Biodiversity Project Inception Meeting

Agricultural biodiversity - the subset of biodiversity important for food and agriculture – is a source of products that sustain livelihoods and services that maintain ecosystem functions. Agrobiodiversity and sustainable development are intimately related. Agrobiodiversity provides resilience to livelihood systems through the ability to mitigate and adapt to systems change and shocks. Agrobiodiversity maintains ecosystem functions through water and nutrient cycling, pest and disease regulation and pollination. Agrobiodiversity is also a part of our cultural heritage.

The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) launched three new ACP-S&T Projects during a 3-day workshop at Entebbe, Uganda on the 10th to the 12th of February 2010. One of these new  projects is the Biodiversity Project, entitled: "Building human and institutional capacity for enhancing the conservation and use of neglected and underutilized species of crops in West Africa, and Eastern and Southern Africa".

The overall objective of the Biodiversity Project is: "Poverty reduction and greater food and nutritional security in West Africa, and Eastern and Southern Africa through enhanced conservation and use of neglected and underutilized species (NUS)".

Specific Objectives of the Biodiversity Project

1. Establish the state of and needs for human and institutional capacity for research on and marketing of NUS
2. Strengthen capacities in young scientists to develop and manage research projects on NUS and to publish results
3. Strengthen capacity in key thematic areas of NUS research
4. Strengthen dissemination of NUS research results
5. Inform policy makers on the role and benefits of NUS

Partners in the Biodiversity Project

• RUFORUM
• ANAFE
• University of Nairobi
• University of Malawi
• Institut de Recherché et de Développment sur la Biodiversité des Plantes Cultivées, Aromatiques et Médicinales (IRDCAM), Benin
• Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, - Plant Genetic Resources Research Institute, Ghana
• Biodiversity International, Rome
• International Foundation of Sciences (IFS), Sweden

Please download the Biodiversity Project Inception Meeting Notes From Here


 Proceedings of the Regional Workshop: Learning Agrobiodiversity (21-23 January 2009)
The regional workshop "Learning Agrobiodiversity: options for universities in Sub-Saharan Africa" was held on the 21st to the 23rd of January 2009 in Nairobi, Kenya.  The proceedings of this workshop have been compiled and edited by Per Rudebjer, Boudy Van Schagen, Sebastian Chakeredza and Henry Kamau. Please Download The Report From Here