Cowpea Archives | Page 8 of 8

Resource-poor cowpea farmers in sub-Saharan Africa have seen their profits jump by 55 per cent thanks to improved dual-purpose cowpea varieties developed and introduced by IITA and its national partners in Nigeria. Paul Amaza, IITA Agricultural Economist, says that farmers who use traditional varieties earn about US$ 251 per hectare, while those who are growing the improved cowpea are getting US$390, or US$139 more, per hectare with proper crop management.

The improved varieties — IT89KD-288, IT89KD-391, IT97K-499-35, and IT93K-452-1 — produce high-quality grains for use as food and fodder and are also resistant to Striga, a parasitic weed that reduces yields of susceptible local cowpeas by as much as 80 per cent.

Alpha Yaya Kamara, IITA’s Savannah Systems Agronomist, says over 100,000 farmers in Borno and Kano states in northern Nigeria and in the Niger Republic are currently using the improved varieties, where their adoption rate is conservatively estimated at 65 per cent. He explains that farmers in the savannah region view cowpea as both food and cash crop. Therefore, when the varieties were introduced, farmers took to them quickly since they serve both ends well. “Those who cultivate it are basically better off than those who do not”, Kamara adds.

The improved cowpea varieties were developed and deployed in partnership with the Borno State Agricultural Development Project, Kano State Agricultural and Rural Development Authority, Kaduna State Agricultural Development Project, the Institute of Agricultural Research – Zaria and the University of Maiduguri. Other local development partners are also promoting the improved varieties by organizing farmers’ field days, exchange visits, training and farmer-to-farmer diffusion.

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) is a grain legume grown mainly in the savanna regions of the tropics and subtropics in Africa, Asia, and South America. Its grain contains about 25 per cent protein, making it extremely valuable to those who cannot afford animal-derived protein foods such as meat and fish. It is tolerant to drought, fixes atmospheric nitrogen and improves poor soils.

According to the FAO, about 7.56 million tons of cowpea are produced worldwide annually, with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for 70% or about 5.3 million tons.

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For more information, please contact:

Dr Paul Amaza, p.amaza@cgiar.org
Agricultural Economist

Dr Alpha Yaya Kamara, a.kamara@cgiar.org
Savannah Systems Agronomist

Jeffrey T. Oliver, o.jeffrey@cgiar.org
Corporate Communications Officer (International)

Godwin Atser, g.atser@cgiar.org
Corporate Communications Officer (West Africa)

IITA – Headquarters
Ibadan, Nigeria

See also:
Cowpea overview
Cereals and legumes systems

Other IITA cereals and legumes projects:
Development and Promotion of Alectra Resistant Cowpea cultivars
Improving tropical legume productivity for marginal environments in sub-Saharan Africa
Tropical Legume II

Related websites:
Cowpea in Wikipedia
Cowpea in Alternative Field Crops Manual, Purdue University

About IITA
Africa has complex problems that plague agriculture and people’s lives. We develop agricultural solutions with our partners to tackle hunger and poverty. Our award winning research for development (R4D) is based on focused, authoritative thinking anchored on the development needs of sub-Saharan Africa. We work with partners in Africa and beyond to reduce producer and consumer risks, enhance crop quality and productivity, and generate wealth from agriculture. IITA is an international non-profit R4D organization established in 1967, governed by a Board of Trustees, and supported primarily by the CGIAR.

Media release

African seed collection first to arrive in Norway on route to Arctic Seed Vault as centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) continue the drive aimed at protecting global seed genebank.

From Ibadan, Nigeria, twenty-one boxes filled with 7,000 unique seed samples from more than 36 African nations were yesterday shipped to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a facility being built on a remote isl and in the Arctic Circle as a repository of last resort for humanity’s agricultural heritage.

This follows a move by centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) from Nigeria, Benin, Ethiopia, Kenya, Colombia,India, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, and Syria who began packing and shipping duplicate collections early this month.

The vault, which will open on 26 February 2008, is being built by the Norwegian government as a service to the global community, and a Rome-based international NGO, the Global Crop Diversity Trust, will fund its operation.

The shipment, which was sent by the Ibadan, Nigeria-based International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), consists of thous ands of duplicates of unique varieties of domesticated and wild cowpea, maize, soybean, and Bambara groundnut. The seeds from the IITA genebank in Ibadan, Nigeria, weighed a total of 330 kg.

