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No. 2266 9–13 March 2015
THECGIAR
IITA Bulletin 2266
Women in Science: Dream it, work hard, and you will Make it Happen“When I went to the US to do my master’s, I was the only black person in my class, the only female, and the only foreigner. And I had two small children. I had a very hard time,” says Dr Mary Mgonja, the Head of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).
Dr Mgonja was sharing her journey on becoming a successful scientist as part of a panel discussion organized to mark this year’s International Women’s Day held at the IITA offices in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The event “#Make It Happen for Women in Science” was in line with this year’s theme, “Make It Happen.”
The panel discussion brought together female researchers in Tanzania working in diverse fields and at various levels of their career―those starting out and those at their peak—to discuss and share their stories, successes, and challenges before an audience of IITA researchers and partners, the media, and aspiring young scientists drawn from surrounding secondary schools.
In addition to Dr Mgonja, the other panelists were Dr Costancia Rugumaru, Dean, Faculty of Science at the University of Dar es Salaam, School of Education; Dr Francesca Nelson, Senior Food Security Specialist, IITA; and Mary Maganga and Edda Mushi, Research Supervisors at IITA. The session was facilitated by Dr Rose Shayo, a Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) of the University of Dar es Salaam.
All the panelists shared the various challenges they had faced and the lessons they had learned along the way; they offered words of encouragement to female potential scientists on the theme that kept repeating itself―hard work.
“In all the places you will work, be yourself, respect your superiors, and do
your job well,” said Dr Regina Kapinga who will soon be joining IITA as Head of Advocacy and Resource Mobilization from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr Kapinga also shared her journey from being a simple village girl to working as a Senior Program Officer with the Gates Foundation and all the lessons on the way and the wisdom she had gained.
“One of my biggest challenges was the lack of facilities to study science in my high school. We did not have laboratories and equipment; however, I persevered, did well, and proceeded to the university to pursue my degree in agronomy. At the university, there were very few students, as many women said agronomy was a very hard subject,” Edda Mushi explained.
Dr Franscesca Nelson focused on the importance of tackling existing social conventions which were disadvantageous to women. These included issues such as violence against women and the discrimination
that was deeply rooted in cultural beliefs and social norms.
She also noted that it was important for female researchers to use their knowledge and skills to find solutions to the challenges faced by poor rural women; for example, by developing labor-saving equipment and tackling inequalities.
Gender at IITAWhile officially opening the event, Dr Victor Manyong, IITA Director for Eastern Africa, briefed participants on gender issues at the Institute. He said gender is a very important topic at IITA as an international research organization whose goal was to tackle hunger, poverty, and malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa.
“We cannot address these problems in Africa without understanding and addressing the constraints faced by women farmers. In most communities they provide the majority of labor on the family farm and process food for markets as well as for family consumption.
IITA women researchers in Tanzania sharing their life’s journeys and experiences to motivate other potential female sientists.
...continued on page 7
IITA Bulletin 2266 page 2
Transforming IITA to nourish Africa*Frank Rijsberman, CEO, CGIAR Consortium
Frank Rijsberman (rightmost) in a huddle with (L-R) Dr Kwesi Attah-Krah, IITA Board Member Roel Merckx, and DG Nteranya Sanginga after the meeting in Ibadan.
My first visit to IITA was in 1982. As a young scientist with the Delft
Hydraulics Lab in the Netherlands I worked on my first soil science project that also happened to become my last. I had obtained funding for a project on the impact of soil erosion on soil productivity and I was looking for good data. My research led me to IITA soil scientist Rattan Lal who was among the five scientists I had identified across the globe that had the time series data I needed and he agreed to work with me. My funding enabled me to visit all 5 research groups to see their experiments and go over their data. This was my first visit to Nigeria.
Staying overnight in Lagos and driving to Ibadan made an indelible impression on me. Lagos was already a bustling megacity and the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway was about getting mad with too many cars, buses and lorries competing for too little space at breakneck speeds. It was the first time ever I saw the burned-out and still burning wrecks of cars and trucks by the side of the road.
