On 6 May, the Senior Special Adviser (SSA) on Agriculture and Agribusiness to the Ondo State Governor, Honorable Rotimi Akinsola, led a delegation to the IITA–CGIAR headquarters in Ibadan. The visit aimed to explore collaborative opportunities that would enhance Ondo State’s agricultural sector by leveraging IITA’s research-driven innovations and mandate crops.
The IITA team, led by the Director for the West Africa Hub and Head of the Genetic Resources Centre (GRC), Professor Michael Abberton, welcomed the Ondo State delegation while outlining some of IITA’s scaling efforts in Nigeria. Speaking on IITA’s decentralization strategy across sub-Saharan Africa, Prof Abberton highlighted the institute’s response to challenges faced by smallholder farmers, focusing on climate-smart agriculture and the integration of ICT technologies. Adding that these innovations are scaled through strategic partnerships with national agricultural systems and the private sector.
Impressed by the depth of IITA’s work, Honorable Akinsola expressed a strong interest in initiating collaboration to introduce improved crop varieties in Ondo State. “We want to work with IITA to bring new crop varieties to Ondo State to strengthen our agricultural systems,” he said.
He further elaborated on the objectives of the visit, stating that the goal is to learn from IITA’s research and apply the knowledge to drive agricultural transformation in Ondo State. “Our vision is to harness our agricultural potential—especially our land—by implementing land banking initiatives that bring agriculture closer to the communities and, most importantly, engage our youth meaningfully,” he noted.
During a visit to the RadioIITA studio, the RadioIITA Lead, Dajie Odok, explained how the platform disseminates agricultural innovations to a broad audience. Honorable Akinsola lauded the initiative and expressed interest in collaborating with RadioIITA to amplify agricultural communication efforts in Ondo State.
Identifying rice as one of the priority crops, the AfricaRice Country Representative, Dr Francis Nwilene, shared some improved rice varieties slated for release during the upcoming farmer field days. Honourable Akinsola is committed to making land available for rice cultivation in Ondo State and welcomes the prospect of farmer training programs on good agronomic practices to improve productivity.
The visit concluded with a presentation by IITA Agribusiness Hub Manager Waheed Oni on IITA Youth in Agribusiness (IYA) program, after which Honorable Akinsola pledged to initiate a youth-focused agricultural training scheme in Ondo State, recognizing the critical role of youth in sustaining agricultural transformation.
The visit marks a significant commitment between IITA and the Ondo State government to forge partnerships to drive innovation, enhance productivity, and create economic opportunities within the state’s agricultural landscape.
Contributed by Anita Akinyomade
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