Eastern Africa Archives

Mbongo Daud Batson explaining the qualities of the new matooke varieties, called NARITA, during the Nane Nane at Mbeya-Uyole.

Tanzania spotlights its first-ever matooke hybrids at the 2020 national farmers’ exhibition “Nane Nane”

The East Africa Highland cooking banana, matooke, is a hugely popular food in Tanzania. With the impending release of the first-ever high-yielding hybrids of matooke on the horizon, researchers took the opportunity to exhibit them at this year’s annual agricultural show “Nane Nane” in Tanzania. The new hybrids created much excitement among the attending farming…

New study offers first-ever insight on resistance mechanism of a wild banana relative

R4D Special The Banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW) disease, caused by a bacterium, Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum (Xcm), is one of the most devastating diseases endangering the livelihood of millions of farmers in East Africa, the largest banana-producing and -consuming region in Africa. It affects all banana cultivars grown in East Africa and only a wild type…

IITA and Nelson Mandela Africa Institution of Science and Technology to strengthen relationship

IITA and Nelson Mandela Africa Institution for Science and Technology (NM-AIST) have agreed to strengthen their collaboration in efforts to build Africa’s capacity for science and technology. The agreement was made during a courtesy visit to the University’s Vice Chancellor, Emmanuel Luoga, at its campus in Arusha, Tanzania, by a delegation from IITA led by…

Picture of cultural troupe perform to entertain guests at the celebration event

IITA reaffirms commitment to rural transformation as it celebrates its past

IITA’s Director for Eastern Africa has reaffirmed IITA’s commitment to transforming rural areas in Africa while speaking at Day 1 of IITA’s 50th anniversary celebration at the hub.