WorldVeg DG praises growth potential of IITA-Abuja station

A two-person delegation from the World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) comprising the Director General Marco Wopereis and Victor Afari-Sefa, Acting Regional Director, West and Central Africa,  paid a courtesy visit to the IITA-Abuja station  on 10 August. During the visit, Wopereis  applauded the development and ongoing projects at the station.

“I am impressed to see so many projects in progress here. It shows the rich potential of the station. I was also surprised to see these research facilities so near Abuja – impressive,” Wopereis said.

The visitors were received by Tarawali Gbassey, Head of Station, and other staff. They also learned more about the IITA youth-in-agribusiness initiative from a presentation by the IITA Abuja-Agripreneurs. Excited by the activities of the Agripreneurs at the station, the visitors compared the IITA youth in agribusiness engagement model with the Vegetables for Income and Nutrition in East and Southern Africa (VINESA) project that is being implemented by WorldVeg and identified new lessons and ideas.

Plans for a prospective collaboration in the African Development Bank-funded Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) project billed to start off early next year were also discussed.

The World Vegetable Center, with headquarters in Taiwan, is a member of the Association of International Research and Development Centers for Agriculture  (AIRCA), a nine-member alliance.

The Center is committed to alleviating poverty and malnutrition in the developing world through the increased production and consumption of nutritious, health-promoting vegetables.