Bulletin story Archives - Page 17 of 138

Dr Charles Iyangbe and IAA Chief of Party Mr Prakash Kant Silwal.

Integrated Agriculture Activity presents draft work plan for second-year operation

The USAID-funded Feed-the-Future Nigeria Integrated Agriculture Activity (IAA) has outlined its proposed second-year work plan at a meeting with stakeholders in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. Virtual participants, along with 58 people on location, attended the seminar. In his welcome address, IAA Chief of Party Prakash Kant Silwal highlighted some achievements from the Activity’s first year…

Recent advances in breeding for Striga resistance in early and extra-early maturing maize for sub-Saharan Africa

A team of IITA scientists, molecular breeders, and geneticists, coordinated by the IITA early and extra-early Maize Program Lead, Baffour Badu-Apraku, recently made significant advances in the longstanding efforts of the IITA Maize Improvement Program (MIP) to develop genotypes with durable resistance to Striga parasitism using molecular markers. The major advances are: Identification of genomic regions significantly associated with indicator traits for Striga resistance under infestation in early maturing…

Biofortified cassava processed into gari.

Biofortified cassava: Researchers call for gender-responsive strategies to improve food and nutrition security and reduce poverty in Nigeria

Market demand is a key driver of the production of biofortified cassava for male adopters and farmers. However, for women, consumer acceptance, preference, and market coupled with the health benefits of biofortified cassava—mainly targeting children and pregnant women—are the motivation for adopting and processing. A study to identify gender-based constraints affecting the production, processing, and marketing activities of biofortified cassava in Oyo and Benue states has established this fact. The study carried out by researchers from IITA, Association of Uganda Professional Women in Agriculture and Environment (AUPWAE) Gender and Development…

Professional food body elects IITA researcher as Fellow

The Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST) has duly elected IITA-Zambia Food Science and Technology Associate Scientist Emmanuel Oladeji Alamu as a Fellow of the Institute. Alamu received a certificate from the Institute with a congratulatory message signed by IFST President Helen Munday. IFST confirmed Alamu’s fellowship status after an in-depth review by the…

IITA paper on genome editing among most read Open Access journal

A paper by an IITA Principal Scientist, Leena Tripathi, on ‘CRISPR/Cas9 editing of endogenous banana streak virus in the B genome of Musa spp. overcomes a major challenge in banana breeding’ was the second most downloaded paper in Communications Biology, an open access (OA) journal. The paper has had more than 12,000 downloads to date,…

Joint agribusiness park activities commence in Oyo State, Nigeria

IITA and Oyo State have commenced activities on an agribusiness center in Awe, Oyo Town. On 7 October, the project’s Joint Committees’ meeting agreed to change the center name from Rural Community Development Center (RCDC) to IITA-Oyo State Agribusiness Park Center, Awe. Earlier, IITA’s Facilities Management Services (FMS) commenced construction work at the processing center,…

The Belgian Ambassador to Uganda commends IITA’s efforts to transform the agriculture sector

Belgian Ambassador commends IITA’s efforts to transform Ugandan agriculture sector

His Excellency Rudi Veestraeten, the Belgian Ambassador to Uganda, visited the IITA-Uganda substation at Sendusu on 30 October. The Ambassador was accompanied by the Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Belgian Development Cooperation, Mr Koen Van Acoleyen. The visit was on the invitation of Rony Swennen, IITA’s senior banana breeder. The Ambassador and his…

IITA conducts farmers’ Green Field Day in northeast Nigeria

IITA, through the Feed the Future Integrated Agriculture Activity funded by USAID, is contributing to the economic recovery in northeast Nigeria in the wake of the devastation caused by the ongoing insurgency in the region. The Activity supports vulnerable populations disenfranchised by the conflict and reengages them in basic farming activities. To this end, 62,666…

Stakeholders meet virtually to discuss shared plans for One Health Challenge

The CGIAR Two Degree Initiative for Food and Agriculture recently organized an online stakeholder consultation to articulate a shared vision, outcomes, and outputs around the One-Health collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach. The approach aims to work at the local, regional, national, and global levels to achieve optimal health outcomes while recognizing the interconnection between people,…

Adoption of mobile phones can provide youth with agriculture market access

Agriculture has been categorized as the largest economic sector in most African countries, offering opportunities for poverty alleviation for youth, yet there is still a low percentage of youth involvement in the sector. This has been attributed to several factors. One major reason for poor youth participation in agriculture, according to research carried out in…