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Food and nutrition insecurity is a major challenge facing the global community. To fill the food and nutrition security gap in a world with a population predicted to exceed 9 billion by 2050, IITA-CGIAR is focused on generating agricultural innovations that contribute to food and nutrition security.

Bambara groundnut seeds from IITA’s Genetic Resource Center.

Nutrition insecurity in the developing world has been linked to the high cost of protein foods and the low nutritional quality of some of the traditional foods that provide daily meals for millions in Africa. Fortified foods are not readily available for most families due to the high poverty level.

One of the crops that fit the bill for adequate nutrient and mineral composition and can help eradicate food and nutritional insecurity if adopted into the major food systems is the Bambara groundnut (BGN).

There is a significant variation in nutrient and antinutrient factors among Bambara groundnut accessions. A study was carried out by scientists from IITA and North-West University, South Africa, to show the degree of variability of nutrient and antinutrient components such as percentage ash, moisture, protein, fat, tryptophan, tannin, and phytate content in seeds of 95 accessions.

Due to its high protein and fiber content and a good balance of essential amino acids, the Bambara groundnut is considered a complete food, an excellent alternative to meat, and an ideal component for animal feed.

The study showed that the two traits—carbohydrates and tryptophan—are high in more than half of the accessions, while the others have high amounts of the remaining traits, including the antinutrient factors.

According to the study, tryptophan is a precursor of auxin—an essential growth hormone in plants—and bioactive compounds such as nicotinamide, melatonin, and kynurenine in humans.

The level of tryptophan recorded in the study shows that Bambara groundnut can help get the quantity of tryptophan recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), which is 1.70, 0.85, and 0.66 for infants, children, and adolescents, respectively.

During the research, clustering was done to show the relatedness between the accessions in response to the various traits. While cluster analysis grouped accessions into four main clusters, high heterogeneity was observed among the accessions for the various traits studied.

This study confirmed the high diversity in the components of nutrients and antinutrients previously reported in BGN.

Results from the study will aid in identifying parent lines for improved breeding programs and offer opportunities for selecting and breeding the crop for beneficial nutrient compositions.

While legumes have become immensely important as alternative sources to nutrient fortified foods, BGN can successfully improve food and nutritional security even more than some major crops in Africa.

Contributed by Timilehin Osunde

The VIB-IPBO organized an information webinar session as part of the call for new cohorts of the Open Doors Fellowship Program for 2023-2025. According to the Open Doors’ Program Coordinator, Laura Cortada, the information session exposed participants to the new guidelines and opportunities available for interested women researchers in Africa.

The Open Doors Fellowship Program is a 20-month training and mentoring program split into two phases of an initial 3-month research stage in Belgium, and a second phase that lasts 17 months. During the program, Fellows are given incentives that support their research work at their duty stations, and are exposed to peer support and mentoring network.

The selected Fellows are empowered with new skills, assisted with expanding their network, and their scientific visibility is also enhanced. The webinar showcased the experiences of the first set of cohorts and their success stories, and allowed participants to ask questions to help explain the modalities of the program.

The low global retention rate of women in academia is a phenomenon that affects women researchers along their career path and has a negative impact on future generation of scientists. The fellowship program is positioned to address the scientific leakage which leads to a loss of competitiveness, talent, creativity, and financial resources in research institutions across the world.

The webinar featured Adeola Ajayi, one of the Fellows in the 1^st cohort working on “Genetic improvement of crops – development of protocol for micropropagation of African Yam Bean.”

She explained that her research experience in Belgium working on disinfection of protocols for African yam bean seed and nodal cuttings among other areas has helped improve the percentage of shoot formation to 100%, which used to be lower than 30%.

According to Ajayi, the previous shoot rate per plant generated was 2, but following her laboratory experience in Belgium, she has recorded an average increase of 5 shoots per plant. This she said is important for rapid multiplication of clean seeds.

Anique Godjo, one of the Fellows working on evaluating the susceptibility of sweet potato cultivars to virus pathogens said that her research stay in Belgium under the Open Doors Fellowship Program exposed her to new research techniques. “I was taught how to carry out meristem culture, something I didn’t know how to do before Belgium.”

During her session, Godjo said she was also able to work on other plants like roses and apples as part of her training experience; she worked on tissue culture and phenotyping as well.

Sharing her experience, one of the Fellows from Mali, Madina Diancoumba, who is working on sorghum, the fifth most important cereal in the world, said one of the reasons for working on this crop is the low production rate due to several factors such as climate change, severe drought, and genotype and environment interaction among others.

