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SARI technicians analyze water samples for biological contamination in the new Environmental Analytical Laboratory at the Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) in Tamale, Ghana. (Photo Credit: Dr. Jeremy Guest)
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Environmental Testing Lab Ensures Harmful Contaminants
Don’t Impact Human and Animal Health in Ghana
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In Northern Ghana, soybean production is growing, and along with it, the use of agricultural inputs like pesticides and fertilizers. As agricultural intensification occurs, soil and water sources may be at a higher risk for potential contamination.
The Soybean Innovation Lab (SIL), in collaboration with the Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (SARI), is developing the first testing lab in northern Ghana capable of evaluating soil and water quality for local farming communities. Dr. Jeremy Guest, who leads the Soybean Innovation Lab’s Environmental Impact Assessment, is collaborating with SARI researchers to create a modern Environmental Analytical Lab at SARI in northern Ghana. Dr. Guest and his team traveled to Ghana in January of this year where they provided the necessary training, capacity building and equipment infrastructure to enable SARI technicians to analyze soil and water samples for potential contamination.
The new Environmental Analytical Lab enables SARI to also test for contaminates like coliforms and E. coli, potentially harmful bacteria that can cause several diseases and severe sickness in people and livestock. Knowing if these bacteria are present in local soil and water resources, and in what concentrations, will aid governments, development agencies and farmers in preventing future contamination and in creating new management practices to decrease concentrations.
Guest sees that in the near future the Environmental Analytical Lab will also be able to test for potential contaminates in important export crops like fruits and vegetables. Enabling local quality control and testing allows producers to certify their crops and increase Ghanaian food exports. To learn more about the Environmental Analytical Lab contact, soybeaninnovationlab@illinois.edu.
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This leaf shows signs of soybean rust, caused by two types of fungus. Soybean rust is one of many diseases that threaten soybean production. Guidelines for identifying soybean diseases and pests like soybean rust, and recommendations for corrective actions, will be included in the Soybean Innovation Lab’s Soybean Disease Diagnostic Guide. (Photo Credit: Dr. Andrew Scaboo)
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Soybean Disease and Pest Diagnostic Guide Improves Management and Treatment for African Producers
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In tropical environments like Sub-Saharan Africa, a variety of soybean diseases like soybean rust, bacterial pustule and frogeye leaf spot continue to plague plant breeders and smallholder farmers by destroying crops and causing drastic decreases in yields. Lower yields impede plant breeders from intensifying their breeding programs and cause smallholders to lose potential profits.
The first step in the treatment and management of plant diseases is identification. Currently there is no comprehensive guide to aid plant breeders, extension workers, and farmers in identifying the large variety of diseases present in Africa’s humid tropical environments.
Dr. Glen Hartman is a professor in the Department of Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois and a research plant pathologist with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service. Collaborating with the Soybean Innovation Lab, Dr. Hartman is developing a new diagnostic guide for the identification of soybean diseases and pests specifically designed for use in Africa.
The diagnostic guide will inform soybean breeders on what diseases they need to breed resistance to, help agronomic researchers design better disease prevention strategies, and provides farmers with another resource to increase their soybean yields.
The guide will include color photos of soybean plant diseases along with a detailed description of how the disease affects the soybean plant. SIL will release the guide in March 2017 in a sharable digital form. A printed pocket guide is also in the works so researchers, extension agents and farmers can quickly identify diseases in the field and take swift action to prevent yield loss through proper treatment or through changes in management practices. To learn more about the disease diagnostic guide, and to receive your copy contact, soybeaninnovationlab@illinois.edu.
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Chef Nutepe Kartey-Attipoe and volunteers serve soy-based dishes to attendees of the GBC Event in Accra, Ghana. Over 800 men, women, youth and children sampled soy-enhanced Ghanaian dishes during the three-day event. (Photo Credit: Mawuli Asigbee)
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Soy in Ghanaian Foods Highlighted at a National
Broadcast Soybean Innovation Lab Event in Ghana
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In a nationally televised event sponsored by the Ghana Broadcasting Company (GBC), the Soybean Innovation Lab (SIL) with its partner Catholic Relief Services (CRS) educated Ghanaians about healthy eating while showcasing the importance and versatility of soy to local diets and the role of soy in fighting malnutrition.
