Assessing the impact of crop genetic improvement in Sub-Saharan Africa: research context and highlights

Smale, Melinda. Assessing the impact of crop genetic improvement in Sub-Saharan Africa: research context and highlights. Research at a Glance Brief. 19. International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI); Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo (CIMMYT). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/160361

Genetic improvement of planting material (in a broad sense) is an important component of agricultural growth for nations and regions in the process of economic development. Asia’s Green Revolutions in rice and wheat are perhaps the best-known examples of dramatic agricultural growth associated with crop genetic improvement. Most experts agree that no such seed-based revolution has occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa, despite frequent, though scattered, episodes of success.