By Chris Nyamtu
The International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has called on the Nigerian Government and development partners to prioritise funding for research and training on sustainable crop production as part of efforts to combat malnutrition across the country.
Head of Station of the Institute in Abuja, Dr. Beatrice Aghewi, made the appeal when a team of journalists participating in a two-day training on Nutrition and Food Systems Reporting, organised the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), visited the Institute on a study tour.
The training brought together journalists from print and electronic media across the country, including Abuja, to strengthen their capacity in reporting nutrition and food systems.
Dr. Aghewi explained that since its establishment in 1967, the IITA has continued to empower smallholder farmers through research and innovation aimed at improving food systems and enhancing household nutrition.
“This organisation is project-based and non-profit. Our impact can only be fully felt in communities when government and relevant partners actively fund and implement our research findings. Such efforts will go a long way in improving diets, particularly within the yam and cassava value chains,” she said.
Also speaking, the Farm Manager, Mr. Adunoye Francis, stressed the urgent need for the government at all levels to recruit more agricultural extension workers to ensure that the Institute’s research outcomes reach farmers at the grassroots.
He lamented that the weak extension system in Nigeria continues to hinder the effective transfer of research findings to farmers.
”The major challenge we are facing is that the issue of agricultural extension is almost non-existent. The link between research institutions and farmers has broken down, and this prevents our innovations from reaching communities across the country,” he said.
The journalists were later conducted round various sections of the Institute, including the yam nurseries and farmers’ demonstration fields, where they observed ongoing research and training activities.
In his remark, Mr. Victor Ekeleme, Senior Associate, Communication at GAIN, who led the journalists on the visit, commended IITA for its warm reception and described the study tour as enriching and insightful.
The key message from the engagement was a renewed call on government and stakeholders to sustain funding and collaboration for agricultural research and training, as a pathway to producing safe, nutritious food and addressing hunger and malnutrition in Nigeria. (Radio Nigeria)