{"id":13242,"date":"2026-06-20T12:55:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:55:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/iita-boss-warns-against-paying-lip-service-to-agriculture\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T18:11:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T18:11:45","slug":"iita-boss-warns-against-paying-lip-service-to-agriculture","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/iita-boss-warns-against-paying-lip-service-to-agriculture\/","title":{"rendered":"IITA boss warns against paying lip service to agriculture"},"content":{"rendered":"The Director General of IITA,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/sanginga-nteranya-e\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nteranya Sanginga<\/a>, has said that there would be negative consequences if Africa paid only lip service to agriculture, and failed to invest in the sector.\n<div id=\"attachment_1686\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Boss_051216.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1686\" src=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Boss_051216.jpg\" alt=\"Picture of DG Sanginga\" width=\"1024\" height=\"553\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1686\" \/><\/a>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-1686\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">DG Sanginga<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\nAddressing members of the Board of Trustees of IITA and researchers during the 2016 Partnerships for Delivery (P4D) Week in Ibadan that ended on 25 November, DG Sanginga said the neglect of agriculture would cost $110 billion in terms of food imports by 2025 to feed Africans; up from the current $35 billion.\n\nFurthermore, a failure to invest in agriculture would deprive the continent of necessary jobs and further fuel the spiraling rate of unemployment among the youth on the continent.\n\nHe acknowledged that although most African governments have come to the realization that agriculture was one of the ways to save the continent from the mess, most countries were not investing enough in the sector.\n\n\u201cTake for instance, the commitment to invest at least 10 percent of national budgets to agriculture. Not many countries are meeting this goal,\u201d DG Sanginga said.\n\nHe commended the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.afdb.org\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Banque africaine de d\u00e9veloppement<\/a>\u00a0for the new initiative\u2014Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.afdb.org\/en\/news-and-events\/article\/africa-feeding-africa-new-mega-initiative-to-transform-agriculture-in-africa-is-focus-of-international-meeting-15583\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TAAT<\/a>)\u2014to transform agriculture on the continent.\n\nTAAT is a new program of the AfDB in collaboration with the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cgiar.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CGIAR<\/a>\u00a0under the Feed Africa Initiative that aims to drive agricultural development on the continent.\n\nThrough the TAAT program, the Bank will invest more than $800 million in the agricultural sector. The funds would be channeled into upscaling of proven innovations that will improve the lot of farmers and address the twin problems of food insecurity and unemployment.\n\nDG Sanginga also reiterated IITA\u2019s commitment to supporting African small-scale farmers in agribusiness such that agriculture transcends \u201cfood for the fork\u201d to \u201cmoney in the pocket\u201d.\n\nAccording to him,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IITA<\/a>\u00a0will continue to respond to the needs of Africa by developing innovations that will provide answers to Africa\u2019s food insecurity. To this end, IITA will be demonstrating its scientific leadership not only in terms of qualitative research in the lab, but also impact in farmers\u2019 fields.\n\nDG Sanginga, who began his second tenure recently, said that IITA\u2019s priority for the future would focus on research, capacity development, partnerships, impact at scale, and most importantly, delivery.\n\nThe Director General said IITA\u2019s internal reorganization had put the Institute in a better position to address the challenges confronting Africa more than ever before.\n\nHe called on researchers to redouble their efforts and commitment to the ideas, mission, and vision of the Institute which includes lifting 11 million Africans out of poverty and the reclamation of 7.5 million hectares of degraded land and putting them into sustainable use.\n\nThe Chair of IITA\u2019s Board of Trustees,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/coulmanbruce\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bruce Coulman<\/a>, commended DG Sanginga for the efforts in repositioning IITA for the challenges ahead, stressing that the Board was convinced that \u201cIITA is in safe hands.\u201d\n\nHe emphasized that IITA would continue to support Africa in achieving the goal of eradicating hunger and poverty in Africa.\n\nThe P4D Week is a biannual event (alternating with Research for Development \u2013 R4D Week) that brings together more than 200 international researchers working for IITA across the world to review, share experiences, and plan the way forward.\n<div id=\"attachment_1687\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Boss_051216_2.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1687\" src=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Boss_051216_2.jpg\" alt=\"Picture of IITA\u2019s DG addresses the P4D Week audience in the IITA headquarters in Ibadan\" width=\"1024\" height=\"493\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1687\" \/><\/a>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-1687\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">IITA\u2019s DG addresses the P4D Week audience in the IITA headquarters in Ibadan<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\nDeputy Director General, Partnerships for Delivery,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/dashiell-kenton\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kenton Dashiell<\/a>\u00a0said the P4D Week\u2019s emphasis for the year was not just on research but also on delivery at scale.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Director General of IITA, Nteranya Sanginga, has said that there would be negative consequences if Africa paid only lip service to agriculture, and failed to invest in the 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