The IITA
CGIAR
No. 2336
25 –29 July 2016
Sanginga to stay on as DG until 2021, IITA BoT confirms
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hrough an email circulated to all IITA staff by Bruce Coulman, Chair of the IITA Board of Trustees (BoT), on 28 July, the IITA BoT has officially confirmed the acceptance of Nteranya Sanginga of its offer for an additional five years at the helm of the Institute. In his communication, the BoT Chair said, “on behalf of the Board of Trustees of IITA, I am pleased to announce that Nteranya Sanginga has accepted our offer of an additional five-year term as Director General, beginning 1 November 2016.”
“IITA has undergone a period of unprecedented growth in its science capacity under Sanginga’s first five years of leadership. The Board is looking forward to working with the DG on the many new initiatives under way that will strengthen IITA’s position as the leading agricultural research institute to address the problems of hunger and poverty in Africa.” The whole IITA community joins the BoT in wishing DG Sanginga another fruitful term as head of IITA. DG Sanginga.
Landmark regional crop breeding trials show promise against deadly cassava viral diseases
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isease resistance trials being conducted simultaneously in 33 different locations across 5 African countries and involving 25 shared varieties – a first-of-its-kind multi-country collaborative cassava breeding initiative in East and Southern Africa – are showing promise against the deadly Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) and Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD). This was highlighted during a stakeholders’ meeting of the New Cassava Varieties and
Clean Seed to Combat CBSD and CMD Project (5CP) project, under which the trials are being undertaken, held recently in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The project is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and led by IITA working in collaboration with the national agricultural research systems of Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia where the trials are being conducted. The 5CP project is in its final year of implementation.
This landmark regional initiative is aimed at speeding-up the breeding of cassava varieties with dual resistance to CMD and CBSD in the five countries where the diseases are of great concern. Edward Kanju, IITA cassava breeder and coordinator of the 5CP project, reported that preliminary results of the trials have already shown that several of the new varieties are virtually unaffected by CBSD and CMD, even in locations where disease pressure is extremely high from infected fields surrounding the trials. “Although in many of the countries the varieties are undergoing their first year of trials, our initial results are already showing good promise. We will further validate the performance of these varieties by comparing them to local ones that have been selected as checks,” he explained.
5CP team visiting the trials in Tanzania.
In these trials, 25 cassava varieties contributed by and shared among the five countries are simultaneously being evaluated in multiple locations under high-disease pressure field conditions. The planting materials being used in Cont’d on page 2
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the trials underwent a rigorous clean-up exercise to ensure they are virus-free before being distributed as tissue culture plantlets. Each of the countries selected five of its best varieties in terms of performance against CMD and CBSD and shared them for the inter-country trials. This is the first time that breeders in the five countries have freely shared their best varieties in a concerted effort to tackle the two deadly diseases. The virus cleaning was carried out by the Natural Resources Institute (NRI) and the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate (KEPHIS). The material was forwarded to Genetics Technologies International Limited (GTIL), a commercial tissue culture company, for mass multiplication. The plantlets were then certified virus-free by the Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute (MARI) and IITA.
At the meeting, James Legg, IITA virologist, highlighted another objective of the 5CP Project, which is the establishment of pilot clean seed distribution system in Tanzania. Legg is leading this activity. “We are perfecting the cassava seed systems in Tanzania through a three-step approach: virus indexing, then rapid multiplication at a research station, and finally large-scale multiplication at a clean site in an area with low disease pressure.” “We have established clean seed sites in Mtwopa (Mtwara), Mwele (Tanga), Hombolo (Dodoma), and Nkenge (Kagera) in Tanzania’s cassava-growing heartland. They are routinely monitored and carefully managed. I am happy to report that there have been very low incidences of CMD and CBSD in these sites.”
“Moreover, the sites are now being used by the Tanzania Root and Tuber Research Programme to produce quality planting material of new, popular, and diseaseresistant varieties such as Mkuranga 1, Chereko, Kipusa, and Kizimbani, as well as some of the older favorites, such as Mkombozi, Kiroba, and Mumba,” added Legg. Another project development reported at the meeting is the establishment of rapid multiplication systems for mini-plants derived from virus-indexed tissue culture plantlets. Kiddo Mtunda, cassava researcher and Officer-in-Charge of the Sugarcane Research Institute (SRI) in Kibaha, is spearheading this work. By using these rapid propagation techniques in screenhouses, she and her team have been able to produce thousands of cassava plants in a matter of months.
