
Science and Development Network
News, views and information about science, technology and the developing world
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The African Journal of Biotechnology is a peer-reviewed online journal that publishes research in food, agricultural and industrial applications of biochemistry, microbiology, genomics and proteomics.
All articles are free to access and readers can also sign up to free email alerts containing the table of contents for each new issue.
AfricanCrops.Net — funded by the Rockefeller Foundations Biotechnology, Breeding and Seed Systems Programme and the Partnership to Fight Striga of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation — publishes a monthly newsletter with information on upcoming conferences, training programmes and funding opportunities. It also hosts a discussion forum where visitors can share experiences of issues such as crop improvement and molecular marker applications.
The website links to a wide range of documents and points to resources dedicated to specific African crops such as cassava, cowpea and sorghum. It also hosts an extensive collection of links to online databases, glossaries, bibliographies, search engines, genetic maps and statistics relating to African-focused biotechnology and plant breeding research.
This website from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) provides an overview of agricultural biotechnologies across different sectors in the developing world, and the FAO's activities in this area. It includes the FAO's biotechnology forum, which hosts email conferences on topics such as strengthening partnerships in agricultural biotechnologies to benefit smallholders in developing countries. The website also links to reports, online books, research studies, press releases and national biotechnology policy documents. A multilingual biotechnology glossary, as well as news and events, are also provided.
HarvestPlus works towards reducing micronutrient malnutrition, or 'hidden hunger', by improving the level of micronutrients in staple food crops in Africa and Asia using bio-fortification. It focuses on iron, zinc, and vitamin A — recognised by the WHO as critical micronutrients — and on crops such as millet, wheat, rice and sweet potato.
The website details current activities through an online map and provides access to publications including abstracts, technical monographs, and working papers produced with 60 partner institutions.
A list of links to online resources including reports, articles, and blogs is also made available.
See below for a HarvestPlus video about their work:
The African Union Biosafety Project — a joint initiative of the African Union and the German Development Corporation — aims to help African countries meet their obligations under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and promotes adopting the African Model Law on Safety in Biotechnology as a common framework for biosafety regulation in Africa.
The project publishes basic information on its aims, objectives and management as well as documentation about its activities and meetings. It provides copies of the Model Law in four major languages and links to related websites.