From 24 to 26 September, IITA–CGIAR hosted a World Bank delegation at its headquarters in Ibadan, Nigeria, for a three-day visit designed to strengthen collaboration on agricultural development projects and showcase the institute’s groundbreaking research and innovations.
Welcoming the visitors, IITA Director General and CGIAR Regional Director for Continental Africa, Dr Simeon Ehui, expressed appreciation for the World Bank’s continued partnership and commitment to advancing agricultural transformation across Africa. He reaffirmed IITA’s dedication to fostering innovation and impact-driven collaborations that support farmers, strengthen food systems, and empower young people.
“Our doors are always open to our partners,” Dr Ehui said. “With the assistance of the World Bank, we intend to take technology from the lab and the field directly to the farmers. That is how we can truly transform African agriculture.”
During his remarks, Dr Ehui also highlighted IITA’s work in soil fertility management, youth engagement in agribusiness, and its growing partnerships with several African countries, including Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
An introductory video showcasing IITA’s mission and its decades-long impact in transforming African agriculture was presented to the delegation, setting the stage for a series of technical briefings.
Dr Abdoulaye Tahirou, IITA interim Deputy Director for Partnerships for Delivery, provided an overview of the institute’s research portfolio and mandate crops. He highlighted breakthrough technologies such as Nodumax, Aflasafe, and High-Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF)—a product capable of replacing up to 25% of wheat in food production—as examples of IITA’s science delivering practical solutions for farmers and industries.
Speaking on behalf of the delegation, Dr Hardwick Tchale, Lead Agricultural Economist for the West and Central Africa Region at the World Bank, commended IITA for its impactful work and forward-thinking approach. He expressed enthusiasm about expanding collaboration with the institute, noting the World Bank’s interest in engaging IITA-CGIAR to lead the second component of the agro project—scaling existing research and technologies from the lab and field to farmers and consumers.
At the IITA Youth in Agribusiness (IYA) Unit, the World Bank delegation commended the team for its impact over the years, noting that the IYA’s mandate aligns with a new program being designed by the Bank to attract young people into agriculture.
Responding to the delegation’s enquiries on the kind of post-training support provided to participants in the employment track and how participants raise capital, Adetola Adenmosun, Partnership and Stakeholder Engagement Manager at IYA, explained that the projects first identify employers and the specific skills in demand before training participants in those areas and linking them to suitable jobs.
She added that the job portal developed by one of the unit’s projects has also been instrumental in connecting participants to dignified jobs in the agricultural and allied sectors. “One remarkable outcome is that some participants in the employment track provide skilled services to those in the entrepreneurship track,” she added.
Addressing questions on how participants finance their agribusiness ventures, Adenmosun explained that while some young farmers already have savings and only require support to scale up, new entrants are provided with starter kits to help them establish their enterprises, build business profiles, and develop credit histories that enable them to access larger financing opportunities. “Some need certification to scale up and access new markets, and we facilitate that for them,” she added.
On the commodities most preferred by young people, she noted that participants are often drawn to short-cycle commodities such as aquaculture, poultry, horticulture, and crops like maize, soybean, cowpea, and vegetables. “We also found that if you want to attract women, you need to consider value addition or enterprises they can easily start at home, so it doesn’t take them away from their families. Those short-cycle commodities also give them quick returns on investment,” she stated.
Adenmosun further emphasized that the combination of training, mentorship, and post-program support provided by the unit serves as a strong incentive for aspiring young farmers. She added that IITA continues to engage with governments through policy suggestions addressing systemic issues—such as access to land—that often discourage youth from embracing agriculture.
When asked about the adoption of IITA technologies by young farmers, she explained that during and after training, participants are linked to relevant innovations in their areas of interest. “For example, when we train participants in maize, we introduce them to drought-resistant and biofortified maize varieties. For those into soybean production, we introduce Nodumax to boost yields. For groundnut producers, we promote Aflasafe to prevent aflatoxin and access premium markets. For aquaculture, we collaborate with WorldFish, a CGIAR center, to source improved fingerlings, while catfish processors are introduced to smoking kilns instead of traditional methods,” she said.
In his closing remarks, Dr Hardwick Tchale applauded the IITA team for its accomplishments, noting the strong alignment with the World Bank’s upcoming youth-focused initiatives. “We at the World Bank are developing a new program with the government, and we do have elements within that project that would have to cater to the youth—essentially how to attract the youth into agribusiness—and that seems to be exactly what you are doing,” he said.
The visit concluded with a tour of IITA’s laboratories, incubation centers, and experimental fields, giving the delegation an in-depth look at how the institute’s research innovations are being translated into tangible agricultural solutions for Africa.
Contributed by Babatunde Ajaja, Tolulope Akinola and ’Timilehin Osunde
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