The Alliance at the African Plant Breeders Association (APBA) Conference 2025
The 4th Conference of the African Plant Breeders Association (APBA) will take place from 6th to 8th October 2025 in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Organized under the theme “Winning the race against food insecurity, malnutrition, and climate change through genetic innovation”, the conference will provide a unique platform for knowledge exchange and collaboration among researchers, plant breeders, policymakers, students, and private sector stakeholders.
The scientific program will feature oral and poster presentations, creating opportunities to showcase innovative research and practical solutions. Oral presentations will be scheduled in 20-minute sessions, inclusive of discussion, while posters will be grouped by sub-themes to facilitate focused engagement. To further recognize excellence, awards will be presented for outstanding poster contributions.
The event aims to strengthen scientific dialogue, foster new partnerships, and highlight the vital role of genetic innovation in addressing Africa’s most pressing agricultural challenges.
“The African Plant Breeders Association (APBA) is dedicated to strengthening plant breeding in Africa by building capacities, fostering innovation, and providing solutions that advance food and nutrition security, an effort reflected in this year’s conference theme: Winning the race against food insecurity, malnutrition, and climate change through genetic innovation.” (Source: aboutapba – Africanplantbreeders)
Alliance-led and co-organized events at the APBA Conference 2025 include:
October 6, 2025
Assessing climate events, farmer adaptation, and the role of social media in climate and varietal information delivery among Tanzanian farmers
Sylvia Monica Kalemera
Bean Program & PABRA Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Coordinator, Country Representative for Tanzania
Teshale A. Mamo
Bean Breeder
Justus Ochieng
Research Team Leader
Jean Claude Rubyogo
Leader, Global Bean Program, and Director, Pan Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA)Women at the forefront: raising awareness of climate-resilient varieties to transform the informal seed trade in Tanzania
Justus Ochieng
Research Team Leader
Esther Joseph Cheyo
Senior Research Associate
Jean Claude Rubyogo
Leader, Global Bean Program, and Director, Pan Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA)- Atupokile Mwakatwila, Senior Research Associate
- Radegunda Kessy, Senior Research Associate
October 7, 2025
On-farm validation testing in CGIAR-NARES breeding networks
Jacob van Etten
Director, Digital Inclusion
Kauê de Sousa
Scientist II
Anna Muller
Scientist, Team Lead Inclusive Design and User ResearchThis session explores how on-farm validation testing, particularly through the tricot approach, strengthens demand-led breeding by integrating farmer feedback directly into breeding pipelines. Scientists and partners will share lessons on scaling on-farm trials, analyzing multi-trial data, and mapping trait preferences, alongside discussions on farmer motivations and social impact. The session combines talks, panel discussions, and interactive dialogue to accelerate innovation, build trust with farming communities, and expand collaborative breeding networks.
Other Speakers: Joost van Heerwaarden, Béla Teeken
Closing remarks: Dorkus Gemenet, Michael Quinn, Sandra Milach
Artemis: Empowering breeders with AI-enabled tools
David Guerena
Scientist
Hana Gajdosova
Research Team Leader
Lennart Woltering
Project Leader
Violet Lasdun
Visiting ResearcherThe morning begins with a Google Research keynote on the role of AI in food security. Next, we explore the “phenotyping bottleneck”, followed by an introduction to Artemis. A live demo shows how breeders can easily collect and analyze field data using smartphones and a pushcart called “Bruno”. The morning closes with a panel including breeders, researchers, and donors. During lunch, participants can try out the Bruno and Ona app.
Partners: Gates Foundation
Other Speakers: Tavonga Siyavora, Roy Odama, Mina Mjema
Optimizing breeding pipelines for yield, better nutrition and climate resilience in dry beans
Mukankusi Clare Tekla Mugisha
Global Breeding Lead-Common BeanDrylands, covering 60% of Africa’s landmass, are home to millions of smallholder farmers who rely on crops like millets, sorghum, and legumes for food and income. However, productivity remains low due to erratic rainfall, degraded soils, and emerging pests and diseases. This workshop brings together scientists from across Africa and beyond to explore solutions for improving yields, nutrient quality, and climate resilience of dryland cereals and legumes. It will showcase advances in genetics, agronomy, and seed delivery systems, while highlighting breakthrough innovations and partnerships needed to support farmers and scale impact.
Organizers: ICRISAT
Facilitator: Prakash Gangashetty
Scaling on-farm testing in breeding pipelines with the tricot approach
David Guerena
Scientist
Hana Gajdosova
Research Team Leader
Lennart Woltering
Project Leader
Violet Lasdun
Visiting ResearcherThe afternoon focuses on involving farmers using the Tricot approach and shares on-farm phenotyping experiences with Artemis. Ndizi is introduced as a language model supporting documentation and interpretation tasks. The event concludes with a panel on future directions for farmer-centered AI in breeding.
Partners: Gates Foundation
Other Speakers: Tavonga Siyavora, Roy Odama, Mina Mjema
