IITA News

Picture of Director Chiji (center, in black) flanked by the youth agripreneurs and staff in Onne.

AfDB Director urges scientists to take advantage of IITA Onne

Chiji Ojukwu, Director, Agriculture and Agroindustry Department of the African Development Bank (AfDB), called on scientists to consider setting up their research plots at the reopened agricultural research and training facility in Onne.

Picture of top officials of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and IITA top management in a group photo.

Gates team discusses food security with IITA

Two top officials of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation were in IITA to discuss ways to address food security in Africa with impact at scale.

Picture of DG Sanginga and an Agripreneur presents a plaque to HE, Kemi Adeosun.

Nigerian Finance Minister: ENABLE Youth should be rolled out

The Nigerian Minister of Finance, Honorable Kemi Adeosun, visited IITA on 10 June to look at the IITA Agripreneurs Program (IYA) and learn more about the African Development Bank-funded ENABLE Youth (Empowering Novel Agri-Business-Led Employment) Program.

Picture of Researcher inspecting cowpea plants.

Using wild relatives in breeding cowpea for improved adaptation to drought and heat

Cowpea is an important staple crop of the savannah region of West Africa but efforts to increase its productivity may be hampered by climate change particularly reduced and erratic rainfall and increased temperatures.

Picture of workshop participants in East Africa Hub.

Study on youth and commercialization of agriculture in Africa kicks off with a planning workshop

Agriculture is one sector that many Africa countries are banking on for their economic development. For this to happen there is need to transform and commercialize the sector.

Picture of IITA Maize Breeder Abebe Menkir with other members of the high table.

SARD-SC maize conference leverages on private sector partnership

The SARD-SC maize conference, held in Livingstone, Zambia, 14—20 May, was a valuable opportunity for the maize project and its partners to interact with other stakeholders from Zambia, Nigeria, and Africa in general.

IITA West Africa holds second retreat

IITA West Africa scientists, specialists, and support staff came together in Cotonou, Republic of Benin in April, for their second retreat.

IITA50-LookingBack: Biafran War almost impeded IITA establishment! [History]

The official legislation that would eventually construct IITA was just being reviewed by representatives of the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations when Nigeria’s first military coup took place on 15 January 1966.

Picture of participants at the commodity management workshop.

IITA hosts US-Nigeria commodity management workshop

On 30 May-1 June, IITA Ibadan hosted participants from Africa and the US who attended the seventh joint commodity management workshop of the United States and Nigeria.

Picture of the participants pose with the Station OIC Chris Okafor (center, wearing a cap) after the workshop.

CCPC operators in South Kivu, DR Congo, meet to chart action for steady progress

For two days, 9—10 May, managers of eight community cassava processing centers (CCPCs) in Kavumu, Katana, Mulamba, Bunyakiri 1, Bunyakiri 2, Kamanyola, and Luvungi as well as technicians in charge of production met at IITA Kalambo to take stock, exchange experiences, share knowledge, and articulate strategies on the way forward.