IITA News

Bells University delegation discusses partnership possibilities with IITA

A team of delegates from Bells University of Technology visited IITA on 4 July to discuss areas of possible partnership with the Institute. The team, led by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jeremiah Ojediran, comprised top officials of the university. They were received by Kenton Dashiell, IITA Deputy Director General, Partnerships for Delivery. The delegates requested IITA’s…

Dutch Trade Mission visits IITA

A trade mission delegation from the Netherlands visited IITA on 11 July to discuss critical success factors for agricultural growth. The delegation was led by Loek Hermans, Chairman of Top Sector, Horticulture and Materials, and received by Frederick Schreurs, Chief Executive Officer, IITA Business Incubation Platform. At the opening meeting, Sylvia Oyinlola, Head of Administration,…

Jamaican research organization seeks collaboration with IITA for food security

A representative of the Scientific Research Council (SRC) of Jamaica, is on a visit to IITA to discuss possible areas of collaboration with the Institute. The representative, Ryan Francis who is the team leader of the Biotechnology Department at SRC said the institution seeks to collaborate with other institutes engaged in similar activities. Francis’ visit,…

IITA facilities impress Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

Dr Mohammed Bello Umar, Permanent Secretary of Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, paid a courtesy visit to IITA Ibadan with some top officials on 12 July. Although, his presence in Ibadan was purposely for an engagement at the University of Ibadan, he decided to visit to get first-hand experience of IITA after hearing…

Akilimo decision support system for cassava farmers promoted

Akilimo decision support system for cassava farmers in Nigeria and Tanzania

The African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) has released its first field test version of the Akilimo decision support system in paper and application format. Extension agents will use these to help cassava farmers in Nigeria and Tanzania optimize their productivity and income from growing cassava. The name Akilimo is coined from a combination of two…

NITAD to partner with IITA in capacity building

Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Training and Development (NITAD) in Oyo State, Akin Akinpelu, visited IITA-Ibadan with his team on 3 July. The visit was to seek collaboration with IITA in the area of training and development. Representatives from IITA’s Capacity Development Office (CDO), Human Resource Management, and Communication Unit received the delegation at…

Aquaculture assessment and value chain pilots for improving fish supply, employment, and nutrition in DR Congo and Angola project come of age

Four modern hatcheries have been built and are operational in Kalambo and Kinshasa, with a combined output of 2 million fingerlings (larvae and juveniles) of both Tilapia (Oreochromis Niloticus) and catfish (Clarias gariepenus). Dr Kande Matungulu, Project Manager of the Aquaculture assessments, said this as he took stock of the evolution of the project. A…

IITA joins call for a global surveillance system to detect and halt the spread of crop disease

A team of researchers has argued in Science that as nations collaborate to detect and stop human pandemics, a global surveillance system for crop diseases is needed to safeguard agricultural trade and food security. How crop diseases affect people Since 2004, millions of farmers growing cassava in the Great Lakes region of East and Central Africa have…

IITA Youth Agripreneurs program wins international award for youth empowerment innovations

In recognition of its commitment to improving both agribusiness opportunities and creditworthiness of youth across Africa, the IITA Youth Agripreneurs (IYA) program has been awarded the 2019 International Innovation Award for Sustainable Food and Agriculture. The award, the first of its kind, is funded by the Government of Switzerland and was presented, in conjuction with…

New South-Kivu Minister of Agriculture commends IITA progress in PICAGL implementation

On 18 June, implementation partners on the Integrated Project for Agricultural Growth in the Great Lakes [Projet Intégré de Croissance Agricole dans les Grands Lacs (PICAGL)] were received in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), at the office of the Honorable Minister of Agriculture for South-Kivu Province, his Excellency Marcelin Amani Bahaya. The partners were…