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Tag: IITA

  • IITA chief gets second term nod

    IITA chief gets second term nod

    Researchers, workers and stakeholders have hailed the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) for offering Dr Nteranya Sanginga another tenure of five years as the director general.

    His first term will end in October. But the board has approved another term, beginning November 1, 2016.

    A statement by Mr Godwin Aster, the institute’s Communication and Knowledge expert, yesterday said researchers and workers under the African Cassava Agronomy Initiative, IITA Cassava Weed Management Project, and Building an Economically Sustainable, Integrated Seed System for Cassava in Nigeria (BASICS) project have hailed the IITA Board.

    The statement said the chair of IITA’s BoT, Dr Bruce Coulman, announced the DG’s acceptance.

    This resolution, researchers said, brings stability and continuity to cassava research and the IITA.

    “Since assumption in office in 2011, Dr Sanginga championed the rejuvenation of IITA and the resuscitation of key programmes to help change Africa’s agriculture narrative.

    For instance, the investment in the Weed Science Programme facilitated the funding of the IITA Cassava Weed Management Project; investment in IITA’s Youth Agripreneurs attracted several African countries, development partners, and the AfDB.

    The cassava bread programme revived the interest of African governments in cassava production, with Nigeria reintroducing the 10 per cent cassava inclusion in wheat bread policy.

    “Dr Sanginga has more than doubled the institute’s budget, and increased workers’ morale. He initiated and completed in the Science Buildings/Hubs in Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zambia.

    His concept of delivery has led to the building and establishment of the Business Incubation Platform in Ibadan, while IITA Cotonou has been transformed to a Centre of Excellence for research on biotic stresses linked to climate change.

    “Dr Coulman said IITA had undergone a period of unprecedented growth in its science capacity under Sanginga’s first five years of leadership.”

  • Obasanjo, IITA seek end to food scarcity

    Obasanjo, IITA seek end to food scarcity

    •Promote Zero Hunger

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, are promoting a new initiative to provide adequate food for Nigerians.

    The project, christened Zero Hunger, is aimed at ending hunger in Nigeria by 2030.

    Leading a team of experts across the agriculture process chain and relevant government ministries and agencies, Obasanjo launched the project with a multi-sectoral stakeholders’ meeting at the IITA at the weekend.

    The meeting drew a roadmap to end hunger in Nigeria by 2030.

    The Nigeria Zero Hunger Strategy meeting, which received support from the World Food Programme (WFP), was organised in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) that seeks to end hunger by 2030.

    Addressing the meeting, the former President said the task of attaining the SDGs could not be left for the government, the civil society or the private sector.

    “It is going to take the collective effort of every Nigerian and our partners. It will require our collective change of mindset to identify the opportunities that abound,” he said.

    Although the MDGs may not have achieved all its targets, Obasanjo said the SDGs presented Nigeria another opportunity to drive its development agenda and end hunger.

    The former President said Nigeria’s continued import of food was unacceptable and requested that efforts be made to address the import bill.

    An angry Obasanjo gave a marching order to the stakeholders to come up with the roadmap on how the country would attain sufficiency in production of carrot and cucumber within 18 months.

    He said: “It is painful, disgraceful and unacceptable that the majority of carrots and cucumbers eaten in Lagos are imported from South Africa.

    “This should stop now. Nigeria has enough fertile land to grow these.”

    The WFP Representative, Stanlake Samkanga, said unlike the MDGs, which were driven by the United Nations, the SDGs would be driven by member-states.

    On the sidelines, IITA Director-General Dr Nteranya Sanginga praised Nigerians for their willingness to drive the initiative.

    He said IITA would provide the necessary support.

    A director with the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Chiji Ojukwu, expressed the commitment of the bank to initiatives that would help Africa feed itself.

    He said the bank was ready to work with Nigerian authorities through the commodity value-chain to end hunger and poverty.

    About 50 key participants from government, ministries, development organizations, international entities, and public and private sectors attended the strategic meeting.

    At the end of the meeting, nine sub-committees were set up to handle the various sub-sectors.

    Obasanjo said the initial target of achieving the goal is 2025, pointing out that the remaining five years could be used to address whatever gap is identified in 2025.

  • AfDB, FG to spend $300m on youth agric scheme 

    AfDB, FG to spend $300m on youth agric scheme 

    The African Development Bank (AfDB) has disclosed plans to spend about $300 million on the Enable Youth Empowerment Agribusiness Programme.

    The project is to be implemented in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development within 18 months.

    AfDB Director of Agricultural and Agro- Allied Industries, Dr. Chudi Ojukwu, said the three-year project would enable training and funding of young graduates, who are interested in farming across the country.

    The programme is expected to encourage youths into agriculture, thereby increasing food sufficiency, reducing unemployment with each recipient to benefit $75, 000.

    In a statement by the ministry’s Director of Information, Tony Ohaeri, Wednesday in Abuja the Agriculture Minister, Chief Audu Ogbeh disclosed that the project would commence from the three Federal Universities of Agriculture in the country.

    Ojukwu stated that, “a total of US$300 million would be accessed to cover the three year project which would bring young graduates together and train them for 18 months as entrepreneur farmers.

