Breeding in Africa, for Africa, by Africans

Training African breeders to become market-oriented breeders is a main activity of Afrisem. Rijk Zwaan and East-West breeders from around the world visit Afrisem on a regular basis in order to support local breeders by offering on-the-job training.

Local farmer training
The introduction of new hybrid varieties, developed by Afrisem, will only be successful when accompanied by an intensive extension and support programme of ´learning by doing´, in order to assist farmers in becoming acquainted with suitable and effective cultivation methods. Therefore, we are developing a practical, hands-on training course for farmers based around vegetable cultivation and marketing. This will be organised in close collaboration with local organisations that have experienced in running training sessions for farmers.

A demonstration field has been set up at a private farm located close to Afrisem (see ‘Demo field’). We intend to train the farmers both in the demo field and in their own fields.