{"id":14345,"date":"2026-06-20T12:34:50","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:34:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/meda-partners-with-iita-to-improve-food-systems\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T21:28:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T21:28:14","slug":"meda-partners-with-iita-to-improve-food-systems","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/meda-partners-with-iita-to-improve-food-systems\/","title":{"rendered":"MEDA partners with IITA to improve food systems"},"content":{"rendered":"The Senior Regional Director of Association de d\u00e9veloppement \u00e9conomique mennonite (MEDA)<\/a>, Dr Pierre Kadet<\/a>, and his Country team visited IITA<\/a>\u2013CGIAR<\/a> headquarters on 22 July. The purpose of the visit was to explore values chains of some IITA crops, such as soybean, and request support and linkages on other non-IITA mandate crops like rice and groundnut.\n\n
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Dr Pierre Kadet explaining how the new strategy would improve food systems.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\nGiving the welcome address, Chrysantus Akem<\/a>, Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) Program Coordinator, introduced the team to IITA\u2019s activities, including the Research for Development (R4D) and Partnerships for Delivery (P4D) programs. He also highlighted some of TAAT\u2019s achievements, mentioning IITA as the lead executor of the program. \u201cIITA and MEDA can work together to make a difference,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\n\nDr Kadet, stated that IITA and MEDA have an overlapping interest in agri-food systems and P4D. He gave an update of their \u201cGlobal strategy plan\u201d mission, which strongly emphasizes improving food systems and creating and sustaining 500 employment opportunities for women and youth in sub-Saharan Africa. He further shared their expectations, including the types of crops that will meet domestic needs and having robust industrialization to reach local and global markets.\n\nGrace Fosen<\/a>, Country Project Manager, spoke about MEDA\u2019s Women Entrepreneurship and Youth Empowerment Program (WAY). She mentioned that the program\u2019s objective is to support women and youth with capacity building on gender and environmentally sustainable machines to process soybean, rice, and groundnut. Fosen also shared the different intervention processes on how they have supported youth and women with technologies, transforming agricultural waste into briquettes\u2014a compressed block of coal dust or other combustible biomass material used for fuel. She requested that IITA shed light on the implementation strategies used for projects.\n\nIn response, Akem clarified the importance of technologies, explaining that one of the first strategies to adopting new technology is \u201cidentifying the best technology.\u201d\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

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Godwin Atser sharing some of IITA success stories of some projects.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\nIn addition, Godwin Atser<\/a>, Digital Extension, and Advisory Services Specialist, expatiated on how IITA has developed appropriate processing machines that are adaptable to local vicinities through the P4D arm of the Institute. \u201cThis has stimulated extension activities and created employment opportunities in the process,\u201d he said.\n\nWrapping up, Akem said MEDA would be linked to the youth program of IITA, and some of IITA projects, including Africa Rice, Feed the Future, and TAAT, to enlighten and work with them on the identified crops.\n\nAtser suggested they include cassava and maize as part of their crops since they both have local and industrial potential. To support his suggestion, he shared how IITA uses the bottom-up approach to identify farmers\u2019 problems, birthing successes in the Building an Economically Sustainable and Integrated Cassava Seed System (BASICS) and GiZ projects.\n\nFosen appreciated the IITA management team for the insightful discussions, adding that he and his team would follow up on the discussions for implementation.\n\nMEDA is an international organization focusing on employment and improvement of agricultural food systems and women and youth in rural communities. The organization provides business solutions and turns new technologies into marketable products for smallholder farmers and the entire food system around the ecosystem.\n\n
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IITA Senior Management team with the MEDA team.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Contributed by Anita Akinyomade<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/b><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Senior Regional Director of Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), Dr Pierre Kadet, and his Country team visited IITA-CGIAR headquarters on 22 July. The purpose of the visit was to explore values chains of some IITA crops, such as soybean, and request support and linkages on other non-IITA mandate crops like rice and groundnut.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":14346,"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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