The International Association of Research Scholars and Fellows (IARSAF) recently held its 25th annual symposium to discuss ways to address changing climate conditions by adopting climate-smart agricultural solutions. Renowned scientists and senior leaders at IITA–CGIAR attended the seminar, themed “The Role of Climate Smart Agriculture in Ensuring Resilient and Sustainable Food Systems”.
IITA Deputy Director General, Partnerships for Delivery (DDG-P4D), Kenton Dashiell, briefed participants on the IITA Fellowship Program, stating that the platform was established to create a pan-campus organization that would embrace all the health science schools and the campus, bringing together people interested in global health. He also revealed that IARSAF, which started as a tiny idea by IITA Director General Nteranya Sanginga, is now the unit with the second-largest research revenue on the IITA campus.
“The annual IARSAF symposium has been pivotal to IITA’s research mandate, and I celebrate your efforts in the research activities contributing to food security,” said IITA Deputy Director General, Research for Development (DDG-R4D), Bernard Vanlauwe. He reflected on his experience as a research student and encouraged the research fellows to continue their advocacy as ambassadors of the Institute, giving their best in research to achieve a food- and nutrition-secure world. Similarly, IITA West Africa Hub Director Michael Abberton expressed his joy at the hard work of the research fellows and urged them to make the most of the opportunities gotten through the platform.
During her speech, IARSAF President Faith Olayiwola described the symposium as “an avenue for great minds to discover novel solutions and strengthen existing ones in tackling the challenges facing the agricultural systems.”
IITA Head of Biometrics Ibnou Dieng discussed how data-driven climate adaptation could ensure sustainable agriculture. He highlighted the need to apply adaptation technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) to address climate change conditions, as the primary goal of climate-smart agriculture is reducing greenhouse emissions to mitigate the effects of climate variability.
IITA Eastern Africa Hub Director Leena Tripathi highlighted gene editing as a way to mitigate climate change, where scientists can develop climate-resistant crop varieties. Breakout sessions featured enlightening discussions on Understanding Climate Agriculture, Climate Smart Agriculture: Helping the world produce more food, and How to feed the world in 2050: Actions in a changing climate.
In her vote of thanks, the IARSAF President appreciated IITA scientists, project supervisors who contributed to the success of the research conducted by the fellows, the IITA Management Team, and everyone who contributed to the success of the symposium.
Contributed by Omolola Dare
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