A team from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation visited the IITA headquarters in Ibadan recently to explore the processes and impact of the Institute’s research. IITA Senior Management Team and scientists received the delegation comprising Gates Foundation Deputy Director for Agriculture Dr Obai Khalifa and Senior Program Officer for Agriculture Dr Audu Grema.
In his welcome remarks, IITA Deputy Director General, Partnerships for Delivery (DDG-P4D) Kenton Dashiell thanked the Gates Foundation for supporting IITA’s research over the years, adding that their support has impacted African agriculture immensely. “I want to, on behalf of IITA and the CGIAR, thank you for the opportunity to work and co-learn with diverse partners, ensuring that our research results are delivered to the end-users,” he said.
Khalifa commended the Institute’s research impact, adding that there is a need to increase emphasis on transformation in terms of measurable results. He revealed that focusing on demand-driven actions that address the needs of the farmers is a key area that research should focus on, as this will translate to tangible impact and adoption at scale.
Discussing the heterogeneity between cassava and maize cropping among farmers and insights on biofortification, Grema said it is important to understand models deployed in breaking grounds for market adoption as biofortification is a key area of nutrition systems.
Speaking on IITA’s efforts on biofortification, IITA West Africa Hub Director Michael Abberton identified several Institute activities with national systems and some of the scaling and adoption efforts on biofortified crops.
After several years of diminished focus on soybean research on the continent, Grema commended IITA for resuscitating research on this important legume.
Looking at the Institute’s partnership and scaling efforts, Abberton said under projects like TAAT and PROSSIVA, IITA is working with many partners, including national systems, policymakers, governments, and private sector actors. He added that IITA focuses on impact, scaling, and adoption, with modernizing the breeding programs as a priority.
“IITA has aligned this with the seed systems alongside agronomy and variation,” he said. Abberton stressed the need to consolidate soil health, seed systems, agronomy, and variation towards scaling and adoption.
Following a tour of IITA’s research facilities, the Gates Foundation team met with Dashiell and the IITA team to discuss further areas like measuring genetic gains’ data from research for impact and strengthening the existing relationship towards improving research and impacting food systems and livelihoods of farmers in Africa.
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