Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

The grant, worth US$500,000 (RM2 million), is for carrying out research into the cultivation of bambara groundnuts in Nigeria, Ghana, Indonesia, and Malaysia for three years.

The groundnuts originate from West Africa and are grown by the Bambara community in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Senegal.

“A CFF-UNMC DTP student is assigned to each country, and he is involved in multi-regional field trials. The data generated is very powerful and will help us to select the best bambara nut to grow in the respective countries.”

Dr Ivan Chiew Kar Mun, who is one of the latest to graduate from the CFF-UNMC DTP programme, had studied the use of prebiotics in aquaculture. His research aimed to improve the health and growth of fish usingfish, leading to improved growth and health.”

Chiew said his research comprised several phases. In the first phase, he selected the fish and potential prebiotics.

“I chose to work with the siakap (Lates calcarifer) as it is a popular fish in Malaysia. I began by identifying the existing beneficial bacteria in the fish intestines, which was isolated for further study.”

In the next phase, Chiew and his team tried to produce and observe the properties of potential prebiotics derived in the form of an indigestible starch from bambara nuts and adzuki beans.

They tested the efficacy of the potential prebiotics in supporting the growth of beneficial bacteria. This was performed as a preliminary step to ensure that the prebiotics would work effectively in fish-feeding experiments.

“The final phase involved adding prebiotics in the