Breeders’ views on the production of new and orphan crops in Africa: a survey of constraints and opportunities

New and orphan crops, which in the past have received only limited research attention, have great potential to support healthy diets in Africa. However, limited systematic data are available on the constraints to production faced by these annual and perennial crops, and the possible opportunities for intervention to remove critical barriers. We report on the results of a survey of African plant breeders to begin identifying constraints to crop production, guide the direction of crop genetic improvement activities and identify appropriate agronomic management interventions.