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IITA Info Leaflet - English version
IITA enhances food security and improves livelihoods in Africa through research-for-development (R4D). Together with our partners, we have delivered the bulk (70%) of the international R4D impact in sub-Saharan Africa.  

Where we work

Our network of world-class scientists works with partners within Africa and beyond to reduce producer and consumer risk, enhance crop quality and productivity, and generate wealth from agriculture.

What we do

Agriculture and Health
Poor food quality endangers health and restricts trade and labor productivity, thereby reducing yields. This program aims to improve diets through research on micronutrient content, food toxins, and nutrient patterns.

Agro-biodiversity
This programme utilizes biotechnology and new diagnostic tools for the efficient, long-term conservation and use of genetic resources of staple and under-utilized crops.

Banana and Plantain
Yields of banana and plantain, leading staple and cash crops, have been declining for many reasons. The program increases knowledge of agroecology, improves profitability, and enhances the quality and range of plantain-based food products.

Cereals and Legumes
The program generates and disseminates natural resource management approaches of cereals and legumes for sustainable productivity and enhanced capacity of partners to generate new production technologies.

Horticulture and Tree Crops
Vegetables and tree crops are key to reducing poverty. The program advocates the use of biological assets to develop environmentally and socially acceptable high-value products.

Opportunities and Threats
Pests, diseases, and droughts are risks to food security and livelihoods. This program examines and analyses a broad range of environmental, social, and economic dynamics for strategic planning.

Roots and Tubers
The program aims to reduce pre- and post-harvest losses and increase the productivity of root and tuber crops for food security and income.
IITA' Research for Development Model
1. Development needs: Identifies societal, producer and consumer needs that require addressing. Guarantees research relevance. 2. Research design: Specifies research problems that can be addressed by IITA with advanced research institutes and national partners. The design demands envisioning the potential impact. 3. Outcome: Defines scalable research outcomes and any advocacy activities required. A successful outcome entices partners to adoption.
4. Exit: Once the outcome is embraced by national/regional partners IITA exits implementation and changes role to monitoring the research outcomes. 5. Success/Development impact: Ex-post evaluations are carried and compared to baseline information to measure the impact on the ultimate beneficiaries. 6. Further work: Development impact creates new challenges which are referred back to development needs.

Issues we address

“Africa is the second biggest continent, occupying more than 20% of the earth’s total land mass, but it is also the least industrialized. About 60% of its population still rely on agriculture for food security and livelihoods.” - FAO“

In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of people living in poverty today is greater than in 1990.” - DFID

“The livelihoods of 75% of the world’s poor will continue to depend on agriculture for the foreseeable future.” - DFID

“There are just 48 researchers for every million Africans living south of the Sahara compared with nearly 3,000 for every million people in OECD countries. There is a high turnover of researchers, and many have low salaries.” - UNESCO World Science Report 2005

“Over 50% of the word’s population now live in cities. But over 75% of the world’s poor live in rural areas (this figure rises to 95% in some African countries). The livelihoods of most poor people will be linked to agriculture for the foreseeable future.” - 2008 World Development Report

“Changes in temperature and rainfall will have dramatic effects on agricultural production in Africa. For example in Southern Africa, cereal yields could fall by 30% in the next 30 years due to climate change.” - 2008 World Development Report

“If the world community has to choose just one activity to reduce extreme poverty and hunger, we should produce more food in a way that creates wealth and addresses producer risks.” - IITA


Download PDF version [R4D Model - 489KB]