{"id":4664,"date":"2015-10-07T15:57:54","date_gmt":"2015-10-07T20:57:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.generationcp.org\/sunsetblog\/?p=4664"},"modified":"2015-11-13T15:16:11","modified_gmt":"2015-11-13T21:16:11","slug":"nigerias-cassava-researchers-leading-the-march","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.generationcp.org\/sunsetblog\/2015\/10\/07\/nigerias-cassava-researchers-leading-the-march\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria\u2019s cassava researchers leading the march"},"content":{"rendered":"

Young Nigerian scientists often leave Africa and look for jobs with international research agencies overseas. But with the CGIAR Generation Challenge Programme (GCP)<\/a>-funded Cassava Research Initiative<\/a> (RI), two young nationals have been leading the international collaboration and injecting confidence into Africa\u2019s research capacity.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Leadership is a quality admired and consistently sought after, particularly when overcoming a challenge. Some leaders direct from afar; others rise through the ranks and work with their peers on the ground \u2013 winning respect from the people they lead as they get their hands dirty.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Dream team: Emmanuel Okogbenin (left) and Chiedozie Egesi (right), both of Nigeria’s National Root Crops Research Institute.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIf you want to work for the people, you have to walk with the people \u2013 that\u2019s an African concept,\u201d says Emmanuel Okogbenin, a plant breeder and geneticist at Nigeria\u2019s National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI)<\/a>. \u201cThen when you work with the people, you really understand what they want. When you speak, they know they can trust you.\u201d<\/p>\n

This powerful sentiment is one reason why GCP sought the collaboration of NRCRI in overcoming the challenge of sustaining Africa\u2019s, and indeed the world\u2019s, cassava production.<\/p>\n

Having started as a small farm in 1923, NRCRI has taken giant strides to become one of Nigeria\u2019s best research institutes, contributing immensely to the country\u2019s economic development and making it the leading producer of cassava in the world. NRCRI Executive Director Julius Chukwuma Okonkwo says, \u201cThis would not have been attainable if not for the trust and support that GCP had in us when they made two of our young cassava researchers the leaders of an international collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two researchers to whom Julius refers are Emmanuel and his colleague Chiedozie Egesi<\/a>, also a plant breeder and geneticist at NRCRI. Their combined 36 years\u2019 of cassava research experience is matched by their passion to get the best out of Nigeria\u2019s main staple crop.<\/p>\n

And they are happy to get some dirt under their fingernails. \u201cIt\u2019s just as important to work with the farmers in the field and understand what they want, as it is to do the research in the lab,\u201d says Emmanuel. \u201cAt the end of the day we need to please the farmers, as they are the ones who will be using the new varieties that we are developing to sustain their livelihoods.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Nigerian farmers display their cassava harvest.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Developing and leading Africa\u2019s cassava research<\/h3>\n

Between 2010 and 2014, both Emmanuel and Chiedozie led three different projects within GCP\u2019s Cassava RI<\/a>, working with other colleagues in national breeding programmes in Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda, as well as the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)<\/a>, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)<\/a>, the Brazilian Corporation of Agricultural Research (EMBRAPA)<\/a> and Cornell University<\/a> in the USA. The aim of the initiative was to use molecular-breeding techniques<\/a> to accelerate the development of high-starch cassava varieties with resistance to diseases and tolerance to drought \u2013 and so ensure both food supplies and income for farmers.<\/p>\n

Meet Chiedozie and Emmanuel in the video playlist below, learn more about cassava in Africa, and hear all about their research (or watch on Youtube<\/a>):<\/em><\/p>\n