Member countries of ECOWAS will need to significantly increase their investment in agricultural research and development to achieve the MDG aim of eradicating extreme hunger and poverty by 2015.

Outcome mapping is increasingly being used by R4D projects at IITA in their monitoring and evaluation framework for planning and assessing the effects and performance of projects and programs.

Scientists based in Nigeria and Kenya started an initiative against two parasitic weeds that have spread across much of sub-Saharan Africa. The project, coordinated by IITA, will introduce technologies for fighting Striga (witchweed), and Alectra.

Jean-Gerard Mezui M’ella, IAPSC Director, talks about the important work that this African Plant Protection Organization is doing to coordinate plant protection procedures in the continent.

Biodiversity and NRM
Biodiversity conservation is key
Insect biodiversity for NRM
Why manage noncrop biodiversity
A research park for Africa
Unlocking the diversity of yam
Cassava: improver of soils
Participatory yam conservation strategies
Smart NRM approaches
DNA barcodes for pathogens
A new food security crop?

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Conserving the genetic resources of important African food crops is a huge responsibility, but Dominique Dumet enjoys the challenges and demands at work. See what she plans to do during this International Year of Biodiversity.

The debate continues: food or biodiversity conservation? Scientist Emeritus Peter Neuenschwander stresses that natural resources management offers the intellectual platform to integrate the different disciplines in a sustainable manner. He suggests ways in which the CGIAR and IITA can help meet the twin goals of conserving biodiversity while feeding the human population.

Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) Vice President for Policy and Partnerships Akin Adesina, was at IITA recently to talk about how agriculture could transform Nigeria from a food-deficit to a food-exporting country again.

IITA was among eight CGIAR centers that will receive over €4 million in funding from Irish Aid. Peter Power, Irish Minister of State for Overseas Development, said that the €4.4 million funding is a “central component” of Irish Aid’s response to the global food crisis.