Diancoumba added that she introduced her research work’s data across six countries in West Africa to her laboratory activities in Belgium by applying statistical tools to these datasets to be able to define the homogenous production environment.

“During my stay in ILVO, I was able to learn how to pre-process and post-process the dataset I had previously gathered”, she said.

While the 1^st cohort of the Open Doors Fellowship Program are undergoing the second phase of their training in their various duty stations across Africa, the call for the 2^nd cohort of Fellows is presently ongoing and the number of finalists has increased to eight.

The Fellowship’s application deadline is slated for 10 January 2023, and is being supported by Vlaamse Interuniversitaire Raad – Universitaire Ontwikkelingssamenwerking (VLIR-UOS), Enable-Belgium, Ghent University, and Nematology Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (NEMEDUSSA).

Contributed by Timilehin Osunde

The International Association of Research Scholars and Fellows (IARSAF) recently held its 25^th annual symposium to discuss ways to address changing climate conditions by adopting climate-smart agricultural solutions. Renowned scientists and senior leaders at IITA–CGIAR attended the seminar, themed “The Role of Climate Smart Agriculture in Ensuring Resilient and Sustainable Food Systems”.

IARSAF fellows with DDG-P4D Kenton Dashiell (5th from right) and other IITA staff.

IITA Deputy Director General, Partnerships for Delivery (DDG-P4D), Kenton Dashiell, briefed participants on the IITA Fellowship Program, stating that the platform was established to create a pan-campus organization that would embrace all the health science schools and the campus, bringing together people interested in global health. He also revealed that IARSAF, which started as a tiny idea by IITA Director General Nteranya Sanginga, is now the unit with the second-largest research revenue on the IITA campus.

“The annual IARSAF symposium has been pivotal to IITA’s research mandate, and I celebrate your efforts in the research activities contributing to food security,” said IITA Deputy Director General, Research for Development (DDG-R4D), Bernard Vanlauwe. He reflected on his experience as a research student and encouraged the research fellows to continue their advocacy as ambassadors of the Institute, giving their best in research to achieve a food- and nutrition-secure world. Similarly, IITA West Africa Hub Director Michael Abberton expressed his joy at the hard work of the research fellows and urged them to make the most of the opportunities gotten through the platform.

IARSAF President Faith Olayiwola giving her remarks at the symposium.

During her speech, IARSAF President Faith Olayiwola described the symposium as “an avenue for great minds to discover novel solutions and strengthen existing ones in tackling the challenges facing the agricultural systems.”

IITA Head of Biometrics Ibnou Dieng discussed how data-driven climate adaptation could ensure sustainable agriculture. He highlighted the need to apply adaptation technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) to address climate change conditions, as the primary goal of climate-smart agriculture is reducing greenhouse emissions to mitigate the effects of climate variability.

IITA Eastern Africa Hub Director Leena Tripathi highlighted gene editing as a way to mitigate climate change, where scientists can develop climate-resistant crop varieties. Breakout sessions featured enlightening discussions on Understanding Climate Agriculture, Climate Smart Agriculture: Helping the world produce more food, and How to feed the world in 2050: Actions in a changing climate.

In her vote of thanks, the IARSAF President appreciated IITA scientists, project supervisors who contributed to the success of the research conducted by the fellows, the IITA Management Team, and everyone who contributed to the success of the symposium.

Contributed by Omolola Dare

At the basic level, most students have only theoretical knowledge of their academic pursuits, which has caused a decline or discrepancy in their passion and learning. To address this, IITA–CGIAR created a quarterly “Hands-on basic molecular biology techniques” training for young graduates. The training took place at the Institute’s headquarters from 14 to 18 November. Bioscience Laboratory Manager Yemi Fajire coordinated the training.

Participants carrying out Agarose Gel Electrophoresis during the practical session.

The training focused on the practical aspect of molecular biology to give students a solid footing as they pursue their academic careers. Interns, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members, and Masters and PhD students attended the workshop from various African universities, representing different disciplines, including molecular biology, genetics, biotechnology, biochemistry, and microbiology. The workshop also included lecturers and researchers who needed skills in the field of molecular biology.

Giving the welcome address, IITA West Africa Hub Director and Head of Bioscience Center, Michael Abberton, explained that the training would expose the participants to molecular biology. He encouraged the participants to embrace this opportunity and explore it in their careers.

