Farmers Archives - IITA News

Research finds no basis for farmers’ negative perception of the quality of fertilizers in Tanzania

Soil fertility and nutrient management are crucial factors in crop production; however, fertilizer adoption in Tanzania (and indeed Africa) remains below the recommended rate contributing to poor crop yields and poverty. This is partly due to farmers’ persistent suspicion that the quality of fertilizers in the market is sub-standard. However, a recent study titled “Misperceived…

Farmers recount the benefits of AKILIMO in cassava production

The outgrower farmers of Psaltry International Limited (PIL) have started experiencing the positive impact of the AKILIMO tools from the African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI). Multiple success stories have emerged in relation to the use of the tools. Farmers from Ado Awaye in Iseyin Local Government of Oyo State under the outgrower scheme of Psaltry…

Exploring the dynamics of farm and non-farm employment among Nigerian youth

Varying factors often determine youth employment dynamics in different developing countries, ranging from economic conditions to government policies. Understanding these dynamics has continued to attract research interest due to the unabated unemployment crises in the continent, home to 50% of the world’s young population. With Africa’s workforce growing much faster than other regions in the…

Integrated Agriculture Activity conducts peace-enabling training for crop and livestock farmers in North-East Nigeria

The USAID-funded Feed-the-Future Nigeria Integrated Agriculture Activity conducted a series of training on crop residue utilization and feed formulation for farmer and herder groups’ representatives, large-scale farmers, local livestock feed processors, livestock feed sellers, nutrition liaison officers, and extension agents in Yola (Adamawa State) between 18 and 20 February and in Biu (Borno State) between…

PlantVillage NuruAI app among key innovations supporting poor farmers to cope with climate change

In his newly launched book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need,” Bill Gates singled out CGIAR centers, which have been at the forefront of supporting the world to feed itself through research including developing improved higher-yielding varieties of important staples such as maize and rice, as doing work that…

Maiden Naija Farmer Reality TV show on a learning visit to IITA Abuja

The Co-coordinator and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Chigbo Okoli, and fifteen Farm Mates of the maiden edition of the Naija Farmer Reality TV Show visited the IITA Abuja Station on a field tour. The essence of the visit was to see, in practice, some aspects of agriculture taught in the Farm House. It was also…

New publication tackles how best to support smallholder farmers

Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing are delighted to announce the publication of their new title – The sustainable intensification of smallholder farming systems. This title provides a comprehensive review of recent research on effective support measures to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. It features detailed discussions on improving access to critical resources,…

Tanzania farmers winning against climate change

“Climate change has been affecting us greatly. For example, in the past, we knew when the growing seasons were. Now the rains sometimes come early and sometimes they are late. Sometimes we get a big harvest, and sometimes we get very little,” says Hassan Haji Fumu, a farmer from Mahonda village in Kaskazini B district,…

Manioc 21: Changing lives of farmers in Central Africa

The project Cassava of the Twenty-First Century, code named Manioc 21, has helped improve the lives of farmers in Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Manioc 21 was jointly executed by the Technical Center for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), IITA, and the Regional Platform of the Farmers Organizations of Central Africa (PROPAC)….

ACAI pretests Farmers’ Field Guide in Nigeria and Tanzania

The African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) project has placed a high priority on creating materials that will help both partners and end-users to easily understand, use, and apply recommendations from the AKILIMO agronomy advisory tools. One of the materials developed is the AKILIMO farmer’s guide, an image and text illustration outline of the good agronomic…