Zambia, blessed with vast tracts of fertile land, is harnessing the power of modern science to safeguard its agricultural future. With climate change posing a significant threat to staple crops like maize, sorghum, and cassava, the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI) is spearheading a drive to develop climate-adapted crop varieties.
“Zambia has tremendous agricultural potential, with over half of our land classified as prime for agricultural production,” explains Lloyd Mbulwe (Ph.D), Acting Chief Agriculture Research Officer (CARO)-Crop Improvement and Agronomy (CIA) at ZARI, Ministry of Agriculture. “However, rising temperatures and decreasing rainfall, particularly in the southern and western regions, pose significant threats to agriculture, likely leading to reduced maize yields.”
Recognizing the urgency of the situation, ZARI is modernizing its crop breeding programs, collaborating with international organizations like CGIAR to accelerate the development of improved varieties. A key element of this modernization is the adoption of genotyping, a laboratory process that analyzes DNA sequences to identify desirable genetic traits in plants. This allows breeders to select the most promising crops for further research, bypassing the need for time-consuming and often unreliable field testing.
“With the help of the CGIAR Accelerated Breeding Initiative, and its work package Transform, we’ve secured financial support to invest in genotyping,” says Dr. Mbulwe. “This ensures that we are advancing the most promising crops to the next research stage without the need for expensive and variable field testing – or phenotyping.”
Capacity building is another critical component of ZARI’s modernization efforts. Breeders are receiving training in international best practices, including marker-assisted selection, a technique that enhances breeding efficiency. ZARI is also embracing innovative approaches like TRICOT, a citizen science method that engages farmers in testing and validating new crop varieties.
Furthermore, ZARI has digitized its processes, migrating data to a modern breeding data management platform. This upgrade will benefit all four of ZARI’s key units: Crop Improvement and Agronomy, Plant Protection, Farming Systems, and Agribusiness.
The funding and support provided by CGIAR directly align with the Zambian government’s national priorities. To ensure that the new crop varieties meet the needs of seed companies, farmers, and consumers, ZARI conducts stakeholder engagements, known as Product Design Team (PDT) meetings. These meetings help identify key market segments and inform the development of Target Product Profiles (TPPs), outlining the ideal characteristics of desired crop varieties.
Comprehensive assessments of ZARI’s breeding programs have also been conducted to identify gaps and refine grant proposals. These assessments, along with cost analysis using the University of Queensland Breeding costing tool, have enabled ZARI to secure sub-grants from the Accelerated Breeding Initiative.
Looking to the future, ZARI will continue its collaboration with Transform and CGIAR, focusing on strengthening capacity development for junior scientists. The goal is to cultivate local talent and ensure that Zambia can fully own the breeding process, securing its agricultural future for generations to come.
