News

The West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD) plans to use the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture's (IITA) Research for Development (R4D) model to scale up its agricultural technologies. Dr Abdou TENKOUANO, Executive Director, called for close collaboration to enable National Specialization Centers (NSCs) to benefit from capacity-building and experience-sharing programs under the West African Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP) during his official visit to IITA-Ibadan on August 10, 2016.

"IITA is recognized as a key player in the promotion of agriculture in Africa and has always played a major role in job creation, as well as the deployment of agricultural technologies meeting international standards (...) CORAF/WECARD is considering a partnership with IITA in order to exploit its expertise on the international level to strengthen national centers," said Dr. TENKOUANO.

Indeed, the WAPP is currently at a pivotal phase in terms of technology dissemination and scaling-up for ongoing adoption. The emphasis is therefore on disseminating available technologies for greater impact on productivity, job creation and the socio-economic well-being of producers in beneficiary countries. The program has generated over 160 improved, high-yield agricultural technologies that are having a positive impact on the lives of more than 6 million farmers in West Africa.

Sheu SALAU, Agricultural Economist, representing the World Bank, called for a concerted approach to the efficient sharing of information and knowledge for the benefit of beneficiaries. "There is a real need to transform the way science, technology and innovation are deployed in favor of end-users (...) the World Bank recognizes the need to strengthen its collaboration with IITA in the areas of evidence-based knowledge to massively inform how programs are designed," Dr Salau stressed.

IITA's Director General, Nteranya Sanginga, welcomed the partnership proposal, noting that it comes at a time of heightened crisis in many countries of the sub-region.

The CORAF/WECARD delegation also visited IITA's facilities and interacted with IITA's young agricultural entrepreneurs. The activities and achievements of these young men and women within the platform were of great interest to CORAF/WECARD.