Beyond the Boardroom: Inside IITA’s science and impact
Some stories are best understood not from a boardroom, but from the field. And walking through research fields, seeing firsthand where discoveries take shape in laboratories, and standing beneath the towering canopy of the IITA Forest
- IITA
- CGIAR
- biodiversity
- Agriculture
- food systems
- Field visits
- research
- Scaling Innovation
- Partnerships
Cover Image: CGIAR Board members arriving at IITA’s research fields in Ibadan.
Some stories are best understood not from a boardroom, but from the field.
And walking through research fields, seeing firsthand where discoveries take shape in laboratories, and standing beneath the towering canopy of the IITA Forest offered a different perspective entirely for the CGIAR Board members and senior leaders on the sidelines of the Board meeting, Futures Workshop and Global Leadership Team (GLT) held at IITA headquarters in Ibadan from 23-29 September.
Their tour took them through research fields where innovations are tested, laboratories where research breakthroughs begin, the internationally recognized IITA Forest that protects biodiversity in southwestern Nigeria, and facilities that support one of Africa's leading agricultural research institutions.
The tour highlighted not only what IITA is accomplishing today, but the legacy of science, partnership, and people working together to transform lives for six decades.
Reflecting on the Institute's remarkable journey, Sylvia Oyinlola, CGIAR Global Head of the System Council Secretariat said, "IITA has done a lot of amazing and impactful work over 50 years," adding that scaling even more of those innovations will help "show the world what they can do."
Her observation speaks to a defining feature of IITA's work. The Institute has long recognized that research achieves its greatest value when it moves beyond scientific publications to reach farmers, communities, policymakers, and markets.