The processing by IITA staff took several months, and the boxes were packaged over a three-day period, with 10 staff checking the accession list, reporting errors, and adjusting the inventory, as needed.

The seeds were shipped on to Oslo on route to the village of Longyearbyen on Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, where the vault has been constructed in a mountain deep inside the Arctic permafrost.

“IITA’s genebank houses the world’s largest collection of cowpea, with over 15,000 unique varieties from 88 countries around the world,” said Dr Dominique Dumet, head of IITA’s genebank.

“Our collection holds in-trust about 70 percent of cowpea l andraces from Africa. Cowpea is a key staple in Africa, offering an inexpensive source of protein.”

Collectively, the CGIAR centers maintain 600,000 plant varieties in crop genebanks, which are widely viewed as the foundation of global efforts to conserve agricultural biodiversity.

Crop biodiversity is the raw material needed to equip crops with critical resistance to pests and diseases, and enable them to grow in harsher conditions of drought, salinity, and flooding, which will likely increase with global climate change, particularly in poor nations.

Cowpea and dozens of other crops, like cassava, yams, and millets, are known as “orphan” crops, because they receive less attention than they deserve relative to their value and importance.

According to researchers at the World Vegetable Center in Taiwan, collectively, 27 “orphan” crops with a value of $100 billion are grown on 250 million hectares (618 million acres) in developing countries.

“So called ‘orphan’ crops like cowpea and groundnut are not minor or insignificant crops,” said Cary Fowler, executive director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust.

“They are of great importance to regional food security. In addition, they are often adapted to harsh environments and are diverse in terms of their genetic, agroclimatic, and economic niches.”

These crops may also vary in less obvious characteristics, such as their response to cold, heat or drought, or their ability to tolerate specific pests and diseases.

Farmers and scientists continually draw on the genetic diversity held in crop collections like IITA’s to ensure productive harvests.

“Our ability to endow this facility with such an impressive array of diversity is a powerful testament to the incredible work of scientists at our centers, who have been so dedicated to ensuring the survival of the world’s most important crop species,” said Emile Frison, Director General of Rome-based Bioversity International, which coordinates CGIAR crop diversity initiatives.

Storage of these and all the other seeds at Svalbard is intended to ensure that they will be available for bolstering food security should a manmade or natural disaster threaten agricultural systems, or even the genebanks themselves, at any point in the future.

Photos

© 2008 IITA Pre-sorting accessions for Svalbard shipment – Seeds samples are temporary stored at 5 degrees celsius.
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© 2008 IITA Genebank staff checking accession number as they are packed in shipment box.
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© 2008 IITA Svalbard boxes ready for shipment. Each shipment/storage box contains the list of accessions with minimum germplasm data (Institute code, Accessions number, Scientific and common name, Number of seeds per pack, Year of regeneration, Country of origin).
Download Hi-Res Version: (JPEG 2MB)

© 2008 IITA Genebank staff checking accession numbers as they are packed in shipment box.
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© 2008 IITA Seed samples are vacuum packed in laminated foil prior being packed in shipment box.
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© 2008 IITA Svalbard boxes ready for shipment. Each shipment/storage box contains the list of accessions with minimum germplasm data (Institute code, accessions number, Scientific and common name, number of seeds per pack, year of regeneration, country of origin).
Download Hi-Res Version: (JPEG 2MB

“Congratulations, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is the first centre to provide a proper inventory!” – Svalbard Global Seed Vault (SGSV).

Nigeria-based IITA is proud to announce that it is the first organization to contribute to the new Svalbard Global Seed Vault project.

Twenty-one boxes of IITA germplasm samples, as part of a first installment, have arrived in Oslo to go to the isolated Norwegian archipelago in time for its February 26 opening.

The SGSV has been created to preserve seed samples as a repository of last resort for humanity’s agricultural heritage as global warming, natural disasters and the threat of nuclear war threatens mankind’s food security and eco-systems.

The futuristic sci-fi vault is cut into the permafrost on the side of a mountain in the frozen Arctic – ironically where nothing much grows. It will hold over 200,000 crop varieties thous ands of seed samples from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

Built by the Norwegian government as a service to the global community, the facility is funded by the Rome-based NGO Global Crop Diversity Trust.