This GBC Event followed on the success of the SIL Soy Food Bazaar held in Accra, Ghana in collaboration with the USAID Ghana Mission and CRS in October 2016. The Soy Food Bazaar brought together over 200 soy food processors, vendors, technologists, advocacy groups, and government officials to showcase the role of soy in Ghanaian cuisines and featured presentations about soy, its nutritional benefits, opportunities for creating a business, and options for soy processing. The Bazaar also highlighted the variety of soy-based foods that supplement local diets with high quality protein.
Chef Nutepe Kartey-Attipoe, a culinary expert, was one of over 20 exhibitors at the Bazaar. Chef Attipoe exhibited 14 different menus of Ghanaian dishes all integrated with soy for people to taste at the GBC event. Attendees sampled delicious soy foods and learned about the role of soy in addressing protein malnutrition in Ghanaian households. Over 800 men, women, youth and children sampled the variety of soy-based dishes during the three-day event.
The GBC Event also had live coverage on the national Ghanaian television station GTV and on GBC’s Greater Accra Regional FM Radio Station. The broadcast enabled SIL to deliver its message of soy’s nutritional benefits and soy's adaptability in local cuisines to a national audience. To learn about setting up a similar event or Soy Food Bazaar in your region contact, soybeaninnovationlab@illinois.edu.
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Meet the Soybean Innovation Lab Advisory Board
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A vital component of the Soybean Innovation Lab’s (SIL) multidisciplinary and multi-institutional team involves the advisory board. The SIL Advisory Board ensures that SIL efforts are strategic, efficacious, and appropriately implemented. Here we showcase the SIL Advisory Board members who provide their rich experience, key insight, guidance, and expertise to the global team of SIL researchers.
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Dr. Ken Dashiell serves as the Deputy Director General for Partnerships and Capacity Building at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) based in Ibadan, Nigeria. Dr. Dashiell previously worked at IITA at Ibadan, Nigeria for 18 years during which he held various responsibilities including: Soybean Breeder, Leader of the Grain Legume Improvement Program, and Director of the Crop Improvement Division. While at IITA he worked to develop soybean varieties with promiscuous nodulation, high grain and fodder yields, and good resistance to pod shattering and several diseases. Before becoming IITA’s Deputy Director General for Partnerships and Capacity Building, Dashiell was the Project Leader for the N2Africa Project based in Nairobi, Kenya. Dr. Dashiell has over 30 years of experience leading and conducting agricultural research. His interests include introducing new technologies that increase crop yields in farmers’ fields and improving the health and nutrition of African families, and building the capacity of the next generation of agriculture researchers, technicians and farmers.
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Dr. Ken Dashiell (second from left) with colleagues at a workshop on sustainable management technologies for cassava systems in Ibadan, Nigeria. (Photo Credit: International Institute for Tropical Agriculture)
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Dr. Brady Deaton serves as the Chairman for the Board for the International Food and Agriculture Development (BIFAD) and is Executive Director of the Deaton Institute for University Leadership in International Development. Deaton is the Chancellor Emeritus of the University of Missouri where he served from 2004 to 2005. He joined the University of Missouri faculty as a professor and chair of the Agricultural Economics Department in 1989. He was appointed chief of staff in the Office of the Chancellor in 1993, deputy chancellor in 1997 and provost in 1998. Brady holds a B.S. in Agricultural Economics, an M.A. in Diplomacy and International Commerce from the University of Kentucky, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Wisconsin. Deaton launched his international agricultural career in 1962 when he volunteered for the U.S. Peace Corps and spent two years in Nan, Thailand. Brady worked for 12 years at Virginia Tech where he served for four years as the associate director of the Office for International Development. Deaton continues to hold several key leadership roles in many community, university and national organizations.
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From left: Former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsak, the Deaton Institute’s Brady Deaton and Alexander Howard, senior editor for technology and society with The Huffington Post discuss open data’s role in agriculture and nutrition at the 2015 World Food Prize in Des Moines, IA. (Photo Credit: USDA Press)
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Our Mission
The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Soybean Value Chain Research is USAID's only comprehensive program dedicated to soybean technical knowledge and innovation. Our international team of tropical soybean experts provides direct support to researchers, private sector firms, non-governmental organizations, extensionists, agronomists, technicians and farmer associations tasked with soybean development.
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