An EU-ACP project titled “Science and Technology for Enhancing the Contribution of Tropical Root Crops to Development of ACP Countries” (EU Grant: FED/2009/217073) is being implemented in the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Countries.

The overall objective is to strengthen the science and technology capacity of ACP countries to use tropical root and tuber crops to contribute to a wide range of development issues including:

–     poverty reduction
–    food security
–    enterprise development and income generation,
–    impacts of climate change and variability
–    impacts of urbanisation
–    impacts of the global food crisis and global economic downturn,
–    opportunities provided by biofuels
–    export development.”

The partners on this project include the following:

•    International Society for Tropical  Root Crops (ISTRC)
•    Natural Resources Institute (NRI) University of Greenwich UK
•    Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI)  the Caribbean
•    University of Agriculture Abeokuta (UNAAB)  Nigeria
•    Africa Innovation Institute (AfrII) Uganda
•    National Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research (NISIR) Zambia.

The target for this project is capacity building of early career scientists in these countries by way of teaching them in areas of proposal writing, research methodology as well as intellectual property and research ethics. 

Participating countries include Nigeria, Uganda, the Caribbean and pacific Islands and Zambia. Zambia is participating in this project through the National Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research (NISIR) and is represented by Chitaku Mucheleng’anga, Senior R&D Officer.

So far, training has been conducted in Uganda (April 2011) Nigeria (early July 2011) Barbados (late July 2011).  In September, the training will be held in Fiji while the Zambian training will be conducted in November 2011.  This activity will coincide with the Science week activities 7th to 11th November 2011.

Recently NISIR undertook visits to Mansa and Solwezi on an awareness mission to ensure participants in the root and tuber crops value chain were made aware of some of the issues as regards the project and also on food safety.

Participants at the Mansa workshop

In this regard, Dr. Henry Njapau, Manager, Research and Development (NISIR) who is the project’s food scientist and the Project Coordinator Chitaku Mucheleng’anga visited and delivered two workshops in Mansa and Solwezi.   The Mansa workshop was attended by twenty-four (24) persons while the one in Solwezi by nineteen (19) persons. Dr. Njapau’s presentation was on issue of mycotoxins in foods while Chitaku provided information on the project.  These visits were carried out between 28th August and 3rd September 2011.  More visits to other parts of the country are expected soon.

Mansa Cassava Mill

The visits were greatly appreciated as the participants in the value chain were able to share information on the matter of root and tuber crops value chain and also to know what the project was able to provide as regards the support to early career scientists.

Workshop participants Solwezi

Chitaku G. Mucheleng’anga
Project Coordinator.