Resilient agriculture: IITA empowers stakeholders to build sustainable food systems in Burundi and South Sudan

Efforts to enhance agriculture breeding programs in countries, specifically those considered fragile, are crucial to addressing the ongoing food and water shortages in the current climate crises. Strong research programs equip countries with a pipeline of modern agriculture solutions that help these nations respond to climate shocks and erratic rainfall patterns. These solutions must ensure that breeding programs are paired with effective agronomy advice. This integrated approach, driven by collaboration among scientists across the continent, turns research into real-world solutions for farmers.

Through two MoUs between IITA–CGIAR and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), supporting the African Development Bank’s Strengthening Emergency Preparedness and Response to Food Crisis (SEPAREF) project and the World Bank’s Resilient Agriculture Livelihood Project (RALP), a comprehensive five-day training program was organized for agronomists, breeders, seed certification officers, and extension agents from Burundi and South Sudan. Coordinated by the IITA Capacity Development Office (CDO), this training represents the first step in helping stakeholders and policymakers from both countries develop soybean and maize breeding programs tailored to the needs of these countries. The linkage of IITA to these projects results from TAAT’s efforts to link technologies to country investment projects funded by Multilateral Development Banks, namely the World Bank and the African Development Bank.

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