plant health Archives

Why it’s essential to pay attention to plant health

The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH). The objective of IYPH is to raise global awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect the environment, and boost economic development. IITA joins the rest of the world in commemorating IYPH. Over the…

Why Plant Health?

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…

Publishing partner offers IITA discount across full range of publications

The recently published book by Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, ‘Critical issues in plant health: 50 years of research in African agriculture’ is a collection summarizing 50 years of research on plant health by IITA to improve the health of crops in Africa. It is part of the rapidly expanding Burleigh Dodds Series in Agricultural Science,…

Beatrice Langwa in the lab at IITA-Tanzania.

Defying odds to pursue a science career in war-torn South Sudan: Beatrice Langwa, PhD

Although female representation in science careers is no longer a novelty, it is still a rarity to find women scientists from conflict zones such as war-torn South Sudan. Beatrice Langwa, a PhD student at the University of Juba in South Sudan, is challenging that narrative. She is undertaking her PhD with a scholarship from the…

New book showcases 50 years of IITA’s plant health research

Over the past 50 years, IITA has been at the fore of research on plant health issues in Africa ranging from the safe handling and movement of germplasm and seed to identifying and managing threats to crops in the region. These play a major role in the overall food production of the continent, affecting both…

David Chikoye gives an overview on the status of research on plant production and health.

We are alert and ready for new plant pests and diseases!

Crop pests and diseases cause significant yield losses to smallholder farmers within sub-Saharan Africa. More than 16% of farm productivity losses are attributable to crop pests; this is expected to get worse with the effects of climate change in the region. What is IITA’s response to these challenges? Is the Institute already investing resources to…