IITA News

Picture of Charity Mutegi, IITA’s East Africa Aflasafe Project Coordinator with farmers.

Still flying high

A short narrative highlighting the background, impression, and achievements of Charity Mutegi, IITA’s East Africa Aflasafe Project Coordinator, is currently being featured on the Featured profile of the week section of the modernizing African food systems’ website. Mutegi was recognized as a role model for young women professionals in agriculture and for her outstanding contribution…

Picture of Courtesy Visit on UNIPORT Vice Chancellor by Rony. From left to right: Prof N.E.S. Lale, VC, UNIPORT; Prof Rony Swennen, IITA Scientist; Dr G.E. Omokhua, Director, IARD.

Reviving IITA Onne station

Discussions about IITA’s plan to revitalize its plantain breeding in the rainforest station in Onne, south Nigeria, was the center of a presentation delivered by Rony Swennen, IITA banana Breeder, in Port Harcourt. Swennen disclosed this plan during his visit to the University of Port Harcourt for the first public lecture at the Institute of…

Congratulations, IITA is proud of you!

The Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) has conferred its prestigious fellow award on Abebe Menkir, IITA Maize Breeder/Geneticist. The award ceremony took place during the 2015 international annual meeting of the CSSA in Minneapolis, USA, on 17 November. Menkir was selected among 10 other recipients by the members of the society, in recognition of…

Five IITA-developed cowpea varieties released in Swaziland

The Government of Swaziland, through its Ministry of Agriculture, has officially released five IITA-developed cowpea varieties, paving the way for their widespread adoption and use in farmers’ fields. In its National Seeds Varieties List Notice of 2015, Swaziland’s Ministry of Agriculture listed the following IITA cowpea varieties: IT-16, IT-18, IT-04K-321-2, IT-97K-390-2, and IT-99K-494-4. “The release…

Vox pop: What are your impressions about R4D Week?

Paul Dontsop-Nguezet, SARD-SC Project Impact Economist, IITA Bukavu This year’s R4D was special and an improvement to the 2013 R4D in different aspects. The poster arrangements, the organization, in terms of logistics was a bit more impressive. And this kind of arrangement in terms of presentation, organization, and the content of presentations were also impressive….

Bruce Coulman addressing staff and scientists during the town hall meeting in Ibadan.

From the Board of Trustees: IITA’s results… very impressive

During a town hall meeting that brought R4D Week to its climax, Bruce Coulman, Chair, Board of Trustees, IITA, said that despite the biting cuts in the core funding of CGIAR, IITA’s success in 2015 was impressive. “When the Board meets, we have an agenda where we review all aspects of all the Institute’s operations….

Charity Mutegi, East Africa Coordinator for Aflasafe and one-time winner of the Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application.

Women scientists can only be as productive as their work environment permits

How do you feel as a young female scientist working in a male-dominated field? It is a good experience that has its challenges largely because the society has not gotten there yet in terms appreciating young women scientists. In many instances in the broader community, women have to keep proving themselves, and going the extra…

DG Sanginga reassuring scientists that the Institute is properly positioned to achieve more impacts.

Key voices: We have done it before, we will do it again!

Why is IITA repositioning its science to achieve its mission of reducing hunger and poverty? Africa is changing. Take Nigeria, for example. Everybody realizes now that crude oil stocks are going down and people are not even buying Nigeria’s oil on the international market…when I visited the Governor of Osun State last week, he told…

Andreas Gisel briings a live cassava plant for his poster presentation.

NRM, teamwork vital to achieving IITA’s mission

“My take home message is that IITA will need a multi-pronged NRM approach, and probably more importantly teamwork, if we are to achieve our mission of returning 7.5 million hectares of degraded agricultural land back into sustainable use.” This was the focus of the presentation of Bernard Vanlauwe, Regional Director for Central Africa and Director…

Robert Asiedu presents on IITA’s biotechnology and genetic improvement strategy

It is not only about how many improved crop varieties we have developed…

There is in no doubt that IITA has been involved in the improvement and subsequent release of various improved crop varieties across sub-Saharan Africa. However, the focus of the Institute especially when it comes to its biotechnology strategy and crop improvement strategy is now shifting with an eagle-like focus on what impact the already released…