For decades, farmers, researchers, and policymakers in Sierra Leone have worked with limited and outdated soil information, making it difficult to determine where crops perform best, what nutrients are needed, and how fertilizer/other input investments can deliver the…
When farmers participate in crop breeding as citizen scientists, their knowledge and experience can shape which varieties are advanced and released. But participation can also strengthen farmers’ own knowledge, agency and leadership—capacities that can, in turn, make breeding…
Scaling agricultural mechanization innovations has enormous potential to transform Zambia’s food, land, and water systems by improving productivity, reducing labor demands, minimizing post-harvest losses, and creating new business opportunities across agricultural value chains. However, successful mechanization scaling is…
At the IITA–CGIAR stand during Rwanda’s 2026 Agrishow, visitors could trace the journey of cassava across the value chain: from clean planting materials for farmers to flour, bakery products, and animal feed. The display highlighted how agricultural research and innovation…
As part of efforts to reaffirm IITA–CGIAR‘s commitment to strengthen resilient agricultural systems and transform rural livelihoods in Mozambique through climate-smart agriculture, strategic partnerships, and resilient farming systems, IITA Southern Africa Hub Director, Dr David Chikoye visited the Sofala Water,…
When farmers receive fertilizer recommendations, they rarely see the scientists who spent days analyzing soil samples to produce it. When countries talk about boosting food production or building climate-resilient agriculture, the conversation hardly starts with laboratories. Yet it should.…
The BSF for Bio Circular Economy and Environmental Sustainability BBEST held its annual review meeting in Kinshasa, DRC, just after its official launch on March 16-17, 2023. The two-day meeting brought together experts from partner institutions and stakeholders…
1. BRIEF BACKGROUND The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is a not-for-profit institution that generates agricultural innovations to address Africa’s most pressing challenges, including hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and natural resource degradation. Collaborating with various partners across Sub-Saharan…