Capacity building for mungbean breeders workshop
October 17, 2025
The Crawford Fund QLD Committee supports targeted training and mentoring of overseas scientists and extension officers by experienced Queensland counterparts working on similar agricultural research challenges through their International Engagement Awards.
In 2024 four awards were announced, including one for Dr Millicent Smith from the Centre for Crop Science, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, University of Queensland. Millicent recently reported on the completion of the project – capacity building for mungbean breeders.
A team of Queensland agricultural scientists has successfully delivered cutting-edge breeding technology training to researchers from across Asia and Africa, helping to accelerate the development of climate-resilient mungbean varieties for smallholder farmers.
The three-day capacity building workshop, held at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Hyderabad, India, brought together plant breeders and scientists from six countries as part of the International Mungbean Improvement Network (IMIN). The training showcased breeding technologies being implemented at the University of Queensland to advance mungbean productivity.
Mungbean plays a crucial role in building resilience in subtropical and tropical agricultural systems, providing essential protein and nitrogen fixation benefits. However, varieties often exhibit poor yields, a challenge exacerbated by climate change uncertainties. The workshop aimed to equip participants with knowledge and tools to develop improved varieties more efficiently.
“The workshop centred around the breeder’s equation, providing participants with a comprehensive understanding of how different components can be optimised to accelerate variety development,” explained Dr Millicent Smith, Senior Lecturer in Crop Physiology at the University of Queensland and workshop leader.
“We are grateful to both ACIAR and the Crawford Fund for their support of this training activity. Their investment in capacity building enables us to share with, and learn from, our international partners and contributes directly to strengthening food security across the Asia-Pacic region,” she said.
The training program covered essential topics from breeding program design to cutting-edge technologies including high-throughput phenotyping, molecular breeding, genome-wide association studies, and gene editing applications. Participants gained hands-on experience with modern database management systems and statistical analysis techniques essential for making informed breeding decisions.
“The initiative reinforces Queensland’s leadership in tropical crop improvement research while building valuable partnerships across the Asia-Pacific region,” Millicent concluded.
The participants from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Myanmar, and Taiwan represent key mungbean-producing regions, with many serving as leaders in their national breeding programs.
