The newly-appointed IITA Abuja Station Head, Professor Lateef Sanni, on 3 January paid a courtesy call on Mallam Abubakar Ibrahim, the Secretary of the Agriculture and Rural Development Services, Abuja, in his office at the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) secretariat.
Highlighting the objectives of the visit, Sanni informed the FCTA Secretary that he was there, first to introduce himself as the new IITA Abuja representative and secondly to strengthen the already existing partnership between both parties. He recounted past achievements recorded by the Institute and the Ministry of Agriculture that, according to him, date as far back as 1991.
While lauding the numerous contributions and role played by the Ministry towards the success of the Institute in actualizing its mandate, Sanni sought additional assistance in three critical areas. Top on the list was a request for an outreach and capacity building line budget to be drawn from the Ministry to enable IITA to bridge the gaps in agricultural interventions in FCTA.