IITA Emeritus Director General and President of the Africa Agricultural Leadership Institute (AALI), Dr Nteranya Sanginga, is on a working visit to Nigeria to discuss strategic collaborations with various stakeholders to address the pressing issue of food security across the African continent.
Sanginga’s visit is focused on devising comprehensive solutions to combat hunger, addressing climate-smart agriculture, and ensuring sustainable collaborative efforts.
While meeting with a team at the DRC-Nigeria Business Council, Sanginga emphasized the importance of regional collaboration to strengthen food security. “In addressing some of the identified challenges plaguing food security on the continent, there is a need to explore knowledge and resource sharing among African nations to enable a more resilient and interconnected food system,” he said.
In Abeokuta, highlighting some of the significant impacts under AALI, Sanginga gave IITA Ambassador Chief Olusegun Obasanjo a background to some of the efforts being introduced to implementing strategic initiatives under AALI.
Taking a tour of the Oyo State Fashola Agribusiness Park with a team led by IITA Business Incubation Platform Chief Executive Officer and Executive Adviser to Oyo State Governor on Agribusiness, International Cooperation, and Development Debo Akande, Sanginga enjoined Akande to ensure youth inclusiveness in the activities of the agribusiness park. “The youth are key contributors to the development processes across Africa,” he said.
Akande revealed that the plans include creating an ecosystem where strategic development partners like IITA, AALI, and other CGIAR centers can synergize seamlessly within Oyo State to create a system where everyone has a level playing ground with ease of access to resources and knowledge sharing.
Commending the various activities ongoing at the Fashola Agribusiness Park, Sanginga said IITA-BIP could actively reinforce the link between research, end-user, and value addition, adding that with a strong public-private partnership model that can be replicated across board, Africa will be a food-secure continent.
Contributed by Timilehin Osunde
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