IITA News

New disease-resistant cassava varieties introduced in Rwanda

Rwandan farmers lack improved cassava varieties resistant to the main cassava diseases; Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) and Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD). The diseases have affected cassava productivity, threatening the income and food security in the country. “There are two main diseases that attack cassava in Rwanda and the region, CMD and CBSD. The latter…

Undeterred Africa RISING adapts operations for continuity despite COVID-19-related restrictions

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues globally, the Africa RISING Program has had to make critical operational adjustments to facilitate continuity of its activities, strategies, and approaches. “This is the ‘new normal’ and we have to adapt,” noted Mohammed Ibrahim, Africa RISING Site Coordinator in Tigray, Ethiopia. The immediate effect of the pandemic reduced the implementation…

STEP plans expansion to more schools in Oyo State

From 19 to 20 August, the IITA Start Them Early Program (STEP) in Nigeria organized an implementation workshop towards the rapid expansion of STEP in six secondary schools across the six geopolitical zones in Oyo State. This is in line with the STEP-Oyo State project initiated after the inauguration of STEP in Fasola Grammar School,…

New insights to help advance cassava breeding worldwide

Researchers at IITA, along with partners from the NextGen Cassava Breeding Project, have uncovered new details about the genetic architecture of cassava, which is one of Africa’s most vital crops. The findings will make it easier for breeders to identify traits for crop breeding. The scientists carried out a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and outlined…

Female youth agripreneurs in the field, gathering data on pearl millet.

ICT adoption can increase crop productivity among young farmers in Tanzania!

Studies have shown that the involvement of Africa’s youth in rural development and agriculture will not only boost food security on the continent but also strategically provide solutions to the prevailing problem of unemployment plaguing African societies. However, youth participation in these areas in most African countries is very low. Many factors are responsible for…

Mbongo Daud Batson explaining the qualities of the new matooke varieties, called NARITA, during the Nane Nane at Mbeya-Uyole.

Tanzania spotlights its first-ever matooke hybrids at the 2020 national farmers’ exhibition “Nane Nane”

The East Africa Highland cooking banana, matooke, is a hugely popular food in Tanzania. With the impending release of the first-ever high-yielding hybrids of matooke on the horizon, researchers took the opportunity to exhibit them at this year’s annual agricultural show “Nane Nane” in Tanzania. The new hybrids created much excitement among the attending farming…

YIIFSWA-II Project Leader Norbert Maroya showing the feeding system and the established roots and tubers of yam plants in the aeroponic system.

Influential yam producer visits YIIFSWA-II for mass propagation of seed yam

The Chief Executive Officer of Napetsa Farms, Joseph Adewale Fosudo, has been growing yam for decades in Epe, Lagos, and in northern Nigeria. The yam producer, considered a top commercial farmer, visited CGIAR-IITA on 4 August to learn about using single-vine seedlings from high ratio propagation technologies (HRPTs) for seed yam tuber production. “I came…

Network makes headway in strengthening gender research at IITA

The gender science network at CGIAR-IITA is making significant progress in its efforts to enhance gender research at the Institute. The network, which comprises IITA social and biophysical scientists, youth program technical experts, and staff from other units, has finalized its working strategy that articulates how it will operate in 2020 and beyond to help…

Project’s screen house at Rubona station

New disease-resistant cassava varieties introduced in Rwanda

Rwandan farmers have lacked improved cassava varieties resistant to the main cassava diseases, namely Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) and Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD). The diseases have since 2014/15 affected cassava productivity, hence threatening the incomes and food security of many people in the country. “There are two main diseases that attack cassava in Rwanda…

An extension agent conducting yield assesment in a trial plot managed using AKILIMO recommendations.

National agency to integrate AKILIMO tools into national extension package

Nigeria’s National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS) is in talks with the African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) project to integrate AKILIMO into the government extension package in Nigeria. NAERLS is one of the 18 national agricultural research institutes (NARIs) under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD). NAERLS is responsible for…