IITA Launches Bio-inputs Initiative to Empower Smallholder Farmers in Africa

Gilbert Ekugbe

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has unveiled its bio-inputs innovation that would empower smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The project, which is titled, “Making Effective Bio-inputs Work for Smallholder Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa (BioSSA),” is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  

The groundbreaking strategic collaboration is a first in Africa and is poised to accelerate progress, ensuring the successful development and deployment of bio-input innovations that will positively impact smallholder farmers across Africa.

According to the IITA Deputy Director General, Research for Development, Mr. Bernard Vanlauwe, “BioSSA represents a critical step towards empowering African smallholder farmers with innovative tools to enhance their productivity and resilience in the face of climate change.

He said that by harnessing the power of bio-inputs, Africa could unlock the potential of African agriculture, empower millions of farmers, boost food production, and build a more resilient future for the continent.

He pointed out that the project’s initial phase would focus on collecting evidence to assess the effectiveness of candidate microbial strains, maintaining that over the subsequent stages, the project would strategically shift its focus towards identifying deployment pathways, culminating in the development of innovative bio-input products.

The project strategically targets two pivotal crop categories: grain legumes comprising soybean, cowpea, and Phaseolus bean; and the cluster of roots, tubers, and bananas, including cassava, yam, and banana/plantain.

These crops underpin food security and serve as critical sources of income generation for millions of smallholder farmers across the African continent.

Vanlauwe said that IITA would be leveraging the extensive expertise and established breeding programmes at IITA for these crops, pointing out that BioSSA is poised on a solid foundation and setting the stage for substantial success in agricultural transformation.

He lamented that African smallholder farmers face many challenges, including degraded land, unpredictable weather patterns, and resource constraints, saying that these factors contribute to low-input agriculture, characterised by limited fertilizer use and poor yields.

“Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) deficiencies are widespread across the region, further hampering agricultural productivity and food security.

“The goal is to unleash the potential of bio-inputs—microbial-based products that improve soil health, increase nutrient availability, enhance crop yields, boost farmer incomes, and improve the efficiency, productivity, and profitability of African smallholder farming systems in the face of a changing climate.”

In response to concerns about the cost and environmental impact of traditional fertilizers, BioSSA focuses on microbial inoculants as a promising alternative.

The project adopts a stage-gated approach, with initial testing and validation of microbial strains in Sub-Saharan African conditions. The subsequent focus will shift to product development and exploring effective deployment pathways to benefit the fields where innovation is most needed.

BioSSA’s key outcomes include identifying and validating microbial strains, understanding bio-input science, developing user-friendly and affordable products, and building partnerships and capacity.