IITA takes center stage at the third Post-Harvest Connect Conference

12 May 2026

Dignitaries on stage at Post-Harvest Connect 2026. Partners including IITA, GAIN, Helen Keller International, Sasakawa, Sahel Consulting, SLARI, and the World Bank Group were represented at the landmark event.
Dignitaries on stage at Post-Harvest Connect 2026. Partners including IITA, GAIN, Helen Keller International, Sasakawa, Sahel Consulting, SLARI, and the World Bank Group were represented at the landmark event.

A cassava products showcase drew ministers, senators, and researchers — sparking serious conversations about scaling Nigeria’s post-harvest economy.

The third Post-Harvest Connect Conference, held at the NAF Conference Center in Abuja in April 2026, brought together researchers, policymakers, industry stakeholders, and development partners under the banner of Nigeria’s post-harvest agenda. Among the stands that drew the most engaging attention was IITA‘s Cassava breeding program and PROSSIVA program, where a display of cassava-derived products challenged visitors to rethink what Africa’s most widely grown root crop can do.

The conference, organized to mark the 75th anniversary of the Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI), drew participation from across the continent. For IITA-CGIAR, it was an opportunity to bring agricultural innovation directly to policymakers and stakeholders who can move ideas into markets.

Visitors at the IITA exhibition booth saw a display of cassava products in various forms — granulated, pastes, starch-based foods, and baked goods — accompanied by data on the cassava varieties used and their agronomic profiles.

Some visitors revealed they had no idea that cassava could be used to make some of the products on display at the IITA stand.

The feedback during the conference underscores both the opportunity and the challenge that IITA’s post-harvest work seeks to address: Nigeria produces enormous quantities of cassava, yet public awareness of the crop’s industrial and culinary range remains limited. Closing that gap was, in many ways, the exhibition’s most important function.

The Honorable Minister of Agriculture, Senator Abubakar Kyari, also visited the IITA stand, accompanied by other senior government officials. The delegation sampled products and asked questions about production scalability and pathways to commercial distribution across Nigerian markets.

The Honourable Minister of Agriculture, Senator Abubakar Kyari, samples cassava-based products at the IITA/PROSSIVA stand alongside senators and senior government officials. The visit prompted substantive discussions on scaling production and strengthening domestic distribution networks for cassava-derived goods.
The Honourable Minister of Agriculture, Senator Abubakar Kyari, samples cassava-based products at the IITA/PROSSIVA stand alongside senators and senior government officials. The visit prompted substantive discussions on scaling production and strengthening domestic distribution networks for cassava-derived goods.

The discussion during Senator Kyari’s visit to the IITA booth reflects growing recognition within government that the cassava value chain — long discussed in policy documents — requires targeted investment in processing, branding, and consumer education to reach its potential. For IITA researchers and the work they have carried out over the years, developing high-yield, high-starch varieties suited for industrial use, the engagement felt like genuine progress.

The gap between the lab and the market

A recurring topic during nearly every discussion at the stand was the disconnect between what researchers can produce and what consumers can access. Products that perform well in trials and impress at conferences do not automatically find their way onto supermarket shelves or into local markets.

Three barriers emerged clearly: limited consumer awareness of cassava’s versatility, the absence of a robust distribution infrastructure for processed cassava products, and insufficient coordination between research institutions and private-sector actors capable of commercializing these innovations at scale.

Priorities for the road ahead

Discussions during the booth visits and the conference highlighted key priorities that collaborative efforts between stakeholders can focus on to drive impact in Nigeria’s cassava sector:

  • Consumer education campaigns to broaden awareness of the cassava product range
  • Stronger distribution networks connecting processors with retail and market channels
  • Formal partnerships between research units and private-sector manufacturers
  • Larger, better-coordinated exhibition delegations with clearly defined roles
  • Consistent presence at high-visibility conferences to sustain momentum with policymakers

Looking Forward

Despite the demands of preparation and delivery, the IITA team left Abuja with a strengthened contact base, renewed relationships with senior government stakeholders, and a sharper picture of what it takes to turn showcase success into market reality. Post-Harvest Connect 2026 reinforced a conviction held across the IITA-PROSSIVA unit: consistent, well-executed presence at events like this is not a luxury — it is a core part of moving cassava innovation from research stations into Nigerian homes.

Contributed by IITA Cassava Breeding Program