But the bank is just a holding area – the seeds are being supplied from the more important genebanks of organizations that are part of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

IITA, committed to alleviating hunger and poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa, has sent a large sample of its global collection of cowpea (also known as black-eyed pea), wild vigna, soybean, maize and bambara.

Dr Dominique Dumet, genenank manager said “the Institute has the world’s largest and most diverse seed collection of cowpea with some 15,122 unique samples that come from 88 countries. IITA estimates that their genebank holds close to half of global cowpea diversity and its collection contains about 70% l andraces from Africa.”

Cowpea originates from Africa, from which 11,500 accessions are in trust in IITA’s genebank, which constitutes 76% of their global collection. IITA’s collection of cowpea started in the early 1970s with seed samples stored since 1978 (still viable).

The fast-growing and very nutritious crop, one of the most ancient known to man, is popular because it grows well in dry and semi-arid regions while maintaining healthy soil.

Progress has been made in IITA’s longst anding effort to develop cowpea resistant to the Striga plant parasite through the use of molecular markers, as part of the goal of reducing crop losses estimated by FAO at $200 million annually in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Three markers – or genetic attributes – have been found, with more under development. At least six different races of Striga have been identified across West and Central Africa, yet because these parasitic strains are geography-specific, the solution must also be suited to specific local conditions.

The latest research, potentially assisting breeders to select cowpea with Striga resistance, was supported by $900,000 in funding provided the Generation Challenge Program (GCP) of The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). IITA’s effort to alleviate infestations of Cowpea Striga (S. gesnerioides) has been further augmented through a new GCP initiative aimed at doubling cowpea and the tropical legumes project funded by the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), which aims to increase cowpea production in drought-prone areas in SSA and South Asia.

Cowpea production across SSA accounts for over 65 percent of world output. According to FAO, cowpea in Africa impacts on poverty and nutrition levels among more than 10 million people in drought-prone areas. IITA’s latest research into cowpea markers took place in six countries – Senegal, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Niger, Mali and Benin.

Based on on-farm studies and FAO estimates, losses to legume – or bean – crops, especially cowpea, caused by the parasitic Striga weed are believed to be 40 percent annually for all Africa. In dry areas of Nigeria, for example, Strigalosses have reduced cowpea productivity from a potential 2-3 tonnes per hectare to 0.37 tonnes.

“There is a huge potential for cowpea crops to contribute to nutrition and income growth in Africa’s dry and semi-arid regions,” said Dr. Satoru Muranaka, project leader based at IITA in Kano, Nigeria. “Because of crop damage still inflicted by Cowpea Striga, we hope our findings will contribute to greater food security in the dry and arid regions of SSA.”

Cowpea, an IITA world-m andate crop, already serves an important role in SSA. Comprising over 25 percent protein, cowpea provides food, sales income and residual bi-products for use as livestock feed. As a drought-tolerant crop, cowpea is adapted to dry or arid environments where rainfall is low and erratic, soils less fertile and other crops habitually fail. Cowpea also contributes to soil fertility through its ability to ‘fix nitrogen’, vital to rotational cropping systems in marginal areas.

Resource-poor farmers who were introduced to dry season cowpea production technology in the fadama areas of Radi and Adrawa, two villages near Maradi, Niger Republic have expressed delight at the technology, which has great potentials to improve their livelihoods.

After harvest, the farmers sold their cowpea seeds at the rate of 1000 CFA per kg (more than US$ 2/kg), as against 550CFA normal cost of cowpea grains during the season of plenty. The farmers also made a lot of money from sales of cowpea fodder, often in high dem and at the peak of the dry season in the entire Sahel region.

According to Dr Hakeem Ajeigbe, Project Coordinator, Gatsby-funded Crop–Livestock Project, in collaboration with Institut de la Recherche Agronomique du Niger (INRAN), the short duration, high yielding, and disease-resistant dry season cowpea production technique was introduced to the farmers as an innovation in their cowpea/vegetable production systems. “This was aimed at facilitating seed production to be used by the project in the main wet season,” he said.

Before now, farmers in the two villages used to plant vegetables under irrigation during October/November and harvest in January/February, leaving the l and to fallow until the wet season.