And then we arrived at IITA. Once cleared by security the car started up the long driveway, flanked by rolling hills with bright green grass, cut smooth like a golf course, dotted with picturesque palm trees, painted bright white. The contrast of this oasis of quiet prettiness with the chaotic world outside the barbed wire fence could not be greater. A well-oiled, well-maintained, well-equipped island of advanced research. A small army of well-trained Nigerian staff to support a team of senior researchers that were almost without exception white, male and Anglophone — or indeed, Dutch.
Rattan Lal was a fine host, had many years of excellent data, and was a great collaborator for my project.
Since then, I have visited and worked in Nigeria quite a bit, including a two-year stint as Chief Technical Advisor of a UNDP project to strengthen the Ministry of Water Resources in Abuja in the late 80s. But fast forward to 2012: I rejoined the CGIAR as the CEO of the CGIAR Consortium in May 2012 and started an effort to visit all 15 Centers. In July-August the Consortium Board Chair, Carlos Perez del Castillo, and I visited AfricaRice in Cotonou, Benin and then traveled overland to Ibadan. We were received by the new DG, Nteranya Sanginga, and the new Board Chair, Bruce Coulman and given the grand tour. We met with scientists,
discussed the newly reformed CGIAR, enjoyed presentations of the key science groups, saw the laboratories, and hiked the forest.
The new DG’s enthusiasm was certainly infectious, and it was great to hear of his ambitious plans, but it was also obvious that the institute was a little tired. The infrastructure was aging and the scientists were, too. There were certainly a few young and enthusiastic scientists—in the biosciences group for example—and there were some exciting projects such as the development of aflasafe as a biological control method for aflatoxins, but the labs had that look and feel of many other labs I have seen in Africa. Too much old or broken equipment and too few people behind the benches.
Dare, an Agripreneur, explains the activities of the IITA youth in agribusiness to the visitors as other colleagues look on.
DG Sanginga (second from left) tours the BIP with Frank (second from right) and other guests.
*blogpost published in CGIAR.org: http://www.cgiar.org/consortium-news/transforming-iita-to-nourish-africa/
IITA Bulletin 2266 page 3
Out of nostalgia I asked to see the soils lab, the place where I was hosted 30 years earlier. It was rather sad to see that while it was still active, the place bore clear signs of neglect and chronic under-investment in maintenance and new equipment. There was nothing sad about the people working here, though. On our last night we were invited to a sizzling staff party in which the new DG showed he did not just have big plans but also enjoyed dancing the night away.
Early March 2015, I had the chance to visit IIITA again, as a participant in the International Conference on Integrated Systems Research organized jointly by the three CGIAR farming systems research programs. The event was the first big international conference organized at IITA after the Ebola Outbreak in 2014 and brought together over a hundred scientists to discuss and agree on a vision, mission, conceptual framework, and value proposition for systems research in the CGIAR. Not an easy task, but an important one if we are serious about sustainable intensification in smallholder agriculture.
For me it was also a chance to see the new IITA. The differences are striking from the moment you drive up that driveway. The first thing you see is the new plant that can produce 5 tons of aflasafe per hour. The rolling hills are still around, but in the dry season the grass looks more naturally savanna-like and brown; the white paint on the palm trees has all but faded away, instead the pink, lilac, and yellow colors of the now flourishing African trees are dominating the colors of the campus.
Next thing I noticed: the dorms that house junior staff and visitors were newly
painted—a first sign of the overall spring cleaning that has occurred at the institute. The impact of the doubling of senior researchers and the close to tripling of the budget is visible everywhere. Many more young scientists were hired — in fact my tour of the Biosciences lab handed me from one young female African scientist to another.