An intern, Magdalene Osakue, receiving her certificate from Michael Abberton.

During the five-day training, the participants learned various molecular biology techniques such as Polymerase Chain reaction (PCR) analysis, DNA extraction, sequencing, NanoDrop spectrophotometry analysis, and Agarose gel electrophoresis. The facilitators, including IITA Molecular Geneticist Ranjana Bhattacharjee and nine other Bioscience staff, assessed the participants before and after the training.

In an interview with the participants, they ascertained the effectiveness of the training in helping them discover technical and practical ways of applying molecular biology techniques. One of the participants—Uchechukwu Uzoetoh, a Corps member—said, “I was not sure about my career path before the training. Now, I can use the knowledge acquired to contribute my quota to food security in Africa by developing new and improved crop varieties.”

At the end of the training, the participants were awarded certificates.

Contributed by Anita Akinyomade

IITA–CGIAR is set to commence a five-year project—Program for Seed System Innovation for Vegetatively-propagated crops in Africa (PROSSIVA)—alongside other implementing partners. The PROSSIVA project aims to enhance the efficiency, productivity, and profitability of vegetatively-propagated crop (VPC) seed systems in Africa through research and delivery of innovations that will overcome seed system bottlenecks.

Banana researcher and project co-lead, Delphine Amah, explains how the project emerged: “PROSSIVA was conceived through an inclusive process involving VPC seed systems experts who identified seed system bottlenecks — Banana researcher and project co-lead, Delphine Amah, giving her presentation at the launch.

The project has five major components: banana, cassava, sweet potato, yam, and a cross-cutting component that addresses issues common to several VPC crops. The project, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), will be implemented by 25 partner institutions comprising CGIAR centers, national research institutions, and private sector partners across five countries—Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. As a CGIAR project, PROSSIVA will work hand-in-hand with CGIAR Initiatives in the Genetic Innovations Action Area that seek to boost farmer access to an ever-growing pipeline of the best varieties.

Participants at the PROSSIVA project launch.

Launched 2 to 5 December, the project will change the narrative of underinvestment in the VPC seed systems, address technical weaknesses and poor commercialization, and promote the legacy of recently concluded and currently running single-crop BMGF investments. These include YIFSWA-II (yam), BASICS-II (cassava), Sweet Gains (sweet potato), and RAPID Banana. A key feature of the new project, however, is that it will seek to capitalize on the diverse set of cross-cutting opportunities that exist for common research and knowledge sharing across crops, resulting in benefits both for single crop systems as well as overall VPC seed system development.

HarvestPlus Cassava Breeder and IITA Cassava Breeding Unit Head, Dr Elizabeth Parkes, during an interactive session.

Banana researcher and project co-lead, Delphine Amah, explains how the project emerged: “PROSSIVA was conceived through an inclusive process involving VPC seed systems experts who identified seed system bottlenecks through crop brainstorming meetings. Research questions were then prioritized, and partners identified target areas where they could conduct research to deliver outputs/innovations that will address bottlenecks and build functional VPC seed systems.”

Although the project team will not focus specifically on efforts to scale VPC seed system innovations, there will be interactions throughout the project duration with a wide range of public and private sector scaling partners. This will ensure that the novel outputs generated through PROSSIVA will have impacts far beyond the geographies targeted by the project. Consequently, Amah and the PROSSIVA team believe that the new project will contribute significantly to transforming vegetatively propagated crop seed systems in Africa.

Contributed by Tolulope Akinola

Finding the right partner institution to implement a project is crucial. This will result in a successful project, significant profit, increased efficiency, and enhanced visibility for both institutions. The OOK Group Nigeria Limited visited IITA–CGIAR on 17 November to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Institute.

The teams discussing modalities of the project implementation.

IITA Deputy Director General, Partnerships for Delivery (DDG-P4D) Kenton Dashiell received the team. He mentioned that MoUs serve as evidence of institutions working together, revealing the implementation order and framework of the project.

OOK Group Managing Director (MD) Omolara Svensson commended IITA for the significant work done for the betterment of agriculture and improving farmers’ livelihoods in Africa. She said the partnership with IITA ensures the project’s successful implementation because it would help them achieve the organization’s mission.

IITA DDG-P4D Kenton Dashiell and OOK Group MD Omolara Svensson signing the MoU.

Svensson explained that the project aims to involve women in agriculture, providing job opportunities for a minimum of twenty thousand farmers focusing on soybean and maize, two IITA mandate crops. The project will also focus on improving the value chains through the export of these crops to reduce postharvest loss, meet customers’ demand, and improve Nigeria’s economy.