UI launches School of Business, calls on IITA’s partnership
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he University of Ibadan (UI) has established its School of Business (UISB) and set out its objectives during its first Eminent Persons Business Lecture held at the International Conference Centre, UI on 16 July. The event was witnessed by a number of important personalities including former Nigerian President and IITA Ambassador, his Excellency, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo GCFR, as its first eminent guest lecturer. This high-profile lecture series is part of a special framework towards achieving the objectives of UISB of deepening the application of business principles and practices in the management of the national economy; evolving innovative curriculum and outreach programs towards more purposeful management of the critical development levers of the economy such as oil and gas,
for inviting IITA to partner with them in this undertaking. He said that IITA is in prime position to support UISB, being at the forefront of agricultural research in Africa and also physically located within Ibadan. He highlighted the activities of the IITA Youth Agripreneurs (IYA) in Ibadan, Abuja, Kano, Borno State, and Onne, and emphasized on Chief Obasanjo lauded the efforts of the increasing interest of Nigerian organizers for the innovation of the youth in agribusiness for income UISB that will draw more people into generation. the agricultural sector which is needed for the nation’s economic growth. In his Dashiell stated that through this address, he discussed the unlimited collaboration, MBA students from opportunities that agriculture offers UISB can help IYA be more successful the society and the possibilities that by conducting case studies on their agriculture can provide for the financial businesses, while IITA could provide the MBA program practical agribusiness stability of individuals and the nation. experiences for students, helping with Kenton Dashiell, DDG Partnerships curriculum development, and giving for Delivery (P4D), thanked UISB lectures when needed. agriculture, telecommunications, and the financial sector in consonance with the principle of management by exception; and to facilitate the evolution of a truly inclusive growth process through a credible participatory process anchored on a genuine partnership among the public/private sectors and the citizenry.
Olusegun Obasanjo (third from left) and Kenton Dashiell (second from right) lauded the efforts of UISB. Got a story to share? Please email it with photos and captions every Wednesday to Katherine Lopez (k.lopez@cgiar.org), Jeffrey T. Oliver (j.oliver@cgiar.org), Catherine Njuguna (c.njuguna@cgiar.org), or Adaobi Umeokoro (a.umeokoro@cgiar.org).
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Nestlé, IITA look to strengthen partnership
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op management from Nestlé’s first Research and Development (R&D) center in sub-Saharan Africa paid an official visit to IITA Headquarters in Ibadan, Nigeria on 25-26 July to explore further partnership opportunities between the two organizations. The delegation, from Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, was led by Oliver Chmiel, Head of the R&D Center. He was accompanied by Chiekh Mboup, Head of the Agronomy and Plant Science Department, and Melanie Polman, Plant Science Laboratory Manager. The visit comes at the heels of IITA’s renewed emphasis on partnerships for delivery and private sector engagement― an emphasis that ensures improved delivery of research outputs and agricultural technological solutions. “Traditionally IITA has been a research organization. Over the last few years we have been evolving more into delivery extension and development. Because of that we decided to have a directorate with the name Partnership for Development. It has been my passion to see research delivered to where it can be used,” explained Dr Kenton Dashiell, DDG of the Partnerships for Delivery (P4D) directorate, who welcomed the delegation.
The partnership with the R&D center will build on IITA’s long history of working with Nestlé. In Nigeria, IITA continues to work with Maggi (Nestlé’s leading seasoning cube) in the area of cassava production. The delegation also met with IITA scientists and unit heads before proceeding on a comprehensive tour of the IITA-Ibadan campus. Present at the meeting were: Ranjana Bhattacharjee, Molecular Geneticist, Frederick Schreurs, Chief Executive Officer BIP, Michael Abberton, Head of the Genetic Resources Center, Peter Kulakow, Cassava Breeder, Christian Fatokun, plant breeder, Alejandro OrtegaBeltran, plant pathologist, and David De Koeyer, project leader for AfricaYam. Speaking to the group, Chmiel highlighted Nestlé’s Created Shared Value initiative (CSV) and the importance of sustainability in all their practices. “If I presented this to you 15 years ago, I would not be talking about CSV; however, we cannot last another 150 years without incorporating sustainability into our business model,” he said. He further stated the aims of the R&D Abidjan center were to double the impact of organic growth in Africa in five years,
The Nestlé delegation learns about IITA’s work in germpalsm preservation.
reduce food waste along the value chain, and improve nutrition. Possible collaboration with IITA in the areas of alternative protein products and the use of biofortified and improved crop varieties were discussed. The Nestlé delegation concluded their 2-day visit with a tour of the Business Incubation Platform (BIP), the Aflasafe laboratory, and the IITA Youth Agripreneurs “This visit is only the beginning” noted Chmiel, “we will definitely come back to further discuss modalities for collaboration between the R&D Center and IITA.”
IARSAF deliberates cassava research article at bi-monthly journal club
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n 15 July, International Association of Research Scholars and Fellows (IARSAF) graduate students and IITA scientists gathered to review and discuss the journal article entitled “Effect of genotype and genotype by environment interaction on total cyanide content, fresh root, and starch yield in farmer-preferred cassava landraces in Tanzania” during the association’s bi-monthly journal club. The article is co-authored by Mariam Mtunguja, Mikocheni Agricultural Research
A cross section of the audience.
