In line with IITA’s goal of transforming Africa’s Agriculture, the International Association of Research Scholars and Fellows (IARSAF) of IITA organized a three-day annual symposium to discuss agricultural research to achieve sustainable food security across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The 2021 symposium held on 2–4 November was themed: “Exploiting Science, Technology, and Innovations for Building a Sustainable Agricultural Transformation in Africa.” Mary Emeraghi, a PhD research fellow in the Virology and Diagnostics Unit, moderated the symposium.
Representing IITA Director General Nteranya Sanginga, Alfred Dixon, Director of Development and Delivery Office, stated that IITA is transitioning to One CGIAR with a collective vision of building sustainable and resilient food, land, and water systems, an important focus in SSA. “IITA will continue to contribute to the One CGIAR in parallel with the historical mandate of developing international public roles to enhance science and agricultural productivity in the region,” he said.
Similarly, Chrysantus Akem, Coordinator, TAAT Program, representing Kenton Dashiell, IITA DDG, Partnerships for Delivery, stressed the purpose of IARSAF. IITA has prioritized the training of graduate research fellows and made provisions for the program in project proposal development.
He said the research program is a pathway to enhance the research capacity of the national agricultural programs. “IITA is exploring new research areas within the new thematic areas with One CGIAR relating to partnership, as scaling and delivering to complement our traditional theme,” he said.
In his goodwill message, Michael Abberton, R4D Director, IITA-West Africa, encouraged the research fellows to passionately develop their skills and knowledge and apply them in their careers.
Olakunle Sansa, IARSAF President, in his address, appreciated the management team. He said the association has focused on the capacity development of its members, creating avenues for networking with the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS). Networking has exposed research fellows to the outstanding research efforts of the NARS while leveraging their acquired skills and experience at IITA to foster collaboration and engagement for national development.
IITA Head of Breeding Prof. John Derera delivered the first keynote address of the 24th annual symposium. He stressed the need for a cohesive partnership strategy among IITA crop breeding programs, key stakeholders, and partners to meet the needs of the smallholder farmers and improve their return on investment.
Dr Rose Gidado, Deputy Director Research, National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) Nigeria, who gave the second keynote address, highlighted the challenges facing agriculture in Africa. She emphasized the roles and potentials of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) as viable approaches to improving livelihoods, eradicating poverty and hunger, and creating jobs. Furthermore, she recommended that STI build human capacity, identify broad areas of science that can be developed in partnership, and create a favorable policy environment for science to attain sustainable agriculture.
Other presentations were made by Prof. Janice Olawoye, Department of Rural Sociology, University of Ibadan; Alejandro Ortega-Beltran, IITA Plant Pathologist; Prof. Olajide Sobukola, Food Processing and Preservation, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta; Ranjana Bhattacharjee, IITA Molecular Geneticist; Dr Olufemi Alabi an Associate Professor, Texas A&M University, and Bernard Vanlauwe, IITA Director R4D, Central Africa and Natural Resource Management.
Wrapping up the symposium, Dashiell commended the association on a successful and impactful meeting and admonished the young researchers to set goals and focus on their pursuits. He also encouraged them to cultivate the habit of seeking help and always showing appreciation for the help rendered to them. Sansa appreciated the management’s unrelenting support to the capacity development of research fellows in IITA.
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