Researchers from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Aarhus University take part in an international research network, ENSA, which focuses on improving nutrient uptake by plants to reduce the need for fertilizer.
Researchers from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Aarhus University take part in an international research network, ENSA, which focuses on improving nutrient uptake by plants to reduce the need for fertilizer. The network has just received a total grant of USD 35 million from Bill & Melinda Gates Agricultural Innovations program, of which Aarhus University receives USD 4 million.
This article is based on a press release from Bill & Melinda Gates Agricultural Innovations.
The grant will support the Engineering Nitrogen Symbiosis for Africa (ENSA) research program over the next five years. ENSA scientists are engineering plants to maximize the naturally occurring symbioses between plants and beneficial fungi or bacteria. The aim of the project supported by Bill & Melinda Gates Agricultural Innovations (Gates Ag One) is to develop self-fertilizing crops for African farmers.
According to the UN, as much as 65% of productive land in Africa is considered degraded, which means crop yields are only around a third of the global average. Fertilizer is often a costly and inaccessible resource for many smallholder farmers in Africa, which accounts for just 4% of global fertilizer consumption and relies heavily on exports from Russia, while the ongoing war in Ukraine has driven up prices by up to 150%. Developing crops with greater ability to take in nutrients through natural processes would therefore automatically increase yields without the need for fertilizer.
Read more at Aarhus University
Photo Credit: manfredrichter via Pixabay
