Dar es Salaam, 12 March 2014. Agricultural experts from the world’s
leading partnership for agriculture research, CGIAR, will come together in
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 17 to 22 March, for its biannual board meeting
hosted by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).
The meeting brings together the Consortium Board and Director Generals of
all 15 international centers that make up the CGIAR Consortium. These
international agricultural research centers work in collaboration with
hundreds of partner organizations worldwide, including national and
regional research institutes, civil society organizations, academia, and
the private sector to ensure a food and nutrition secure world, reduce
rural poverty, improve human health, and achieve a more sustainable
management of natural resources.
Most of CGIAR’s research-for-development activities take place in the
tropical developing world, including sub-Saharan Africa, where the majority
of countries are not self-sufficient in food, and where agriculture is the
backbone of the economy. The region is rich in natural and human resources
that, if well managed, could have the potential to make it the world’s
leading food basket.
After structural and governance reforms initiated in 2010 were implemented,
CGIAR works more collaboratively with partners in 16 cross-cutting research
themes through the CGIAR Research Programs.
“The agricultural sector is crucial today, more than ever before,
particularly in the face of climate change and the increasing global
population. The CGIAR Research Programs are large-scale strategic programs
put in place to deal with the cross-cutting nature of these challenges,”
says Dr Frank Rijsberman, CEO of the CGIAR Consortium. ”Sub-Saharan Africa
is one of the most vulnerable regions, where a majority of the population
are small-holder farmers who frequently face food insecurity and poverty.
It is in this region where a large part of our research takes place.”
In Tanzania, CGIAR centers and research programs carry out a wide range of
activities on various themes in coordination with national and
international partners.
Dr Nteranya Sanginga, Director General of IITA, said that IITA had worked
in Tanzania and the sub-Saharan region for over 20 years supporting
national research partners to increase the production of key staples, such
as cassava, banana, and soybean. He singled out cassava as one of the crops
the Institute had extensively studied.
“Cassava is a very important food and cash crop for small-holder farmers.
However, production has suffered a huge blow from the mosaic disease and
the brown streak virus. We are working together with our national partners
to control these diseases–understanding how they spread, looking at
effective ways that farmers can control them, and breeding for
disease-tolerant/resistant varieties. The national program has released
several tolerant varieties –they show symptoms but still give an acceptable
yield on farmers’ fields,” Dr Sanginga says. “We are also working on value
addition as cassava is also a cash crop and can earn farmers more money and
contribute to poverty reduction.”
Dr Sanginga also pointed out that the institute had received very good
support from the Government of Tanzania which is investing heavily on its
agriculture sector not only to ensure food security for its people but also
to reduce poverty and for economic development.
Other ongoing research by CGIAR centers and their national and
international partners in the country include the following:
* The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) – works
with national partners to improve the dairy industry in the country as a
way to reduce food insecurity and poverty.
* The World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) – focuses on encouraging
small-holder farmers to grow trees on their farms to reap their enormous
benefits that include conserving the soil and diversifying sources of
income, thus reducing poverty and transforming landscapes.
* The Africa Rice Center – works on improving rice production
including developing high-yielding, new varieties such as the highland rice
NERICA which requires less water.
* The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) –
works to develop improved maize varieties that are tolerant or resistant to
common pests and diseases, high yielding, and drought tolerant.
* The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid
Tropics (ICRISAT) – promotes drought-tolerant crops such as pigeon pea and
sorghum to reduce food insecurity and improve nutrition in the semi-arid
areas.
* IITA – focuses on the control of key pests and diseases
affecting the major staple crops of small-holder farmers such as cassava,
banana, and soybean, including control measures, breeding improved,
disease-tolerant and high- yielding varieties, and building the capacity of
national partners.
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