Originally published on cgiar.org by:International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) on Jul 13, 2009

IITA, through its FoodNet program, has won the bid to set up a Web-based Crop and Livestock Market Information System (CLiMIS) in southern Sudan. According to Dr Victor Manyong, acting R4D Director who will lead the team, the Institute will help the FAO and relevant government entities of that country to design and implement the system as well as build the capacity of intended users.

CLiMIS will provide an online system that will enable local experts in southern Sudan to generate, store, analyze, and disseminate market information on selected crops and livestock.

"A team of five experts of IITA-FoodNet from Uganda will move soon to Juba, southern Sudan to begin work on this new project," Manyong said. "This consultancy is an important first step towards spreading our wings into Sudan."  

FoodNet is a regional research network on marketing and agro-enterprise development in Eastern and Southern Africa established by IITA since 1999. The network has a wealth of experience in developing efficient, reliable and relevant Market Information Services in Eastern and Central Africa. The network also played a vital role in supporting the development of the Google Trader, a mobile phone-based service that has been recently launched in Uganda that links farmers and traders.

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For more information, please contact:

Dr Victor Manyong, v.manyong@cgiar.org
Acting R4D Director
IITA-Tanzania

Jeffrey T. Oliver, o.jeffrey@cgiar.org
Corporate Communications Officer (International)
IITA - Headquarters, Ibadan, Nigeria

Catherine Njuguna, c.njuguna@cgiar.org 
Corporate Communications Officer (East Africa)
IITA-Tanzania

URL: www.iita.org

About IITA
Africa has complex problems that plague agriculture and people's lives. We develop agricultural solutions with our partners to tackle hunger and poverty. Our award winning research for development (R4D) is based on focused, authoritative thinking anchored on the development needs of sub-Saharan Africa. We work with partners in Africa and beyond to reduce producer and consumer risks, enhance crop quality and productivity, and generate wealth from agriculture. IITA is an international non-profit R4D organization since 1967, governed by a Board of Trustees, and supported primarily by the CGIAR.