GCRF Agri-tech Catalyst Seeding Award - Edinburgh The primary outcome of this award is the adoption of relevant agricultural and food system innovations by farmers and other stakeholders in target countries in Africa. Benefiting residents in rural communities in Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Nigeria, Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, South Sudan and Ethiopia. 

Secondary outcomes include increased and improved understanding amongst UK businesses of the needs and opportunities in African countries; and increased engagement with African countries by UK businesses, including successful collaborations and lasting partnerships post-project.

The Seeding Award funded five research projects which will support rural farmers by contributing to improved yields, tackling plant disease, improving food safety, and resilience to climate-change: 

1) Proof of concept for a Malawian goat health and production mobile phone application platform to inform sustainable agricultural development. The project worked with smallholder goat keepers to make a major contribution to the knowledge and understanding of constraints to efficient livestock production, and started to inform locally relevant solutions to nutrition and infectious disease challenges. The beta version of the goat health planning mobile phone App provides proof of concept for a tool that can be used to improve livestock production efficiency, and consequently improve human wellbeing and welfare.

2) PorkMart : Data-driven market intelligence for a sustainable pork industry in Uganda. The pig sector is a fast-growing enterprise that offers employment to women and youth. The Market where these farmers sell their pigs is dominated by middlemen who take most of the profits. This app provides market intelligence to allow for a more equitable market. 

3) Assessing mineral deficiencies in cattle to improve cow fertility and production in Plateau State, Nigeria. The project provided research-led tailored advice to farmers and agricultural advisors in Nigeria about the main production-limiting trace element deficiencies in their cattle, with specific guidance on how to improve animal health and productivity, which will benefit women in particular.

4) Quantifying the performance of a marker assisted selection assay for theileriosis tolerance. Theileriosis, caused by two related pathogens Theileria parva and Theileria annulata, is one of the most important constraints on livestock production in Eastern and Northern Africa. T.parva is thought to lead to over 1 million cattle deaths a year and over $450M of losses to African farmers. We have mapped a genetic locus in native African cattle that confers natural tolerance to T.parva infection. To enable farmers to breed for tolerance we developed a cheap and effective assay for this locus. This project assessed whether this locus also confers protection to T.annulata so that breeding will confer tolerance to both important pathogens.

5) Seeding quantitative genetics analysis of phenotypic variation in the icipe cricket. This project is part of a long-term goal to improve productivity of the icipe cricket via breeding. We aim to improve cricket production to fullfil growing needs for sustainable protein in Africa. 

SDGs: 2, 8,9 The Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) supports cutting-edge research to address challenges faced by developing countries. The fund addresses the UN sustainable development goals. It aims to maximise the impact of research and innovation to improve lives and opportunity in the developing world. The fund addresses the UN sustainable development goals. It aims to maximise the impact of research and innovation to improve lives and opportunity in the developing world.