CDO organizes training on R programming for statistical analysis

IITA Capacity Development Office (CDO) facilitated a 4-day training on “Statistical analysis using R programming from 27 to 30 August.” The training taught participants about ‘R’, the commonly used statistical package for data analysis.

The trainees were IITA staff and partners from Abuja, Ghana, Ibadan, Kano, and Mali, who have hands-on roles in managing data.

Stanley Nwachukwu, IITA Training Manager, says, “A needs assessment carried out at the end of 2018 revealed that statistical analysis software is becoming more expensive to run. However, unlike other analysis software, R is an open-source program; it is free and allows users to run any program of choice.”

Resource persons for the training are Research Fellow Moshood Bakare, Fola Agboola, and Yusuf Muyideen, all staff of the cassava breeding unit. They say, “R programming helps researchers to process data into a meaningful form for decision making.”

According to Bakare, “Statistical analysis software is not new to IITA, however, R has many features that other software do not have, which can simplify results from scientific research.”