Niger: Joining hands to conserve plant genetic resources for a food secured future in Chad

To enhance the capacity of Chad’s national agriculture research system in the conservation of plant germplasm, ICRISAT, through its genebank in Niger, recently organized a training workshop and field day. While the workshop covered important aspects of conservation including planning exploration missions, collection and handling, the field day gave an opportunity to farmers and breeders in Chad to compare landraces of groundnut, pearl millet and sorghum with varieties currently being grown. A team from ICRISAT’s genebank in Niamey, Niger, organized the training workshop from 13 to 15 October in N’Djamena, Chad, for the staff of Institut Tchadien de Recherche Agronomique pour le Développment (ITRAD), Chad’s premier national organization overseeing agriculture research in the country. The workshop participants included the national genebank manager, breeders, research technicians, agriculture extension agents and other partners working on plants genetic resources. The workshop ...