AfriPlantSci reports and course booklets
Jones MRW, Penny E, Shackleton-Chavez SM, Maio KA, Heaton M, Backhaus AE, Maidment JAbstract
The AfriPlantSci 2025 course (17/11/25 - 28/11/25) was developed for early career researchers working at institutes in Morocco, Egypt, Kenya, and Pakistan, and was hosted in Morocco by ICARDA, UM6P, and JIC. The primary theme of the course was genome editing in cereals, spanning from construct design to engagement with public policy. The course also explored some connected topics, including gender responsive breeding and the use of online genomics tools. These technical sessions were supplemented with a wide range of workshops aimed at developing participants’ core skills, including critical evaluation of literature, engaging presentation of research, responsible use of AI, building collaborative networks, and effective leadership. AfriPlantSci 2025 was delivered as part of a UK-CGIAR Centre project entitled “Leveraging genetic innovations for accelerated breeding of climate resilient and nutritious crops” (UK CGIAR Centre). ICARDA was the lead institute and primary CGIAR partner, while JIC was the primary UK partner. The UK-CGIAR Centre aims to support global food security by bringing together scientists from the UK, CGIAR, and Low- or Middle-Income countries (LMICs) to form impact-focused research collaborations. Here, we publish the course report for AfriPlantSci 2025 and the exercise booklets which accompanied the course. We also include reports for the previous two iterations of AfriPlantSci courses, which were held in Kenya in 2017 (in collaboration with the BecA-ILRI Hub and CREATES NMAIST) and Tanzania in 2019 (working with Pwani University).
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