ACCOMMODATION FOR THE AFSTA CONGRESS 2024 The National Organising Committee (NOC) for Congress 2024 has negotiated special rates for delegates. Rates quoted are per room per night excluding local taxes. Please note that limited rooms available are at the Pride Inn Paradise Beach Hotel, which is in Mombasa, Kenya. Delegates are encouraged to make their hotel reservations in advance to secure accommodation in order to to avoid disappointment. The hotel can be booked directly upon registration for the Congress. Please contact the hotel of your choice directly on the table below to book your hotel ..read more

..read more

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing ..read more

AFSTA would like to welcome the new members have joined AFSTA, They Include: -Ordinary members *ECOBasic seeds Co. Ltd – Nigeria *Premier Seed Nigeria *Export Trading Group (ETG) – Kenya *Seed Association of Nigeria (SEEDAN) -Associate members: *Suba Seeds – Italy *Sasakawa African Association – Ethiopia * Lidea – France *TASAI Inc. – USA AFSTA wishes to thank the two outgoing Board Members the board members that have retired i.e. Mr. Given Mudenda from Zambia and Mr. Ahmed Ouayach from Morocco, Mr Francois Burgaud from France * AFSTA Also wishes to recognise the following Lifetime members ..read more

Africa Vegetable Breeding Consortium (AVBC) Overview: Seed companies in Africa continue to rely on public domain open-pollinated varieties for example in Eastern and Southern Africa of tomato and chili such as Tanya and Tengeru-97 tomatoes that were introduced by the World Vegetable Center in the late 1990s. While the vegetable seed sector in Africa is undergoing rapid change.. Research and development are becoming increasingly important for vegetable seed companies as market competition intensifies. The Africa Vegetable Breeding Consortium (AVBC) is a joint initiative of the  ..read more

We are pleased to inform you that the online registration for the AFSTA Congress 2023 is now open . To register for Early Bird Discounted rates, please visit AFSTA website https://www.afsta.org and click on the AFSTA Congress 2023 logo, which will redirect you to the various links on registration including the Online form. Once you finalize registration, please book your room at your earliest convenience in one of the hotels negotiated to accommodate the delegates. The congress hotel is the King Fahd Palace. Maximum precautions will be observed and all the directives of theSenegalese  ..read more

Gene editing is a new tool in the plant breeding toolbox. Plant breeding is a collection of scientific disciplines. It involves many different tools all used to develop plants that meet the needs of farmers and the needs of a changing world. These tools provide solutions to global challenges by developing improved varieties that are better adapted to withstand diseases, pests, climate change, and other threats and offering better quality. Gene editing is one tool that plant breeders and scientists use to develop new varieties more efficiently. Plant breeding is the science of developing new or ..read more

“Genome editing technology has been identified as a potential new option to augment existing interventions in pursuance of achieving the African Union Agenda 2063 and it is expected that proposed applications for genome editing technology for basic research, conservation, agriculture, public health and other purposes will likely continue to expand as genome editing tools become more refined. “ With this in mind, Kenya has published science-based guidelines to facilitate the development of gene-edited research and products, which will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.. In r ..read more

Plant scientists have today welcomed the lifting of the ban on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Kenya terming in a breakthrough for commerce. According to Dr Mwimali Murenga of KALRO, the move will definitely translate into commercialization of plant biotechnology crop products such as maize and cassava. He added that scholars have something to celebrate since research in biotech would definitely be funded. He added that Kenya will now be in a position to attract more funding for investments and research as the ban had created an impression that the country is not even the place to inv ..read more

“We will not achieve food security without reaching consensus on Farmers’ Rights and Breeders’ Rights” says Arthur Santosh Attavar, ISF Vice President and a member of AFSTA ..read more