{"id":14578,"date":"2026-06-20T12:36:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/iita-goodwill-ambassador-hosts-incoming-director-general-reaffirms-commitment-to-african-food-security\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T21:24:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T21:24:31","slug":"iita-goodwill-ambassador-hosts-incoming-director-general-reaffirms-commitment-to-african-food-security","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/iita-goodwill-ambassador-hosts-incoming-director-general-reaffirms-commitment-to-african-food-security\/","title":{"rendered":"IITA Goodwill Ambassador hosts incoming Director General, reaffirms commitment to African food security"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure id=\"attachment_25757\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-25757\" style=\"width: 383px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-25757\" src=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IITA-Goodwill-Ambassador-p1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"IITA Goodwill Ambassador, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, welcoming the incoming DG, Dr Simeon Ehui\" width=\"383\" height=\"411\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-25757\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">IITA Goodwill Ambassador, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, welcoming the incoming DG, Dr Simeon Ehui<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/\">IITA<\/a> Goodwill Ambassador and former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that Africa becomes a food-secure continent and that the zero hunger vision is achieved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chief Obasanjo said this during a courtesy call by IITA\u2019s newly appointed Director General, Dr Simeon Ehui, accompanied by Dr <a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/iita-staff\/sanginga-nteranya\/\">Nteranya Sanginga<\/a>, the outgoing Director General. \u201cAs the Institute\u2019s Goodwill Ambassador, I am working with key stakeholders, including heads of governments and policymakers on the continent, to ensure that Africa is food-sufficient and would not have to rely on exporting produce for processing in the future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following his first visit after being appointed IITA\u2019s 8<sup>th<\/sup> Director General, Dr Ehui visited Chief Obasanjo in Abeokuta to discuss strategies to improve food and nutrition security, achieve zero hunger, and broker collaboration within the research, policy-making, and development communities in Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure id=\"attachment_25758\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-25758\" style=\"width: 820px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-25758\" src=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/H.E.-Chief-Olusegun-Obasanjo-Dr-Simeon-Ehui-and-Dr-Nteranya-Sanginga.jpg\" alt=\"(Seated L-R) H.E. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Dr Simeon Ehui, and Dr Nteranya Sanginga, discussing during the meeting.\" width=\"820\" height=\"411\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-25758\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Seated L-R) H.E. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Dr Simeon Ehui, and Dr Nteranya Sanginga, discussing during the meeting.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In his welcome remarks, Chief Obasanjo expressed delight at Dr Ehui\u2019s record of accomplishments in research and sustainable development. He said he is confident that his tenure will further impact the food systems positively across the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">IITA\u2019s outgoing DG, Dr Sanginga, said his successor would give the same level of engagement and support Chief Obasanjo received during his tenure. He added that Dr Ehui is ready to work with him as they both share the same vision of seeing Africa become a food-sufficient continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure id=\"attachment_25759\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-25759\" style=\"width: 820px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-25759\" src=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Chief-Obasanjo-speaking-with-the-media-reaffirming-his-commitment-to-African-food-security.jpg\" alt=\"Chief Obasanjo speaking with the media, reaffirming his commitment to African food security\" width=\"820\" height=\"411\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-25759\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chief Obasanjo speaking with the media, reaffirming his commitment to African food security<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The IITA Goodwill Ambassador revealed that there is a need for Africa to maximize revenue through agriculture, \u201cinstead of taking our agricultural produce out for processing, we can look inward and keep the revenue on the continent,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr Ehui reassured Chief Obasanjo that while the conversations will be carried forward, he intends to build on the existing structures, systems, and partnerships established by his predecessor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Contributed by Timilehin Osunde<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>IITA Goodwill Ambassador and former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that Africa becomes a food-secure continent and that the zero hunger vision is achieved.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":14579,"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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