IITA and the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO) in Nigeria are forging stronger ties and will work together on postharvest and cassava research, capacity building, and youth development. This was highlighted during a recent visit by IITA to FIIRO. FIIRO is one of the pioneering R4D centers for cassava in Nigeria. The institute has made significant contributions to the understanding of cassava fermentation and the development of mechanized technologies for processing gari and fufu flour, among other cassava products.
Recently, collaboration between IITA and FIIRO has been strengthened, especially in the production of cassava bread and training of bread bakers. In addition, IITA and FIIRO have been collaborating on the development of many research proposals on cassava and postharvest technology in general. One of the proposals is the BiomassWeb project to be funded in the GlobE program of the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF). The project, led by the Center for Development Research (ZEF) of the University of Bonn, has many African partner institutions, including icipe and IITA.
The overall goal of the project is to raise food security in Africa by harnessing productivity and efficiency
gains in the whole biomass-producing, processing and trading system by increased integration of all value web components and the cascading use of biomass. The project will be implemented in Nigeria, Ghana, and Ethiopia.
FIIRO, in collaboration with IITA, is one of the participating institutions in Nigeria. To foster collaboration in this project and other projects, IITA recently visited FIIRO for discussions on partnership strengthening with collaborating scientists and the Director General, Dr Gloria Elemo. IITA was represented by Dr Adebayo Abass, Coordinator, Cassava Value Chain, based in Dar-Es- Salaam, Tanzania.
During the meeting with Dr Elemo, Abass highlighted the importance of IITA and FIIRO’s collaboration, and additional areas of potential collaboration between the two institutions such as capacity building for staff, youth employment programs, and the promotion of cassava bread in Nigeria. Dr Elemo was pleased to receive the IITA scientist and promised to come and visit IITA and meet with DG Nteranya Sanginga.
No comments:
Post a Comment