News Overview

In line with IITA’s goal of transforming Africa’s Agriculture, the International Association of Research Scholars and Fellows (IARSAF) of IITA organized a three-day annual symposium to discuss agricultural research to achieve sustainable food security across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The 2021 symposium held on 2–4 November was themed: “Exploiting Science, Technology, and Innovations for Building a Sustainable Agricultural Transformation in Africa.” Mary Emeraghi,

The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) has announced IITA amongst the Growth Grand finalists to be awarded $100,000 for its project on integrating Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) as bio-inoculants to boost banana production in the East African Highlands. The announcement was published in a press release on the IFT website. The award is part of the Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge—an initiative seeking to inspire

“It was not easy to identify BXW symptoms on a banana plant. We confused it with fusarium wilt or any other banana disease that shows similar symptoms like wilting of leaves and rotting,” says Etienne Hakizimana, a Farmer Promoter from Rusizi District, Western Province. Hakizimana is one of the Scaling Champions, working with the ICT4BXW project to scale digital tools

While enough food is produced to feed everyone 1.5 times over, poor diets continue to hold the world back from reaching its full potential. The Covid-19 pandemic has set back the fight yet further. This year’s Nutrition for Growth Summit, held in Tokyo this week, provided a platform from which to accelerate global progress towards ending malnutrition. The Summit was arguably

BY EUGENIO DÍAZ-BONILLA Article 2 of the Paris Climate Agreement sets out the principal goals of the pact, including holding the increase in the global average temperature below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and increasing adaptability and resilience. It also establishes the additional purpose of “making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development.” It is not

Tanzania’s Agriculture Minister, Hon. Prof Adolph Mkenda, has expressed his appreciation for the scientific endeavors of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), which have had a significant impact in finding sustainable solutions to the challenges facing the country’s agriculture sector and assured the institute of his government’s support. The Minister particularly commended IITA’s work on cassava and banana, which

A comprehensive and dynamic leadership fellowship to support careers of women researchers from academic and research institutions to help seal the leaky pipeline of women in science The Open Doors Fellowship Program (ODFP) for women researchers in Africa is now receiving applications from early to mid-career women researchers working at research and academic institutions in Africa interested in receiving the

Fall Armyworm (FAW) is a highly damaging pest to maize. However, in the past five years, it has become a source of concern to smallholder farmers in Africa, who have to devise ways of controlling the pest using chemicals they can hardly afford. The Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) Fall Armyworm Compact is helping smallholder maize farmers combat FAW and sustain