Bulletin story Archives | Page 2 of 127

ENABLE-TAAT trained agripreneurs record their first million in the poultry business

The multifaceted Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) project registered another success story, this time, in Nigeria’s poultry sector. A team of youth agripreneurs trained by the Empowering Novel Agribusiness-led Employment (ENABLE-TAAT) program recorded a gross profit of over ₦1 million—about $2,580—in 8 weeks. They got a return on investment of about 45% after two…

Making a case for migrants’ originating households in Malawi

According to research, migration for employment is a key feature of youth mobility in certain parts of Africa. Individuals migrate primarily to improve their social status and learn new skills and trades. Internal migration—both rural to urban and rural to rural—of youth is also increasing due to lack of employment opportunities and other factors, including…

Young Africa Works-IITA commences multilocation training for 40,000 youth

The Young Africa Works-IITA project commenced the first cohort of its training program in Lagos, Kaduna, and Kano states in Nigeria. This capacity–building activity began on 1 February and focuses on training 40,000 young Nigerian women and men between 18 and 35 years to become self-employed or gain employment in agri-food systems. The training is running concurrently in the three states for six weeks and participants will gain practical…

Scientists discuss ways to manage climate risks in protecting plant health

CGIAR, in conjunction with various partners including the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), has launched a series of webinars to celebrate the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH), which continues in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic disruption. The four-webinar series is themed “Unleashing the Potential of Plant Health.” The first webinar, “Climate change and…

ACAI project: Upscaling cassava agronomy in Africa

IITA has commenced a new phase of the African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) project to increase the availability of appropriate and affordable technologies to sustainably improve cassava productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. The 5-year project, which is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will focus on five countries: DR Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, and…

Control of mycotoxin effect in plantain

Plantain (Musa paradisiaca L.) is a tropical staple found in Central and West Africa. They are often cooked green but may also be dried or ground for use as a meal. And the plantain meal can be refined further to flour. Fresh plantains are rich in potassium; a 100 g fruit provides 499 mg of potassium. They also provide adequate levels of minerals such as iron, magnesium, and phosphorous. Mature unripe plantain can be…

Banana breeding project successfully implements modern track and trace system

Tagging products with barcodes for easy price retrieval in supermarkets is now a regular practice that people often take for granted. But beyond supermarkets, barcodes can be employed across a whole spectrum of settings, including by scientists in their research. The Accelerated Breeding Better Bananas project has developed, adapted, finetuned, and deployed a fully operational…

IITA, AfS partner to promote biotech communication

Partnering with the Cornell Alliance for Science (AfS), IITA has launched the Biotech Communications Capacity Building program to implement Africa’s training activities. Launched in September 2020, the 4-year project plans to address misinformation around crop biotechnology, specifically genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and genome-edited products. Another object is countering conspiracy theories and disinformation campaigns that hinder…

ENABLE-TAAT backed startups flourish in Kaoma

On a recent tour of startup activities by ENABLE-TAAT trained youth in Kaoma District, Zambia, IITA Southern Africa Research and Administrative Hub (SARAH) Director, David Chikoye, commended youth agripreneurs for their flourishing enterprises. Chikoye visited the startups to monitor their work and progress. The 2-day visit allowed for in-depth interaction between the Director and the…

Maiden Naija Farmer Reality TV show on a learning visit to IITA Abuja

The Co-coordinator and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Chigbo Okoli, and fifteen Farm Mates of the maiden edition of the Naija Farmer Reality TV Show visited the IITA Abuja Station on a field tour. The essence of the visit was to see, in practice, some aspects of agriculture taught in the Farm House. It was also…