In addition, she requested support from IITA soybean experts to ensure the program’s success and help manage the funds.

Responding to Svensson’s request, Dashiell stated that he would initiate the partnership to bring the project to light. He added that IITA would be instrumental in linking them with the appropriate resource persons for the soybean and maize programs.

Wrapping up the meeting, the teams signed an MoU agreeing that the collaboration would guarantee a smooth project. “We look forward to telling our success stories with IITA,” Svensson concluded.

Contributed by Anita Akinyomade

British Deputy High Commissioner in Nigeria, Ben Llewellyn-Jones, visited IITA–CGIAR accompanied by the High Commission’s Head of Prosperity, Kris Camponi, and Senior Advisor, Wale Adebajo, from 17 to 18 November. The delegation discussed IITA’s long-standing contribution to the development of African agriculture, how the UKAid with HarvestPlus is helping scale biofortified seeds and food products to end-users, and ways to contribute further to the enhancement of food and nutrition security in Africa.

IITA GRC Michael Abberton speaking about IITA’s research programs and deliverables with Llewellyn-Jones, Camponi, and Adebajo from his closest right to his farthest right.

IITA West Africa Hub Director and Head of Genetic Resources Center (GRC), Michael Abberton, welcomed the team and highlighted IITA’s focus on four broad areas of agricultural research and delivery—Crop improvement (breeding, biotech, and seed systems), Natural Resources Management (soil, agronomy, plant health, and plant production), Social Sciences, and Agribusiness. He added that the Institute utilizes funding from various partners for research, scaling, and delivery. IITA’s Partnerships for Delivery (P4D) ensures its Research for Development (R4D) output is scaled to impact more beneficiaries positively.

Abberton briefed the team about the One CGIAR initiative designed to integrate the efforts of all research centers under the CGIAR.

In his response, Llewellyn-Jones said the UK Government has a long-standing history of working with IITA. He said they are keen to learn about IITA’s contribution to climate-smart agriculture, floods, and fertilizer; and to follow progress on the recent UKAid grant with HarvestPlus.

IITA Forest Center Field Supervisor, Ademola Ajayi, leading the team to enjoy nature through bird-watching.

The two groups examined the challenges, shortfalls, and gaps in the current landscape of African agriculture and discussed possible engagement options to tackle them. Abberton shared both failed and successful projects of IITA’s work driving sustainable development and food and nutrition security in Africa.

IITA Forest Center Field Supervisor, Ademola Ajayi, highlighted the Institute’s efforts in natural resource conservation and advancing agricultural development. Ajayi said the Forest Center does this through environmental education designed to develop love and respect for nature in school children and adults. The Forest Center also contributes to mitigating climate change through its reforestation projects sponsored by national and international donors. The team wrapped up their visit with a tour of IITA Lake for a brief bird-watching activity.

Contributed by Folake Oduntan

Scientists have agreed to increase inputs in discovering and conserving yam diversity and aim to upscale the progress made over the years in yam research as a crop widely consumed in Africa. They reached this consensus during a yam genetics and omics research workshop at IITA–CGIAR in Ibadan from 9 to 11 November.

IITA Yam Molecular Geneticist, Dr Ranjana Bhattacharjee, giving her presentation at the workshop.

The three-day event, attended by 50 participants, was organized by a research group linkage program sponsored by the Alexander von Humboldt (AvH) Foundation and gave scientists from Germany, IITA, and the University of Ibadan the opportunity to deliberate on vital areas of yam research, including diversity and evolution, conservation of genetic resources, yam breeding, bioactive agent and drugs research, and practical sessions on gene expression analysis.

During the workshop sessions, it was revealed that, with over 600 yam species identified, about 44 percent are red-listed and on the verge of extinction. With Nigeria being the highest yam producer, recording about 73 million tons annually, participants at the workshop examined some of the production challenges and opportunities in terms of climate change and pests and diseases.

Participants at the yam genetics and omics research in Africa workshop.

In her presentation, the Head of the Department of Pharmacognosy, University of Ibadan, and co-convener of the workshop, Prof Mubo Sonibare, shared some of the results of yam phytochemistry research. According to Sonibare, yam is now confirmed to be a primary source of metabolites for medicinal purposes, among other crops.

