IITA News

Using R: Seed health interventions and risk-based surveillance and mitigation strategies

An international workshop on using R packages for Seed Health was held on 18 March at the IITA headquarters in Ibadan, Nigeria. Prof Karen Garrett of the University of Florida, Gainesville, organized the workshop as part of the RTB Seed System Cluster CC2.1., which had in attendance 20 participants representing eight countries, and was co-anchored…

Scientists discuss ways to improve RTB planting materials

The CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB) Cross-cutting Cluster 2.1 had its annual meeting on 14 to 16 March at IITA headquarters in Ibadan, Nigeria. The meeting objective was to discuss the progress and main findings on the development and validation of the RTB seed systems Toolbox. Present at the meeting were…

New project launched to improve rural livelihoods and food security in Mali

The newly initiated Climate Smart Agricultural Technologies (CSAT) project was recently launched in Mali at an event held on 19–22 March. The launch ceremony had in attendance the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Innovation and Scientific Research in Mali; the Director General, Institute of Rural Economy (IER); the Ambassador, Norwegian Embassy in Mali; IITA…

DG Sanginga to be awarded honorary title of doctor honoris causa from KU Leuven, Belgium

The Academic Council of Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven) has nominated DG Nteranya Sanginga to receive the doctor of honoris causa. The award will be conferred on the 20th anniversary of VLIR-UOS, an organization that supports partnerships between higher education institutions in Flanders and the South. The five partner universities under VLIR-UOS will host a ceremony to…

IITA and partners to develop recommendations for food production efficiency

IITA will lead an initiative to develop recommendations for sustainable nitrogen management strategies to improve food and energy production within the Lake Victoria catchment. The Institute will work in collaboration with the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) and other stakeholders, while aiming to minimize environmental pollution. This followed a two-day workshop held in Kisumu on…

One on one: Laura Cortada-Gonzalez: A journey in science

Dr Laura Cortada-Gonzalez is IITA Soil Health Scientist based in Kenya. In this interview, Cortada-Gonzalez talks about how she started in science and her journey so far as a scientist. Q: As an upcoming young female scientist at IITA, did you always want to pursue a science career? A: Actually not. Surprisingly, when I was…

Plant health delegation visits IITA Abuja in preparation for international conference

In preparation for a global event that will bring quarantine service practitioners from across the world to Nigeria to deliberate on curtailing the spread of pests and diseases across continents, a three-member delegation led by Mr John Obaje, Director of Plant Quarantine Planning, Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), visited IITA-Abuja Station on 14 February. The…

CocoaSoils holds maiden baseline coordinators’ meeting and training of enumerators

The Monitoring and Evaluation Unit of the CocoaSoils Program has organized its maiden coordinators’ meeting and training of enumerators for Ghana, at the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana in Tafo. The event was held on 20–21 March to have a common understanding and agree on the methodology of the baseline tool to be used across…

Empowering regional and district level planners to address climate change threats to agriculture

Climate change is ranked among of the top threats to global food security given impacts such as erratic and extreme weather conditions including floods and droughts. Crop yields are expected to decline globally after 2030 and by 2050, 3% of Africa’s land will no longer be suitable for maize. In Tanzania, climate change is a…

IITA and partners discuss alleviation of agroclimatic challenges in the Sahel

IITA-Ibadan, hosted a 3-day workshop on 12–14 March to promote the development and implementation of agricultural research, capacity building, and delivery programs in the Sahel. The key participants were representatives of the national agricultural research and development systems of Burkina Faso, Chad, Gambia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Senegal; representatives of CORAF, the private sector, and…