News Overview

Over 800 delegates gathered in Kigali Rwanda for ACAT 2025 to explore agri-tech solutions for Africa. They emphasized collaboration, farmer-centered innovations, and partnerships to drive sustainable agriculture and food security across the continent. Africa – home to 1.5 billion people – is approaching a critical threshold. Climatic shocks, soaring population growth, land degradation, and deep-rooted inequalities are converging to

LOS BAÑOS, LAGUNA (June 18, 2025) — Dr. Pallavi Singh, Associate Professor at the School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, UK, and her team have developed a successful method for grafting rice—marking a breakthrough for monocot plants, which have long been considered impossible to graft. Their findings show that grafting in rice is possible by joining the young

By Greenwell Matchaya, Mahlatse Nkosi and Nora Hanke-Louw The CGIAR delegation recently took part in the Climate-Resilient Innovation Marketplace and Food Systems 2030 Regional Dialogue, held from May 21 to 23, 2025, in Lilongwe, Malawi.

To strengthen cassava seed systems in Guinea, the TAAT Cassava Compact completed a two-day training workshop in Conakry from 2 to 3 June 2025. The training brought together 14 participants—including two women—from the Guinean Institute of Agronomic Research (IRAG). During the workshop, participants deepened their expertise in the identification, management, and production of healthy cassava planting materials. The workshop focused on

Science often throws us a curveball, and it came from cassava this time. Researchers have uncovered a massive, previously unknown chunk of DNA in a farmer-preferred cassava landrace, shedding new light on the crop’s genetic complexity. While digging into the genome of TMEB117, researchers stumbled upon a previously uncharted 9.7 Mb chunk of DNA sitting quietly on chromosome 12. This

From June 3 to 6, 2025, Dr Simeon Ehui, IITA Director General and CGIAR Regional Director for Continental Africa, visited the IITA Station in Cotonou, Benin. The visit provided a platform to interact with staff, assess ongoing research innovations, and explore opportunities to further strengthen IITA’s agricultural research efforts and partnerships in the Republic of Benin. DG Ehui, accompanied by Lahcen Ennahli, Special Advisor to

In partnership with the Bioconductor community, IITA–CGIAR hosted an intensive, week-long Bioconductor workshop in Nairobi. The workshop aimed to enhance bioinformatics expertise across Africa, and equipped participants with practical skills in genomic data analysis, with a special focus on RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis. The workshop commenced with a two-day introduction to R and Bioconductor, focusing on data handling, visualization, and reproducible research

As part of continued efforts to foster greater synergy with national partners in Africa, IITA Director General and CGIAR Regional Director for Continental Africa, Dr Simeon Ehui, held high-level meetings with key stakeholders in the Republic of Benin to strengthen partnerships and align agricultural innovations with national development priorities. Accompanied by a delegation, Dr Ehui met with the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries, Gaston