December 2016 | IITA News

IITA joins ETS

The Institute has joined the Excellence Through Stewardship (ETS) platform. ETS is a global not-for-profit organization that promotes the universal adoption of stewardship programs and quality management systems for the full life cycle of agricultural technology products.

New book on cassava now online

A new book titled Achieving sustainable cultivation of cassava Volume 1 & Volume 2, edited by Clair Hershey of CIAT, is now available online.

Nigerian Government approves the ENABLE Youth Program

The Pan-African program, tagged ENABLE Youth, designed to actively engage and create gainful employment and wealth for African youth along the agricultural value chains, has been approved by the Nigerian government. The program concept note, which has now been approved after tough negotiations among concerned stakeholders, was initiated in 2014 during the Youth in Agribusiness…

Picture of Ylva touring the Agripreneurs’ processing and training center in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

IITA DDG tours Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania

IITA’s Deputy Director General for Research for Development (R4D), Ylva Hillbur was last week on a tour of the Eastern Africa hub where she visited Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania and met partners and staff of the Institute. In Tanzania, the DDG toured IITA’s field sites, offices, and laboratories in Dar es Salaam as well as…

Picture of Manyong giving children of staff pieces of the 50th Anniversary cake.

IITA holds end-of-year family fun day in Tanzania

IITA-Tanzania’s annual family fun day that brings together staff and their families to celebrate the year’s achievements was held on 3 December. Over 300 people including staff and the family of institutions hosted at the Eastern Africa hub offices including the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI),…

Goodwill messages

Dear all, Another year has come and flown past. The year 2016 marks an important milestone for me as the DG of IITA. The board renewed my term for another five years and I gladly accepted after some soul searching. During my first term, we achieved a lot together―we saw IITA’s budget increase threefold and…

Picture of Members of the Next Generation Cassava Breeding team visit cassava trials at LZARDI in Tanzania.

Tanzania to improve cassava in Africa with NextGen Cassava project

Tanzania recently became a partner of the Next Generation Cassava Breeding project (NextGen), joining Nigeria and Uganda in the global effort to improve cassava breeding in sub-Saharan Africa. This partnership is expected to enhance the project’s efforts to improve livelihoods for cassava farmers in Africa. “Partnering with NextGen should help us develop tools to address…

Picture of Hanna (Left) speaks about the challenges and opportunities offered by IITA for cassava farmers in central Africa.

IITA Cameroon participates in the CTA Cassava regional Forum in Yaoundé

IITA was very active and visible at the cassava regional forum in Yaoundé held from 6 to 9 December. The event was organized by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) and PROPAC with support from various organizations including IITA. The main objective of this forum was to bring together actors of the…

Picture of The IITA delegates comprising a youth Agripreneur, Frederick Schreurs

Ooni of Ife partners with IITA to improve cocoa production and youth employment

The Ooni (King) of Ife, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, has extolled IITA for its continuous efforts in the improvement and transformation of agriculture, and emphasized his utmost goal to partner with IITA in rejuvenating Africa’s agriculture. The Imperial Majesty made this known in his speech during his first coronation anniversary at his palace in Ile-Ife,…

Picture of Bernard Vanlauwe takes the Provincial Minister, Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Rural Development, South Kivu, DR Congo, Madam Adolphine Muley Byayuwa on a tour of the Nodumax facility in Ibadan.

DR Congo Minister of Agriculture on a learning visit to IITA

… excited over cassava improvement in Nigeria The Provincial Minister, Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Rural Development, South Kivu, DR Congo, Madam Adolphine Muley Byayuwa has expressed optimism that technologies developed by IITA can help transform agriculture in Africa. She made this remark during her visit to IITA, Ibadan, to participate in the Systems Marketplace…