IITA News

ACAI and Cassava Weed Management Project merge

The African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) project and the IITA Cassava Weed Management Project (IITA-CWMP) have become a single project. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funds both projects under its Agricultural Development program. The ACAI project has been carrying out research to develop tools that will increase the availability of appropriate and affordable technologies…

(L-R) Opening by Dr Bernard Vanlauwe (IITA), Daniel van Gilst (NORAD), Dr Emmanuel Agyemang Dwomoh (COCOBOD), and Dr H.K. Dzahini-Obiatey (Cocoa Research Institute Ghana).

CocoaSoils partners discuss ways to strengthen agronomic research and dissemination

The maiden Annual CocoaSoils Forum was held in Accra, Ghana on 24 January. The forum followed a three-day Science Committee meeting in which research and project partners came together to assess project implementation, assure transparent and accessible dissemination of research outcomes, and provide inputs into the research of the different partners. The forum brought together…

IITA, Bayer, NARS meet to modernize cowpea breeding

Representatives from the Global Breeding/Analytics and Pipeline Design team of Bayer–Crop Science, met with IITA’s cowpea breeding program team and scientists from some national programs on 4-7 February to review ongoing collaboration. The meeting also aimed to fine-tune models through which IITA and national partners can benefit from Bayer’s expertise in modern crop breeding. The…

IITA and WFP strengthen ties to achieve a world free from hunger

A delegation from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Nigeria visited IITA on 8 February, to strengthen existing collaboration and synergize ways to improve and sustain the livelihoods of people in the priority states benefiting from the Nigeria Zero Hunger Forum (NZHF). The NZHF is chaired by His Excellency, Former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. The three-member team led by…

ATASP-1 Kebbi Sokoto zonal program coordinator receiving his award from Alhaji Haruna Jada.

ATASP-1 honored for enhancing livelihoods in Kambuwa community, Kebbi State

The Nigeria Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Program – Phase 1 (ATASP-1 Outreach Program) of the Kebbi-Sokoto Zone and the sorghum value chain implementation partner, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), were honored by the people of Kambuwa community in Yauri Emirate of Kebbi State for developing the sorghum value chain, which…

Beatrice Langwa in the lab at IITA-Tanzania.

Defying odds to pursue a science career in war-torn South Sudan: Beatrice Langwa, PhD

Although female representation in science careers is no longer a novelty, it is still a rarity to find women scientists from conflict zones such as war-torn South Sudan. Beatrice Langwa, a PhD student at the University of Juba in South Sudan, is challenging that narrative. She is undertaking her PhD with a scholarship from the…

Forest Center Plant Specialist demonstrates seed propagation techniques to participants.

IITA Forest Center trains coordinators of School Conservation Clubs

In an effort to train trainers, who are coordinators of various Schools Conservation Clubs (SCCs) in southwestern Nigeria, the IITA Forest Center (FC) organized a workshop at the IITA Headquarters in Ibadan on 8 February. Twenty-three SCC Coordinators from primary and secondary schools in Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo states, attended the workshop. In partnership with…

IITA scientists develop decision support tools to improve cassava agronomy in Africa

Scientists under the African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) have developed decision support tools (DSTs) which can help farmers with the best recommendations for planting cassava in their fields. The new DSTs were developed to replace the older “blanket” recommendations, which did not consider site-specific conditions and thus often produced poor results. ACAI is a five-year project focusing on six use-cases, which reflect the different issues…

IITA joins world celebration of International Day of Women and Girls in Science

The International Day of Women and Girls in Science was celebrated globally on 11 February. The day offered a unique opportunity to remember the achievements of women and girls in science, but more importantly, it was an opportunity for the world to encourage more women and girls in science and to break the stereotypes that…

IFAD fellowship awardees at a past training

IFAD awardees attest to the importance of youth engagement in agribusiness for economic development in Africa

Some of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) fellowship awardees for the scholarship grant on “Enhancing Capacity to Apply Research Evidence (CARE) in Policy for Youth Engagement in Agribusiness and Rural Economic Activities in Africa, during one training course in IITA, discussed the benefits, prospects, and problems their research findings intend to solve in…