{"id":18465,"date":"2026-06-20T13:05:52","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T13:05:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/republic-of-benin-and-iita-deepen-strategic-partnership-on-youth-centered-agricultural-transformation\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T16:45:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T16:45:55","slug":"republic-of-benin-and-iita-deepen-strategic-partnership-on-youth-centered-agricultural-transformation","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/republic-of-benin-and-iita-deepen-strategic-partnership-on-youth-centered-agricultural-transformation\/","title":{"rendered":"Republic of Benin and IITA deepen strategic partnership on youth-centered agricultural transformation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dr<\/a>
Dr Simeon Ehui with President Patrice Guillaume Talon.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n

President of the Republic of Benin, His Excellency Patrice Guillaume Talon, has articulated a clear national vision to accelerate agricultural transformation by placing young people at the center, linking education, skills development, and agribusiness opportunities to prepare the next generation for productive careers in agriculture.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This priority formed the basis of a high-level engagement between President Talon and the\u00a0<\/span>IITA<\/span><\/a>\u00a0Directeur g\u00e9n\u00e9ral et\u00a0<\/span>CGIAR<\/span><\/a>\u00a0Regional Director for Continental Africa, Dr Simeon Ehui, as both parties explored new frontiers for strengthening the long-standing strategic partnership between IITA-CGIAR and the Government of Benin.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The discussions focused on aligning IITA\u2019s research and development agenda with Benin\u2019s national agricultural transformation priorities, with particular emphasis on youth engagement, agricultural education, capacity development, and agribusiness development.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of the Government\u2019s broader strategy to prepare young people for careers in agriculture and agribusiness, both parties discussed opportunities to integrate agricultural education into the high school curriculum. President Talon highlighted the importance of introducing students to agriculture early, equipping them with practical skills, and nurturing an entrepreneurial mindset as a pathway to job creation and economic growth.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dr<\/a>
Dr Simeon Ehui with Republic of Benin, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries, Gaston Dossouhoui.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Existing Government\u2013IITA collaborations in Benin such as the ENABLE-Youth initiative under the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) program has been recognized\u00a0a strong foundation\u00a0on which to build a more comprehensive national system for youth-centered agricultural education and agribusiness development.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Ehui reaffirmed IITA\u2019s commitment to supporting the Government of Benin\u2019s vision through technical backstopping, curriculum development, teacher and trainer capacity building, and the provision of research-based innovations and learning tools.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEquipping young people with the right foundation to see agriculture as a viable and profitable business is essential for transforming food systems and creating jobs in Africa,\u201d he said. \u201cIITA is ready to work with the Government of Benin to design and implement a robust agricultural education framework that prepares the next generation of\u00a0agripreneurs.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meeting also reviewed broader areas of collaboration, including research alignment with national priorities, innovation scaling, capacity development, and strengthening national agricultural systems to support productivity, resilience, and inclusive growth.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a related engagement during the mission to Benin,\u00a0<\/span>Dr Ehui also met with the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries, Gaston\u00a0Dossouhoui, alongside a delegation from IITA headquarters in Ibadan and the IITA Resident Representative in Benin, Dr Manu Tamo. The meeting, held in a spirit of open dialogue, trust, and strong institutional partnership, underscored the depth of collaboration between\u00a0both parties. This\u00a0reaffirmed shared commitment\u00a0geared towards\u00a0strengthening the\u00a0long-standing cooperation in support of agricultural research, scientific education, youth development, and sustainable agriculture, with IITA reiterating its readiness to continue supporting Benin\u2019s national priorities in line with existing agreements.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

IITA-CGIAR has\u00a0partnered with the Government of Benin for\u00a0nearly 40\u00a0years, contributing to agricultural research, technology dissemination, capacity building, and policy support. This renewed engagement signals a shift toward a more integrated, systems-level partnership,\u00a0linking research, education, youth development, and agribusiness\u00a0to accelerate Benin\u2019s agricultural transformation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deepened collaboration reflects a shared commitment to empowering young people, strengthening institutions, and ensuring sustainable agricultural development for Benin and the wider region.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contribu\u00e9 par \u2019Timilehin Osunde<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President of the Republic of Benin, His Excellency Patrice Guillaume Talon, has articulated a clear national vision to accelerate agricultural transformation<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":18466,"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":[],"location":[26],"news-type":[],"hub":[61],"crop":[],"impact-areas":[],"item-year":[204],"class_list":["post-18465","news-item","type-news-item","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","location-benin","hub-western-africa","item-year-204"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-item\/18465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-item"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news-item"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-item\/18465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19368,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-item\/18465\/revisions\/19368"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18465"},{"taxonomy":"science-area","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/science-area?post=18465"},{"taxonomy":"program","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/program?post=18465"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=18465"},{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=18465"},{"taxonomy":"hub","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hub?post=18465"},{"taxonomy":"crop","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/crop?post=18465"},{"taxonomy":"impact-areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/impact-areas?post=18465"},{"taxonomy":"item-year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/item-year?post=18465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}