Our tour of the newly constructed Business Incubation Platform led to the aflasafe plant where the manager Lawrence Kaptoge showed us the letter he had just received from the Kenyan Irrigation Board requesting for 8.1 tons of aflasafe, being produced the days of my visit and to be airlifted shortly, with another 22 tons to follow. IITA’s aflasafe research has developed effective products for some 13 African countries now, and is showing the production is viable at small to large scales. This work is on the verge of scaling up and out to millions of farmers, if it can now be successfully commercialized with private sector partners. The aflasafe success has the potential for a massive impact on food safety and public health in Africa, as well as on re-opening export markets for products such as groundnut.
I was also very impressed by the dynamic presentations and self-confidence of the young graduates in IITA’s Youth Agripreneur program. With unemployment of young Nigerian graduates as high as 60-70%, this program aims to show that there is a future for young Africans in agriculture, that there is viable employment and an attractive career in catfish aquaculture, in soymilk production, yam sucker farms and cassava bread production.
Dr Sanginga, who is the father of this program and naturally very proud of its success, predicts that it can scale up and out, in Nigeria and other African countries —his vision is about a movement to give a future back to millions of African youth through agriculture and the value chains in the agri-food business. The program is just a start and has already attracted attention from IFAD, AfDB, and the Nigerian government. It is a good example of what the CGIAR can do when it focuses on youth—very timely with “gender and youth” identified as a key cross-cutting issue in the new CGIAR strategy.
Finally I met with the newly expanded NRM group led by Bernard Vanlauwe. The focus here is on helping restore the fertility of 7 million hectares of degraded lands, as per IITA’s 10-year strategy. Products like NoduMax, or a nutrient manager for cassava not unlike IRRI’s nutrient manager for rice, are intended to make this possible, as well as the groups participation in CGIAR Research programs such as the Integrated Systems for the Humid Tropics , Water, Land and Ecosystems, Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security, Grain Legumes and Roots Tubers and Bananas .
At the end of the visit my hosts asked if I would like to see the soils Lab again… and it was a pleasure to be led around by Joseph Uponi, the same manager who showed me the lab in 2012, this time proudly demonstrating brand-new lab equipment, such as the Infrared Reflectance Spectroscope that can provide high through-put characterization of the chemical composition of soils.
At the BIP, the visitors listen to a researcher explain about the production of aflasafe and Nodumax.
Frank (keft) and Ann Tutwiler, DG of Bioversity International, look at aflasafe samples--IITA’s biological control product for aflatoxin management in maize and groundnut.
IITA Bulletin 2266 page 4
IITA’s lab now works closely with Keith Shepherd’s excellent Soil-Plant Spectral Diagnostics Lab at ICRAF, building soil libraries for West-Africa, complementing ICRAF’s work in East and Southern Africa. A real pleasure to see the soils lab back in great shape! It is
incredibly encouraging to see a research institute rising to answer the challenge of nourishing Africa so quickly and so dynamically under difficult conditions. Visiting IITA in 2015 leaves me invigorated and energized; optimistic that the CGIAR Research Centers and their partners
may have a future that can surpass the successes of the past—contributing to our core goals to overcome hunger, and achieve food and nutrition security in a climate-smart manner that leaves behind a healthy planet. Thanks to Dr Sanginga and his team at IITA for a great visit!
Scientists call for systems research in agriculture to realize Sustainable Development GoalsFrom 4-7 March, IITA hosted the global
systems research and development community at the International Conference on Integrated Systems for Sustainable Intensification in Smallholder Agriculture. Social and agricultural scientists participating in the conference are stressing the importance of agricultural research to be done with a holistic systems perspective, and for better links between research on improvements in specific commodities and natural resource management.
Dr Frank Rijsberman, CEO of the CGIAR Consortium, comments, “The conference focused on one of the trickiest problems in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): it’s not just about coming up with single technologies but how those can come together to provide livelihood opportunities for farmers, give them access to markets, as well as maintaining and improving the ecosystems and the soils that provide the basis for them. A key element of this
is research to address the yield gaps that exist in several major commodities produced within farming systems.”
