An international center in Benin proposed to serve as a research and training platform on biorisks associated with climate change
His Excellency Mr Patrice Talon, President of the Republic of Benin, will be promoting an initiative of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in addressing biorisks associated with climate change to a broad audience during the upcoming COP 22 in Morocco this November.
The President volunteered to champion this cause on 11 October, when a delegation from IITA headed by Director General Nteranya Sanginga, visited him in Benin. This is the first time ever that an IITA DG has been received by a Benin President in the station’s 32 years of existence. Dr Sanginga was introduced to the Presidential Cabinet by the Benin Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fishing, Dr Delphin Koud ande, and the Director General of the National Agricultural Research Institute (INRAB), Dr Patrice Adegbola.
This visit occurred in the framework of the regional workshop “One-health approach for mitigating biorisks in West Africa under a climate change scenario” that took place at the IITA Station in Benin under the umbrella ofCORAF/WECARD on 11-13 October.
Discussions between the Head of State and DG Sanginga revolved around the creation of an international center in Benin that would serve as a research and training platform dealing with biorisks associated with climate change.
During the IITA-hosted think tank style workshop in Cotonou, the participants explored and developed the idea of a joint, collaborative platform – an international center for research and capacity development for West Africa – around the management of biorisks associated with climate change, using the ‘one health concept’ (plant, animal, environmental and human health aspects related to agriculture).
The participants of this workshop consisted of representatives from a broad range of institutions such as AfricaRice, Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI), Centre béninois de la recherche scientifique et technique (CBRST), French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), Centre International de Recherche-Developpement Sur l’Elevage en Zone Subhumide (CIRDES), West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD), CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), Direction Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique (DNRST), Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (|FARA), International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), Institut National des Recherches Agricoles du Bénin (INRAB), International Water Management Institute (IWMI), UAC, UAK, University of Ghana, World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg), West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted L and Use (WASCAL), CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH), and Michigan State University/Legume Innovation Lab.
They showed keen interest, enthusiasm, and support for this initiative throughout the workshop, and discussed mechanisms for collaboration and institutional commitment, and developed concrete ideas and concept notes, as a basis for funding that can add to and leverage already existing initiatives and programs.
The discussions during this workshop led to the establishment of a follow-up team, and a roadmap to implement key preliminary steps in the near future to keep the momentum going for this initiative. At the closing plenary session, Dr Yemi Akinbamijo, Executive Director of FARA, shared his vision for the center and expressed his full support to this initiative. Finally, the meeting was closed by a tribute to the organizers made by the director of INRAB, on behalf of the Honorable Minister of Agriculture of Benin.
About IITA www.iita.org
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is a non-for-profit institution that generates agricultural innovations to meet Africa’s most pressing challenges of hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and natural resource degradation. Working with various partners across sub-Saharan Africa, we improve livelihoods, enhance food and nutrition security, increase employment, and preserve natural resource integrity. IITA is a member of CGIAR, a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future.
Contact: Katherine Lopez, Head of Communication, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture k.lopez@cgiar.org
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