IITA kicked off its golden jubilee celebration in its Eastern Africa hub with a Donor Appreciation Day. Representatives from various donor organizations attended the three-hour event, which was held at the region’s hub offices in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on 28 February.
The event was presided over by Regina Kapinga, IITA’s Head of Advocacy and Resource Mobilization, based in Tanzania and James Legg, who was the acting hub Director in the absence of Victor Manyong. Also in attendance and representing the host country, was Hussein Mansour, the Director for Research and Development at the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.
The dignitaries were informed about current and future plans followed by a tour of the Institute’s facilities that included the five state-of-the art science laboratories where IITA scientists briefed them on ongoing research. They also met and interacted with the Tanzania Youth Agripreneurs who talked about their agribusiness activities. Finally, they were given appreciation certificates for their support to the Institute over the years.
Speaking at the event, Mansoor noted that IITA was one the CGIAR centers that the government was working very closely with in Tanzania and together, they had tackled major problems in the country’s agriculture sector including two viral diseases that nearly wiped out cassava production in the country.
“Cassava Brown Streak Disease and Cassava Mosaic disease had significantly reduced the crop’s production in the country putting at risk the country’s food security. However, through the work done by IITA together with researchers from my ministry, we are seeing cassava production coming up again. They have developed and released many varieties that are now with farmers,” he said.
Kapinga briefed the visitors on some of the new initiatives IITA was carrying out to exploit new and emerging opportunities in the agriculture sector as part of its efforts to transform agriculture in Africa.
These included the ENABLE youth initiative, the Business Incubation Platform, and addressing aflatoxin contamination across Africa with its safe and cost-effective biocontol solution, Aflasafe.
“We now have a new tag line. We have moved from Nourishing Africa, which has been our theme for many years and are now working towards Transforming Agriculture in Africa,” she said.
“We are tapping into the potential of the youth to transform Africa’s agriculture through a program known as ENABLE Youth based on a pilot youth-in-agribusiness program, IITA Youth Agripreneurs. IITA started the program in 2012 in Ibadan, Nigeria, under the current Director General Nteranya Sanginga and now it is in more than five countries where IITA works. Together with the African Development Bank we have developed the continent-wide program that has been adopted by 32 countries across sub-Saharan Africa,” she said.
The donors included the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Bank; USAID’s Feed the Future, Belgium Technical Cooperation (BTC) and Embassy of Switzerl and, and the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). Other dignitaries included Geoffrey Kirenga, Chief Executive Officer of Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT).
The visit was the first of many that will be organized at the hub as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations during which key stakeholders in the Institute will be invited and appreciated for their support. The next target group will be the policy makers, followed by the media, development partners, and the private sector, one group at a time.
About IITA www.iita.org
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is a not-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.
Media contact: Katherine Lopez, Head of Communication, k.lopez@cgiar.org
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