The Honda Team from Ogun State visited IITA Headquarters on 8 December to strengthen the partnership between IITA and Honda and explore future areas of collaboration. The team was joined by other representatives from Honda Head Office in Japan, who could not make it down to Nigeria due to restrictions from the newly discovered Omicron variant of the coronavirus. They joined virtually nonetheless.
Kenton Dashiell, Deputy Director General- Partnerships for Delivery, welcomed the team and shared IITA’s history and present activities, including those in the hubs and stations across Africa. While explaining the goal of the Institute, Dashiell mentioned that IITA focuses on small-scale farmers but also understands the need for large-scale agriculture, which requires mechanization. He added that IITA could not solve the problem of mechanization alone, hence the need for a strong partnership with private sector actors like Honda. “Without partnerships, IITA will fail. Hence, we are open to a professional relationship and even friendship,” he said.