{"id":18099,"date":"2026-06-20T13:01:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T13:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/nigerias-minister-of-state-for-agriculture-visits-iita-to-reinforce-deeper-collaboration\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T16:54:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T16:54:07","slug":"nigerias-minister-of-state-for-agriculture-visits-iita-to-reinforce-deeper-collaboration","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/nigerias-minister-of-state-for-agriculture-visits-iita-to-reinforce-deeper-collaboration\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria\u2019s Minister of State for Agriculture visits IITA to reinforce deeper collaboration"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a significant step to reinforce national agricultural institutions through deeper collaboration with IITA<\/a>\u2013CGIAR<\/a>, the Honourable Minister of State for Agriculture, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Safety (FMAFS)<\/a>, His Excellency Dr Aliyu Abdullahi<\/a>, paid a working visit to IITA\u2019s headquarters in Ibadan on 30 April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Honourable Minister of State for Agriculture Dr Aliyu Abdullahi handholding IITA Director for West Africa Hub Michael Abberton for the urgent need for collaboration.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IITA Director for West Africa Hub and Head of Genetic Resources Centre (GRC), Michael Abberton<\/a>, outlined the institute\u2019s contributions toward building a sustainable food system. He highlighted IITA\u2019s integrated research efforts in breeding, agronomy, socio-economics, nutrition, and health. He also emphasized the importance of scaling innovations through robust partnerships with national institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IITA Program Lead for Food Security, Nutrition, and Health, Mercy Lung\u2019aho<\/a>, commended FMASF for its collaboration on the National Food Consumption and Micronutrient Survey (NFCMS) and reaffirmed IITA\u2019s continued support for nutrition-sensitive agriculture through strategic partnerships with FMASF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his address, Dr Abdullahi expressed deep appreciation for IITA\u2019s research-for-development initiatives and their positive impact across the continent. He stressed the urgent need to strengthen national agricultural research institutions and proposed the creation of a “mirror image” of IITA within these institutions. This initiative, he explained, would involve IITA \u201chandholding\u201d national institutions to build their capabilities, ultimately transforming Nigeria\u2019s food system. \u201cIf we succeed in Nigeria, we will succeed in Africa,\u201d the Minister stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Abdullahi also spoke on the sustainability of agricultural development projects, underscoring the need for long-term impact and resilience within the agricultural sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding youth engagement, Dr Abdullahi highlighted the need to expand IITA\u2019s programs to underserved regions, particularly Borno and Yobe states, which have been affirmed to have considerable agricultural potential. He stressed the importance of selecting participants who are already involved in agriculture. This is to ensure the effectiveness of training and capacity-building initiatives. Responding to this, the IITA Agribusiness Hub Manager, Waheed Oni, noted that the institute is actively engaging with donors to develop proposals to extend program coverage to northern Nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n