Nigeria Archives - Page 8 of 17

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…

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…

IITA scientist wins international award

Alejandro Ortega-Beltran, a research scientist with IITA, has won the William Boright Hewitt and Maybelle Ellen Ball Hewitt Award for 2020. He will receive the award in August from the American Phytopathological Society (APS). This award recognizes a scientist, who within seven years of having received their PhD, makes an outstanding, innovative contribution to plant…

IITA celebrates all women on International Women’s Day

On 9 March, IITA celebrated the International Women’s Day (IWD) 2020, at the Institute’s headquarters. The theme for this year’s observance was “Generation Equality: Realizing equal rights for an equal future.” IWD is a day globally recognized to celebrate the achievements of women in various fields such as social, economic, cultural and political as well as…

NIHORT evaluates IITA plantain hybrids for possible distribution to farmers

Following a call for stronger collaboration and partnership, the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT) has embarked on the evaluation of hybrid plantain and banana germplasm from IITA and its partners, for possible distribution to farmers. IITA Regional Breeding Manager for plantain/banana improvement in West and Central Africa, Delphine Amah, during an earlier visit to NIHORT,…

US Consul General visits IITA for collaboration on advocacy matters

On 11 March, the US Consul General, Ms Claire Pierangelo and her team visited IITA Ibadan campus. The purpose of the visit was for the Consul General to understand the activities of IITA and help in areas of advocacy and partnership with international organizations. After giving the team a warm welcome, Kwame Akuffo-Akoto, Acting Director-General…

IITA-BIP sets record for maize production per hectare in Nigeria

The Business Incubation Platform (BIP) of IITA has set a new production record for maize in Nigeria. BIP exceeded the previous record through its Youth Out-growers team in an outgrowers program with Nestlé, Nigeria. Maize is one of Africa’s dominant food crops, rich in vitamins A, C, and E, carbohydrates, and essential minerals as well…

IITA and Bells University of Technology sign MoU to establish Agricultural Centre, Incubation Hub in Ota

IITA and Bells University of Technology (BUT), Ota, Ogun State, have signed an agreement to join forces on various aspects of agripreneurship development. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed last week in Ota, will see IITA and BUT collaborate on the establishment of an Incubation Hub in Ota to train youth in Agripreneurship. The two…

IITA’s seed tracker App now available on your phone

After years of concerted efforts, IITA together with the Nigeria Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) have institutionalized SeedTracker, an ICT system facilitating real-time e-certification. The App is now available for free via Google’s PlayStore and is being expanded to include other crops, not only cassava. “This tracker has the ability to transform seed systems; not just…

STEP makes progress promoting agribusiness in secondary schools in Africa

Since its inception in 2019, the IITA Start Them Early Program (STEP) team has been working tirelessly towards advancing agribusiness development in secondary schools in Africa. The aim is to redirect the aspirations of Africans towards careers in modern agriculture by exposing them to viable opportunities in agribusiness at an early age. To achieve this,…