The impact of IITA’s 5-year collaboration with USAID and Shell Petroleum Development Company in the Cassava Enterprise Development Project (CEDP), from 2004 to 2009, continues to shine.
CEDP aimed to increase economic opportunities through agroenterprise development and the sustainable and competitive production and marketing of cassava in 11 States in the South-South and South-East zones of Nigeria. Within the 5-year period nearly 500,000 farmers were supported with IITA’s improved Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD)-resistant varieties; over US$51 million revenue was generated from gross sales of cassava products by enlisted participants; nearly 1000 processing enterprises were established; over 10 improved CMD- resistant varieties were developed and released; and more than 15,000 new jobs were created. Other outcomes included an increase in farmers’ cassava yields from 12 t/ha to 30 t/ha, a decline in CMD incidence, the training of over 21,000 farmers and processors, the development of cassava recipes, and technical support to the new Cassava Presidential Initiatives in Africa.
As a result of these successes, the Shell Partners Forum invited the IITA Cassava Value Chain Team to its 2014 “Road show and Exhibition” at the Nicon Transcorp Hotel, Abuja, on 29 October, to showcase the project’s achievements and also show recently developed technologies as part of efforts to explore possible areas for collaboration in 2015.
IITA displayed publications, posters, and products which included food items such as cakes, bread, and biscuits, and recipes with 100% cassava (chin-chin, doughnuts, cookies, egg rolls, and strips). Also showcased were IITA’s technologies including aflasafe, aeroponics, NoduMax, high quality yam flour, vitamin A cassava, plantain-based PITA wine, banana jam, plantain flour, and the activities of the IITA Youth Agripreneurs.
“…We expect that the event will open doors for further partnership with Shell and other multinational organizations that could be interested in promoting agriculture,” said Gbassey Tarawali, IITA Representative in Abuja of the DG and DDG-PCD. He added. “Our guests were amazed at the intensity of work going on in IITA. The visitors tasted the food products and they were surprised that such products and beverages of such good quality could come out of cassava, plantain, banana, and other crops…what remains is for IITA to follow up with relevant departments interested in continuing their partnership with IITA in 2015 and confirm possible areas of collaboration.”
Pour plus d'informations, veuillez contacter :
Andrea Gros, Head of Communication, a.gros@cgiar.org
À propos de l'IITA, www.iita.org
L'IITA est l'un des principaux partenaires de recherche au monde pour trouver des solutions à la faim, à la malnutrition et à la pauvreté. Son approche primée de recherche pour le développement (R4D) répond aux besoins de développement des pays tropicaux. L'IITA travaille avec des partenaires pour améliorer la qualité et la productivité des cultures, réduire les risques pour les producteurs et les consommateurs, et générer de la richesse à partir de l'agriculture. L'IITA est une organisation à but non lucratif fondée en 1967 et dirigée par un conseil d'administration. L'IITA travaille sur les cultures suivantes : le niébé, le soja, la banane/banane plantain, l'igname, le manioc et le maïs. L'IITA est membre du CGIAR, un partenariat mondial de recherche agricole pour un avenir alimentaire sûr.
Contribué par
Histoires récentes