Participants advocated strong partnerships and stakeholder involvement through mechanisms such as research-for development and innovation platforms as essential ingredients for enabling the systems approaches to be scaled out for the benefit of millions of farmers.
“This gathering of scientists from over 30 nations demonstrates our commitment to help farming families to tackle poverty, hunger, and environmental degradation by using a fully integrated systems approach that develops and tests, with farming households and development partners, feasible combinations of technical, market, governance and policy options capable of improving agricultural livelihood systems,” says Dr Kwesi Atta-Krah, Director, Humidtropics, a CGIAR Research Program.
Dr Nteranya Sanginga, Director General of IITA, says, “To build the hunger-free world we want, with its finite natural resources and continuing population growth, the world needs to implement urgently sustainable intensification solutions through integrated systems research for development.” He called on the CGIAR Research Programs, especially those focused on systems research, to work together with partners for the enhancement of sustainable intensification of agricultural systems.
The conference was organized by the CGIAR Research Program on Integrated Systems for the Humid Tropics (Humidtropics), in partnership with the CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems (AAS) and the CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Systems (Drylands). http://humidtropics.cgiar.org/international-conference-integrated-systems/.
Group photo with IITA Youth Agripreneurs.
Group photo, Integrated Systems Conference, IITA, Ibadan.
IITA Bulletin 2266 page 5
An IITA project seeking to entice the educated youth to go into
agriculture and agribusiness was established in Makueni County in Kenya, in collaboration with the University of Nairobi and Makueni County Government and officially launched on 10 March.
The Makueni Youth Agripreneurs (MYA) project, based at the University of Nairobi, Kibwezi station, brings together university graduates in the region from diverse backgrounds. They will be trained on modern farming methods, processing of and value addition to agricultural produce, and entrepreneurship. The project will be replicated in other parts of the country to engage more of the youth in agriculture and contribute to reducing the country’s high unemployment rate.
The initiative is part of a larger program called IITA Youth Agripreneurs (IYA), started three years ago in Nigeria by Dr Nteranya Sanginga, IITA’s Director General. This program aims to tackle the twin challenges of youth unemployment and the need to increase agricultural production to supply food for a rapidly increasing population.
The Makueni project was officially launched at an event at the IITA-Kenya offices at the International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe).by Oscar Musembi Marco, Kibwezi West Sub-County Administrator, on
Program to attract Africa’s youth to agriculture launched in Kenya
behalf of the Makueni County Governor Prof. Kivutha Kibwana and its Deputy Governor, Hon. Adelina Ndeto Mwau.
Mr Marco lauded the initiative, saying it was much needed in the Makueni County in its current efforts to transform itself and become self-reliant on food. “Through this youth program we are on the right path to transform Makueni County from being food insecure to becoming a breadbasket of the country,” he said, “and change the youth in Makueni from being job seekers to job creators.”
He added that the Makueni County government had set aside Kshs 25 million (US$277,330) to give low interest loans to young people, women, and those with disabilities. He urged the youth to take advantage of this incentive.
Dr Sanginga, who was also at the event, said Makueni County had been selected so the youth could support the Institute’s efforts in providing a solution to aflatoxins―those deadly chemicals produced by molds which attack maize and other grains―as the area was one of the hotspots for the problem in the country.
“IITA is setting up a factory to produce aflasafe, a biological control solution to aflatoxins. The technology requires sorghum to be used as a carrier. The youth will produce and supply the factory with sorghum,” he said. “They
will create employment and, at the same time, produce a great public good for the people of Makueni.”
He further added that the program was a start and would be replicated throughout the country; members of the group would be involved in outreach and the training of other young men and women.
He said that the IYA program had received much support from donor agencies and was well on track to reach its target to spread the program to 20 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Prof Geoffrey Kironchi from the University of Nairobi, one of the collaborators in the project, said the University had donated part of its 1200 acres of land and greenhouses at its Kibwezi station to MYA to grow vegetables through irrigation as a start-off activity. He added that the project, bringing together those from different backgrounds, could be instrumental in attracting the youth to agriculture.
