Formal public sector soybean breeding in Africa spans over four decades, and it was initiated by the International Institute of Tropical Agricultural (IITA). As the demand of soybean continues to outstrip production, strategic projects such the Tropical Legume (TL) were initiated, in which the main goal was to enhance the productivity of soybean in the farmers' fields in Sub-Saharan Africa. One of the strategies to enhance the productivity of soybean in the farmers' fields is through developing and deploying improved soybean varieties in the target countries. Through the TL I and TL II projects, a number of varieties were released in the target countries, Kenya, Nigeria, Malawi and Mozambique by employing participatory variety selection (PVS). This review provides highlights of the achievements made by IITA breeding programme and insights of what needs to be done to enhance yield improvement for soybean in Africa using demand-driven breeding approaches.

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Various quality grades of high-quality cassava flour (HQCF) are found in markets due to the rapid increase in its utilization for product development. Therefore, this study assessed the chemical, functional and pasting properties and the microbial and aflatoxin content of HQCF being sold in Lusaka markets. Nine samples of HQCF (coded CM 01 to 09) were collected from supermarkets, one major open market, and one cassava processing centre. The samples were analyzed for chemical, functional and pasting properties and the microbial and aflatoxin content using standard laboratory methods. Samples CM 01, CM 08, and CM 09 had starch content above 60%, while CM 02 to CM 07 had starch slightly above 40%. The mean value of bulk density (BD) was 0.51 ± 25.49 g ml −1 , dispersibility 68 ± 2.63%, swelling power (SP) 7.84 ± 0.76%, solubility index 135.80 ± 18.8%, and water absorption capacity (WAC) 6.28 ± 32.49%. The mean value for the peak viscosity was 437.46 ± 94.12 RVU, trough viscosity 217.55 ± 27.41 RVU, breakdown viscosity ABOUT THE AUTHORS

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