African Plant Nutrition Institute Funds Four Agricultural Research Projects

The African Plant Nutrition Institute (APNI) has announced the finalists of its inaugural call for proposals on development-oriented agricultural research.

Rabat – The African Plant Nutrition Institute (APNI) has announced the finalists of its inaugural call for proposals on development-oriented agricultural research.

The institute confirmed on January 21 that four out of 117 submitted projects will benefit from its fund’s support. The 117 submitted proposals originated from 25 African countries, APNR said in a press release.

The finalist projects were led by Dr. Patrick Musinguzi from the Department of Agricultural at Makerere University, Dr. Onesmus Kitonyo from the Department of Plant Science and Crop Protection at the University of Nairobi, and Dr. Abdelaziz Bouizgaren from Morocco’s National Institute of Agronomy, the statement reported.

One project was led jointly by Dr. Edward Yeboah from Ghana’s CSIR-Soil Research Institute and Dr. George Ashiagbor from the Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (FRNR-KNUST), it added.

The finalists were from Uganda, Kenya, Morocco, and Ghana. They have worked mostly on improving the resilience and nutrient management of rice in Uganda, olives in Morocco, and cocoa in Ghana.

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Established in 2019 in Benguerir, APNI operates as a non-profit research and education organization that seeks to “enhance plant nutrition for a resilient and food-secure Africa.”

In 2022, the Institute launched the African Plant Nutrition Research Fund (APNRF) in partnership with Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P).

“The fund seeks to support nutrient and soil fertility management research directly addressing at least one of the priority funding areas identified within APNI’s strategic research themes,” the APNI website stated. The research areas include precision nutrient management, climate, and weather-smart plant nutrition, and soil health for improved livelihoods.