Potatoes are a staple crop in many regions of the world owing to nutritional benefits for human consumption and as livestock feed, and resilience to drought, increased temperatures around the world particularly in African countries.
The Hutton and JHL have several ongoing collaborations in Sub-Saharan Africa including projects in Malawi, Cameroon, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Benin and Uganda. Four potato varieties bred at the James Hutton Institute have now been approved for commercial production in Kenya.
The Quickgro Potato project (funded by the BBSRC Global Challenge Research Fund) is looking at growing potatoes in warmer environments so that they have a shorter growing season and thereby less exposure to disease. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is funding a project entitled Breeding Roots, Tubers and Banana Products for End-User Preferences.
Source: https://potato.hutton.ac.uk/topics/sub-saharan-africa
