IITA News

Picture of Dr. Dashiell visiting a lab at TARI-Kibaha nematology lab

DDG P4D tours Eastern Africa hub

IITA Deputy Director General, Partnerships for Delivery (DDG-P4D), Kenton Dashiell, embarked on a two-day tour of IITA’s Eastern Africa hub in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on 1–2 November. During the visit, he met the staff, Tanzania Youth Agripreneurs, and partners. At the end of the visit, Dashiell said he was very impressed with the warm…

Visiting Scientist discusses transfer of technologies on yam breeding between IITA and Jamaican Institution

Ryan Francis, Head of Biotechnology Department, Product Research and Development Division of the Scientific Research Council (SRC), Jamaica, is on a visit to IITA. He is visiting from 15 to 27 July and is exploring opportunities for partnership and transfer of technologies across institutions. Francis is representing SRC in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy…

Group photograph of meeting participants in Abuja.

Partnerships for perpetuity: N2Africa consolidates PPPs as plans for exit strategy progresses

Among agricultural researchers, there exists a growing consensus that developing excellent technologies for farmers to grow their enterprises is no longer enough. What needs to be done for such technologies to remain effective and sustainable beyond the life of any intervention program?

Picture of large population of B. tabaci adults feeding on the underside of a young cassava leaf

Researchers on one of the world’s most destructive agricultural pests, whitefly, converge in Arusha, Tanzania

The 2nd International Whitefly Symposium (IWS2) is taking place in Arusha, Tanzania, this week, 14-19 February. It has brought together more than a hundred scientists from all over the world to discuss one of the world’s most destructive agricultural pests, the whitefly. In sub-Saharan Africa, whiteflies are a key threat to food security and efforts…

Picture of agricultural produce displayed at the IITA stand

IITA work featured at Cameroon exhibition

IITA-Cameroon was very active and visible at the recently organized exhibition day of the Center for Scientific Research and Innovations (JERSIC) in Ebolowa, Cameroon. The event, which was held on 28-29 June, was organized by the Regional Delegation of the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovations and was chaired by the South Region Governor, Felix Nguele…

Picture of Gbassey Tarawali cutting the ribbon as staff members look on

New farm machinery commissioned in Onne

In its continuing efforts to fight poverty and hunger, the Nigeria Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Program – Phase 1 (ATASP-1 Outreach Program) unveiled a new tractor and other farm implements on 12 September at the IITA Onne Station in Rivers State, Nigeria.

TAAT cassava compact launched in Burundi

With support from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) Cassava Compact was launched on 2 April in Bujumbura, Burundi. The Director General of the National Office for Seed Inspection and Certification (Office National de Contrôle et de Certification des Semences [ONCCS]), Fidèle Gahungu, opened the ceremony on behalf of…

Project to improve nutritional value of plantain launched in Cameroon, Gabon, and Nigeria

Project to improve nutritional value of plantain launches in Cameroon, Gabon, and Nigeria

IITA in partnership with the University of Buea, Cameroon; Institut de Recherches Agronomiques et Forestieres (IRAF), Gabon; and the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), Nigeria have launched a new project that aims to enhance the nutritive quality of plantain in the three countries. The launch ceremony of the project, which is funded by the African…

TAAT Cassava Compact holds implementation planning meeting in Zambia

On 11-12 September, IITA-Zambia hosted the cassava compact stakeholders meeting of the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) program to discuss its implementation in Zambia. In attendance were key stakeholders in the cassava sector in the country including His Royal Highness Senior Chief Kaputa of Kaputa District; the Deputy Director of the Zambia Agriculture Research…

Picture of Matilda Msangila, a farmer in Mahutanga Village, Kilombero District, Tanzania, harvests salt tolerant rice variety from her paddy field

Boosting smallholder farmers’ access to sustainable agricultural technologies as USAID announces $50 million Africa RISING Phase 2

The US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Bureau for Food Security in Washington, DC has announced funding for a second 5-year phase of the Africa Research in Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation (Africa RISING) program beginning October 2016. Funded through the agency’s Feed the Future initiative, the second phase of Africa RISING will focus…