Workshop Proposal: Advanced Crop Improvement: meeting challenges for food security, Senegal, October 27 - Nov 9, 2019

AfricaRice 高级作物改良 (ACI) 短期课程将建立一个美国年轻科学家合作网络，了解植物科学如何帮助解决全球问题。内容将重点关注现代作物改良策略、如何将其纳入作物改良，以及农民和消费者接受这些策略的社会学和经济问题。通过展示作物生产中面临的现实问题并深入研究最先进的作物改良方法以及与其使用相关的有争议的问题，ACI 短期课程将为参与者带来生动的科学和社会学问题。参与者将了解作物改良科学如何与粮食安全、国家和国际粮食和农业政治以及科学传播密切相关，吸引他们探索该领域的职业和研究选择。研讨会的其他成果将是最新的教育材料、简短的播客和可发表的立场文件。非洲水稻高级作物改良（ACI）短期课程的目标是建立一个年轻科学家合作网络，了解创新植物科学在解决全球问题中的重要性。 ACI 将重点关注与大多数作物物种相关的现代改良策略，包括基因组选择和基因组编辑。 课堂、实验室和实地学习将通过关于如何将先进技术和新颖资源纳入作物改良以及农民和消费者接受这些技术和新资源的社会学和经济问题的专题讨论得到加强。与专业科学作家/讲师合作的团队课程项目将制作一份概念说明和对消费者、种植者和科学家的采访播客，内容涉及采用各种方法改良作物的相关问题。该课程的毕业生将对国际农业、科学合作方法以及将现代植物科学付诸实践的可能性有更广泛的认识。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The AfricaRice Advanced Crop Improvement (ACI) short course will build a network of collaborative young US scientists that understand how plant science will help address global problems. The content will focus on modern crop improvement strategies, how they can be incorporated into crop improvement, and the sociological and economic issues for their acceptance by farmers and consumers. By showcasing real-world issues faced in crop production and delving deeply into state-of-the-art crop improvement methods and the controversial issues associated with their use, the ACI short course will bring the science and sociological issues alive to the participants. The participants will learn how the science of crop improvement intimately links to food security, the national and international politics of food and agriculture, and science communication, attracting them to explore career and research options in this area. Other outcomes of the workshop will be up-to-date educational materials, brief podcasts and a publishable position paper.The goal of the AfricaRice Advanced Crop Improvement (ACI) short course is to build a network of collaborative young scientists that understand the importance of innovative plant science in addressing global problems. The ACI will focus on modern improvement strategies relevant to most crop species, including genomic selection and genome editing. Classroom, lab, and field-based learning will be augmented by topical discussions on how advanced technologies and novel resources can be incorporated into crop improvement, and the sociological and economic issues for their acceptance by farmers and consumers. A team class project, in collaboration with a professional science writer/lecturer, will produce a concept note and podcasts of interviews of consumers, growers and scientists on issues related to the adoption of crops improved by various approaches. Graduates of the course will have a broader appreciation for international agriculture, collaborative approaches to science, and the possibilities for putting modern plant sciences into practice.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.