Chinese delegates from the China Agriculture University (CAU), led by IITA-CGIAR Board member Fan Shenggen, visited the institute from 28 August to 1 September. The week-long meeting explored areas of collaboration and discussed partnership engagements between IITA and CAU.
IITA Director General and CGIAR Regional Director for Continental Africa, Siméon Ehui, received the delegates alongside other management staff and IITA research scientists.
Speaking on the purpose and expectations of their visit, Shenggen said: “We are excited about forging collaborations with IITA in the area of breeding and research, especially in academics. We are also keen on nutrition and climate-smart agriculture.” He stated that China is open to working with Africa through IITA and other CGIAR Centers to foster agricultural development on the continent.
Both parties discussed critical areas of collaboration, exchange, and alignment, including academic research exchange opportunities for young researchers, small-scale mechanization, and digital data collection. DG Ehui, expressing his delight at the promising conversations, said: “There is so much Africa can learn from China. With this partnership, we can explore many opportunities like staff exchange, student exchange, research collaboration, and more.”
The delegates toured the campus facilities to learn more about IITA-CGIAR’s research engagements. The delegation attested to learning a lot, especially in trade and trading policies. They also saw similarities and areas of alignment between Africa and China regarding economic activities. Another important area of discussion was in trade analysis and how Aflatoxin affects the export of agricultural produce like groundnut and maize, affecting farmers’ income and livelihoods.
Following this, the IITA and CAU teams proposed setting up export zones for agricultural produce in Nigeria, fostering youths’ access to technologies, collecting data for nutrition surveys leveraging IITA-CGIAR’s expertise, and working on technology adoption and small-scale mechanization.
In closing, team members were assigned duties to derive actionable plans with milestones and timelines for deliverables. Further meetings in China alongside other CGIAR Centers in Africa were also proposed.
Contributed by Timilehin Osunde
Related story: https://www.iita.org/news-item/iita-signs-mou-with-catas-on-improved-crop-varieties-and-cultivation-techniques/
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