IITA News

Malachite Kingfisher Alcedo cristata, as it scans for prey and predator during the IBC meeting.

IITA Forest Unit hosts the first Ibadan Bird Club Meeting in 2019

The first meeting of the Ibadan Bird Club (IBC) in 2019 was held at IITA Ibadan on 26 January. The event attracted 36 members including three children known as the IBC Juniors and nine beginners. In his opening remarks, IBC Coordinator Adewale Awoyemi welcomed members and introduced them to the basics of bird watching, especially…

Transforming Abuja Station

The IITA-Abuja Station continues to be transformed with the addition of new structures as recently outlined by the Head of Abuja Station, Gbassey Tarawali. In his presentation, given during the visit of IITA Board of Trustees Chair Dr Amos Namango Ngongi on 15 January, Tarawali highlighted the remodeling of old residential houses into ultra-modern office…

Scientists successfully use gene-editing technology to develop first-ever plantain resistant to banana virus streak

A team of scientists have announced a major breakthrough in their efforts to develop improved banana and plantain varieties that are resistant to banana streak virus (BSV), one of the diseases hampering the crop’s production in Africa and threatening the food and income of millions of farmers. The team successfully used CRISPR, a powerful technology…

MAIZE announces 2019 Youth Innovators Awards – Africa

IITA has developed a reputation as an organization that provides equal opportunities for every willing person to learn and grow. Apart from the regular staff, IITA has a training mandate that provides opportunity for young people to work as interns and volunteers. Volunteering at IITA allows a volunteer to interact with professionals from different backgrounds,…

IITA-CWMP develops mobile app for smallholder farmers

The IITA Cassava Weed Management Project (IITA-CWMP) has developed a mobile application that helps farmers to apply the correct dose of herbicides on cassava and other field crops. In most rural communities in Africa, the use of knapsack sprayers is common, and the challenge has been the difficulty of farmers knowing exactly what quantity of…

R4D SpecialPriority – setting in Climate-smart Agricultural Research: A step further in ensuring food security in Africa

A team of scientists, including Philip K. Thornton, Anthony Whitbread, and Lieven Claessens, under the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), from several international research organizations including IITA, have identified the need to intensify agricultural research for development, so as to meet the Sustainable Development Goals associated with food production,…

IITA BoT Chairman visits Abuja Station

On 15 January, the IITA Board of Trustee (BoT) Chair, Dr Amos Namanga Ngongi, was hosted at the IITA-Abuja Station as part of his visit to the Nigerian capital. He was received by the Head of IITA-Abuja Station, Gbassey Tarawali and the Senior Management Team who gave a brief on the research and delivery activities…

New book showcases 50 years of IITA’s plant health research

Over the past 50 years, IITA has been at the fore of research on plant health issues in Africa ranging from the safe handling and movement of germplasm and seed to identifying and managing threats to crops in the region. These play a major role in the overall food production of the continent, affecting both…

IITA-Cameroon Women’s Group holds scholarship award ceremony

On 19 December, to mark the 2018 edition of the IITA Women`s Group Award Scholarship program, 10-year-old Mbounda El-Hannah, a Junior Secondary School student, and Mbounda-Mbuh Samuel, 12-year-old Senior Secondary School student, received awards worth US$450 each. The ceremony, which took place at the buckaroo in the IITA Campus in Yaoundé, was presided over by…

IITA and Nelson Mandela Africa Institution of Science and Technology to strengthen relationship

IITA and Nelson Mandela Africa Institution for Science and Technology (NM-AIST) have agreed to strengthen their collaboration in efforts to build Africa’s capacity for science and technology. The agreement was made during a courtesy visit to the University’s Vice Chancellor, Emmanuel Luoga, at its campus in Arusha, Tanzania, by a delegation from IITA led by…