IITA News

Meet CGIAR-IITA’s women fighting plant pests and diseases

The current COVID-19 pandemic is a heart-wrenching example of how viruses can quickly spread from one continent to the next. The way human diseases spread is not any different from how plant pests and diseases spread. Lava Kumar, a virologist and head of the Germplasm Health Unit (GHU) at IITA, says, “Humans are the number…

Unlocking the diversity of microorganisms around banana roots

The human body hosts trillions of microorganisms both inside and on the skin. Many of them are beneficial and help in the digestion of food, making vitamins, and boosting the body’s immune systems, among other things. Similarly, for plants, the soils around the roots host diverse microorganisms, some of which are beneficial to the plants,…

IITA Business Incubation Platform works at increasing soybean yield in Nigeria

IITA Business Incubation Platform to increase soybean yield in Nigeria

Soybean is among the major industrial food crops grown in every continent. The crop can be successfully grown in many states in Nigeria using low agricultural input. Soybean cultivation in Nigeria has expanded as a result of its nutritive and economic importance and diverse domestic usage. It has an average protein content of 40% and…

The Drip irrigation system: The way to efficient farming

The IITA Farm Office experimented on an irrigation system, a project supported and funded by IITA management to minimize inputs and maximize output. Drip irrigation is a micro-irrigation system that is efficient in saving water and nutrients by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants from above the soil surface or buried…

Biocontrol reduces Maruca pod borer population by 85%

Scientists based at CGIAR-IITA’s climate change station in Benin are happy with the results of the just-concluded experimental release of wasps. These wasps, which are natural enemies of the Maruca pod borer, were released two years ago to go after the destructive cowpea insect. Results showed an 85% reduction in the population of the pod…

IITA and DG Sanginga recognized for entrepreneurial activities in DRC

CGIAR-IITA has been honored with an excellence award for having the best entrepreneurial activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The award ceremony was part of a conference organized by the Fédération des Entreprises du Congo (FEC) and the government of DRC, which took place in Kinshasa, 11–12 March. IITA was cited in the…

IITA prepares to provide strategic support to governments during COVID-19 pandemic

IITA Director-General, Dr Nteranya Sanginga has said that the Institute is strategically working towards providing support for the federal and state governments in Nigeria as well as the other countries where IITA hubs are situated, during this trying time across the world. Sanginga said this at a meeting of staff and management to announce Institute-wide…

Strengthening cassava virus diagnostic capacity in DR Congo

A training workshop on “Application Molecular Diagnostics for Cassava Virus Surveillance” took place 2 to 6 March, at IITA-Kalambo, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This course is part of the USAID-funded project on “Actions to Control Cassava Brown Streak Disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo”. Twenty-three participants attended the workshop including six female…

IITA participates in 2020 Science, Technology, and Innovation Expo

The Nigerian Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, in pursuit of its mandates of popularizing science, technology, and innovation, organized the Technology and Innovation Expo 2020 to facilitate the commercialization of research and development results and encourage inventions and good innovations in the country. Declaring open the 2020 Science, Technology, and Innovation Expo, the President…

AfricaYam project concludes product advancement and refinement meeting in Abuja

AfricaYam, a project with the main objective of enhancing yam breeding for increased productivity and improved quality in West Africa, has concluded its product advancement and refinement meeting in Abuja. The five-day meeting that took place in Grand Pela Hotel was organized for yam product profile refinement and advancement. Stakeholders at the meeting consisted of…