“Our youth are not attracted to agriculture yet there are a lot of opportunities in the sector. We all have to eat every day. There is also a lot of food wasted and uneven distribution. While some parts of the country have an abundant food supply all year, others are constantly faced with famine and starvation.”
This was echoed by Prof Nancy Karanja also from the University of Nairobi. She said the University was fully committed to the project and its endeavor to create youth employment. “It’s very disheartening to us as teachers and parents when we find our students loitering around after graduation because there are no jobs,” she said. “And on the other hand as a country, we can only talk of development once we are able to feed ourselves.”
Others at the event were Dr Victor Manyong, IITA Director for Eastern Africa; Dr Bernard Vanlauwe, IITA Director for Central Africa; Dr Kristina Roing De Nowina, MYA Project Manager, representatives of IYA from Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya, and representatives from other partner institutions.
Group photo of youth “agripreneurs” and guests during the MYA launch.
IITA Bulletin 2266 page 6
YIIFSWA holds annual progress review and work planning and TAC meetings
The Yam Improvement for Income and Food Security in West Africa (YIIFSWA)
project held its fourth annual progress review and planning meeting at the Golden Tulip Hotel, Kumasi, Ghana.
Participants came from various collaborating partner institutions, including IITA, CSIR-CRI, NRI/UK, CSIR-SARI, NRCRI, GLDB, PPRSD, NASC, NACGRAB, MSHR, CRS, JDPM, Sustenance Agro Ventures (SAVE), Arimathea Foundation, Biocrops Nigeria Ltd, and Biochemical Ghana Ltd. They made presentations on their achievements, work plans, and budgets for 2015 to synchronize activities for a more collective impact. The project is undergoing a restructuring in terms of governance and project activities.
At the opening ceremony, Claire Kpaka, representative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, expressed her appreciation of the participants’ active participation in the annual review and planning workshop, urging them to take an active part in the planning process.
Dr Robert Asiedu, YIIFSWA Project Director, also welcomed the participants and presented the key milestones that needed to be considered. YIIFSWA is on its last 18 months of project implementation. In his talk, he said that the past year had been very
demanding, but the implementing staff needed to revisit the project’s objectives, activities, and targets. He also encouraged participants to address issues regarding communication, documentation of achievements, and the monitoring and evaluation of outputs.
In his presentation, Dr Norbert Maroya, Project Manager, reported on the restructuring changes, with the seven components now stream lined into two: Governance, Leadership, and Partnership; and Seed Systems.
The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of the project also met after the
review and planning workshop. Present at the meeting were Prof Alexandre Dansi, Dr Hiroko Watanabe, Prof Janice Olawoye, Messrs Tony Sikpa and Cephas Dormediameo, Ms Lydia Susu, Drs Asiedu and Maroya, Drs Beatrice Aighewi, Lava Kumar, Antonio Lopez-Montes, Morufat Balogun, Djana Mignouna, Kingsley Osei, and Ms Oiwoja Odihi.
TAC members reviewed the previous year’s recommendations and the execution of the project activities. The main discussion point was ensuring that the project meets its goal of increasing yam productivity (yield and net output) by 40% for 200,000 smallholder farmers in Ghana and Nigeria. The TAC members acknowledged that extensive work had been done with regard to delivering key research products that would contribute to improving yam productivity but more work was needed to provide evidence of the project’s achievements.
TAC members said that a lot of good work was being done in YIIFSWA and that the project needed to tell the world about this. TAC members will thus be adding project advocacy for regional yam development to their tasks.
TAC members and YIIFSWA project scientists.
Got a story to share? Please email it with photos and captions every Wednesday to Andrea Gros ([email protected]), Katherine Lopez ([email protected]), Jeffrey T. Oliver ([email protected]), Catherine Njuguna ([email protected]),
or Adaobi Umeokoro ([email protected]).
