IITA Chief, Makinde Highlight Required Systemic Changes for Africa  

Director-General of International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Nteranya Sanginga, in a joint IPS News Agency op-ed with Young Africa Works Executive Manager, Aline Mugisho, and Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, highlighted some of the required systemic changes. He is arguing that with Africa’s population predicted to double by 2050, creating challenges such as high unemployment […]

IITA Chief Pushes for Private Sector Full Involvement in African Agriculture

Deputy Director-General of International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Kenton Dashiell, says when the private sector is fully engaged in African agriculture, smallholder farmers will have easy access to technologies to enhance production and profit. In his opening remarks at a webinar organised to connect partners and deliberate on ways to increase private sector engagement in […]

Researchers Find Yield Differences in Hybrid Crops

Hybrid crops are expected to have higher edible yields than their parents, but by how much? A team of researchers comparing the performance of the East Africa Highland banana, locally known as ‘Matooke’, found that some hybrids had bunch weights that were up to two and a half times heavier than those of their best-performing […]

USAID-funded Feed-the-Future Nigeria Outlines Second Year Work Plan

At a meeting with stakeholders in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, the USAID-funded Feed-the-Future Nigeria Integrated Agriculture Activity (IAA) has outlined its proposed second-year work plan. Virtual participants, along with 58 people on location, attended the seminar. In his welcome address, IAA Chief of Party, Prakash Kant Silwal, highlighted some achievements from the Activity’s first year of […]

Take Profitable Opportunities In Agric Sector, Expert Urges Nigerians

International Institute of Tropical Agriculture’s (IITA) Deputy Director-General, Partnerships for Delivery,  Dr. Kenton Dashiell, is encouraging Nigerians to take up sustainable and profitable opportunities in the country’s agriculture sector. He made the plea in his keynote address at the National Conference on Agricultural Innovations for Food Security in the Post COVID-19 era. Dashiell received degrees […]

Cassava Diseases Hit Rwanda, Threaten Food Security, Farmers Income

Cassava diseases are seriously affecting cassava productivity in Rwanda, and threatening the income and food security in the country. Rwandan farmers lack improved cassava varieties resistant to the main cassava diseases; Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) and Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD). Deputy Director General of Agriculture, Research and Technology Transfer at the Rwanda Agriculture and […]

Cassava Production: Agencies Move To Integrate AKILIMO Into FG’s Extension Package

Nigeria’s National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS) is locked in talks with the African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) project to integrate AKILIMO into the government extension package in the country. AKILIMO offers a suite of tools and materials for cassava growers, extension workers and organisations that promote improved cassava cultivation practices. The tools are developed […]

Africa: Involvement of Youths in Rural Development, Agric, Solution to Unemployment Crisis, Studies Say

Studies have shown that the involvement of Africa’s youth in rural development and agriculture will not only boost food security on the continent but also strategically provide solutions to the prevailing problem of unemployment plaguing African societies. However, youth participation in these areas in most African countries is very low. Many factors are responsible for […]

IITA Commissions 18-ton Trucks To Ease Moving Cassava Seeds

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture’s (IITA) GoSeed in Ibadan and Umudike Seeds based at the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Umuahia, have jointly commissioned two brand new 18-ton trucks to ease logistical challenges in moving cassava seed. NRCRI’s mandate is to research into the genetic improvement, production, processing, storage utilization and socio-economies of […]

IITA’s Project Partners Facing Challenges

International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) says many of its project partners are facing challenges in managing, and understanding the rules guiding grant administration as they relate to sub-agreements signed with it.  ‘’These gaps have affected project reporting, resulting in delayed fund disbursements to their institutions and from IITA donors’’, the Institute says. As part […]