IITA News

Picture of John Okoth (in red), PhD student being hosted at the Hub, explains to Hillbur about his on-campus cassava fertigation experiment

DDG-R4D visits new southern Africa Hub facility

From 16 to 18 May, Deputy Director General for Research-for-Development (R4D), Ylva Hillbur, was at the new southern Africa Hub campus in Kabangwe, Lusaka Province, Zambia. During the 3-day visit, the DDG familiarized herself with the campus’ facilities, met with Hub-based scientists, learned of the latest developments in R4D projects and activities in the region,…

Picture of DDG Kenton Dashiell cuts the ribbon to launch the new AgResults Aflasafe laboratory at the Business Incubation Platform, Ibadan

IITA launches state of the art AgResults-Aflasafe laboratory at the BIP

The AgResults-Aflasafe laboratory built exclusively for the study of aflatoxin in Africa was officially launched on 6 May by Kenton Dashiell, Deputy Director General for Partnership and Capacity Development. The foundation brick of this lab was laid by IITA Director General Nteranya Sanginga on 24 March 2015. The AgResults-Aflasafe project works with private and public…

Picture of Ranajit Bandyopadhyay (right) explains Aflasafe production to KALRO management team

IITA to partner with KALRO to produce Aflasafe in Kenya

The top management of the Kenyan Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) paid an official visit to IITA-Ibadan, Nigeria, to learn first-hand about IITA’s work on aflatoxin research in Africa, discuss the modalities of operationalizing production of AflasafeTM in a modular manufacturing plant that is currently being constructed by IITA for KALRO in Katumani, Kenya,…

Picture of Cocoa was one of Nigeria’s major cash crops in the 1960s

“Improved inputs will boost Nigeria’s cocoa system”: Outcome of USAID Nigeria/NEXTT training

The question of how to revive the glory days of Nigeria—one of the cocoa producing giants of the 1960s was at center stage during the just concluded USAID Nigeria/ Nigeria Expanded Trade and Transport (NEXTT) training of trainers workshop held at IITA, Ibadan. According to a report by BusinessDay, the global cocoa supply from Nigeria…

Picture of Pupils from the IITA International School participate in celebrating World Migratory Bird Day in Ibadan.

IITA celebrates world migratory bird day

Students, ornithologists, and bird lovers celebrated the World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) at IITA-Ibadan, on 10 May. The day comprised educational talks by ornithologists on the importance of bird conservation, followed by an opportunity for the guests to view and learn more about birds, especially migrants. With support from BirdLife International, the WMBD campaign is…

Picture of A group of women in group work during one of the feedback workshops.

PASIC influences policies at national and local levels in Uganda

The Policy Action for Sustainable Intensification of Ugandan Cropping Systems (PASIC) project has successfully proven that evidence-based policy making is possible by influencing the development of agricultural policies at the national and district level in Uganda. PASIC is a four-year project supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands (EKN) in Uganda to strengthen…

Photo at World Economic Forum Africa Annual Meeting, Kigali, Rwanda.

Rockefeller Foundation provides up to US$1 million in grants for global cassava innovations

The Rockefeller Foundation, Dalberg, and IITA, launched on 12 May an Innovation Challenge to uncover innovative solutions to increase cassava shelf life in Nigeria. The Challenge was announced at the World Economic Forum – Africa annual meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, and will provide up to US$1 million in funding, as well as technical assistance to…

Photo of IITA’s Asamoah Larbi and the Deputy Minister of Environment, Science and Technology Information, Dr Alfred Tia Sugri, shake hands after the signing.

IITA and Ghana sign host country agreement

The Government of Ghana, realizing the immense benefits that will accrue to its people through collaboration with IITA, has secured Cabinet and Parliamentary approval to give legal status to the operations of the Institute in Ghana. Accordingly, IITA and the Government of Ghana signed a Host Country Agreement at the Ministry of Environment, Science and…

Picture of Virologist Lava Kumar, project lead, explains the importance of the CDS platform

IITA and NAQS pilot digital Cassava Disease Surveillance platform

IITA has launched a digital surveillance platform called Cassava Disease Surveillance (CDS) to facilitate cassava disease surveillance in Nigeria. “The CDS is a virtual network for rapid diagnosis of cassava diseases, communication, and coordinated deployment of emergency response,” said Lava Kumar, IITA Virologist and lead investigator of the CDS project. This interactive program—accessible through any…

Picture of IITA DG Nteranya Sanginga talks about how to increase cassava productivity.

New project to build commercially sustainable cassava seed system

A four-year project (2015–2019) to develop a commercially sustainable cassava seed value chain in Nigeria, was launched on 18 April at IITA headquarters in Ibadan, Nigeria. Titled ‘Building a Sustainable, Integrated Seed System for Cassava in Nigeria’ (BASICS), the US$11.6 million project is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and led by the…