Dr David Bergvinson, Director General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics (ICRISAT), visited IITA Kano station on 28 April to discuss further the prospects of scaling out improved agricultural technologies in Northern Nigeria and expanding the activities of ICRISAT in Nigeria with IITA as a partner.
ICRISAT DG and his team in a meeting with IITA Kano station representatives.
The visit also provided a platform for Dr Bergvinson to learn and interact with ICRISAT scientists working at the Kano station.
Dr Bergvinson was received by Dr Alpha Kamara, the Station Representative together with Mr Ado Rabo, the Station Administrator. “There has been a mutual relationship between IITA and ICRISAT for a long time now,” said Dr Kamara while receiving the august visitor. “We share facilities and ideas and IITA has supported ICRISAT in many ways. However, for ICRISAT to achieve its goal of providing useful solutions to many more farmers, it needs to deploy more scientists to Kano to create a critical mass of specialists who will complement each other in their work.”
Group photo with ICRISAT DG.
Dr Bergvinson gratefully acknowledged the support given by IITA in Kano. He also expressed ICRISAT’s commitment to more collaboration. “ICRISAT is ready to work with IITA in the Tropical Legumes III project and to identify cross-cutting projects that integrate all the mandate crops of the two institutions, given that farmers mostly grow all the crops at the same time,” said Dr Bergvinson.
He further enjoined IITA to continue to work more closely with ICRISAT to strengthen the components of the CGIAR Research Program on Integrated Agricultural Production Systems for the Poor and Vulnerable in Dry Areas.
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