Grain SA Annual Report 2022

Research coordination

CONSORTIA AND MULTI-STAKEHOLDER PARTNERSHIPS

Grain SA’s main research priority focus areas are crop improvement, plant health and climate resilience.

The primary objective of the Grain SA Grain Research and Policy Centre is to establish research con-

sortia that drive innovation to enhance the productivity, profitability and sustainability of South African

grain and oilseed producers and benefit the industry as well as South Africa. An additional focus point

is to develop human capital through student training and the appointment of technicians – especially in

scarce skills fields such as breeding, agronomy, plant pathology and nematology. The research team

is also involved with coordinating national cultivar evaluations for maize and sorghum and ensuring

producers’ research needs as they pertain to conservation agriculture (CA) are addressed.

Key to the success of the Grain SA Grain Research and Policy Centre is the partnerships the team has

fostered with various funders over the years. Through the Agricultural Bioeconomy Innovation Partner-

ship Programme (ABIPP), the Department of Science and Innovation and Technology Innovation Agency

has made significant contributions to Grain SA’s research portfolio. The commitment from the industry to

co-fund research initiatives has been a cornerstone of the partnership developed with the government

to fund research of value to grain and oilseed producers. Industry co-funders are the Maize Trust, the Oil

and Protein Seeds Development Trust, the SASOL Trust and the South African Winter Cereals Industry

Trust. Over the past few years, Grain SA has also made significant contributions to the research consortia.

Crop Improvement Consortium

WHEAT BREEDING

Under the theme of crop improvement, a Wheat Breeding Platform (WBP) was established. South Africa’s

area planted to wheat has decreased with an alarming trend over the past 30 years. The Wheat Breeding

Platform (WBP) was established in 2014 and speaks to national priorities of sustainability and food secu-

rity. This initiative is coordinated by Grain SA, but numerous role-players are involved, ranging from the

industry to breeding companies, researchers and the government. The WBP incorporates experts from

both the public and private sector to assist local breeding efforts for improved yield.

TABLE 1

Overview of the Crop Improvement Consortium

OBJECTIVE

SUBOBJECTIVES

Conducting pre-breeding to

develop inbred lines with

improved yield potential

Sourcing and characterising newly acquired germplasm

Incorporating new germplasm into local nurseries

Conducting multilocality field trials to identify germplasm

traits of interest

Making use of phenotyping and genotyping to improve

selection of traits

Supporting local breeding efforts

Distributing germplasm to local breeding programmes

Screening commercially available cultivars for tolerance

to pre-harvest sprouting

Building local plant breeding capacity

Training students in plant breeding

Training graduates as technicians

MARKETING, NAMPO AND

RESEARCH COORDINATION