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Sifelani Tsiko

Agric, Environment & Innovations Editor

Zimbabwe has won the bid to host the next biennial African Plant Breeders Association’s (APBA) Conference in 2025.

The country beat the Nigerian Plant Breeders Association in a tightly contested race to host this continental event.

This was announced at the just-ended APBA conference which was held at the University Mohammed VI Polytechnic, Marrakech, Morocco.

“We felt excited because we beat Nigeria, one of the big players in the agricultural industry,” said Dean Muungani, secretary general of APBA.

“It’s a great opportunity for Zimbabwe to host international scientists. It will give a chance to local scientists to learn from established scientists and offer networking opportunities. We are looking at about 500 participants from over 50 countries globally.”

Scientists from the CG Centres, CIMMYT, IITA, ICRISAT and international universities such as Oxford, Cambridge and many others will attend the event.

The conference to be hosted at Victoria Falls from October 20-24 next year will be the fourth, after the first in Ghana in 2019, second in Rwanda in 2021 and the third in Morocco this year.

The APBA organises biennial conferences to share and discuss plant breeding advancements in Africa and globally, fostering networking opportunities among plant breeders and various other sectors, including the public sector, private industry, and organisations like the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research.

Zimbabwean agricultural scientists also stole the limelight at the just ended conference. Prof Julia Sibiya, a Zimbabwean based at the University of KwaZulu Natal in South Africa, was elected as the new President of the APBA while Dean Muungani from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Nigeria became the new general secretary.

Awards were won by two renowned scientists from Zimbabwe: Prof Pangirayi Benard Tongoona, associate director, West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement, University of Ghana, and Dr Rufaro Madakadze.

Prof Tongoona received an award for his outstanding contribution to training plant breeders in Africa, leadership, and research while Dr Madakadze was honoured for her significant role in establishing the APBA and her support for plant breeding training in Africa. 

The conference was attended by more than 300 scientists from 51 countries. This conference ran hybrid sessions for the opening ceremony and panel discussions.

Zimbabwean participants contributed to activities during the conference, including panel discussions, plenary sessions, oral and poster presentations.

Zimbabwe has a long history of organised plant breeding, seed certification and production and as a result, the country has established a good reputation in seed production and distribution.

It is widely regarded as an outstanding example and generally reliable supplier of high quality seed of several crops.

In addition, the country has trained a number of plant breeders who now hold influential positions in regional and international plant breeding bodies.