News Overview

In a significant step toward advancing agricultural innovation and national food security, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Oyo State Command, formalized a new partnership with IITA–CGIAR on 24 November by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The delegation, led by the Deputy Comptroller, Kayode Akano, included P.A. to the Comptroller, Steven Arinde; representative of the Immigration Officers Wives Association (IMMOWA), Temitayo Akinyemi; and

In a significant step toward enhancing Nigeria’s agricultural biosecurity, the IITA–CGIAR Germplasm Health Unit (GHU) hosted the Comptroller General (CG) of Nigeria’s Agricultural Quarantine Services (NAQS), Dr Vincent Isegbe, along with other senior NAQS officials, for a strategic workshop held from 27–29 October. The workshop, designed to exchange insights on germplasm movement procedures, phytosanitary standards, and emerging plant health threats, reinforced the longstanding

IITA–CGIAR is at the forefront of cassava and banana seed production in Gabon. The Ministry of Agriculture, in partnership with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), organized a two-week phased-in training to accelerate the modernization of agriculture and strengthen the national seed production through the technical assistance to the Projet d’Appui au Programme GRAINE-Phase 1 (PAPG1), under the framework of

IITA–CGIAR participated in the launch of the 2025/2026 Mozambique agricultural campaign on 13 November, marking the beginning of the rainy season. As a strategic partner that has actively contributed to improving agricultural production and productivity in Mozambique, offering innovations in resilient varieties and improved seeds, climate-smart agricultural practices, inoculants, and aflasafe, IITA was invited by the Government to participate in the

IITA–CGIAR is proud to announce the in-person participation of Dr Adewale Awoyemi in the NESST-Smithsonian convening hosted by the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) in Washington, DC. Dr Awoyemi is the IITA Forest Center Manager, Conservation Biologist, and NESST Scientist Ambassador at the 2025 Network for Emergent Socio-Scientific Thinking (NESST). The convening was the first since the founding of NESST in

By Ayorinde Ogunyiola December 2, 2025 Digital agricultural technologies such as precision farming, mobile phone-based advisory platforms, smart irrigation, and satellite crop monitoring systems promise increased efficiency, environmental sustainability, and farm productivity. The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence-based applications—in new tools and integrated into existing ones—is accelerating this trend. Yet these digital tools can have significant downsides for many

Many of us have accidentally eaten a bitter almond: an unpleasant surprise that today is an exception to the rule. Thousands of years ago, a ‘spontaneous genetic mutation’ ‘switched off’ almond tree's production of amygdalin: the cyanide-releasing compound present in bitter almonds.

The diet of Guatemalans has deep roots in the Mayan worldview, which relied on the milpa system composed of maize, beans, and squash—foods that continue to be consumed daily by the population. However, between May and August 2025, it was estimated that nearly 19% of the Guatemalan population was experiencing an acute food insecurity crisis, struggling to access not only these traditional foods but also others essential for diet diversification. This situation stems from a combination of socioeconomic and environmental factors, ranging from rising prices of the basic food basket to extreme climate conditions that lead to crop losses and, therefore, reduced food reserves.