IITA Bulletin 2336
Institute; Henry Laswai, Sokoine University of Agriculture; Edward Kanju, IITA-Tanzania cassava breeder; Joseph Ndunguru, Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute; and Yasinta C. Muzanila, Sokoine University of Agriculture. The article was presented by Marrielle Moitta-Naisy, an IITA agronomy research fellow.
in cassava roots poses a health challenge in the use of cassava for food. Cassava genotypes have varying maturity periods that are also environment dependent. The study thus aimed at identifying suitable cultivars and optimum time of harvest to maximize starch production across three environments.
According to the study, high starch yield is the most important trait for commercialized cassava starch production. Furthermore, cyanide present
During her presentation, Moitta-Naisy noted that the study found genotype and environment had a profound effect on all traits analyzed. She posited genotypes should be selected for adaptation to specific environments, optimal harvesting should be based on specific variety and location, and the question of cyanide content in cassava genotype needs large-scale testing to assure the effect of genotype and genotype by environment interaction. The event closed with a discussion between the graduate students and IITA scientists on methodology in research. IITA scientists present at the event included Peter Kulakow, cassava breeder and Wende Abera Mengesha, maize scientist.
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PASIC evidence builds case for Uganda’s new National Seed Policy
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vidence from the Policy Action for Sustainable Intensification of Ugandan Cropping Systems (PASIC) project – an initiative implemented by IITA – has been used to convince stakeholders on the urgent need to approve and implement the proposal to put in place a National Seed Policy to improve Uganda’s seed sector. The Commissioner of Crop Inspection and Certification, Joseph Bazaale reported that “it is absolutely vital that the National Seed Policy is approved as it has been in draft form for the past 12 years.” The Commissioner emphasized that all views including those of the Uganda National Seed Traders Association (USTA) are critical and there should be no losers in the development of the National Seed Policy.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), together with national and regional level stakeholders validated the findings of a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) of the National Seed Policy and the National Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture Policy. The RIA is an additional cabinet requirement that facilitates policy approval and ascertains the incentives and disincentives of a policy to society through stakeholder consultations.
The RIA regional and national level stakeholder consultations were led by MAAIF with support from the Integrated Seed Sector Development (ISSD), USAID’s Feed-the-Future Enabling Environment Activity (EEA), and PASIC/ IITA. According to the assessments, the cost of implementing the proposed National Seed Policy and the National Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture Policy is UGX 82 billion (US$ 24 million) and about UGX 88 billion (US$ 26 million) for five years, respectively. On the other hand, evidence generated by PASIC research from the potato sector shows that the use of poor quality seedwithout fertilizer in potato farming, yields only 6.4 metric tons (MT) per hectare, valued at about UGX 628 billion (US$ 187 million) on a national scale whereas the use of quality seed with fertilizer almost triples the yield to 16.5 MT per hectare. This translates into a 158% increase from 867 to 2,234 thousand metric tons per annum country wide and farm income– valued at UGX 1,619 billion (US$ 485 million) on a national scale. Therefore Uganda‘s potato sector is losing potential income of approximately - UGX 991 (US$ 298 million) per annum due to
limited intensification at the production level of the value chain. Between 30 and 40 percent of the seed on the Ugandan market assessed by quality control authorities were found to be poor, fake, or counterfeit. Therefore, the proposed National Seed Policy could generate benefits such as increased access to quality, and basic seed, biodiversity, improved capacity of the private sector to supply seed, provision of employment along the seed value chain, and increased efficiency in the regulation, coordination and management of the seed sub sector.
Participants engage in discussions on the impact of climate change on various enterprises.
IITA Green Wealth Youth Agripreneurs undergo rice seed production training
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welve members of the IITA Green Wealth Youth Agripreneurs underwent training on rice seed production conducted by the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), which was held from 9 to 13 May at the IITA-Ibadan campus. The participation of IYA in the training was aimed at strengthening the youth group’s capacity in rice seed production as an agribusiness enterprise.
The members of the IYA that underwent training included Adeoluwa Aduragba, Adewole Adedamola, Adigun Modinat, Oladokun Ibukunoluwa, Hassan Halimot Oginni Yetunde, Oni Hammed, Oni Waheed, Oyeniyi Oyelekan, Oyebamiji Oluwafemi, Ojerinde Hammed, and Chianu Andrew. The training workshop on rice seed production was facilitated by AfricaRice
IITA Green Wealth Youth Agripreneurs on varietal recognition and off types during field practical sessions.
under the Nigeria component of the USAID Seed Scaling Project. Apart from the IYA members, other trainees included 30 representatives from 10 seed companies and a Youth Corps member serving with AfricaRice. Over the years, Nigeria has been dependent on importation of rice to augment local production capacity. Owing to the economic challenges in the country, it has become necessary to develop local production capacity which has the long-term benefit of provision of employment opportunities within the rice value chain. This was the impetus for IYA to go into rice seed production. The Green Wealth Agripreneurs is now scaling up from its demonstration phase with strong backstopping from AfricaRice.
Announcement
3rd All Africa Horticultural Congress, Theme: “Horticulture for Improved Livelihoods”, Conference Center, IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria, 7–12 August. 7th International Nitrogen Initiative Conference, Melbourne, Australia, 4–8 December. More details on the conference are available here.
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