NEMEDUSSA trainees at BCCN 2023

Trainees from 4 NEMEDUSSA partners are currently following the Basic Crash Course in Nematology (BCCN) at ICIPE in Nairobi, Kenya, taking place from 11-15 December 2023. Technicians and staff from Jimma University (Ethiopia), Kenyatta University (Kenya), Ahmadu Bello University (Nigeria) and University of Abomey-Calavi (Benin) travelled to Nairobi to participate in this international training opportunity. They are joined by CABI plant doctors, extension workers, students and others working with nematodes from across Africa.

This one-week course provides basic training in methods to quantify, qualify and process plant-parasitic nematodes in crops, with an introduction to beneficial nematodes, indicators of soil health and nematodes for biocontrol of insects (entomopathogenic) nematodes. It is undertaken in a ‘hands-on’ fashion permitting participants to experience field conditions and conduct basic research in crop nematology.

This course is organised jointly by ICIPE – International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, IITA – International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Nairobi Kenya and the International MSc in Agro- and Environmental Nematology (UGent). The students from the International MSc in Agro- and Environmental Nematology (UGent) are the course facilitators, along with the experts from IITA and ICIPE. This annual training is organised with the support of the VLIR-UOS from Belgium.