News

• The Kumasi-based Crop Research Institute boasts one of the best research infrastructures in the region, thanks to support from the West African Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP);

• Using cutting-edge technologies, it provides farmers with crop varieties that meet today's agricultural challenges;

• In terms of research areas, roots and tubers are his main focus.

We need look no further back than 2008, when many agricultural research institutes in many West African countries lacked essential infrastructure, staff and other resources vital to the development of cutting-edge technologies.

After nearly a decade of strategic investment by most member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), thanks to the World Bank's largest R&E investment in the region to date, many of these centers are finally ready to play a catalytic role, not only for the food needs of their national constituencies, but also for those of the West African people.

In Ghana, through the West African Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP), the government built and equipped the Kumasi-based Crop Research Institute (CRI) to lead the development of root and tuber technologies. As a result, today the CRI has its own Biotechnology Center with state-of-the-art infrastructure and equipment. This has freed up the center's potential to carry out the necessary laboratory work in a way it could never have done just a few years ago.

"The Biotechnology Centre at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has been able to establish protocols for the rapid cleaning and multiplication of all the roots and tubers we work on," says Dr Ruth Prempeh, Head of the CRI Biotechnology Centre.

"We have the best equipment. Thanks to the PPAAO, we've been able to have these facilities, which can't be found anywhere else in Ghana; and they're useful for the whole sub-region," delcare Dr Prempeh.

The tissue culture laboratory deals with the conservation of genetic material, rapid multiplication and mass distribution of healthy, disease-free plants.

"We work closely with plant breeders to improve crops," says Dr Prempeh.

The center has a large portfolio of farmer partners who take over the varieties and make them available on a large scale to the population, or use them directly.

Four laboratories for cutting-edge research

To avoid cross-contamination and guarantee healthy seeds for farmers, various activities are carried out in the institute's different laboratories. The institute has four laboratories that complement each other to carry out agricultural research and develop crop varieties that meet people's requirements. These include the tissue culture laboratory, the molecular biology laboratory, the biochemistry laboratory and the virology laboratory.

In the laboratories, research teams make daily use of cutting-edge technologies such as polymerase chain reaction(PCR) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) extraction and analysis. The CSIR Biotechnology Center is currently the only center in Ghana to be equipped witha 3730 DNA analyzer, considered to be the benchmark for DNA analysis and sequencing, thanks to funding from the PPAAO. 

In addition, the RITA® (Automatic Temporary Immersion Tank) system is another technology that the center uses on a daily basis. The PPAAO has also paid for this. 

The RITA® system is a technique used for in vitro plant cultivation.

"Through the PPAAO, we received the RITA® system, enabling the institute to improve mass production of roots and tubers," says Dr Prempeh, adding that the system has been successfully tested for yam, cassava, sweet potato and plantain.

"This system increases the rate of multiplication compared with conventional tissue culture because it's a liquid medium and nutrients have direct access to the plants to feed them abundantly."

Thanks to this battery of technological tools, the CSIR conducts research that facilitates crop improvement, particularly with regard to current challenges such as climate change, pest and disease resistance, high yield, etc.

Another major benefit, according to Dr Prempeh, is the time saved in research. "Whereas conventional breeding takes around 10 years to find a crop variety, with molecular tools combined with conventional breeding, the number of breeding years can be reduced from 10 to 6," says the Kumasi-based expert.

With its equipment, the CSIR today meets international standards and regulations, as evidenced by its ISO/IEC 17025:2005 certification, obtained in 2018.

"Thanks to ISO accreditation, we've been able to raise the profile of the institute," enthuses Dr Ruth Prempeh.

A regional focus

The CSIR's strategy today is to adopt a regional approach, aiming to serve the national agricultural research systems of other West African countries. This position will be further strengthened once the biotechnology center has put its 3730 DNA analyzer into use, as it will be working on samples from all over the sub-region.

The CSIR is home to the National Specialization Center (CNS) for roots and tubers, which has evolved into a Regional Center of Excellence (CRE). The CNS and CRE are one of the major achievements of the PPAAO. There are nine in all - seven NSCs and two RECs - spread across nine West African countries. 

The CSIR also welcomes Masters and PhD students from other countries to carry out their research. 

The WAPP is an initiative of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). It was financed by the World Bank. Under the technical coordination of CORAF, the initiative began in 2008 and ended in December 2019.