On 12-13 February 2026, the Crop Science Centre (CSC) welcomed world-leading researchers and development partners for the inaugural UK-CGIAR Bambara groundnut consortium meeting at St John’s College, Cambridge.
The two-day event brought together members of the UK-CGIAR Centre project for the genetic improvement of Bambara groundnut for future nutrition and climate resilience – a global alliance dedicated to unlocking the potential of Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea) as a flagship crop for climate resilience, nutrition and smallholder livelihoods.
Bambara groundnut is a crop with huge potential to address global food and nutrition security challenges. It thrives in poor soils, supports soil health through nitrogen fixation, and provides a highly nutritious food source – especially valuable in areas affected by poverty, malnutrition, and water scarcity.
This UK-CGIAR project aims to create genomic resources and tools to accelerate breeding innovation and develop new varieties of the crop to encourage its wider use. Project teams are working in Ghana, India, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania with a focus on addressing the needs of farmers in Bambara groundnut growing areas in West and Southern Africa.
Strengthening connections for Bambara groundnut improvement
The Cambridge meeting brought together project partners to strengthen collaborations, address some of the challenges in Bambara groundnut breeding, and explore new opportunities and next steps.
It was attended by representatives from consortium members including CSC, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the Alliance Bioversity International and CIAT–Tanzania, Niab, the University of Nottingham, the Kirkhouse Trust, the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in South Africa, and the CSIR–Crops Research Institute in Ghana.
The meeting was coordinated by Christian Rogers, CSC Head of International Partnerships, Aga Alexander, CSC Impact Manager, and Dr Natasha Yelina, Head of the Crop Breeding Technologies group at CSC and Co-Investigator on the project.
Professor Uta Paszkowski, CSC Acting Director and Cambridge lead for the project said: “There was a wonderful team spirit throughout the event as we shared complementary expertise across the African and British partners to advance Bambara for greater agricultural potential in a changing climate.”
Dr Yelina said: “Bambara groundnut is an underutilised African gem — a highly nutritious, drought-resilient crop with huge potential to strengthen food and nutrition security in a warming climate.
“It was incredibly valuable to meet in person, strengthening connections across the project, enabling deeper discussions and helping us see how we can work even better together.
“What really stood out was seeing such diverse expertise come together around a shared vision — creating real energy, collaboration and momentum towards meaningful breakthroughs in Bambara groundnut improvement,” she said.
Addressing regional bottlenecks
The event opened with a series of country and regional perspectives where delegates from Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, and East Africa shared the history and current state of Bambara cultivation in their respective regions. Dr Kennedy Agyeman from CSIR-Crops Research Institute in Ghana, Professor Alfred Odindo from UKZN and Dean Muungani from IITA in Nigeria, highlighted significant hurdles, including low production rates and slow adoption by farmers.
A recurring theme throughout was the ‘Bambara wish list’ - a set of goals aimed at addressing production, breeding, and adoption bottlenecks. An interactive flip chart session allowed participants to map out these challenges, ensuring that the consortium’s scientific outputs translate into tangible benefits for smallholder farmers.
Cutting-edge science: three work packages
The heart of the meeting focused on three integrated work packages designed to modernise Bambara groundnut breeding:
● Smart breeding and field trials: Led by Dr Phil Howell from Niab, Dr Takudzwa Mandizvo from UKZN and Dr Hapson Mushoriwa from IITA, this group is focused on Bambara genetic improvement via hybridisation, establishing speed breeding protocols, and testing varieties in real-world conditions. A critical component of their work involves phenotyping Bambara groundnut varieties with the aim of reducing cooking time, a major barrier to the crop’s popularity. They are also working on a long-term Bambara breeding programme, and seed multiplication for distribution across the consortium.
● Genomics and trait discovery: This package aims to bring Bambara groundnut into the genomic era. With the Bambara reference genome initiative led by the University of Nottingham and ICRISAT nearing completion, Dr Rahul Bhosale and Dr Sean Mayes from Nottingham discussed the ambitious goal of resequencing at least 300 Bambara groundnut varieties. By using Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) and phylogenomic analysis, the team hopes to identify the genetic markers for key agronomic traits.
● Precision breeding and gene editing: To accelerate Bambara genetic improvement via precision breeding, Dr Leena Tripathi from IITA and Dr Emma Wallington from Niab are leading work to develop Bambara groundnut genetic transformation and gene editing. Further supporting this effort, Dr Yelina’s group at CSC is working to establish Virus-Induced Gene Editing (VIGE), a pioneering technology with minimal reliance on genetic transformation and tissue culture regeneration. These technologies will accelerate Bambara genetic improvement and allow for the precise modification of the plant’s genome to improve yield and resilience.
Coordinating a global consortium
Beyond the laboratory, the meeting tackled the logistical complexities of international scientific collaboration. Dr Mayes led discussions on consolidating several on-going Bambara projects, including this UK-CGIAR project, into a global consortium with a centralised database for the Bambara genome, and unified protocols and standard operating procedures for common germplasm and sharing.
Technical deep-dives on the second day allowed specialists to exchange protocols on crossing techniques, sequencing, and transformation, ensuring that all partner labs are operating at the same high standard.
Looking towards year two
As the meeting drew to a close, the focus shifted to the future. Participants engaged in a problem-solving and coordination exercise to identify the hardest challenges faced so far and the risks that worry them most.
Dr Yelina thanked the participants for their commitment to this ‘forgotten’ crop. While the challenges are significant, the consensus in Cambridge was clear: through integrated smart breeding, genomics, and international cooperation, the Bambara groundnut can become a cornerstone of sustainable agriculture in the face of a changing climate.
Dr Kennedy Agyeman, Senior Research Scientist at the CSIR-Crops Research Institute, Ghana, said: “The two days of discussions in Cambridge were truly inspiring and broadened my perspective on the global momentum behind Bambara groundnut.
“It highlighted the crop’s untapped potential in breeding, value chain development, and farmer adoption, and reinforced that Bambara groundnut is evolving into a strategic climate-resilient crop with strong nutritional and commercial value.”
Dr Phil Howell, Research Lead for crop genetic resources at Niab said: “It was great to meet so many colleagues for the first time, hear of their experience working on this important underutilised crop, and feel part of an exciting set of projects working together to bring its improvement a step closer.”
Funding
The UK-CGIAR Centre brings together scientists from the UK and CGIAR to form impact-focused research collaborations.
It is funded by UK International Development and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
The UK-CGIAR Centre’s Secretariat is hosted by CABI, an international, intergovernmental, not-for-profit organisation that improves people’s lives worldwide by providing information and applying scientific expertise to solve problems in agriculture and the environment.
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Image: UK-CGIAR Bambara groundnut consortium members outside St John’s College, Cambridge. Credit: Aga Alexander / Crop Science Centre, Cambridge.