A delegation from the Africa Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) Centre of Excellence in Science, Technology, and Innovation visited the country from 27 February-3 March 2023 as part of its engagement with the Government of Zimbabwe to promote the application of Genome Editing technology in agriculture. Genome editing is a process where the genetic material (DNA) of a living organism is altered by inserting, replacing, or deleting a DNA sequence that codes for the trait under investigation. The aim is to improve some characteristic of a crop or farm animal or correcting a genetic disorder. It offers targeted screening of plants with outstanding performance for all the traits of interest associated with the particular product target. It is a cost-effective and less time consuming, approach of generating highly effective breeds.
SIRDC and the National Biotechnology Authority (NBA) were identified to serve as the co-hosting institutions for AUDA-NEPAD interventions on Genome Editing.
Embracing Genome Editing in Zimbabwe
