The IOFS Director General H.E. Yerlan A. Baidaulet together with the Director of the Federal Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and rural development of Nigeria, H.E. Mrs. Hajia Babangida K.A., and the head of the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) Executive Director CEO Prof. Ukpabi Joseph Ukpabi opened the First meeting of CoE for Cassava for Sub Saharan Group 2 under the framework of the Development Strategic Commodities Program of IOFS jointly with the National Root Crops Research Institute of Nigeria (NRCRI), was held. There were around 70 different representatives of Scientific Research Institutes, local authorities, as well as experts of the sector. The CoE gathering representatives of research societies of Benin, Togo, Cote D’Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal, Uganda, and Nigeria.
During his speech the IOFS Director General H.E. Yerlan A. Baidaulet announced the 2022 “the year of Africa” in IOFS and expressed hope that the next meeting of the CoE will be conducted physically in the esteemed research institute.
The meeting was moderated by the Director of the Program and Projects of the IOFS, Dr. Ismail Abdelhamid. The increase in population and the growing urbanization of the developing world will lead to significant global changes and new challenges for feeding the increasing population. On the basis of current projections, it is expected that cassava will be increasingly used in processed form for food, feed, and starch-derived products. Although Africa is home to the world’s most important cassava-producing nations, Africa’s output is largely for domestic consumption with low productivity compare to Asia countries. At the same time as the biggest producer of cassava in the world Nigeria, faced a lot of challenges in all stages of the value chain of cassava. The importance of the sector development with a focus on climate-resilient approaches and newly adopted varieties was emphasized in the speech of the Head of the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) Executive Director CEO Prof. Ukpabi Joseph Ukpabi.
Participants of the meeting shared presentations on current situations, challenges, and prosperities in countries level as well as applied R&D. The second session was devoted to the actions and solutions for the development of the cassava sector in the region including the critical factors in responding to the impending spread of cassava diseases and prosperities of growth.
All materials for the training will be available on our website.
