{"id":17961,"date":"2026-06-20T13:00:44","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T13:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/french-ambassador-to-nigeria-visits-iita-reinforces-commitment-to-agricultural-innovation\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T16:55:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T16:55:31","slug":"french-ambassador-to-nigeria-visits-iita-reinforces-commitment-to-agricultural-innovation","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/french-ambassador-to-nigeria-visits-iita-reinforces-commitment-to-agricultural-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"L'ambassadeur de France au Nigeria visite l'IITA et r\u00e9affirme son engagement en faveur de l'innovation agricole"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_32372\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32372\" style=\"width: 820px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-32372 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/French-Ambassador-to-Nigeria.jpeg\" alt=\"French Ambassador to Nigeria, H. E. Marc Fonbaustier (l) and IITA Director General, Dr Simeon Ehui (r).\" width=\"820\" height=\"411\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32372\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">French Ambassador to Nigeria, H. E. Marc Fonbaustier (l) and IITA Director General, Dr Simeon Ehui (r).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\nThe French Ambassador to Nigeria, H.E. Marc Fonbaustier, on a courtesy visit to <a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/\">IITA<\/a> headquarters in Ibadan, reinforced the shared commitment between France and IITA to agricultural development, private sector engagement, and agricultural knowledge exchange.\n\nExpressing admiration for IITA\u2019s work in a meeting with IITA Director General and CGIAR Regional Director for Africa, Dr <a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/iita-staff\/simeon-ehui\/\">Sim\u00e9on Ehui<\/a>, Ambassador Fonbaustier praised the Institute\u2019s dedication and international talent pool. \u201cI am impressed by the level of commitment and struck by the combination of staff and talents from many different countries. What you do here is not only for Africa but also for the world. We must build bridges and capacity between IITA and France, and I will do my best to speak for IITA,\u201d he stated.\n\n<figure id=\"attachment_32373\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32373\" style=\"width: 820px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-32373 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IITA-Management-team.jpeg\" alt=\"IITA Management team with the French Entourage.\" width=\"820\" height=\"411\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32373\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">IITA Management team with the French Entourage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\nA highlight of the visit was a video presentation showing IITA\u2019s innovation and impact across Africa. During discussions, Dr Ehui emphasized the importance of expanding partnerships. \u201cIITA is keen to strengthen collaboration with France, particularly in funding and agricultural research,\u201d he noted.\n\nAmbassador Fonbaustier inquired about key areas where he could influence support, particularly in mobilizing resources. Discussions highlighted opportunities in agricultural research, private-sector collaboration, and technical education. IITA\u2019s Director for West Africa, Dr Michael Abberton, pointed to existing partnerships in crop research, particularly on cowpeas and yam. Simultaneously, the Deputy Director General for Partnerships for Delivery, Dr Kenton Dashiell, emphasized the role of private-sector engagement in advancing agricultural innovations.\n\n<figure id=\"attachment_32374\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32374\" style=\"width: 820px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-32374 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/French.jpeg\" alt=\"H. E. Marc Fonbaustier discussing with Dr Simeon Ehui.\" width=\"820\" height=\"411\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32374\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">H. E. Marc Fonbaustier discussing with Dr Simeon Ehui.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">Regional Counsellor for Agriculture, Embassy of France in Nigeria, <\/span>Sonia Darracq, who underscored the potential to revitalize partnerships with institutions like CIRAD and enhance cooperation in cocoa research, banana production, and agri-tech education, further reinforced French agricultural collaboration efforts.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s not too late to build stronger synergies, and we are already engaging private-sector players in these discussions,\u201d she remarked.\n\nThe meeting concluded with an agreement to explore practical steps, including:\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 40px; list-style-type: circle;\">\n \t<li>Initiating an exchange program between scientists and students.<\/li>\n \t<li>Strengthening collaboration in agri-tech education.<\/li>\n \t<li>Leveraging private-sector partnerships for agricultural development.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nAs both parties move forward, the renewed engagement between IITA and France sets the stage for deeper cooperation, ensuring that agricultural research translates into impactful solutions for Africa and beyond.\n\n<em>Contribu\u00e9 par \u2018Timilehin Osunde<\/em>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The French Ambassador to Nigeria, H.E. Marc Fonbaustier, on a courtesy visit to IITA headquarters in Ibadan.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":17962,"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 center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[],"science-area":[],"program":[112],"location":[32],"news-type":[],"hub":[61],"crop":[],"impact-areas":[],"item-year":[203],"class_list":["post-17961","news-item","type-news-item","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","program-foresight-impact-assessment-and-scaling-fias","location-nigeria","hub-western-africa","item-year-203"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>French Ambassador to Nigeria visits IITA, reinforces commitment to agricultural innovation - IITA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/french-ambassador-to-nigeria-visits-iita-reinforces-commitment-to-agricultural-innovation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"French Ambassador to Nigeria visits IITA, reinforces commitment to agricultural innovation - IITA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The French Ambassador to Nigeria, H.E. 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