Dr. Eltayb Abdellatef Eltayb Farah

My research envisions transforming the food systems by harnessing the biodiversity, genomic potential, and complementary agronomic strengths of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) to improve nutritional security, sustainable agriculture, and climate resilience. Building on a assembled diversity panel of 200 indigenous East African cowpea landraces, the research will generate comprehensive ionomic profiles and high-depth whole genome sequencing data to uncover genetic variation linked to iron content, stress tolerance, and agronomic performance, addressing major gaps in the underrepresentation of East African cowpea germplasm. By elucidating the genetic basis of iron homeostasis in cowpea, particularly under alkaline and semi-arid soil conditions, the research aims to identify high-iron, climate-adapted genotypes suitable for integration into sorghum-based intercropping systems. Through the Green_Iron collaborative project, cowpea–sorghum intercropping will be optimized to enhance land-use efficiency, soil fertility through biological nitrogen fixation, yield stability, and dietary iron supply, ultimately contributing to regionally adapted, nutrition-sensitive production systems that reduce iron-deficiency anaemia, strengthen smallholder resilience, and support equitable and climate-resilient food systems in Eastern Africa. This research, conducted in collaboration with the Bio- and Emerging Technology Institute (BETin), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the Institute of Botany, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU).