Sufficient investments must be made in the cassava seed sector to address the challenges plaguing the supply of quality cassava roots as raw materials to industries, says Dr Godwin Atser, an Advocacy, Promotion and Outreach Lead with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). In a presentation titled “Harnessing Opportunities in Cassava Seed System for…
‘Six Steps’ toolkit sparks excitement among cassava farmers
Farmers in Oyo State, Nigeria were in awe when the African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) conducted some harvest operations on-farm plots set up to demonstrate the Six Steps to Cassava Weed Management and Best Planting Practices, one of the project’s agronomic recommendation toolkits. IITA-ACAI last year set…
Nigeria cassava farmers get post-emergence herbicides
Scientists working with the African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) have identified some postemergence herbicides that farmers can use during the growing period of cassava to tackle weeds. These postemergence herbicides, though not exclusive to cassava, have been adapted in the framework of the Six Steps to Cassava…
Complete Farmer Launches Web Farming Platform
Farming is a great income generator but farming is also synonymous with a significant level of hard work – which is a deal breaker for most people. Complete Farmer is working to change that by making farming accessible to anyone with the launch of its web farming platform, therefore providing an easy way to farm…
East African research centres plot for climate-ready cassava
By Patrick Amunavi A team comprising of researchers from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) in Kenya, Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute (MARI) in Tanzania, in collaboration with Basque Institute for Research and Development in Agriculture (NEIKER) in Spain are evaluating and developing cassava cultivars adaptable to the climate change-induced stresses. The project…
Nigeria declares weeds as major productivity drawback in cassava farming
Commissioners of agriculture in Nigeria’s cassava growing belt have decried the weeds menace which they blamed for low yields in cassava and the main constraint limiting the competitiveness of cassava farmers in the country. To stem this menace, the commissioners signed in a communique at the 2018 Annual Review & Work Planning Meeting of the…
Agriculture is the way to become wealthy but it can’t happen the way our parents practiced, IITA says
Developing creative messages or methods that would attract young people to agriculture could help Africa to attract youth to agriculture and end the rising unemployment in the continent, says the Deputy Director General Partnership for Delivery, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dr Kenton Dashiell today. In a message to journalists to mark the 2017…
Gowon, Obasanjo to address scientists as they grace IITA’s 50th anniversary celebration
Two former heads of state of Nigeria, Dr Yakubu Gowon, and Chief Olusegun Obasanjo will grace the 50th anniversary celebration (IITA@50) of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan on 24 July where they will address a gathering of scientists. Other confirmed participants include Dr Akin Adesina, President of the African Development Bank…
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