Representatives from the Japan and Kano office of Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) visited IITA headquarters on 18 May. The team, led by SAA President and General Manager Dr Makoto Kitanaka, came to strengthen the relationship between IITA and SAA. To achieve this, SAA decided to identify new areas of partnership and extend the existing partnership to other countries where SSA and IITA hubs are located.
Kenton Dashiell, Deputy Director General, Partnerships for Delivery, welcomed the team and introduced IITA’s activities and technologies through a video documentary.
Following the documentary, Kitanaka shared the purpose of the visit. He explained that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that IITA and SAA signed in 2019 is not limited to Nigeria but cuts across Africa. Hence, the team wants to explore how this partnership can extend to other SAA and IITA hubs in Africa, such as Ethiopia, Mali, Uganda, and the Sahel region. “The link between research and extension services is great in One CGIAR. So, we want IITA to work with us on strategies to increase soil health and production for farmers,” he said.
The team went on a tour of the IITA campus to see the activities and technologies in areas of interest. They visited the soil laboratory, the Genetic Resources Center, Nodumax, and the Youth in Agribusiness center.
The SAA team gave good feedback from the tour. Prof Sani Miko, Country Director for SAA Nigeria, said that the team had seen the footprint of IITA on smallholder farmers through innovations such as the AKILIMO project, genebank, and the youth program.
Highlighting the identified areas of partnership, Prof. Miko stated SAA’s interest in entrepreneurship, especially in the youth sector, technology generation in regenerative agriculture, and revitalization of the existing partnership in mechanization. “Our partnership with IITA is open-ended because we do not want it limited to one area. We are willing to co-innovate with IITA when necessary,” he said.
Discussing the final steps of the partnership, Kitanaka informed IITA that the critical points of discussion would be communicated to the Director of Partnerships for SAA, who will work with IITA to kick-start the process of activities. Dashiell also suggested the need for IITA and SAA to hold periodic meetings to follow up on progress.
Contributed by Favour Eleta
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