    “The initiative would create 250,000 jobs; the beneficiaries would be trained at various incubation centres on all aspects of value chains, with each beneficiary of the project supported with about US$75,000. The project would cover the 36 states including the FCT, while the Agricultural transformation Agenda (ATA) would be expanded through the processing zones.”

    The Minister, in his remark, emphasized need for the three universities of agriculture in Umudike, Makurdi and Abeokuta respectively to revert back to the provisions of the Act that established them.

    Ogbeh advised the country to re- invent her own economic strategy to revive its economy.

    He stated that the strength of a nation lies in the population of the youth and expressed concern on the rate of youth unemployment in the country saying, “We need to take care of them before they take care of us.”

    He promised to collaborate with representatives of AfDB and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), who came to present him the concept note on the youth agriculture scheme.

    However, the Minister tasked IITA to intensify efforts towards researching into the conversion of cassava leaves into animal feeds, while some components of the Labour Intensive Family Enterprise (LIFE) of the ministry could be built into the youth empowerment initiative.

    IITA Director-General, Dr. Nterayana Saginga, called for a change in the mindset of the young graduates, saying that the IITA’s experiment in the past on young unemployed graduates revealed that they could make good turn over on their investments.

    He pledged the readiness of IITA to provide necessary support to the ministry.

  • SARD-SC Project wins IITA awards

    SARD-SC Project wins IITA awards

    The Support to Agricultural Research and Development of Strategic Crops (SARD-SC) project has won the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Awards for Excellence.

    The project also won an Outstanding Team award by  the IITA  Board of Trustees who appreciated the multi-national CGIAR –led  SARD-SC project aimed at enhancing food and nutritional security  in 20 African  countries.

    The awards were announced during the IITA Town Hall meeting. Dr. Chrys Akem, the Project Coordinator, received a certificate and a plaque.

    He said: “This award tells me that persistent hard work does pay off. We are dealing with a very complex project involving a number of institutions, crops and partners; it has been a challenge uncomplexing the project. Thank God we have demonstrated that this can be done and also appreciated by colleagues who voted the project as the most outstanding at IITA for 2014.”

    The award is an indication that project staff’s hard work and diligence in implementing project objectives are appreciated by the executing agency.

    According to Akem, “The award is really a morale booster to the whole project team. They feel rewarded for a job well done in delivering on project outputs. It gives the team the confidence to start looking towards and working hard for a second phase of the project in order to upscale and out scale outputs of the first phase of the project.

    “SARD-SC project is the largest project in the institute. Its complex nature made many to doubt if the project team would deliver. After getting mid-way    with a financial disbursement rate of about 62 per cent as against the expected 50 per cent, it was good to highlight achievements in a complex AfDB project of this magnitude”.

    The other achievement, such as infrastructural development across the various hubs where the project is being implemented was also a salient achievement.

    He praised  his staff for the award. “I could not have been working with any better team in the world than the current team that has been working very hard to achieve project outcomes and in the process got recognised with the best team award for IITA in 2014.”

     

  • Osun signs MoU with IITA

    Osun signs MoU with IITA

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

    The ceremony, which took place yesterday at the Executive Lounge of the Office of the Governor in Osogbo, will have the state release 204.39 hectares of land around Ago Owu to IITA for research and setting up demonstration farms.

    IITA will also carry out cassava, plantain and other crops multiplication and train youths on modern, commercial and profitable farming.

    Aregbesola said releasing the farmland to IITA will complement the state’s agriculture programme, extending robustly the agriculture value chain and create jobs for farmers.

    The governor commended IITA and its Director General, Dr. Nteranya Sanging, for being supportive of Osun’s flagship agriculture programme, Osun Rural Enterprise and Agriculture Programme (O’REAP).

     

     

     

  • IITA votes $2.2m for cassava development

    IITA votes $2.2m for cassava development

    The Support to Agricultural Research and Development of Strategic Crops(SARD-SC) project, funded by the African Development Bank (AFDB) and executed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), has budgeted $2.2million  for its cassava value chain activities for next year’s  cropping season.

    This was revealed  when the SARD-SC project had its review and planning meeting for cassava crop held  in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. The purpose of the meeting, a statement said,  was to review project achievements this year; develop work plans, budget and procurement plans for next year.

    The review, it said, also provided an opportunity to identify militating factors against increased  cassava productivity of cassava and proffered solutions.

    The meeting which had in attendance a broad spectrum of scientists including agronomists, socio-economists, breeders, plant pathologists and Commodity Specialists, reviewed how the productivity and profitability of cassava can be improved to enhance food security and farmers’ welfare.

    Some of the issues affecting increased productivity of cassava crops identified were: inadequate use of fertilisers and herbicides by farmers which causes degradation of land. This affects its commercialisation and profitability. The other issue, according  to the statement, was the pervasive Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) affecting crops in some African countries. The viral disease wastes crops, engenders low productivity and discourages farmers from investing in cassava cultivation. Scientists at the meeting discussed various strategies to combat the menace.

    One of them is dissemination of disease-resistant cassava varieties to areas majorly affected by CBSD in any project target countries.

