{"id":13334,"date":"2026-06-20T12:27:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:27:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/afdb-president-applauds-iita-efforts-in-assisting-africa-to-feed-itself\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T21:39:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T21:39:16","slug":"afdb-president-applauds-iita-efforts-in-assisting-africa-to-feed-itself","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/afdb-president-applauds-iita-efforts-in-assisting-africa-to-feed-itself\/","title":{"rendered":"AfDB President applauds IITA efforts in assisting Africa to feed itself"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure id=\"attachment_14088\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14088\" style=\"width: 250px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Dr-Nteranya-Sanginga-Welcomes-AfDB-president-Akinwumi-Adesina.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14088\" src=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Dr-Nteranya-Sanginga-Welcomes-AfDB-president-Akinwumi-Adesina.jpg\" alt=\"photo of DG Nteranya Sanginga  and President Akinwumi Adesina\" width=\"250\" height=\"181\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-14088\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">DG Nteranya Sanginga welcomes AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina at the IITA Abuja Station.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The President of the African Development Bank (<a title=\"Visit the African Development Bank website\" href=\"http:\/\/www.afdb.org\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BAD<\/a>), Akinwumi Adesina, has commended IITA for piloting a sustainable program that is already combining the energies of youth in ventures that could make the continent food sufficient. The President also expressed hope that the creation of young farmers will help stop the continent\u2019s dependence on imported food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The President made the statement on 27 September when he visited the IITA Station in Abuja with principal officers of the Bank. He was in Abuja to hear the success stories of the\u00a0<a title=\"Visit the IITA Youth Agripreneurs website\" href=\"http:\/\/youthagripreneurs.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IITA Youth Agripreneurs<\/a>\u00a0(IYA) in Nigeria  and to also inspect the construction of the youth training center funded by the Bank at the station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Commending DG\u00a0<a title=\"Visit Nteranya Sanginga&apos;s profile page on the IITA website\" href=\"http:\/\/oldlrinternet.iita.org\/sanginga-nteranya-e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nteranya Sanginga<\/a>\u00a0for initiating an Africa-wide youth-in-agribusiness program, Adesina said that only visionary leaders like DG Sanginga could make young men  and women billionaires from agribusiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSanginga is doing something remarkable at IITA. He is pragmatic, practical,  and result driven, trying always to link results to research  and development. The success of the IITA Youth Agripreneurs today is a result of his vision. Listening to IYA has convinced me that Africa has truly embraced agriculture as a business  and you (IYA) are the icons of agribusiness today  and will be the millionaires  and billionaires from agriculture tomorrow,\u201d Adesina stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President Adesina also pledged the support of the Bank towards funding independent businesses for the Agripreneurs  and also ensuring that they succeed in Nigeria. He disclosed that the bank had already approved a US$300 million fund for the implementation of the\u00a0<a title=\"Read story &apos;Innovative programme to improve employment  and income outcomes for young people&apos; on the AfDB website\" href=\"http:\/\/www.afdb.org\/en\/news- and-events\/article\/innovative-programme-to-improve-employment- and-income-outcomes-for-young-people-14217\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ENABLE Youth<\/a>\u00a0project through which IITA, working with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, will create 37,000 direct jobs in Nigeria. The Bank is also in the process of empowering financial institutions with the funds to support young Agripreneurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTo support Nigerian youth, the Bank has launched ENABLE Youth  and is delighted to implement the project with IITA  and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture in Nigeria. The focus is to directly support 37,000 businesses  and each one having 35 people under them can create about 180,000 jobs\u2026this will greatly reduce unemployment prevalent in Nigeria today. The Bank will also provide finance for youth beneficiaries to run their businesses, set up a business incubation support  and access to finance for young people,  and enable financial institutions so that young people can access the funds that they need to grow their businesses,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Going forward, Adesina will be con\u00adcluding discussions on the implementation of the ENABLE project in Nigeria so that the initiative can start as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more information please contact:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Katherine Lopez, Head of Communication, IITA HQ,\u00a0<a>K.Lopez@cgiar.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u00c0 propos de l'IITA<\/strong>\u00a0www.iita.org<br>IITA is one of the world\u2019s leading research partners in finding solutions for hunger, malnutrition,  and poverty. Its award-winning research-for-development (R4D) approach addresses the development needs of tropical countries. IITA works with partners to enhance crop quality  and productivity, reduce producer  and consumer risks,  and generate wealth from agriculture. IITA is a non-profit organization founded in 1967 in Nigeria  and governed by a Board of Trustees. IITA works on the following crops: cowpea, soybean, banana\/plantain, yam, cassava,  and maize. It is a member of CGIAR, a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, has commended IITA for piloting a sustainable program that is already combining the energies of youth in ventures that could make the continent food sufficient.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":13335,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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