IITA News

IITA identifies opportunities to make a difference amidst COVID-19 spread across Africa

COVID-19 Update: Extension of lockdown measures

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, IITA has announced that the Institute will be extending the temporary lockdown measures in its different locations until further notice. Deputy Director General, Corporate Services, Hilde Koper-Limbourg announced this on 9 April, in an email communique to all staff. She noted that there might be further announcements if the governments…

IITA alumnus to represent One CGIAR at UN Food Systems Summit

Former President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Director General of AfricaRice, and an IITA alumnus, Dr Kanayo F. Nwanze has been appointed as CGIAR Special Representative to the United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS), which is tentatively scheduled to take place in late 2021. At the Summit, he will be bringing…

Data management gets a boost

Data management in IITA got a boost with IITA’s participation in Research Data Alliance 15th Plenary for Interest Group on Agriculture Data (IGAD) online held on 9 April 2020. IITA was asked to present on its efforts at promoting agricultural data. Institutional Data Manager Olatunbosun Obileye presented on the topic,” Improving data integrity by integrating…

AgroEcoHealth focus: Agriculture’s role in the development of mosquitoes

IITA Molecular Entomologist and Head of the AgroEcoHealth Platform in Cotonou, Rousseau Djouaka, has revealed the role of agriculture in the proliferation of mosquitoes concerning the spread of Buruli ulcer (BU). Djouaka highlighted this in his presentation, “The IITA AgroEcoHealth Platform, Starting from Ground Zero towards New Challenges,” which he gave at the IITA HQ…

Rwandans benefit from IITA Women’s Group scholarship for the first time

The IITA Women’s Group has awarded scholarships to 14 Rwandan students in its annual scholarship initiative, which reached Rwanda for the first time since inception. The award ceremony was held in February 2020 in Kamonyi District, southern Rwanda. The award scheme is designed to assist IITA junior national staff in sponsoring their children for an academic session….

Meet CGIAR-IITA’s women fighting plant pests and diseases

The current COVID-19 pandemic is a heart-wrenching example of how viruses can quickly spread from one continent to the next. The way human diseases spread is not any different from how plant pests and diseases spread. Lava Kumar, a virologist and head of the Germplasm Health Unit (GHU) at IITA, says, “Humans are the number…

Unlocking the diversity of microorganisms around banana roots

The human body hosts trillions of microorganisms both inside and on the skin. Many of them are beneficial and help in the digestion of food, making vitamins, and boosting the body’s immune systems, among other things. Similarly, for plants, the soils around the roots host diverse microorganisms, some of which are beneficial to the plants,…

IITA Business Incubation Platform works at increasing soybean yield in Nigeria

IITA Business Incubation Platform to increase soybean yield in Nigeria

Soybean is among the major industrial food crops grown in every continent. The crop can be successfully grown in many states in Nigeria using low agricultural input. Soybean cultivation in Nigeria has expanded as a result of its nutritive and economic importance and diverse domestic usage. It has an average protein content of 40% and…

The Drip irrigation system: The way to efficient farming

The IITA Farm Office experimented on an irrigation system, a project supported and funded by IITA management to minimize inputs and maximize output. Drip irrigation is a micro-irrigation system that is efficient in saving water and nutrients by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants from above the soil surface or buried…

Biocontrol reduces Maruca pod borer population by 85%

Scientists based at CGIAR-IITA’s climate change station in Benin are happy with the results of the just-concluded experimental release of wasps. These wasps, which are natural enemies of the Maruca pod borer, were released two years ago to go after the destructive cowpea insect. Results showed an 85% reduction in the population of the pod…