When the improved dry season short duration, high grain, and fodder yielding cowpeas experiment was introduced in February, 12 farmers, six each from Radi and Adrawa were involved in the experiment. They were given 2 kg each of two cowpea varieties for planting at the peak of the dry season. The cowpea lines: IT90K-372-1-2, IT97K-499-38, IT89KD-374-57, and IT97K-499-35 performed best in the 2006 wet season demonstrations. Harvesting started on 12 May and the estimated grain yield ranged from 860 kg to 1300 kg/ha. The traditional cowpea varieties cannot be planted in February because they are photosensitive and may flower little during the longer day length.

With 586 000 tonnes of dry cowpea grain produced annually, Niger Republic is the second largest world cowpea-producing country after Nigeria (over 2 million tonnes). Its major cowpea production period is the short raining season (June–September). In most cases, farmers contend with poor quality seeds leading to low yields. The Gatsby Crop–Livestock Project embarked on farmer-participatory-evaluation of cowpea varieties and cowpea–cereal cropping systems in Niger in 2006 with over 160 farmers.

Out of this number however, only those from the two villages of Radi and Adrawa have access to irrigation to effectively participate in the dry season cowpea production in relay to their traditional vegetable cropping systems in the fadamas. With the double yield of grains and fodder, many more farmers have registered their intension to participate in the experiment next season.

“We are very happy and thankful to IITA and INRAN, for introducing this new idea to us,” said one of the lead farmers, who confessed that many of his colleagues have been trouping to him to buy seeds of the new varieties in preparation for next season demonstrations.

For details contact:

Taye Babaleye
Public Relations Manager

Dr Hakeem Ajeigbe
Gatsby Crop-Livestock Project

Farmers participating in the IITA/Gatsby crop-livestock project in the northern Guinea savanna of Nigeria are taking advantage of the extra early varieties of cowpea supplied them under the project to double their production and earn more income.

The rainy season in the Guinea savanna agro-ecological zone in northern Nigeria normally starts in June and ends in September with a few showers before and after the season (May and October). Under such a short duration of rainy season, farmers plant cowpea only once. However, with the intervention of the IITA/Gatsby crop-livestock project, early maturing varieties of cowpeas are being distributed to the farmers at the end of May or early June. Thus, the first cowpeas are now planted with maize in a mixed cropping system. The extra-early (60 days) cowpea varieties are ready for harvesting in August; while the maize is harvested in September. The second cowpea planting follows immediately after the maize stalks are cut down and packed from the field to allow for cowpea which takes over as a sole crop.

In addition, the farmers are being trained on improved cultivation methods, and better seed storage techniques. They are equally advised to store seeds for planting for subsequent farming seasons. That is not all. The farmers themselves are coming up with new ideas because of the availability of improved cowpea seeds. For instance, with the first rains by end of April to early May, farmers are now planting cowpea either as sole crop or intercropped with melon; and in relay with tomato, yam, maize and, sorghum.

Last year, extra-early cowpea varieties were introduced to 95 farmers in 10 villages including Zango Aya, in Igabi LGA of Kaduna State, with the active participation of the State Agricultural Development Project. The farmers who kept seeds harvested from the trials decided to plant a particular variety (IT93K-452-1) with the first rains at the end of April, this year. Harvesting was in June. The grain yields were estimated at about 700 to 1100 kg/ha, which to them was a record high, especially considering the fact that the crop was on the field for barely two months.

One of the farmers, Alhaji Yahaya could not hide his joy as he told IITA scientists and extension agents how other farmers have been trooping to his house to buy the cowpea grains. When reminded of the need to keep some seeds for planting, Alhaji Yahaya said that the early harvest was mainly for subsistence i.e. for food and cash. The profits from the harvest, he said, were used to buy fertilizers, pay for labour and take care of family needs. He said he will plant another set of crop in August for seed preservation and planting. Another important discovery was the high grain yields (700-800 kg/ha) in some fields that were not sprayed with insecticides.

The prospects of a scientific breakthrough in the biological control of the cowpea pod borer, Maruca vitrata are high under the collaborative efforts of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the World Vegetable Center (AVRDC).

Under a special project funded by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, scientists from both organizations have identified potential c andidates that can be deployed from Taiwan to West Africa for the control of this pest. Among the promising beneficial organisms, a small parasitic wasps, Apanteles taragamae, has already been introduced to the IITA-Benin insectaries and experimentally released in Benin and Ghana. The adult females of this parasitoid lay eggs into the body of M. vitrata larvae, which are subsequently killed as the parasitoid develop and emerge to form a cocoon.

