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Leeds scientists awarded £500,000 to purge African agricultural pest - 21/02/08
A team of scientists at Leeds University have been awarded £500,000 to put a plan into action that will purge a tiny pest, which is threatening the staple diet of millions of Africans.
Professor Howard Atkinson and Doctor Peter Urwin from the university's faculty of biological sciences received the funding through the £7 million Sustainable Agriculture Research for International Development (Sarid) scheme.
The SARID project was launched today by the Department for International Development and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.
Leeds is one of the 12 projects that have received funding through the scheme and it will use the money to bring together plant experts from Leeds and Uganda.
Professor Atkinson said: "The impact of this parasite can be overwhelming for families and communities that rely on plantain for their staple diet.
"Already nearly one third of the sub-Saharan African population is severely undernourished, so poor crop yields or worse - crop failure - can be catastrophic for subsistence farmers."
He added that if scientists can make these crops more reliable through resistance to the nematode, not only will it secure dietary intake, but some land will also be freed up for nutritious crops like beans.
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