As part of its capacity building initiatives, CIMMYT conducts periodic in-country training for visiting senior scientists drawn from national research systems. Three such scientists – Luka Atwok, Kaka Meseka (both from Southern Sudan) and Mbuya Kankolongo (the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – completed their six-month tour of duty at CIMMYT Kenya at the end of November. Their comprehensive training spanned an entire cropping season and they were taken through all aspects of a cropping system – planning, executing, data collection and analysis as well as reporting – within a breeding program. The breeding programs included those for Striga management, drought tolerance, insect resistance and improved protein quality in maize. The three were awarded their course completion certificates at a colorful and tasty lunch, hosted in their honor. They were grateful to CIMMYT for the opportunity to have participated in the training and were more confident of their capacity to lead their national breeding programs, once back in their respective countries.
Capacity development 