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The best approaches for more women participation and adoption of AKILIMO tools

To ensure more women participate fully in AKILIMO dissemination events, The ACAI team called on women from regions of Mtwara, Tanga, Mara, and Mwanza at their locations to discuss together the challenges they face that seemed like the main reason for their low participation. ACAI organized these meetings in May 2021, to assess why women’s participation is so low compared to men to improve gender integration on use, uptake, and sustainability of AKILIMO.

Stakeholders urge cassava farmers to embrace the use of AKILIMO

The stakeholders 2-days workshop organized by African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) held in Lagos came to an end on Thursday, July 2021 with several stakeholders in attendance such as the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), National Root Crop Research Institute (NRCRI), Sasakawa African Association (SG2000), Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Notore Chemical Industries, Centre for Inclusive Agriculture & Gender Development (CIA-GED), Cedro Royal Limited, National Agriculture and Extension Liaison Services (NAERLS), and other key stakeholders in the agriculture sector have called for the adoption of ‘AKILIMO’, smart agriculture, to boost cassava production in Nigeria.

ACAI-BREEDED CASSAVA OUTSHINES ITS COUNTERPART CULTIVATED USING OLD FARM PRACTICE

As a part of efforts to promote agriculture and rural development in consonance with global best practices, African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) and its partner Justice Development & Peace Movement (JDPM) visited Soku a small settlement along Oyo-Iseyin road, Oyo West Local Government, to supervise the harvesting of cassava varieties on a demo plot.

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

he 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.

PARTNERS AGREE ON DATA COLLECTION BEYOND ACAI PROJECT

In a bid to facilitate AKILIMO sustainability, partners agreed to continue the collection of data beyond the lifespan of the ACAI project. Remarks from partners during the planning meeting in Nigeria and Tanzania raised optimistic expectations; all partners considered data collection to be an essential component of their sustainability strategy in the use of AKILIMO tools in their operations.