From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report.Things may be changing soon for some crops in Africa.A group called the African Orphan Crops Consortium says these plants are not getting enough attention.And it thinks they could help ease hunger and improve nutrition on the continent.The consortium opened the African Plant Breeding Academy last year in Nairobi, Kenya.The academy is the result of cooperation among international organizations.They are hoping to use genetic information from 100 African plants and trees that researchers have largely ignored,but food scientists say these crops have lots of possibilities.Howard Yana-Shapiro is a senior fellow at the University of California, Davis.He is also the chief agricultural officer and global director of Plant Science and External Research for Mars Incorporated-the candy company.Mr Shapiro says he began thinking about ways to improve nutrition at the local level after seeing how poor nutrition affects children in Africa and India.
