More Return on the Dollar Invested

Africa’s holds significant opportunities for agriculture, particularly potato and other tuber crops farming. However, limited investment in breeding has constrained the crop’s potential on the continent. Thiago Mendes (Ph.D.), a lead breeder at the International Potato Center (CIP) in Nairobi, aims to change that especially for potato. He believes the region needs to become more attractive to donors—and one of his solutions is the East African Potato Breeding Network, a framework that integrates various breeding efforts across the region. On a sunny November day in Nairobi, I sat down with him to discuss how such a network could also help attract much-needed funding.