January 2019 - Page 4 of 4

Corporate Services to keep adapting to changed circumstances — Hilde Koper-Limbourg, DDG Corporate Services

Another year gone! This year we started work on changing IITA’s culture and staff mindset to adapt to the new reality of IITA being a ‘project based institute’. Change is never easy, especially not change brought on by funding challenges, but we made a confident start to it. I appreciate the commitment and the hard…

Looking forward to a rewarding year as we increase our footprints across Africa — May-Guri Saethre, DDG, R4D

The year 2018 has been quite a successful year for IITA as it is filled with achievements! In the course of the year, our R4D team worked on ensuring that IITA take steps to increase its footprint across Africa, establishing its global brand and engaging in regional communication strategies. One of the major initiatives of…

I am optimistic that the next will be even better — Kenton Dashiell, DDG, P4D

The Partnerships for Delivery (P4D) Directorate is two years old and we have begun to make some progress with the delivery and scaling of proven technologies to end-users, during 2018. All this has been possible because of the support and high morale of staff. The directorate works in partnership with Governments, the private sector, NGOs,…

IITA will continue to stand out as a leading research institute in all areas — Nteranya Sanginga, IITA DG.

I am pleased to announce to all that 2018 came to a successful end as a result of the dedication and commitment of staff, despite the dramatic decline in central funding encountered by the institute. In the midst of it all, IITA had no option but to prepare for the future and reorganize its manner…

IITA equips scholars with policy brief and scientific writing skills

IITA organized a workshop for the 20 fellows that qualified for the research grant for “Enhancing Capacity to Apply Research Evidence (CARE) in policy for youth engagement in agribusiness and rural economic activities in Africa” funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), on 19–23 November. The purpose of the 5-day training was to…

AWF and IITA proffer sustainability and conservation interventions in DRC

The tropical agricultural research project “Mapping patterns of governance and technological innovations in a tropical forest–agriculture frontier of the Democratic Republic of Congo” was carried out from December 2012 to September 2018, and covered a 2000 km² area in Carré Djolu-Befale (CaDjoBe), around Djolu-Lingomo, Lingomo-Mompono, Mompono-Befori, and Befori-Djolu in Tshuapa Province of Democratic Republic of…

Youth Agripreneur insists beans can be preserved naturally without using Sniper

Bose Idowu graduated from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) with a BSc in Animal Science and an MBA in Agribusiness. She joined the IITA Youth Agripreneurs (IYA) program in 2012 as part of the Cereals and Legumes team, where she was trained in cultivation and farm management on farms in northern Nigeria. “We…

IITA scientists develop multiple stress tolerant maize hybrids with high levels of Pro-Vitamin A

Vitamin A deficiency is a major health problem in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Striga hermonthica (Giant Witchweed) and drought are two major constraints to maize production in the sub-region. Development and deployment of multiple stress tolerant maize hybrids with high levels of Pro-Vitamin A (PVA) offers a solution to food insecurity and malnutrition in SSA. The…