DG meets staff of IITA Kalambo, Bukavu, DR Congo

IITA DG and the Director for Central Africa addressing the staff at IITA Kalambo station

During his official tour in DR Congo, the IITA Director General, Nteranya Sanginga, met with all the staff and students of the Kalambo Station on 9 January 2014.  He was accompanied by Bernard Vanlauwe, the Director for the Central African Hub; Jacqueline Musiimenta, the Finance Officer; and Linda Wangila, the Hub Administration Assistant based in Nairobi, and Quadrer Waheed and Oyedeji Musendeeq from Ibadan. 

Giving a brief history of the station, the DG said the idea for the station was conceived 10 years ago while he was a Director at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). He was happy and excited that the Station would be now officially commissioned under his leadership in 2014.

He said the event would attract Heads of State in the region including the IITA Goodwill Ambassador for Africa, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, top government functionaries, and the donor community. He therefore urged all staff to give their best and ensure the success of the event.

He further encouraged both staff and students to take advantage of opportunities available at the IITA Capacity Development Unit to advance their professional careers and academic interests.

Also addressing the staff and students, Vanlauwe added that the event would be a golden opportunity to explain to the host country, DR Congo and Africa in general on how IITA could contribute to efforts towards reducing poverty and food and nutritional insecurity in the region. He said during the event, both scientists and students would be given the opportunity to present their work and future plans.

Tanzania takes first steps towards initiating a Youth Agriprenuers program

IITA Tanzania will soon start own its youth agribusiness program that aims at equipping young, unemployed men and women with agriculture and business skills to encourage them to set up their own agribusiness or increase their employment opportunities in agriculture and research. This is part of the Institute’s effort to tackle the high unemployment rate, one of the main development challenges in Africa, and a general lack of interest in agriculture by young people.

Currently, several students from the University of Sokoine in Tanzania who finished their internship at the Institute but asked to stay on as volunteers have expressed their interest in such a program. The youth also met the IITA DG in December, while he was on an official visit in the country, and he briefed them on the Agriprenuers program in Nigeria. He also assured them that IITA was very keen on establishing such programs across all its hubs in Africa to create employment opportunities for Africa’s youth.

Dr Sanginga (centre) poses for a group photo with the staff and youth
volunteers at IITA Tanzania in Dar es Salaam

“It’s a good start. We are exploring how to establish a youth agriprenuers program in Tanzania under the SARD-SC project and around the cassava value chain modeled along the one in Ibadan,” said Abass Adebayo, IITA value chain specialist under whom the students interned and are now volunteering. They were involved in efforts to develop the cassava value chain in the country.

Adebayo said the Institute was also currently working with a group of youth in Kigoma region, named Big Power Group, who have 30 ha of land and were engaged in growing and processing cassava.

He also noted several leaders in the country had requested for IITA’s support in engaging the youth in agriculture including the Regional commissioners for Coast and Kigoma regions.

“We will work with these leaders in developing programs to involve youth in agriculture where we will train and support them to carry out modern agriculture”.

One of the volunteers is Gaspa Audifas, 25, who graduated from the University of Sokoine in Food Science. He says he is very interested in such a program following the briefing of IITA’s DG on the progress made by the youth in Nigeria.

“There are many opportunities for the youth in agriculture. We just sometimes lack the knowledge and even faith in ourselves. Therefore such a program that will give us the skills to help us to put into good use the knowledge  we gained in school, and not necessarily wait to be employed, will be very important for Tanzania where unemployment is very high” he said. “There are very many unemployed graduates roaming the streets. There is no difference between them and those who are not educated!”

 

Governor of South Kivu, DRC, thanks IITA for its development efforts in the country

The Governor of South Kivu during the dinner he hosted in honour of IITA DG at his residence

His Excellency, Governor Marcelin Chishambo Ruhoya of South Kivu in DR Congo, has praised IITA’s efforts to support development in his region and country and assured the Institute of his government’s support of its activities. He said he was especially happy with the decision to set up a new science building in the province which is scheduled to be launched in June 2014.

