IITA News

IITA Cameroon lends a helping hand to farmers’ coop at the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic

Cameroon, like other countries in the world, is at the moment grappling with the effect of the coronavirus, having recorded over 6,000 cases so far. Despite the ravaging effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, IITA-Cameroon has collaborated with the Technical Center for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) to give a helping hand to members of some…

Tanzania: Postharvest innovations key to raising youth involvement in horticulture

Horticulture is a field of agriculture that involves a short growing season averaging three months and offers quick yields and returns on investments despite the high rate of postharvest losses. In Tanzania, with the Government-initiated National Strategy for Youth Involvement in Agriculture (NYSIA) for 2016–2021, horticulture is one viable option that would give Tanzanian youth…

Development partners meet to address Africa’s food security amid COVID-19

In 2018, over 200 million people in Africa were undernourished due to food shortages. The advent of coronavirus has added another dimension to this issue. An examination of these problems led to the World Bank and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) convening a virtual conference to put together a response plan to address…

COVID19 – Work in shifts, researchers advise yam seed producers and farmers

To reduce the spread of COVID-19, governments all over the world have instituted specific measures such as physical distancing and staying at home. Unfortunately, for farmers, time is of the essence since the rainy season is here and it will soon end, – whether we are facing a pandemic or not. For farmers, the rains…

Manual weeding is labour intensive and cumbersome which causes farmers to delay weeding their cassava fields. Weeds account for over 30% in yeild loss

Scientists recommend additional herbicides for weed control in cassava farming

Cassava is the second most-consumed staple food after maize in sub-Saharan Africa, feeding more than 300 million people. Nigeria is the world’s biggest producer of cassava at 59 million tons per year. However, this food security crop that can tolerate prolonged droughts is yet to attain its yield potential. Smallholder farmers in Africa harvest 8‒12…

DG Nteranya Sanginga at a virtual town hall meeting, explaining IITA’s funding shortfalls due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Combating COVID-19-induced shortfalls: IITA reveals strategy to strengthen financial health and secure research goals

To manage potential funding shortfalls due to the global COVID-19 crisis, IITA Director General Nteranya Sanginga has outlined options through which the Institute can strengthen ongoing research and ensure sustainable planning as well as strategic resource mobilization. After strenuous consultations with different stakeholders, including staff and donors, Sanginga communicated the decisions during a virtual town hall meeting…

IITA promotes natural solutions during International Day of Biodiversity

On 22 May, CGIAR-IITA joined the global community to mark the International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB), an annual observance to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues. In line with this year’s theme, “Our solutions are in Nature”, the Institute hosted a semi-virtual event to highlight the importance of biodiversity and plants to human…

Youth participation in agriculture is projected to be a big income earner

Youth under IITA-CARE tackle agricultural challenges

Despite the ongoing global crisis, grant recipients of the Enhancing Capacity to Apply Research Evidence (CARE) project funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) are working against odds and around the challenges to deliver cutting-edge agricultural solutions to achieve Africa’s goal of zero hunger. With the supervision of scientists from CGIAR-IITA, these young…

COVID-19 highlights the importance of farmers’ associations

Uganda is one of the few countries that has not reported any deaths from COVID-19. However, there are movement restrictions and stay-at-home orders in place. What do this pandemic and subsequent control measures mean for banana farmers in the country? We talked to Brigitte Uwimana, a molecular banana breeder based at IITA Uganda. Below are…

IITA scientist develops a cheaper and faster tool for identifying whiteflies

A CGIAR-IITA scientist has developed a more cost and time effective molecular diagnostic tool that can accurately identify different subgroups of cassava whiteflies, Bemisia tabaci. The tool can be used in local laboratories in Africa that often lack expensive sequencing technologies. This innovation marks a major milestone in efforts to accurately characterize whiteflies, which transmit viruses that…