African Centre for Crop Improvement

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The African Centre for Crop Improvement (ACCI) was started in 2002 with the ambitious goal of becoming a world-class training centre for African plant breeders.

Based at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, its PhD graduates are part of a new generation of African scientists who are highly trained global experts on the continent’s food security crops.

UKZN Graduation

ACCI Congratulates Two New PhD Graduates

The African Centre for Crop Improvement (ACCI) proudly congratulates Dr Marylyn Christian and Dr Adane Gebreyohannes Woldetensay on being awarded their PhD degrees at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s (UKZN) 2026 Spring Graduation Ceremony, held on 15 September 2026.

Dr Marylyn Christian completed her PhD in Plant Breeding, with research focused on improving bread wheat quality and drought tolerance. Her innovative work investigated the use of silicon fertilisers as a selection and breeding trait, addressing the complex inverse relationship between these important characteristics and opening new avenues for plant breeding.

Dr Adane Gebreyohannes Woldetensay, a Senior Agricultural Scientist and Plant Breeder at the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), was awarded his PhD through the ACCI. His research focused on the genetic improvement of finger millet, an underutilised, nutritious and climate-resilient crop indigenous to Africa.

ACCI extends its warmest congratulations to both graduates on this significant achievement and wishes them continued success as they contribute to advancing crop improvement and food security across Africa.

Latest News

UKZN Plant Breeding Professor Receives UFS Distinguished Alumni Award

At the University of the Free State (UFS) 40th Chancellor’s Distinguished Alumni Awards, Professor Hussein Shimelis, South African Sugarcane Research Institute (SASRI) Chair of Crop Science at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) and Director of the African Centre for Crop Improvement (ACCI), was recognised as one of the University’s distinguished alumni for his considerable contributions to demand-led plant breeding research and capacity development in Africa.

Partnerships for advancing sorghum commercialisation in Africa

AGRA Ethiopia recently hosted a high-level delegation of African agricultural experts and partners in Addis Ababa to advance discussions on sorghum commercialisation and climate-resilient food systems.

The engagement brought together scientists, breeders, and development partners under the Pan Africa Sorghum Alliance (PASA) to explore how sorghum can transition from a traditionally underutilised crop into a competitive, value-added commodity that supports food security, livelihoods, and economic growth.

UKZN Ranks Top 10 in African Plant Breeding Research

The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is among the top 10 institutions contributing significantly to plant breeding research on the African continent, according to a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of 23 years of progress, published in Springer’s Discover Plants journal.

According to the nine authors, who are affiliated with institutions including Nigeria’s UNESCO International Centre for Biotechnology, the Russian Federation’s Biological Institute at Tomsk University, the University of Greenwich’s Food and Markets Department at its Natural Resources Institute in the United Kingdom, and the Africa Institute for Postharvest Technology at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, research output from Africa has increased considerably since 2014.

ACCI hosts sorghum field day

In March 2026, the African Centre for Crop Improvement (ACCI) hosted a sorghum field day for collaborators and partners of the national sorghum pre-breeding research project. The project is part of the Sorghum Cluster Initiative of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI).

Sorghum is a crucial food security crop for South Africa and the region at large due to its unique nutritional value and drought tolerance. The goal of this project is to revitalise sorghum breeding in South Africa to develop competitive and commercial cultivars for local grain production and the marketplace.

The field day was hosted after the Southern Africa Plant Breeders Association 2026 Symposium in Durban. The ACCI, the University of the Free State (UFS), Sorgho [Pty] Ltd and the Agricultural Research Council are major collaborators of the research.

Project members discussed research progress and plans, and viewed the on-site performance of over 400 sorghum genetic resources and selections. The project has been selecting the genetic resources in several different environments in South Africa for line development and hybrid breeding.

The research group received sorghum germplasm from NARS collaborators in Africa and ICRISAT for further evaluation in a range of South African environmental conditions.

MSc and PhD students are enrolled at UKZN and UFS campuses and are supported through the project. UKZN postgraduate students presented their research activities undertaken in tunnel and field environments during the field day.

The Business of Plant Breeding in Africa

The ACCI participated in the Tropical Agriculture/TropAg 2025 Conference in Brisbane, Australia. It was an enlightening event with valuable insights, new collaborations and opportunities with the agriculture community from across the globe.

After the TropAg 2025 Conference, the ACCI and partners presented an invited seminar organised by the Crawford Fund for Food Security and Fenner School of Environment and Society of the Australian National University in Canberra. The seminar shared an in-depth insight into the business of plant breeding in Africa, highlighting the long-term commitment of agricultural research for development and human capacity development efforts in Africa, which have yielded significant and multiple impacts.

A new opportunity is being explored on a Pan Africa Sorghum Alliance (PASA) with Australia and partners from several countries in Africa, where sorghum is a widely grown and increasingly important crop, due to its climate resilience and nutritional value.