July 2017 - IITA News

Picture of the Minister of State for Environment and his officials in a group photo with IITA staff.

Federal Ministry of Environment establishes ties anew

The new Hon. Minister of State for Environment, His Excellency Alhaji Ibrahim Usman Jibril, visited IITA this week to familiarize himself with IITA and seek future collaboration.

Picture of Christopher Tocco (center) with other USAID delegates and event participants at the youth Agripreneurs exhibition center.

IITA, USAID Mission to jointly tackle cassava diseases in DR Congo

The USAID Mission in DR Congo has partnered with IITA to promote research in forestalling Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD), which has drastically reduced cassava production in the country since the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Picture of IITA scientists granting interviews to the press.

IITA records unprecedented media presence in recent weeks

IITA has been hitting the high notes, trending back to back on radio, television, print, social media, and electronic press since the latter part of June.

Picture of Debo Akande taking participants through the project’s vision for 2017.

Networking in agriculture, the case of AgResults

As Nigeria advances on its resolve to diversify its economy and reignite agriculture, an IITA project—emphasizing strongly on both health and income—is creating the needed platform for the new wave of businesses that will spring from the sector.

Picture of DDG Saethre being briefed by Chikoye and other scientists on activities at the experimental field at SARAH.

New DDG-R4D visits southern Africa Hub

From 6 to 7 July, the new IITA Deputy Director General for R4D, May-Guri Saethre, was at the Southern Africa Research and Administration Hub (SARAH) campus in Lusaka, Zambia, as part of her familiarization tour of the different IITA stations and offices across Africa.

“Nigerian” yam market gets international market access

The first batch of temperature-controlled shipping containers containing yam tubers from Nigeria have been approved for export to the United States of America and the United Kingdom. Hurray! This remarkable event was marked by a flag-off ceremony which took place on 29 June at the Lilypond container terminal, Apapa, Lagos. The event was well attended…

IITA Onne reignites partnership with state government institutions on agriculture

The IITA station at Onne, Rivers State, Nigeria, has received nods of approval from three more reputable government agencies in its host state. These are the Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Rivers State Agricultural Development Program (ADP), and the state School to Land Authority project. These institutions have also agreed to partner with IITA to…

R4D Special: Scientists push for use of animation in rural communication

Over 1 billion low literate and illiterate individuals living in the remote rural areas of developing countries have been reported to experience the daunting challenge of understanding scientific findings. Because of lack of formal education, their comprehension of science is further hampered. The situation in countries like Benin republic and Nigeria for instance is no…

Lessons from efforts to reduce postharvest losses and commercialize cassava to boost food security in Africa

Over a fifth of the food produced by smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa is lost during and after harvesting making a significant contribution to the high levels of poverty and food insecurity in the continent. Therefore, efforts to reduce poverty and make the continent food secure must include postharvest management options that reduce food losses….

IITA announces its 50th anniversary in grand style

As the core celebration of the Institute’s golden jubilee draws near on 24 July, IITA recorded three simultaneous “firsts”, all on 30 June when management went all-out to announce the anniversary celebrations in Lagos State, Nigeria. For the first time in 50 years, the Institute convened over 60 representatives from the local, regional, and international…