JDPM HONORS IITA, ACAI, HARVESTPLUS, AND OUTSTANDING IITA STAFF.

The Justice Development and Peace Movement (JDPM), one of the African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) partners in Nigeria recently honored the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), ACAI, Harvest Plus, and two outstanding IITA staff with awards in recognition of many years of fruitful collaboration. A faith-based organization, JDPM works with people at the grassroots in the rural areas of Oyo State, Nigeria to promote sustainable human development and improved livelihoods. Agriculture is one of their main areas of interest as they train farmers to improve their yields and make more profit, subsequently improving their livelihood.

JDPM appreciated various projects with which they have collaborated such as Yam Improvement for Income and Food Security in West Africa (YIIFSWA) Project, ACAI Project, and Harvest Plus. They also presented awards to two individuals – Dr. Alfred Dixon and Mr. Godwin Atser – for their immense support over the years.

The Deputy Director-General, Partnerships for Delivery (IITA), Dr. Kenton Dashiell spoke about JDPM’s partnership with IITA, noting that it is a long-standing relationship that has been mutually beneficial. In his words, “it is a good relationship because it has been very productive for many years with consistent positive impacts on the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Oyo State.”

IITA) and JDPM have been working together for the past fifteen years in a relationship that has recorded a lot of success stories. JDPM is particularly grateful to IITA for supporting their farmers through different research projects and capacity empowerment initiatives which have brought innovations in farming and, ultimately, improved their livelihoods.  Dr. Kenton Dashiell appreciated fellow IITA staff who have dedicated their time to the success of such causes over the years. He also noted that the best for IITA to be successful and deliver improved technologies at scale is through partnerships such as this and he appreciated JDPM, wishing them more success.