Cowpea, otherwise known as black-eyed pea is a protein rich crop whose value lies in its ability to grow and fix nitrogen to improve soil fertility in marginal areas. It is also tolerant of drought. Most of the world’s cowpea is grown in West and Central Africa, where many people cannot afford protein foods such as meat, egg and fish.

he poor yield of cowpea is attributed to a series of insect pests and diseases, the most devastating being M. vitrata which attacks cowpea flowers and pods. Over the years, IITA scientists have attempted to improve the crop through host plant resistance breeding but their efforts did not yield appreciable results. Efforts have also been made lately to develop transgenic cowpea but here there are biosafety regulatory huddles to cross. None of the cowpea producing countries of West and Central Africa has yet regulatory laws on the application of biotechnology tools to improve food crops. To-date, the yield of the crop has not exceeded 400kg per hectare without the application of insecticides. In fact, synthetic pesticides recommended for use in cowpea can effectively control M. vitrata in the field. However, apart from environmental and human health concerns, there are also socio-economic implications that make the use of chemical pesticides problematic. Among these are low level of farmers’ education, lack of capital, high prices of pesticides, lack of input market and access to recommended pesticides.

Maruca vitrata, the pod borer is undoubtedly the most economically important pest affecting cowpea yields. In West Africa, M. vitrata is attacked by various indigenous parasitic wasps, but none of them has been found to be efficient in reducing its population. According to Dr. Manuele Tamò, IITA entomologist “an entomopathogenic Cypovirus affecting the larvae of M. vitrata has also been discovered here in West Africa, but its sublethal character has been found to be of little practical interest. However, a much more virulent Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus (NPV) affecting M. vitrata has recently been discovered by AVRDC scientists in Taiwan. “We are currently studying this virus in controlled experiments at IITA-Benin, and preliminary observations indicate a high potential as a biopesticide for the control of M. vitrata.”, says Manuele

In sub-Saharan Africa, a continent often ravaged by civil strives and natural disasters such as drought and soil infertility, malnutrition is common especially among war refugees, rural peasants and the urban poor. Cowpea with about 27% protein comes h andy as a cheap source of protein in the continent. It is expected that in the near future when IITA and AVRDC perfect the environment-friendly biological control method to check the menace of M. vitrata, the abysmally poor yields of cowpea will be improved to reduce malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa.

Two IITAscientists were among few recipients of this year’s Science Awards conferred by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), at its recent annual general meeting in Washington DC. The Oscar worthy awards ceremony showed short video clips of our winners and cumulated in receiving the awards from World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz (see images below).

Thomas Dubois, a biocontrol specialist received the Promising Young Scientist Award for his work creating more durable bananas in the Great Lakes region of eastern Africa, where the plant is often the chief contributor to household income. Dr Dubois developed enhanced tissue culture planting material – created from the banana’s cells – that has resistance against pests and diseases. The material, intentionally infected with a beneficial fungus, offers protection against pests and diseases and has been delivered to farmers via an innovative public-private partnership. Tom’s work on a fungus used to ward off banana pests and diseases is helping to protect Ug anda’s staple food – one of the most important sources of income in East Africa’s Great Lakes region.

The Outst anding Senior Scientist Award went to Bir Bahadur Singh, a plant breeder who retired from IITA two years ago after almost 30 years. Widely known as Mr Cowpea, B.B. Singh’s many contributions include a fast-maturing “60-day” cowpea variety for the tropics, with seeds resistant to more than 10 diseases, as well as drought- and heat-tolerant varieties of the legume. Cowpea is one of Africa’s most versatile crops – it feeds people and livestock and, as a nitrogen-fixing legume, it also improves soil fertility. Dr Singh’s more reliable varieties help ensure that this early-maturing “hungry season” crop provides income and sustenance in the period before cereal crops are harvested. In a continent with a track record for poverty where animal protein is too expensive for resource poor faming families, cowpea with 22% protein help to meet the nutrient needs of the rural dwellers.