Participants in the 4th YIIFSWA review and planning meeting.
IITA Bulletin 2266 page 7
In this issue, we are featuring a new set of IITA posters and banners that show how our research contributes to food security in sub-Saharan Africa. If you are
interested in getting a set of the posters, please contact the Communication Office ([email protected]).
Spotlight: Our science grows more food
www.iita.orgIITA is a member of the CGIAR Consortium
www.iita.orgIITA is a member of the CGIAR Consortium
Biofortifying African staplesIITA and partners have developed vitamin A cassava varieties that will help improve the nutrition of women and children.
Climate-smart agricultureOur research shows that intercropping banana and coffee is >50% more profitable than coffee or banana alone.
Scienceour
Grows more food
ourScience
Grows more food
www.iita.orgIITA is a member of the CGIAR Consortium
www.iita.orgIITA is a member of the CGIAR Consortium
Breaking the mold IITA and partners developed aflasafeTM that reduces aflatoxin contamination by >70% in maize and groundnut.
Amazing maizeOur improved varieties have increased harvests and enhanced livelihoods of farmer-beneficiaries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Scienceour
Grows more food
ourScience
Grows more food
www.iita.orgIITA is a member of the CGIAR Consortium
www.iita.orgIITA is a member of the CGIAR Consortium
On the horizonIITA and partners have developed and tested transgenic bananas resistant to Banana Xanthomonas Wilt.
Always a winner Ground-breaking research by IITA and partners on biocontrol of pests and diseases represents 80% of the total impact of CGIAR’s work.
Scienceour
Grows more food
ourScience
Grows more food
www.iita.orgIITA is a member of the CGIAR consortium
The youths have it! Mentoring youths in research and agribusiness ensures the next generation of scientists, agribusiness entrepreneurs, leaders, and progressive farmers.
www.iita.orgIITA is a member of the CGIAR Consortium
40% cassava breadLocal content in foods helps stimulate production, ensures food security, and saves on foreign exchange.
Scienceour
Grows more food
ourScience
Grows more food
In some communities, they are not allowed to own land or other agricultural assets and they have no say in any decisions on farm incomes and activities,” he said.
Dr Manyong added, “It is therefore important to factor these considerations in our research-for-development interventions to ensure they benefit all Africans, women and men alike.”
InspiredThe students at the event appreciated the opportunity to meet and hear from successful researchers, saying they were very inspired by all the stories.
“We are very happy to meet all these senior scientists who have motivated us and shown us that science can be for girls. We do not have many such opportunities. I wish there would be more of such forums that reach out to more girls including those in the rural areas,” said Glory Venance, a form 5 student at Jangwani Secondary School. “However, in our school, we also do not have good facilities and equipment. Therefore, even as we are being motivated to take up science, the Government should also look into this challenge.”
The participants urged IITA and its partner institutions to find ways to organize other such forums to motivate girls to take up science and encourage the young scientists starting their careers.
The event was organized by IITA in collaboration with AGRA and IDS of the University of Dar es Salaam.
Women in Science: Dream it, work hard, and you will Make it Happen.... from page 1
External Midterm Review of Africa RISING East/Southern Africa Project, 22 February to 16 March, Tanzania and Malawi
Regional/Station Administrators Meeting, 16-17 March, Vigna Room, IITA-Ibadan, Nigeria
18th International Association of Research Scholars and Fellows (IARSAF) Annual Symposium, 23-24 March, IITA Conference Center, Ibadan, Nigeria
N2Africa-Nigeria 2015 Annual Planning Meeting, 24-25 March, Hotel De Bently, Utako District, Abuja, Nigeria
Annual Review and Planning Meeting of the Africa RISING West Africa Project, 24-25 March, Mensvic Hotel, East Legon, Accra, Ghana
Women Empowerment Platform, 25 March, Conference Center, IITA-Ibadan, Nigeria
Events
Women in science who “make it happen”.