Mrs Adama Yahaya, a PhD student in the Department of Biological Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Nigeria, is among the recipients of the 2014 Borlaug LEAP award. Her application, supported by IITA, will enable her to do PhD…
Western Africa
Two new projects on yam were launched recently: Community Action for Improving Farmer-saved Seed Yam (CAY-Seed) and Biophysical, institutional and economic drivers of sustainable soil use in yam systems for improved food security in West Africa (YAMSYS). CAY-Seed was…
The ninth session of West African Cocoa Breeders¹ Working Group (ACBWG) was held 9-10 March at the IITA Ikeja Guest House, Lagos, Nigeria. The meeting was attended by participants from CRIN, Nigeria; CRIG, Ghana; IRAD, Cameroon; CNRA, Cote d¹Ivoire;…
Members of the Alliance for Banana Bunchy Top Disease (BBTD) Control in Africa met at IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria, 9-14 March, to share progress made during the first year of pilot site implementation in eight countries in sub-Saharan Africa and…
The Yam Improvement for Income and Food Security in West Africa (YIIFSWA) project held its fourth annual progress review and planning meeting at the Golden Tulip Hotel, Kumasi, Ghana. Participants came from various collaborating partner institutions, including IITA, CSIR-CRI,…
An IITA project seeking to entice the educated youth to go into agriculture and agribusiness was established in Makueni County in Kenya, in collaboration with the University of Nairobi and Makueni County Government and officially launched on 10 March.…
Scientists call for systems research in agriculture to realize Sustainable Development Goals
From 4-7 March, IITA hosted the global systems research and development community at the International Conference on Integrated Systems for Sustainable Intensification in Smallholder Agriculture. Social and agricultural scientists participating in the conference are stressing the importance of agricultural…
*blogpost published in CGIAR.org: http://www.cgiar.org/consortium-news/transforming-iita-to-nourish-africa/ My first visit to IITA was in 1982. As a young scientist with the Delft Hydraulics Lab in the Netherlands I worked on my first soil science project that also happened to become my…