A delegation from the United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) recently paid a four-day visit to IITA headquarters in Ibadan to review the existing partnership between the two organizations.
The FCDO Food and Agriculture Advisor Nicholas Baynham and Deputy Program Manager Naanchin Muhammad were received by IITA Deputy Director General, Partnerships for Delivery (DDG-P4D), Kenton Dashiell and other members of the Institute’s Management team.
In his opening remarks, Baynham said the visit was to learn and experience the research side of the MoUs that have been signed, such as the recently signed one with HarvestPlus.
He stated that the visit is part of the team’s plans to have better oversight of what the UK does in Nigeria, “to know about what we are funding and contributing to while exploring what we can do more,” he said.
In his welcome remarks, Dashiell encouraged them to ask questions to get all the information they need during their tour of IITA’s facilities. He also gave an overview of IITA research activities in West Africa.
IITA Biomarker and Anthropometry Lead for the National Food Consumption and Micronutrient Survey (NFCMS), Mercy Lungaho, gave insights from the National Nutrition Survey report. “IITA is working with partners to ensure that agriculture works for nutrition,” she said.
She also highlighted the need to increase efforts to help people make informed, healthy choices and improve nutrition metrics.
Baynham commended the IITA Nutrition team’s contribution to the national survey and stated that it is an excellent approach to addressing food insecurity.
Deputy Director General, Corporate Services (DDG-CS), Hilde Koper, also gave the visitors an overview of IITA’s Corporate Service activities in Nigeria and Africa. There was also an overview of IITA’s financial management and project administration.
The FCDO team visited various facilities at the IITA headquarters, including the Genetic Resources Center, Nutrition Laboratory, Cassava Unit, HarvestPlus, the IITA-Youth in Agribusiness Office, and Business Incubation Center (BIP), showcasing Aflasafe, Nodumax, and GoSeed.
“The extent of IITA’s work is much bigger than I had previously thought, and it is impressive. It is also good to look at the different ways of integrating research; for example, the integration of the genebank, biosciences, and the field activities are all very interesting,” said an excited Baynham.
The FCDO team said they would explore suitable ways to strengthen the mechanism for communication between both organizations, especially within Nigeria. This will provide more opportunities to collaborate and engage in the future.
Contributed by Timilehin Osunde
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