News Overview

A landmark study published in Nature’s Communications Biology by IITA scientists showcases how CRISPR-based gene editing offers hope for East Africa’s banana farmers. Scientists at IITA-CGIAR have made a major breakthrough in the fight against Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW), a devastating bacterial disease threatening banana crops across East and Central Africa. The findings, recently published in Communications Biology, the prestigious journal from the Nature portfolio, demonstrates how gene

Banana breeding is a slow and time-consuming process, and it is currently taking almost a decade in Tanzania to develop new varieties due to the crop’s complex genetics, sterility, and long generation cycles. In efforts to improve banana breeding through research, there is a great need for research institutes to increase collaboration with the National Agricultural Research System in data

The IITA Kano Station hosted students from Cradle to Career Academy, Zawachiki, Kano during an enriching educational visit recently. The visit was designed to expose the students, comprising Junior Secondary School and Primary 6 pupils, to agricultural research, innovation, and career opportunities in agribusiness. The station administrator, Ado Rabo, warmly received the group and provided an overview of IITA’s work. He explained

IITA–CGIAR has joined the Plant Breeding Innovation Management Program (PBIMP) under the Global Stewardship Group (GSG), reinforcing its commitment to responsible and ethical research in modern biotechnology, including Genome Editing. This strategic move marks another significant milestone in IITA’s continued leadership in agricultural innovation, particularly genome editing. By joining the PBIMP, IITA aligns itself with an international community of research institutions

The CGIAR Research Initiative on Sustainable Healthy Diets through Food Systems Transformation (SHiFT) has published its final annual report, showcasing progress made from 2022 to 2024 in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Viet Nam.   Over the past three years, SHiFT combined high-quality research with strategic partnerships to support country-led food systems transformation toward sustainable healthy diets. The 2024 report provides a snapshot

Opinion Piece by Dr Himanshu Pathak, Director General of ICRISAT Agriculture remains the backbone of livelihoods, employment, and food security across the Global South. From West African millet fields to South Asian rice paddies, the sector not only sustains communities but contributes significantly to national GDPs and employs a large share of the population, particularly women and youth. Yet, despite

KUNMING, Yunnan— Coinciding with the International Day for Biological Diversity, a global community of scholars and experts, convened by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), shared innovative solutions on the sustainable use and conservation of agrobiodiversity. The three-day event, themed “Agrobiodiversity for People and Planet”, was co-organized with the Yunnan

Agriculture and food systems have significantly affected over 75% of Earth’s land surface, polluted more than two-thirds of the oceans, degraded over 85% of wetlands, and now threaten over a billion plant and animal species with extinction. Yet, by restoring degraded land, ecosystems and curbing environmental degradation, greenhouse gas emissions, and biodiversity loss, we could generate economic returns of up