News Overview

One of the vast benefits of the IITA forest reserve is the diversity of creatures the forest supports and protects from poaching and extinction. The IITA Forest Center carries out biodiversity monitoring, tree propagation, and other environmental protection activities. The Forest Center staff observe and record plant phenology and animals during occasional walks and regular scientific data collection. During one of the recent biodiversity

A Special Seats Member of Parliament, Hon. Neema Lungangira, visited IITA at its Eastern Africa regional headquarters in Dar es salaam, Tanzania, on 26 September, at the invitation of Leena Tripathi, the Eastern Africa Hub Director. The Honorable MP was received by Tripathi and senior members of IITA staff and Amos Omore, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) representative for Eastern and Southern

The Federal Government of Nigeria has approved two radio licenses for IITA—an Internet radio license and a community radio broadcast license for Radio IITA in the past three months. The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) disclosed the approval of the community radio license in a press release from the NBC Director-General Balarabe Shehu Ilelah. Radio IITA received the license to operate

Support Women Entrepreneurship in the Agrifood sector in Nigeria (SWEAN) has concluded the training of 293 women in Ibadan, Oyo State and Zaria, Kaduna State, to help address the gender imbalance in the agro-food processing sector in Nigeria. The training aimed to develop the skills of women agripreneurs and increase their access to local and international markets. The expertise of

The Voice of Women in the Development of Agriculture (VOWDA), in collaboration with IITA, organized a two-day virtual symposium on 14 and 15 October to commemorate World Food Day and the International Day of Rural Women. The event brought stakeholders together to discuss challenges facing women in rural areas, agriculture, and value chains; and proffered possible sustainable policy solutions to policymakers.

To provide agribusiness support to youth, ENABLE-TAAT has established agribusiness demonstration farms at 12 orientation camps of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Nigeria. This initiative was in response to a clamor from the youth who were inspired after benefiting from the compact’s agribusiness sensitization sessions in March, May, August, and September. The agribusiness sensitization effort has reached more

On 22 October, C. Woermann Nigeria and STIHL Company in Germany partnered with IITA’s Business Incubation Platform (BIP) and Agribusiness Mechanization Unit to launch a showroom of their agricultural tools at IITA. The event showcased agricultural tools such as the mist blower, earth auger, tiller, pole pruner, chainsaw, etc., to improve agricultural management practices and productivity of the smallholder farmers. Training Manager Bolanle

Giorgi Khitarishvili started potato farming with his parents when he was five years old, living in Vale, Akhaltsikhe, in southwestern Georgia. At that young impressionable age, he could not have imagined what kind of profits would be possible for potato. Now 25, Khitarishvili is one of a growing group of young farmers embracing potato farmer and realizing large gains in income. “This year the price of potato