About the African Plant Breeding Academy
The African Plant Breeding Academy (AfPBA) is a continuing education course for plant breeders in Africa, implemented by the Seed Biotechnology Center at UC Davis in collaboration with the African Orphan Crops Consortium, the African Union New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), World Agroforestry (ICRAF), with support from Mars Incorporated, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), and Jon and Terase Curtis. The UC Davis African Plant Breeding Academy is a premium professional certificate program. To date, 153 scientists from 28 countries across the African continent have participate. This program is part of global professional training coordinated by the 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.
Course goal
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 genomic data and DNA-based markers in breeding programs. The instructors are internationally recognized experts in plant breeding and seed technology. The program is delivered in three 2-week sessions at World Agroforestry (ICRAF) in Nairobi, Kenya.
Who should attend?
The course serves scientists in national programs who are currently managing plant breeding programs in Africa. Attendees can be working on any crop.
Participant Criteria and Selection
Ideal applicants will:
- Hold a Ph.D. or Masters degree with significant plant breeding experience
- Have taken courses in statistics, genetics and breeding
- Be currently employed and managing a breeding program in any crop
- Have proficiency in English language
- Be available to attend all three sessions
This six-week program is delivered in three 2-week sessions in Nairobi, Kenya. The instructors are internationally recognized experts in plant breeding and seed technology. Scholarships are available for select students to attend this prestigious program.
Attendees are invited on full scholarship based on applications for each class. Class size is limited to 40 participants.
- AfPBA Class I (2013 - 2014 Course)
- AfPBA Class II (2015 - 2016 Course)
- AfPBA Class III (2017 - 2018 Course)
- AfPBA Class IV (2018 - 2019 Course)
- AfPBA Class V (2022 - 2023 Course)
Email sbc@ucdavis.edu for information or questions about the African Plant Breeding Academy course.