IITA News no. 2559 Archives

Rural female farmers contributing more to Cameroon’s local economy—IITA-CARE study

According to a 2014 International Labour Office (ILO) study, about half a million young women and a quarter of a million young men can grow food, make goods, and provide services to others in Cameroon. However, several challenges impede the impact of their activities. The study shows that these factors comprise unemployment, poverty, and underemployment,…

Rwanda uses tricot approach to identify the best potato and cassava varieties in various agroecological zones

Governmental (and nongovernmental) agencies regularly develop and release improved crop varieties for the market. In some cases, varieties are released with little information about their performance outside controlled environments. In Rwanda, the Rwanda Agricultural and Animal Resource Development Board (RAB) has recognized this as a problem and looked for solutions to address the lack of…

Study lifts the lid on plantain consumer preferences, adds fresh insights for breeding programs

Over the years, breeders have developed and distributed high-yielding, disease-resistant plantain varieties, but adoption rates have been limited. To understand why, scientists from CGIAR–IITA have published the results of a new study revealing end-user (consumer) perspectives about desirable qualities/characteristics of the plantain fruit and its derivative food products. The research, carried out within the RTBfoods…

IITA gets biotechnology stewardship certification

After completing a three-year audit cycle, IITA has become a certified member of Excellence Through Stewardship (ETS). ETS is a global organization that promotes the adoption of product stewardship programs and quality management systems for the full life cycle of agricultural biotechnology products. IITA joined the ETS organization as a member in late 2016, marking…