Generation Challenge Programme

News & updates

All in the family for World Soil Day: shared genes help crop cousins pass the acid (soil) test

What do you think of when you think of something acidic? And why is that relevant to World Soil Day? The connection is that, though few people are aware of the issue of acid soils, they affect almost half of all the land we use to grow our food worldwide....

December 4, 2014 4:35pm

Recently-crowned cassava is our reigning Queen of the Screen, with her current consort Emmanuel Okogbenin of Nigeria keen to show her off in a new GCP video series, now online in seven instalments. Joining us for some key 'Q&A on cassava science in Africa', he walks us through the importance...

December 1, 2014 3:41pm

If you took our scenic tour a few days ago, you will know that we promised you even more news soon. In addition to the IB–MYC finale (hyperlink) we recently brought you, we are happy to announce that our 2013 Annual Report is now complete, with the publication of...

November 18, 2014 1:44pm

GCP’s Integrated Breeding Multiyear Course (IB–MYC) is in its final session as we ‘speak’, reaching its close after three intensive years. This last gathering runs from 3rd to 14th November 2014, and as always is hosted by our partners IAMZ–CIHEAM (the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Zaragoza, Spain). IB–MYC is unusual...

November 13, 2014 3:20pm

All aboard the omnibus for a tour of our latest content! We'll be travelling from the light-hearted to the serious, from the living to the dead, and back again – all before supper. And with a range of media and formats, we've something for everyone, from photos and a presentation...

November 6, 2014 10:01am

We travel from the lab to the latrine in our blogpost on Open Access Week, 20–26 October 2014, which this year has the highly pertinent theme of ‘Generation Open’. Starting with a perilous (and smelly!) mission, we do some deep trawling to explore openness and transparency, and the good things...

October 24, 2014 4:04pm

The 5th International Conference on Next Generation Genomics and Integrated Breeding for Crop Improvement, sponsored by GCP, is to be held at ICRISAT, Greater Hyderabad, India during 18-20 February 2015. It promises to be of great interest to many in the GCP community and indeed the list of speakers and...

October 22, 2014 3:44pm

Legumes and light, seven years on

Seven years ago almost to the day, jointly with ICRISAT and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we did a press release for World Food Day 2007. This was to mark the official launch of the Tropical Legumes Project. Prior to that, a planning meeting had been held in September...

October 22, 2014 10:38am

In recognition of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, October 17th, we at GCP have returned to our roots to reflect once more on our original understanding of poverty, which has stood the test of time and guided our mission from then up to our imminent sunset. From...

October 15, 2014 5:40pm

Crop connoisseur? Food fanatic? Put your identification skills to the test with our quiz. In honour of World Food Day (October 16th) 2014, we challenge you to take our quiz. See if you can identify all these food crops, and no cheating now! Some of them are sure to...

October 15, 2014 5:16pm

Here at GCP we’re celebrating the International Day of Rural Women – October 15th – in regal style, with a special look at cassava. Check out our blogpost to find out why cassava is a 'women’s crop', what happens when the underdog comes out on top, and why we’re shouting...

October 14, 2014 3:03pm

First, an exclusive for breeders: our Integrated Breeding Platform (IBP) crew has been beavering away, and is pleased to announce that version 3 of the Breeding Management System is out, with enhanced features and functionality (more – IBP website). This one's for everyone, breeders and all interested in agriculture and crop science....

October 6, 2014 10:40am

We are delighted to introduce Eloise Phipps (pictured) who has joined our communications team. Eloise is a familiar face to some of you, as she has previously worked with our Host Centre, CIMMYT, in the same field. Eloise will, in part, be stepping into the very large pair of shoes...

September 30, 2014 5:19am

A selection of GCP’s bubbliest blogposts has been repackaged for print, with a limited edition exclusively available for participants at our upcoming General Research Meeting early next month. Sneak preview ...

September 23, 2014 5:28pm

As the sun begins to set on GCP’s horizon, so the Programme tunes up to play its finale: the ‘Sunset Symphony’ – a communications concerto comprising refrains evoking stories from GCP’s decade-long research-for-development and partnership performance. Many members of GCP’s broad community have already received the call to contribute to...

September 22, 2014 9:51am