IITA Eastern Africa hub buzzed with activity this week as it hosted CGIAR Consortium Board meeting from 17 to 22 March. The event brought together the Board of Directors of CGIAR Consortium led by the Chair Dr Carlos Pérez del Castillo, members of the Fund Council, and the 15 Directors General from the 15 CGIAR centers.
The Institute organized a series of side events to give an overview of the wide range of research activities being carried out by IITA, other centers, and their national partners in the country. These included two one-hour science sessions, a welcome cocktail hosted by IITA as well as a field trip to see ongoing research on Roots, Banana and Tubers including work on cassava value addition.
Welcome to the country
During the first science session CGIAR Consortium Board members were warmly welcomed to the country by various representatives of the government, and their support to boosting agriculture was lauded. The Assistant Permanent Secretary in the Tanzania Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, Irrigation and Cooperatives, Engr. Raphael Daluti led in this effort. He welcomed CGIAR delegation to the country and noted its contributions, through its various centers, to the development of the agricultural sector in Tanzania since the seventies. He pointed out the work done on development of improved varieties of some of the most important crops for smallholder farmers in the country such as maize, banana, cassava, and beans.
“We have many examples of ways we have benefitted from the fruits of the centers’ agricultural research including improved varieties for maize, rice, sorghum, cassava, and agroforestry trees. These improved varieties are now grown by many farmers using recommended agronomic and plant protection packages and we are currently more food secure as a result of this,” he said. “Your institutions in partnership with my government have also greatly enhanced our capacity to do agricultural research.”
However, he noted that the agricultural sector still faced many challenges considering that it is mostly rain-fed and that the smallholder farmers were a majority of the poor. Therefore a lot still needed to be done to develop the sector as it was key to the country’s development agenda.
Also speaking at the event, Dr Fidelis Myaka, the Director for Research and Development at the same ministry who is also the current Chair of the Association for Strengthening Agriculture Research in East and Central Africa (ASARECA) also appreciated the support the regional body had received from CGIAR centers especially in capacity building.
“Agriculture is the backbone of the economies of the country under ASARECA and they are keenly investing in the sector. Agricultural research is important in supporting rural development through generating technologies and tools to boost production including biotechnology. And in this regard, we are grateful for the immense support from CGIAR and its centers,” he said.
He informed the visiting team that ASARECA had developed a new strategy to respond to the current challenges in the agricultural sector including climate change and was counting on the support of CGIAR, one of its key partners to help achieve its ambitions for agricultural research in the region.
Dr Castillo on his part thanked the Tanzanian government for its support to CGIAR through the centers that were working in the country and those it was hosting.
“Nearly all the centers have activities in Tanzania. With five of them being hosted here including our host IITA. They have received very good support and collaboration from the Tanzanian government and we would like to also assure the government of our continued support to the country.”
Out on a date
The second science session saw the Consortium Board members go on three dates with scientists from IITA and other centers working in the region. The three dates focused on some of the research activities being undertaken in the country: Roots, Tubers and Banana; aflatoxin control, and sustainable intensification of smallholder farming systems through the activities of the USAID-funded and IITA-led Africa RISING project.
CGIAR dinner for partners
As part of the week-long meeting, CGIAR also hosted a dinner for its partners in the country including policy makers, members of the diplomatic community, universities, and national research institutions.
Speaking at the dinner, Dr Castillo once again thanked the Tanzanian government for her support to CGIAR. He noted that the country was one of the countries in Africa making steady progress in investing in her agricultural sector as spelt out in its vision 2025, and CGIAR through its international research centers working in the country, was keen on continuing to support the government in these efforts.
“Almost all the 15 centers of CGIAR have activities in Tanzania. And they will continue to support the government of Tanzania and of other governments in the region in their efforts to tackle problems of hunger and poverty through research,” he said.
Dr Castillo further noted that this was a crucial time for CGIAR Board as it was starting to prepare for phase two of the reforms.
This was reiterated by Dr Frank Rijsberman, the CEO of CGIAR Consortium, who praised Tanzania for her efforts to increase her funding to agriculture in line with the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) of the African Union (AU) in which, among others, African countries pledged to increase their investment in the agricultural sector to 10% of their national budgets.
He highlighted some of the successes of the research centers in improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the country. He pointed out research done by IITA in the past to control cassava mealy bug in the continent and its current effort to control the two deadly diseases affecting cassava production in the country as well as promoting its processing into high quality cassava flour.
Another example he noted was the development of new rice varieties by the Africa Rice Center―New Rice for Africa, NERICA that were high yielding, tolerant to diseases, and also tolerant to drought.
IITA honored
The IITA Director General, Dr Nteranya Sanginga, speaking at the end of the week-long meeting said IITA was honored to host the important meeting in its Eastern Africa hub. He noted this was the first time the meeting was being held away from the headquarters of a center. He thanked all the staff at the hub for their hard work which ensured that the event was a success.
Catherine Njuguna, East and Central Africa Regional Communications Officer, c.njuguna@cgiar.org
About IITA www.iita.org
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is one of the world’s leading research partners in finding solutions for hunger, malnutrition, and poverty. Its award-winning research for development (R4D) approach addresses the development needs of tropical countries. IITA works with partners to enhance crop quality and productivity, reduce producer and consumer risks, and generate wealth from agriculture. IITA is a non-profit organization founded in 1967 in Nigeria and governed by a Board of Trustees. IITA works on the following crops: cowpea, soybean, banana/plantain, yam, cassava, and maize. IITA is a member of CGIAR, a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future.
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