Cultivating progress: a path towards demand-driven plantain breeding

In the quest for agricultural advancement, adopting enhanced plantain varieties through breeding programs is crucial to meet market demands. Unlike traditional approaches where breeders solely determine breeding priorities, plantain breeding has embraced a demand-driven approach.

In this progressive method, stakeholders across the plantain value chain—farmers, seed producers, transporters, processors, marketers, and consumers—are actively involved from the inception to outline desired traits for new varieties.

Amidst this evolution, IITA–CGIAR, in collaboration with the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), organized a three-day seminar on 6, 7, and 10 May at NIHORT headquarters, Ibadan, to facilitate the adoption of improved plantain varieties developed by a new breeding program. Accelerated Breeding Initiative (ABI) Transform West and Central Africa Coordinator Vishnuvardhan Reddy Banda, IITA Regional Breeding Manager Delphine Amah, IITA Plantain Breeder Moses Nyine, and NIHORT Assistant Director for Research Dorcas Ibitoye, led the seminar.

Read more