IITA is a friend, he said, and the repairing of the road to the Station was a clear demonstration of his government’s desire to collaborate with the Institute.

The Governor was speaking at a dinner he hosted at his residence on 10 January 2014 for the IITA DG who was in the country on an official visit. It was attended by the Provincial Ministers of Agriculture, Health, and Budget, other aides to the Governor, and others.

On his part, the IITA DG thanked the Governor for granting him an audience earlier in the day and for his continued assistance and generous support to the IITA Station.  He recalled how the two of them had nurtured the idea of establishing a science laboratory in Kalambo (to be known as “Science for Peace” building) in 2004 while the DG was the Director of International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the Governor was a State Advisor. 

The DG further commended the Governor for facilitating the execution of the project and for supporting the expansion of the station and construction of a Science Building. The DG also seized the opportunity to inform the aides of the governor of the plans to commission the IITA Kalambo Science Building on 5 June 2014. 

He said that the launch would attract Heads of States and top government functionaries and representatives of donor agencies and international organizations in the region and that the IITA Ambassador for Africa, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo would attend. 

He added that the Station will have cassava processing facilities so that farmers will have the opportunity to learn how to derive more benefits from cassava production.

“Apart from ugali, a popular cassava food in the region, there are more than 27 food products from cassava, well known for their nutritional value and marketability”, he said.  

DG Sanginga was accompanied to the dinner by Chris Okafor the Officer in Charge of IITA Kalambo and Musendeeq Oyedeji, one of the IITA engineers working at the site.

FOSCA/YIIFSWA consultative meeting at IITA Ibadan

FOSCA/YIIFSWA stakeholders meeting in Ibadan

Component leaders and  partners involved in the implementation of the YIIFSWA program in Nigeria met on 9 December, in IITA Ibadan for a two-day consultative meeting with the Farmer Organization Support Centre (FOSCA ).

The meeting examined options for updating the database and ICT platform that will host YIIFSWA data and assist researchers and partners in the implementation of YIIFSWA.

According to YIIFSWA’s Project Manager, Dr Norbert Maroya, the objective of the meeting was to discuss and develop a system towards ‘’synchronizing in a single database all data and information on YIIFSWA project beneficiaries engaged by the various component objectives’’.

FOSCA’s Lead Coordinator, Mr Fadel Ndiame, who started the session with a presentation, stated that it was important to consider the required format preferences of the various objectives and partners in consolidating the YIIFSWA database. The database consolidation process requires inputs from all Objectives to contribute information towards institutional set up and define parameters for its sustainability and usefulness beyond the life of the project.

Components and Coordinators of Objectives 3,4,5,6, and 7 also gave presentations on the data collated and to be collected on farmers and other beneficiaries. Each highlighted information needs and discussed how to capture and incorporate it into the soon to be developed YIIFSWA database.

 Action points were then set up for further interventions. They include the development of a roadmap for a seed system, the submission of datasets to the FOSCA Team for upload by all the Objectives, the development of a knowledge protocol and typology of production systems and farmers, and the production of a concept note on the Yam Development Forum.

Military command pays courtesy visit to IITA

Dr Dashiell (3rd from left), Adediji (4th from left), and officials of the
Nigerian Air Force Command, Ibadan with IITA officials.

The Commander of the Nigerian Air Force Detachment, Ibadan, Air Commodore K.E. Adediji paid a courtesy visit to IITA on Friday and sought areas of possible collaboration between IITA and his command.

Adediji, who assumed office in Ibadan, last year, said the visit to IITA was significant in view of the strategic importance of IITA to Nigeria and Africa in general.

Receiving the Commander, the Acting IITA Director General, Dr Kenton Dashiell explained the vision and mission of IITA, adding that IITA would be willing to partner and support the Nigeria Air Force in the area of food security.

Dr Dashiell commended the Nigerian Government for her support over the years, stressing that the Institute was in support of the Nigeria’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda.