THE
BULLETIN
Issue No. 2147
19-23 November 2012
Humidtropics launched: Poor farm families in the humid tropics to boost their income from improved agricultural production systems The CGIAR Research Program on Integrated Systems for the Humid Tropics or Humidtropics was launched this week in a low-key ceremony marked by a tree planting by Dr Ylva Hillbur, Deputy Director General Research. Humidtropics, a major new researchfor-development program launched
this week, aims at increasing average farm income by 50% with 25% of poor households in the humid tropics lifted above the poverty line in the next 15 years. Research leading to production system intensification is expected to boost yields of staple crops and help to reduce the number of malnourished children by 30%.
Dr Ylva Hillbur, DDG-R4D, planting symbolic tree marking launch of the Humidtropics Program at IITA-Ibadan.
“Humidtropics helps farm families to make better decisions about making their living and living their lives while caring for the environment they cultivate,” says Dr Hillbur. Intensifying agriculture in the humid tropics offers the best potential to reduce poverty, especially among women and other vulnerable groups. The bulk of the rural poor reside in these areas, which are also associated with poor household nutrition and soil fertility depletion. Even so, the humid tropics are critical to global food supplies and meeting world food demand, central to the maintenance of global biodiversity, and vital to the mitigation of greenhouse gases. The 15-year innovative CGIAR research program will help poor farm families, mostly led by women, to boost their income from agriculture while conserving the land for future generations. The initial program participants include the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), International Potato Center (CIP), Bioversity International, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center, and Wageningen University.
IITA Eastern Africa hub to lead on pests and disease research in Africa, DG The IITA Eastern Africa hub is poised to become a leading research center and an information powerhouse on major pests and diseases attacking IITA crops in Africa once the state-of the-art science building is completed. According to the DG, Sanginga Nteranya, IITA’s vision is that “anyone looking for information and solutions to different pests and diseases of major crops in Africa would come to the hub and for researchers and students from all over the world to come to conduct their research in the well-equipped science building.” Sanginga was speaking recently at a meeting with the internationally recruited staff at the hub to update them on IITA’s immediate and future plans. He said the institute would continue with its strategy of strengthening the hubs with each having its area of specialization. The West Africa hub would focus on crop improvement and agribusiness, the Central
Africa hub on natural resource management, whereas the Southern Africa hub would be strong on diversification of maizebased systems to increase food security and resilience to climate change, and the Eastern Africa hub on pests and diseases. He added that Benin would be the institute’s center for biocontrol and climate change research. Sanginga further thanked L-R: James Legg, DG Sanginga, and Victor Manyong. all the scientists for their input into the new strategy document which was now Victor Manyong, the director for Eastern completed and would be presented to the board during its meeting next week. He said Africa thanked the DG for his visit to the hub and for keeping the staff well informed. the strategy document had been developed He further said the hub would take up the with inputs from everyone at IITA to create challenge to realize IITA’s vision. a sense of ownership and responsibility.
The IITA Bulletin is produced by the Communication Office. For more information, please email: Jeffrey T. Oliver (o.jeffrey@cgiar.org), Godwin Atser (g.atser@cgiar.org), or Catherine Njuguna ( c.njuguna@cgiar.org).
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