nited States-based Gates Foundation has praised the implementation of soybean speed breeding research in Malawi, counting on the initiative to support the cash crop’s increased production.
The Foundation’s senior programmes officer Jeff Ehlers said this during an international tour of Chitedze Research Centre in Lilongwe where the trials are underway.
Ehlers, whose foundation funds the soybean speed breeding facility, said the trials would generate high-quality data to guide the development of improved soybean varieties for farmers.
“What really struck me here is the level of scientific rigour that has been put in these trials. It means we will get high quality data which will drive decision making to give better varieties to farmers,” he said on Friday.
The project, run by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in collaboration with the Department of Agricultural Research Services (DARS) is part of efforts to accelerate crop improvement in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Ehlers said the programme targets smallholder farmers by developing higher-yielding varieties tailored to their needs.
“We aim to ensure that the varieties not only deliver higher yields but also meet the specific needs of farmers,” he said.
IITA country representative Sika Gbegbelegbe said researchers are developing disease-tolerant and early-maturing soybean varieties to improve seed availability.
“Soybean production was basically new in 2002 in Malawi. However, because of the work that we’ve been doing, it is now one of the key cash crops in the country,” she said.
Acting national research coordinator for legumes, fibre and oil seeds at DARS, Justus Chinthu, said locally developed varieties such as Tikolore and the Chitedze series had significantly improved yields.
“There is an outbreak of soybean rust disease. It is affecting production. Currently, we are conducting research on how we can tackle this,” he said.
