Tag: IITA

Olam, IITA, E4D partner to support 5,000 Uganda coffee farmers improve their livelihoods

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UGANDA – Olam Food Ingredients has partnered with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the GIZ Employment and Skills for Development in Africa (E4D) program to improve the livelihoods of 5,000 coffee farmers in the Mount Elgon region of the country. The project which is set to run for the next two and a half years aims to improve farmers’ livelihoods by enabling them to optimize their investment in coffee, earn more from other on-farm activities, and thus reduce the living income gap by 20 percent. This will…

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IITA, EAGC journey towards producing aflatoxin-free grains to ensure health safety, boost trade

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EASTERN AFRICA – The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) have signed an agreement to work together to tackle aflatoxin contamination of grains in the region. IITA is a not-for-profit research institution that generates innovations to address major agricultural challenges in Africa, while EAGC is a membership organization that brings together key players across the grain value chain in Eastern and Southern Africa. The MoU will leverage each organization’s comparative advantage to promote mutually beneficial cooperation in the areas of advocacy, research, capacity…

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Bill & Melinda Gates foundation funds International Institute of Tropical Agriculture US$14.3m for cassava project

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AFRICA – The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and its partners working towards building a sustainable cassava seed system in Africa, have received US$14.3 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to kick-start the second phase of Building an Economically Sustainable, Integrated Cassava Seed System (BASICS-II) in both Nigeria and Tanzania. The 5-year project will be led by IITA, working in partnership with Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Catholic Relief Services (CRS), IITA GoSeed, Umudike Seed, Sahel…

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Tanzanian firm to invest US$ 1.52m in developing tech to curb aflatoxin

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TANZANIA – Tanzania’s A to Z Textile Mills has unveiled plans of investing US$1.52million (Tsh 3.5bn) in establishing a factory that will be producing Aflasafe, a technology to combat aflatoxin in grains and cereals. This follows an agreement between A to Z and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in conducting research on aflatoxin that saw successful development of the product. Mr Kalpesh Shah, chief executive of A to Z Textile Mills, said the firm was particularly proud of being part of a committed team that had researched for…

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Olam partners IITA to help Ugandan coffee farmers build climate resilience

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UGANDA – Olam International, a multinational agribusiness company has joined forces with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) to improve Ugandan coffee farmers’ resilience to climate change. Olam, as a major coffee exporter in Uganda, is co-funding the project in the Mt Elgon region in the country as it seeks to promote cost saving initiatives in the short-term with an overall aim of creating a more sustainable supply. IITA and Olam have identified three main challenges facing coffee farmers in Uganda in the face of climate variability and low…

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Can Africa sort out the Aflatoxin problem?

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SPECIAL REPORT: Can Africa sort out the Aflatoxin problem? Africa faces many challenges on the food front. The continent is grappling with efforts to feed its increasing population, projected to reach 2 billion by 2050, by the African Union. The presence of aflatoxin in foods has adversely affected not only the grain milling sector of the economy but also the health of the population and the ability of the Continent to trade with the rest of the World. Perhaps no issue straddles the cereals sector in Africa like the issue…

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