Plant Production and Health Management team review project

Scientists from all IITA hubs working on Plant Production and Health Management (PPHM) convened at IITA Ibadan, for a 3-day Implementation Review Workshop, 16-18 November.

The workshop aimed at reviewing the achievements, gaps, challenges, and opportunities for improvement, and also explored ways of working with institutions and backing up areas where necessary, within and outside Africa. Specifically, the main objective focused on environmental friendly pest management options, and climate responsive cropping systems and technologies. The program comprised a series of plenary presentations and group discussions.

In her welcome address, Ylva Hillbur, Deputy Director-General for Research, IITA, talked about the advantage that the PPHM team of IITA has. She said the IITA team has a tremendous opportunity because of its broad competence level, which only a few other centers and key players in the research arena can boast of. She highlighted the fact that pest and disease management is becoming more prominent, and then encouraged the IITA team to use that opportunity to strengthen and develop their research agenda. “I am very happy to be here. This workshop is a great idea and very important. Pest and disease management is becoming more visible on the global research agenda, and it is for the IITA team to use that opportunity and strengthen their research agenda”, she said.

David Chikoye, Director for the PPHM thematic area, said the workshop was necessary to interact and learn from one another, which will make their program move forward. Chikoye said, “This workshop is absolutely necessary to have a good interaction with one another. I am glad that everyone is active. We are of different levels in terms of success. We will exchange ideas in our fields, learn from each other, and explore ways to work together as a team. As a result, the program moves forward. Through this event, we will know the challenges in implementation, the needs for the future, and have a better understanding of the way forward as a team”.

At the end of the workshop, the scientists identified the priority areas and grand challenges, and tackled the challenges as a group. These are expected to increase impact on food production, income of farmers, pests and diseases, and reduce forces that counter the efforts of the scientists in increasing productivity.