    To increase the productivity of cassava, the scientists’ proffered intercropping cassava with legumes, while extensive discussions were held on the release of bio fortified yellow cassava.

  • IITA to train youths

    The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture Youth Agripreneurs (IITA Youth Agripreneurs) have con-cluded plans to train and empower youths from Borno State.

    The proposed three-week training, which comes up next month, will equip youths  with knowledge on modern agricultural practices and entrepreneurial skills that will make them self-dependent and create wealth.

    “What we intend to do is actually use agriculture to solve some of the social problems in most societies of Africa including poverty and hunger,” IITA’s Director-General,Dr Nteranya Sanginga, said.

    The programme will draw from the experiences and successes of the IITA Youth Agripreneur model, and will be conducted by youths that have been trained and empowered by IITA.

    “Over the last few years we have seen that it is more effective for youths to train youths. And we want to use this approach to bring more youths to agriculture, take them off the job market, and reinstate stability in our communities,” Dr Sanginga added.

    Established over two years ago, the IITA Youth Agripreneur program uses teaching, mentoring and practical demonstrations of modern agriculture to attract youths into agribusiness. The primary goals are to attract to the sector the necessary young and vibrant human capital by making farming profitable, thereby creating wealth and the most needed jobs in the society.

    “By engaging Borno youths in agriculture, we envision to solve the problem of youth restiveness in that state, and make the state one of the major food exporters in the country,” Dr Alfred Dixon, Project Leader for the IITA-managed project on Sustainable Weed Management Technologies for Cassava Systems in Nigeria said.

    Under the training, which has strong financial support from N2Africa–to-Borno project, 16 youths from Borno State will be trained for three weeks for a start. It will involve lectures, on-field practicals, and interactive sessions and group exercises.

    IITA Youth Agripreneur, Ms Evelyn Ohanwusi, said: “We are happy to meet our peers in Borno state. We will be sharing knowledge with them so that they can better their lives.”

  • IITA donates equipment to varsity

    The International Institute  of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)-managed project Sustainable Weed Management Technologies for Cassava Systems in Nigeria has donated some equipment to the University of Agriculture, Makurdi to help tackle the menace of weeds in cassava farms.

    Among the equipment that were handed over to the university were a Toyota Hilux vehicle, office equipment, a motorcycle, and 20 sprayers.

    Principal Investigator to the IITA Cassava Weed Management Project, Prof Friday Ekeleme, described the equipment as necessary tools that would facilitate the research on weeds in cassava and called on the university to carefully use and maintain them.

    He said IITA was glad to have the university as a partner in the project, urging it to redouble its efforts towards ensuring that the problem of weeds in cassava is solved.

    Responding, Dr Moses Egbe of the University of Agriculture Makurdi pledged the commitment of the institution in ensuring the judicious use of the equipment  to achieve the project objectives.

    The University of Agriculture Makurdi is the third beneficiary of assets transfer. The other collaborating institutions that received similar set of equipment are the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike; and the Federal university of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB).

    Launched early this year, the project Sustainable Weed Management Technologies for Cassava Systems in Nigeria aims to find solutions to the labour-intensive weeding that is done by women and children in cassava farms to increase productivity for at least 125,000 farm families.

    The project, which is headed by Dr Alfred Dixon, has the potential to serve as a template for livelihood transformation in cassava-growing areas not just in Nigeria but across Africa.

  • ‘240,000 newborn die annually’

    ‘240,000 newborn die annually’

    A Professor of Paediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Prof. Chinyere Ezeaka, has said no fewer than 240,000 newborn die annually in the country.

    She spoke yesterday at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan during a three-day workshop organised by the Nestle Nutrition Institute of Africa through its CWAR Advanced Nutrition Programme for Anglophone countries.

    The theme of the programme is: “Maternal and Infant Nutrition”.

    Prof. Ezeaka said the gory statistics made Nigeria the highest in Africa and second in the world after India, in terms of infant mortality.

    According to her, nutrition was a basic necessity during pregnancy as it had an effect on the health of a mother and an unborn child.

    She said malnutrition was a major public health problem for mothers and infants.

    The paediatrician said 1000 days was a sum up of the nine months of pregnancy and the first two years of a child’s life.

     

  • IITA DG seeks more women in research

    IITA DG seeks more women in research

    The Director-General, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Dr Nteranya Sanginga, has advocated an increase in the population of women involved in research work.

    He said increasing the number of women in research transcends the clamour for gender mainstreaming.

    Sanginga said the need to increase women in research production in IITA was driven by the productivity of women staff who had proven their worth over the years.

    The IITA boss, who cited a unit involved in the threshing of crops such as maize, soya bean and rice, said: “Out of a workforce of over 100 in that unit, 30 per cent are women, but in terms of output, they account for more than 70 per cent.

    “In IITA, the key is for women to muster more courage than ever before and participate in project execution to ensure that IITA meets its delivery goals.’’

    The statement, which said women should aspire for higher positions in the institute, added: “You need to be excellent and innovative in whatever you are doing.

    “In spite the fact that so many challenges limit the performances of some women, they should be encouraged to come out and do their best.’’