Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, will, on Dec. 11, honour the Director-General of International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dr Nteranya Sanginga with the chieftaincy title of Aare Afurugbin Ola of The Source.
IITA’s Head of Communication Office, Ms Katherine Lopez, announced this in a statement issued on Monday in Ibadan.
According to the statement, the conferment of the chieftaincy title, whose translation is Lead Sower of Wealth and Prosperity of the House Oduduwa, will take place at Ile Oodua, Ooni’s palace, Ile-Ife.
It said that the honour was in recognition of Sanginga’s achievements as one of the illustrious sons of Africa.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Sanginga, a citizen of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the first African to head IITA, had spent better part of his career in Nigeria.
According to the state, the conferment of the chieftaincy title, which is the first international honorary chieftaincy since the coronation of the royal father, will host captains of industry from all over Africa.
“It will host Heads of States, former Heads of States, diplomats from within and outside Africa, politicians of repute, members of the development community and other stakeholders in the Diaspora.
“This event is also expected to promote the socio-economic and cultural ties between Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo, two of Africa’s most endowed countries in terms of human and natural resources,” it stated.
The statement noted that the IITA director-general had contributed immensely to the development and promotion of the financial and economic stability and growth of the continent.
It recalled that in 2018, Sanginga, on behalf of IITA, received Africa Food Prize for the institute’s research leadership in Nigeria and Africa, which had impacted positively on the lives and livelihoods of millions of smallholder-farmers.
“The institute was cited for generating solutions on and off the farm that have improved the lives of millions in the face of climate change, a surge of crop pests and diseases and an urgent need for youth employment.
“In 2016, IITA also received the Al-Sumait Award for Food Security for its sustained efforts at undertaking groundbreaking research and development that continue to positively affect the lives of millions in Africa.
“The conferment of the title is indeed an honour that is well respected and regarded, not only in Yoruba but also, in Africa,” it stated.
The statement added that since he assumed office in 2011, Sanginga had displayed exceptional commitment to initiatives which had placed African continent on the global stage, especially in the agricultural arena.
It stated that over the past 50 years, IITA, through its various programmes, had provided farmers on the continent with innovations that promoted food and nutritional security and safety.
The statement added that the programmes also provided increased food production, raised yield of major food crops, reduced poverty levels, decreased postharvest losses, promoted mechanisation of agriculture and generated jobs, among others.
“To develop the next generation of farmers, agribusiness entrepreneurs and science leaders, IITA, under Sanginga, built the research capacity of national agricultural systems in sub-Saharan Africa.
“It provided opportunities for young scientists and entrepreneurs to adopt and introduce various agricultural technologies, while developing the skills of young people to become self-employed and employers of labour,” it said.
NAN also reports that IITA is a not-for-profit institution that generates agricultural innovations to meet Africa’s most pressing challenges of hunger, malnutrition, poverty and natural resource degradation.
Working with various partners across Africa, it improves livelihoods, enhances food and nutrition security, increases employment and preserves natural resource integrity.
The institute is a member of Consultative Group For International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), a global agriculture research partnership for a food-secured future. (NAN)
