{"id":14091,"date":"2026-06-20T12:32:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:32:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/special-envoy-highlights-drcs-agriculture-plan-during-visit-to-iita-goodwill-ambassador-and-former-nigerian-president\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T21:32:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T21:32:32","slug":"special-envoy-highlights-drcs-agriculture-plan-during-visit-to-iita-goodwill-ambassador-and-former-nigerian-president","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/special-envoy-highlights-drcs-agriculture-plan-during-visit-to-iita-goodwill-ambassador-and-former-nigerian-president\/","title":{"rendered":"Special Envoy highlights DRC\u2019s agriculture plan during visit to IITA Goodwill Ambassador and former Nigerian President"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">During his extended visit to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">IITA<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> headquarters in Ibadan, Special Envoy to the Democratic Republic of Congo President, Pacifique Kahasha Birindwa, visited IITA\u2019s Goodwill Ambassador and former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo in Abeokuta, Ogun State, as part of his itinerary.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">IITA Director General, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/iita-staff\/sanginga-nteranya\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Dr Nteranya Sanginga<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, accompanied the Special Envoy, who explained that his visit was partly to raise awareness and cultivate support for President Felix Tshisekedi\u2019s plans to ensure that agriculture in DRC becomes the primary vehicle of development in DRC.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure id=\"attachment_24137\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-24137\" style=\"width: 595px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-24137\" src=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Special-Envoy-highlights-p1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"595\" height=\"482\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-24137\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">IITA Goodwill Ambassador, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo welcomes Special Envoy Birindwa, Ntwali, and DG Sanginga.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Chief Obasanjo welcomed the delegation, commending President Tshisekedi\u2019s decision to embrace agriculture. \u201cHe has begun very well, but there is need for continuity, and I hope the people of DRC understand that you don\u2019t replace or withdraw a winning horse in a race,\u201d he said. He added that agriculture is the centerpiece of Africa\u2019s economic activities and the beginning of industrialization.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Obasanjo noted that Africa could mobilize its internal and external resources to develop its agribusiness sector. He further highlighted DRC\u2019s abundance of rain and arable land, which exceeds that of all other African countries. \u201cDRC is the only country in Africa with more than one time zone,\u201d he noted.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure id=\"attachment_24138\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-24138\" style=\"width: 820px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-24138\" src=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Envoy-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"820\" height=\"411\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-24138\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chief Obasanjo (third from left) with the DRC and IITA delegation.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Birindwa was on an exploratory visit to IITA Nigeria following President Tshisekedi\u2019s government\u2019s decision to transform the country\u2019s agricultural sector using IITA\u2019s Nigerian model. He said DRC had been practicing subsistence agriculture, and it was time to change the status quo. \u201cBased on what IITA did for Nigeria, President Tshisekedi has requested the African Development Bank (AfDB) President Dr Akinwunmi Adesina and IITA DG Sanginga to help DRC create and implement a next-generation agricultural project that will not only increase the country\u2019s agricultural production and the entire value chain but also pull the economy into commercialization,\u201d he said.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">During an exclusive interview with Radio IITA, Birindwa said his visit to IITA and Nigeria had been nothing short of inspiring and transformative. \u201cNow I can develop a strategic plan for the President\u2019s further action,\u201d he added.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Dr Sanginga expressed his optimism about the project in DRC and said CGIAR and IITA would provide the needed support to help DRC attain its goal.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">After the meeting, the Special Envoy and his Assistant Felix Karume Ntwali toured the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library and Museum.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Contribu\u00e9 par <\/em>Odok, Dajie Blessing<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During his extended visit to the IITA headquarters in Ibadan, Special Envoy to the Democratic Republic of Congo President, Pacifique Kahasha Birindwa, visited IITA\u2019s Goodwill Ambassador and former Nigerian President<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":14092,"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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