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Articles in the Features Category

Features, Issue 7 »
[13 Nov 2011 | One Comment | 477 views]
Amazing maize: Investment in agricultural research pays off

IITA researchers have shown that investment in agricultural research is paying off: the generation and diffusion of modern maize varieties in the last three decades have lifted more than 1 million people in sub-Saharan Africa out of poverty in the last 10 years.

Features, Issue 7 »
[13 Nov 2011 | No Comment | 370 views]
What sustains the productivity of African agriculture?

A study shows that agricultural research and development, improved weather, and policy reforms were the principal drivers of agricultural productivity in Africa after the mid-1980s.

Features, Issue 7 »
[13 Nov 2011 | No Comment | 299 views]
Local seeds and social networks

IITA Molecular Biologist Morag Ferguson emphasizes that farmers’ seed systems are robust and resilient, and along with existing social networks, could effectively help restore diversity in disaster-affected communities.

Features, Issue 7 »
[13 Nov 2011 | No Comment | 344 views]
From traditional to science based: Transforming agricultural practices

A new study finds that increasing agricultural productivity through the application of fertilizers and use of improved crop husbandry could have reduced the rate of deforestation.

Features, Issue 7 »
[13 Nov 2011 | No Comment | 652 views]
Cassava processing research in Nigeria

The Integrated Cassava Project, implemented in 2002–2010, successfully introduced more than 40 cassava varieties to Nigerian farmers, and facilitated the establishment of processing centers and fabricating enterprises.

Features, Issue 7 »
[13 Nov 2011 | No Comment | 320 views]
Biocontrol offers benefits to Africa

Biological control programs implemented by IITA and partners on cassava green mite have brought benefits worth more than $1.7 billion to Nigeria, Bénin, and Ghana in the last 18 years.

Features, Issue 7 »
[1 Nov 2011 | No Comment | 487 views]

Social science research is one of the major disciplinary areas supporting innovation processes at IITA for achieving a sustainable reduction in food security and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa.

Features, Issue 6 »
[14 Apr 2011 | No Comment | 2,265 views]
Towards a healthy banana TC industry

IITA scientist Thomas Dubois did a SWOT analysis to determine what ingredients are needed for the banana tissue culture industry to succeed.

Features, Issue 6 »
[14 Apr 2011 | One Comment | 2,046 views]
In Kanti Rawal’s footsteps

Kanti Rawal, former plant geneticist, traveled 38,000 km around Nigeria and Niger in the 1970s to collect wild and domesticated accessions of cowpea. The authors tell how they did the same almost 40 years later.

Features, Issue 6 »
[14 Apr 2011 | No Comment | 1,211 views]
GHU: Gateway for the safe exchange of germplasm

Virologist and GHU Head Lava Kumar walks us through the important work being undertaken to ensure the safe exchange of international public goods among a global network of institutions and entities.