Innovating for Resilient and Sustainable African Agriculture: Highlights from IITA at Tropentag

In September 2025, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) showcased its latest innovations and strategies at Tropentag 2025 conference in Bonn (Germany) under the theme “IITA Innovating for Resilience and Impact: Scaling Solutions for Sustainable African Agriculture.” The event featured IITA expert presentations addressing critical challenges African agriculture faces from climate change, pests, soil degradation, and the urgent need to scale sustainable solutions.

Navigating Climate Challenges with Interdisciplinary Research

John Choptiany PhD emphasized the severe vulnerabilities of African farming systems to climate stressors such as droughts, floods, pests, and diseases. With many farmers dependent on rain-fed agriculture, IITA’s holistic Research for Development (R4D) and Partnership for Development (P4D) approach integrates climate-smart crops, adaptive water and soil management, integrated pest management (IPM), and digital advisory tools – like AKILIMO and AgWise – to improve resilience and productivity. IITA has developed and released multiple climate-resilient crop varieties exhibiting drought tolerance, pest resistance, and early maturity, supporting millions of farmers with improved yields and access to clean planting materials. IITA starts their research in the lab, but uses an interdisciplinary and human centred design approach to understanding the complex challenges and opportunities that smallholders face in the context of climate change.

IITA also presented at the session titled Reconciling equity and sustainability in agricultural water management: Contributions of CGIAR and German Development Cooperation in Africa, where we highlighted the importance of effective water management to reduce negative impacts on the environment and increasing the impact of fertilisers and other climate smart approaches. IITA also highlighted a number of its drought tolerant and early maturing crop varieties designed to adapt to a more water stressed climate.

Advancing Soil Health and Sustainable Intensification

Frank Rasche emphasized the central role of soil health and agronomy as foundations for sustainable agricultural intensification. He showcased innovations such as integrated soil fertility management, climate-smart agronomy practices, and digital decision-support tools that are being scaled to enhance productivity and resilience. He also highlighted IITA’s strategic role in translating research into practice, generating evidence to inform policy, and working with farmers and stakeholders to bring solutions to scale across Africa. He concluded by stressing that IITA’s efforts are key to advancing long-term food security and building sustainable farming systems.

Frank Rasche also contributed a paper to the “Soil Health” session titled “Driving change: inclusive strategies to realize Africa’s fertilizer and soil health agenda”. In his talk, he emphasized the central role of inclusivity, highlighting strategies that engage smallholder farmers, women, and youth in shaping and benefiting from agronomic innovations. He also underscored IITA’s role in fostering partnerships, generating evidence, and co-developing solutions that address the diverse needs of farming communities, pointing to transformative levers as critical for moving from strategy to action. In addition, Frank Rasche hosted a workshop on Inclusive and transformative strategies for implementing the African Fertilizer and Soil Health Action Plan. The workshop brought together experts from Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and KIT Royal Tropical Institute to discuss pathways for co-developing inclusive and transformative actions that support the Plan’s implementation.

Inclusive and Adaptive Integrated Pest Management

Lava (IITA) Kumar and Leena Tripathi stressed that pests cause up to 50% annual crop losses. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)’s Plant Health Program employs Integrated Plant Health Management (IPHM), through surveillance, host resistance, seed health systems, biological control, and innovations such as Aflasafe and biodegradable matrices for precision pesticide delivery. Cutting-edge genome editing and RNA interference research address emerging threats like the Red Palm Weevil. Data- and AI-powered tools such as FIA and Nuru enhance early warning and rapid response, while platforms such as Biorisk Management Facility (BIMAF) and Germplasm Health Units focus on risk assessment and mitigation, and AgroEcoHealth promote a One Health approach. A cross-continent alliance is tackling transboundary viruses like banana bunchy top. A key message is that with climate change altering pest dynamics, protecting food crops requires climate-resilient and eco-friendly solutions, cross-institutional collaboration, enabling policies, and support for scaling innovations for broad adoption.

The Science of Scaling Innovations for Impact

Theresa Ampadu-Boakye explored the “Science of Scaling” to bridge the gap between successful pilots and widespread sustainable adoption. IITA’s scaling efforts emphasize the importance of partnerships, contextual adaptation, enabling policies, and real-time monitoring using MELIA (Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, and Impact Assessment) systems. AKILIMO exemplifies this approach, having reached over half a million farmers and trained thousands of extension agents, with evidence of yield increases and strong uptake of recommendations. Diverse communication channels, especially video content in local languages, enhance accessibility and inclusivity, particularly for women and youth.

Conclusion

IITA’s contributions at Tropentag underline a comprehensive, science-driven, and inclusive vision to transform African agriculture. Through interdisciplinary research, strategic partnerships, digital innovation, and inclusive scaling models, IITA is advancing resilient crop production, soil health management, pest control, and systemic adoption of sustainable practices. These efforts are integral to ensuring food security, farmer livelihoods, and ecological well-being amidst the complex challenges posed by climate change and population growth across the continent.