In the week of 7 September, a two person team from USAID and AGRA visited IITA–Kalambo station to learn more about the agricultural development activities going on there and to explore areas of collaboration.
The USAID team consisted of Dr Peter Ewell (a consultant) and Mr Augustin Kidima Ngeleka of USAID Kinshasa. The visitors were taken around the station and interacted with key staff and members of the IITA Kalambo Youth Agripreneurs (IKYA). The team visited the processing unit, fabrication unit, exhibition center, greenhouses, and laboratories. They expressed amazement at what they saw of the facilities and ongoing work at the site. In the laboratories, the team asked many questions on rhizobia strain tests, the supply of inoculants, crop responses to inoculants especially by common beans and soybean, market issues and prices, etc. The visitors were happy with the responses that in his closing remarks, Dr Ewell said, “It has been very inspiring to see such a well-designed and well-managed program. The site is spectacular.”
A few days later, another team from the African Green Revolution for Agriculture (AGRA) visited the Station. The team was composed of Dr Joseph DeVries, AGRA’s Director for Africa’s Seed Systems Program, and Dr Chris Assanzi, AGRA’s Program Officer based in Goma, DRC. Dr DeVries presented on AGRA’s activities in DRC. These included organizing training on crop breeding, funding projects on breeding new crop varieties, developing and strengthening private sector capacity on seed systems, and developing strong partnership networks to improve on the quality and quantity of improved seed accessibility. After visiting the processing unit, AGRA representatives expressed amazement at the diversity of soybe anderived products and the explanations provided by the IKYA members. They said they would advocate and lobby with their financial backers so that soybean could also be included as part of their m andate crops as well. After the visit, the team said they were overwhelmed by the investments made, congratulated those with the vision to build the site, and expressed their willingness to partner with IITA-Kalambo. To share in the IITA-Kalambo vision, the team discussed important areas of collaboration, such as soil sample analysis, demonstration of new technologies to farmers, training of agronomists, and tests of laboratory experiments.
Pour plus d'informations, veuillez contacter :
Catherine Njuguna, c.njuguna@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.
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