate agronomic management interventions. The survey was completed by 67 plant breeders affiliated with institutions in 18 African countries and focused on crops prioritized for genetic improvement by the African Orphan Crops Consortium (AOCC). Of the survey respondents, 38 worked on new or orphan crops on the AOCC crop list. In total, respondents provided specific data on 30 of these crops. We discuss the findings of the survey, which indicate that pest and disease attacks, and lack of access to – or availability of – high-quality planting material are important barriers to be addressed in enhancing production. Other insights from the survey include the differentiation of responses based on the part of the crop used for food, and breeders’ views on the future importance of these plants. These results and additional findings are elaborated along with opportunities for future research to delve deeper into production constraints and solutions for new and orphan crops.

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Supporting human nutrition in Africa through the integration of new and orphan crops into food systems: placing the work of the African Orphan Crops Consortium in context

Abstract

Better integrating currently under-researched nutrient-rich new and orphan crops (NOC) into food systems could play an important role in addressing poor human diets. Understanding the multiple interventions required to support effective integration is, however, not straightforward. Current research to support this objective has generally been inadequate, in large part because insufficient attention has been given to draw together the multiple disciplines needed to explore and reach solutions. A broad interdisciplinary research programme is needed to provide answers to the following questions: how do dietary diversity and crop diversity interrelate at national and local food system levels? What drives crop integration or exclusion in food systems over time? How can new technologies be embraced in combination with best existing practices to genetically improve, better manage and more effectively process crops? And what are the best approaches to bring about behavioural change among farmers, food processors, consumers and other stakeholders to introduce new practices and foods?These questions are of particular pertinence in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where the problem of ‘hidden hunger’ is especially significant. Specific initiatives such as the African Orphan Crops Consortium (AOCC), which seeks to apply new technologies to genetically improve 1-1nutritionally-important annual and perennial NOC in the region to help address hidden hunger, have to be viewed within a food system context if they are to be effective. Here, we explore food system issues affecting the SSA region, consider the specific crops and interventions of the AOCC initiative, and draw out six possible ‘quick win’ knowledge generating activities that, if undertaken, will support AOCC objectives and NOC integration. Through setting out research needs, our intention is to promote the creation of broad interdisciplinary teams to carry out systems-oriented work on NOC. We also hope to encourage other stakeholders, including funding agencies, to support this important research, in SSA and elsewhere.

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