IITA News

Picture of Clean Seed to Combat CBSD and CMD Project (5CP) team visiting the trials in Tanzania.

Landmark regional crop breeding trials show promise against deadly cassava viral diseases

Disease resistance trials being conducted simultaneously in 33 different locations across 5 African countries and involving 25 shared varieties – a first-of-its-kind multi-country collaborative cassava breeding initiative in East and Southern Africa – are showing promise against the deadly Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) and Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD). This was highlighted during a stakeholders’…

Picture of Olusegun Obasanjo (third from left) and Kenton Dashiell (second from right) lauded the efforts of UISB.

UI launches School of Business, calls on IITA’s partnership

The University of Ibadan (UI) has established its School of Business (UISB) and set out its objectives during its first Eminent Persons Business Lecture held at the International Conference Centre, UI on 16 July. The event was witnessed by a number of important personalities including former Nigerian President and IITA Ambassador, his Excellency, Chief Olusegun…

Picture of The Nestlé delegation learning about IITA’s work in germpalsm preservation

Nestlé, IITA look to strengthen partnership

Top management from Nestlé’s first Research and Development (R&D) center in sub-Saharan Africa paid an official visit to IITA Headquarters in Ibadan, Nigeria on 25-26 July to explore further partnership opportunities between the two organizations. The delegation, from Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, was led by Oliver Chmiel, Head of the R&D Center. He was accompanied by…

A cross section of the audience during IARSAF seminar

IARSAF deliberates cassava research article at bi-monthly journal club

On 15 July, International Association of Research Scholars and Fellows (IARSAF) graduate students and IITA scientists gathered to review and discuss the journal article entitled “Effect of genotype and genotype by environment interaction on total cyanide content, fresh root, and starch yield in farmer-preferred cassava landraces in Tanzania” during the association’s bi-monthly journal club. The…

Picture of participants engage in discussions on the impact of climate change on various enterprises.

PASIC evidence builds case for Uganda’s new National Seed Policy

Evidence from the Policy Action for Sustainable Intensification of Ugandan Cropping Systems (PASIC) project – an initiative implemented by IITA – has been used to convince stakeholders on the urgent need to approve and implement the proposal to put in place a National Seed Policy to improve Uganda’s seed sector. The Commissioner of Crop Inspection…

Picture of IITA Green Wealth Youth Agripreneurs on varietal recognition and off types during field practical sessions

IITA Green Wealth Youth Agripreneurs undergo rice seed production training

Twelve members of the IITA Green Wealth Youth Agripreneurs underwent training on rice seed production conducted by the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), which was held from 9 to 13 May at the IITA-Ibadan campus. The participation of IYA in the training was aimed at strengthening the youth group’s capacity in rice seed production as an…

Picture of World Bank’s Sara Simons giving an overview of funding opportunities in Tanzania as IITA’s Freddy Baijukya and Victor Manyong listen intently

CGIAR, World Bank explore opportunities for better collaboration and to support Tanzania’s Agricultural Sector Development Agenda

Representatives of CGIAR Centers and Research Programs working in Tanzania recently met a delegation from the World Bank to talk about how the two entities could better work together in the country, specifically to support its national Agricultural Sector Development Agenda. The meeting, which was organized and hosted by IITA at its Eastern Africa hub offices…

Screen grab of The EDIT-Cowpea database (pictured above) enables cowpea breeders to identify genotypes with favorable target traits.

JIRCAS, IITA launch cowpea database

The Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), in collaboration with IITA, has launched the EDITS-Cowpea database. This open-access database aims to generate fundamental scientific information to promote better utilization of cowpea genetic resources in breeding programs and crop utilization. Cowpea is vital to the livelihoods of millions of people in the semi-arid regions…

IITA graduate researcher named Borlaug LEAP awardee

Ademola Aina, a PhD student in the University of Ibadan and a graduate research fellow at the Genetic Resources Center (GRC), IITA has been awarded the prestigious Norman E. Borlaug Leadership Enhancement in Agriculture Program (Borlaug LEAP). The Borlaug LEAP awards fellowships to outstanding graduate students who show great promise as leaders in the field…

FAST-TRACKing cost-effective, sustainable, and gender-balanced technology dissemination

One of the challenges facing researchers and research institutions is how to rapidly disseminate new technologies to intended beneficiaries such as farmers. One project, “Fast-tracking the access to improved and popular varieties of root crops by smallholder farmers: a case of sweet potato” is exploring a new approach by working through primary school students. According…