Prof Sonibare further explained in an interview that the workshop is part of a more significant project to strengthen the collaboration among researchers and encourage technology transfer. “With the ideas shared during the workshop, more projects on new and wild yam varieties will be birthed, and we would also want to partner with pharmaceutical industries,” she said.

According to Dirk Albach, Professor of Biodiversity and evolution of plants at the Carl-von-Ossietzky University and Director of Botanical gardens (Oldenburg, Germany), the workshop aimed at improving the breeding of yam species globally and addressing essential research questions that require attention.

The chief convener, Prof. Mubo Sonibare, Department of Pharmacognosy, University of Ibadan, giving an interview at the workshop.

Alongside other speakers, IITA Yam Molecular Geneticist Ranjana Bhattacharjee emphasized the need to continually raise awareness, targeting pharmaceutical industries and prospective partners on the yam’s potential.

Bhattacharjee stated that yam has the potential to improve the world’s nutrition and assist in combatting health-related issues.

During the workshop, 15 nominees were exposed to the Alexander von Humboldt fellowship opportunities and their perks. Dr Christian Siadjeu of the Department of Biology Systematics, Biodiversity and Evolution of plants, Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany, led the hands-on training sessions on yam transcriptomics, including RNA extraction and Data analysis.

Following the successful deliberations, yam is expected to gain more recognition like other staples globally. Hence, there is a need to promote research to develop cultivars to address food, health, and nutrition security worldwide.

Contributed by Tolulope Akinola

Dr Yao Kolombia showing Banana Black Sigatoka symptoms to the visitors. Photo: IITA/Alejandro Ortega-Beltran

IITA–CGIAR considers the private sector a major stakeholder in the development of Africa’s agriculture; therefore, the Institute welcomes collaboration with diverse private-sector entities. From 29 October to 1 November, IITA hosted delegates from AgBiome Inc and 5Metis Inc at the Institute’s headquarters in Ibadan, Nigeria. The two US-based companies were exploring collaboration with IITA in the second phase of their grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop novel crop protection solutions against plant diseases for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.

In a meeting with the IITA Management team, AgBiome Plant Pathology Head, Dr Mathias Twizeyimana, stated that AgBiome partners with local and international research institutes to validate their technologies. He added that AgBiome worked with IITA in the first phase of their project and sought to continue the partnership during its second phase.

5Metis Inc Chief Scientific Officer, Dr Brian Green, communicated that 5Metis™ intends to collaborate with IITA for the first time on field trials in the second phase of the grant. Green mentioned that the Gates Foundation encourages collaboration on projects among grantees. “For the early stage of our program, we are trying to get our initial field validation, and we are here primarily to work with IITA on solutions for banana black sigatoka,” Green added.

Associate Director of Biology at 5Metis, Dr Luke Steere, stated that he expects to better understand the cropping system in Nigeria and neighboring countries, particularly how crops and the diseases that affect them are managed. “We want to understand the agricultural system here and work with IITA to conduct field trials to manage black sigatoka,” Steere said.

Visitors and Dr Yao Kolombia visiting banana field plots in IITA’s West Bank to observe diseases of interest. Photo: IITA/Alejandro Ortega-Beltran

The visiting colleagues also sought to understand how new technology, once proven and registered, makes it into the hands of end-users in the region. In his response, IITA Plant Pathologist Alejandro Ortega-Beltran stated that IITA has significant experience in transcending technologies from the laboratory to the industry to benefit farmers and consumers at scale and that those experiences can help both companies.

IITA Deputy Director General, Partnerships for Delivery, Kenton Dashiell, said that the purpose of the visit was clear and the discussion is pointing towards success, but it calls for hard work from all the parties involved. “As you go through the campus, you will meet with people eager and willing to work with you,” he concluded.

During a post-meeting seminar, AgBiome and 5Metis shared their journey from inception, highlighting their activities and achievements. The companies also gave insight into their plans for seeking collaboration with IITA in the second phase of their projects. After the seminar, the teams from both organizations toured IITA’s facilities.

In a wrap-up meeting with the IITA team, the visiting teams shared positive feedback about their visit. Drs Green and Steere lauded the top-notch hospitality and eye-opening experience that has given them a better understanding of the agricultural cropping systems. Dr Twizeyimana added that the tour was a valuable experience as scientists showed practical illustrations of their activities.

Following the four-day visit, representatives of both organizations confirmed their intent to commence project activities with IITA plant pathologists Ortega-Beltran and Yao Kolombia.

Contributed by Ochuwa Favour Daramola

countries: Nigeria

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