News About NGICAns
Venu Margam Becomes Dr. Venu!

New publication worth reading!
GM crops: Battlefield courtesy of Nature

Network for the Genetic Improvement of
Cowpea for Africa – NGICA

• NGICA is a voluntary association of scientists and other stakeholders in cowpea.
  
  
• NGICANs take a novel approach to maximizing the benefits of this crop in Africa – NGICAs seek to address the entire spectrum of shortcomings of the cowpea production and utilization system.
  
  
• Cowpea (or black-eyed pea) is a key food crop grown by millions of women and men farmers in Africa. It has great potential to help feed Africa’s growing populations – but that potential is sadly unrealized.
  
  
• Productivity of cowpea is far below its potential. Better genotypes are needed to:
  • Resist insects
  • Deal with parasitic weeds like Striga
  • Fill market demand
    
    
• Cowpea faces many other constraints which limit production and availability to consumers:
  • Lack of a seed production and distribution system
  • An inadequate market information system
  • Diverse, sometimes disconnected and uncoordinated research efforts
  • Poor communication among researchers and to the public.
    
    
• One of NGICA's central approaches is to foster the application of the tools of biotechnology to the genetic improvement of cowpea.
  
  
• NGICA works in partnership with the African Agriculture Technology Foundation (AATF), and includes many who work for the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and the Bean/Cowpea Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP); NGICA also help access resources (intellectual property, experience and advice) available from private-sector biotechnology companies.
  
  
• Donors and supporters include the Rockefeller Foundation, the Kirkhouse Trust, USAID and others.

For a more detailed description of NGICA, click here