Announcing the awards, CGIAR Director, Francisco Reifschneider said “poor farmers in developing countries are confronted with a seemingly un-ending series of challenges ranging from low rainfall and poor soils to plant diseases and sick cattle … this year’s awardees are applying innovative science and technology to these and other challenges to make a difference in the lives of millions of poor farming families”.

IITA is also one of 11 CGIAR Centers that share the 2006 Outst anding Partnership Award for their efforts to administer the CGIAR Genebank in trust for the world community. The repository of 600 000 accessions of crop, forest and agroforestry species–the majority of which are stored as seeds – is an insurance policy of sorts which underwrites food security and insures genetic diversity well into the future. Scientists from around the world, for example, have drawn on the Genebank for wild relatives of common crops whose desirable traits, like disease resistance or the ability to mature before the first frosts, are bred into new varieties. The CGIAR Genebank is the most modern, well-maintained example of a practice which dates back thous ands of years in which traditional agriculturists have selected and saved seed from plants that expressed a diversity of beneficial traits.

Two other IITA scientists, Prof. Malachy Akoroda and Dr Chuma Ezedinma were honored at an international symposium of the International Society for Tropical Root Crops (ISTRC) in the State of Kerala, India. The occasion was the 14th triennial symposium of the ISTRC jointly organized by the Indian Society for Root Crops and Central Tuber Crops Research Institute.

Dr Ezedinma, Project Economist of the IITA Integrated Cassava Project received an award for the Best Oral Presentation, while Prof. Akoroda, the Project Agronomist received the long service award as ISTRC president, and was re-elected as Councilor for African countries of the international body. The theme of the symposium was “Global perspective to enhance production and marketing of tropical tuber crops”. The symposium was attended by about 250 participants drawn from public institutions, research institutes, universities, and private industries, from over 25 countries.

Over the years, IITA scientists have received series of awards for scientific breakthroughs in efforts to improve food security in sub-Saharan Africa.

The challenge facing IITA scientists, their collaborators and partners is to reposition sub-Saharan African agriculture for improved productivity.

For almost 40 years, IITA has made substantial breakthroughs in efforts to improve the food situation in sub-Saharan Africa. Through research to nourish Africa, scientists at IITA have developed early maturing, high yielding, disease and insect pest-resistant cassava, cowpea, maize, plantain and bananas, soybeans, and yams. In addition, they have developed improved techniques of l and clearing, soil conservation, and better farming systems.

Using biological control methods, they have successfully reduced the effect of mealybugs and spider mites on cassava; controlled the menace of water hyacinth on rivers and lakes across Africa; developed host plant resistant maize varieties against streak virus and downy mildew diseases; controlled black sigatoka fungal disease on plantains; and developed improved agronomic practices to increase yields of cowpea and soybean, as well as developed rapid multiplication techniques for yams, plantains, and bananas. On soil management and l and development, the Institute has also recommended more environment-friendly farming systems to optimize productivity and developed cost-effective postharvest processing and food crop utilization techniques.

In spite of these monumental achievements, the following questions still bug the mind: Why do people still go to bed hungry in Africa? How can the Institute justify the huge donor investments? Why are research findings not getting to the end-users? Simply put, why is it that Africa still depends on food importation and food aids to meet local dem ands? These are the questions the scientists were gathered to proffer solutions to at the strategic planning week from 19 to 23 November 2006.

Welcoming the scientists from all over, DG Hartmann charged them to articulate the research- for-development (R4D) concept in their research design as against research and development (R&D) which hitherto had been practiced for many years without appreciable impact on the food needs of the people. He urged the scientists to make their work more visible through institutional public and private partnerships with collaboration of peer NARS scientists where farmers are placed at the center of their research planning and design. “IITA does not exist in perpetuity… hence, once a major impact is made, we must allow our NARS collaborators to take over and run with it,” says Hartmann.

The weeklong activity enabled IITA scientists and research administrators to brainstorm on the justification for the Institute’s involvement in R4D, to determine the benefits and deliverable international public goods (IPGs), comparative advantage of IITA’s involvement in development issues and partnerships with both public and private sectors of the economy, scaling-out and exit strategies. Considerable attention was also devoted to enterprise creation and market development, technology dissemination, communication and capacity building as well as biotechnology development and deployment. At the end of the meeting, it is expected that the implementation of the strategic plan will give the Institute more visibility and its impact more appreciable.

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