Jigawa State and IITA Forge Transformative Partnership

Jigawa State and IITA Forge Transformative Partnership

Dutse, Nigeria – December 10, 2025 – The Jigawa State Government, represented by the Jigawa Agricultural Transformation Agency (J-ATA), has officially entered into a transformative Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), a member of the CGIAR global research partnership. This landmark agreement seals a strategic partnership focused on advancing agricultural science and innovation to drive a revolution across the cassava, soybean, and maize value chains in Jigawa State.

The partnership stems from productive discussions initiated during the Africa Food Systems Summit in Dakar and aligns perfectly with the Jigawa State Administration’s 12-Point Agenda, which prioritizes Food Security, Job Creation, and Private Sector Investment.

𝑭𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝑺𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚
The core objective of the MoU is to set a framework for cooperation on projects of mutual interest , leveraging IITA’s decades of specialized research to address key agricultural challenges in Jigawa State, particularly those posed by climate change.
The collaborative activities, which will be subject to funding and mutual consultation, will encompass critical areas including:
𝟏. 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐩 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Joint development and promotion of improved varieties of cassava, soybean, and maize.
𝟐. 𝐏𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Designing and implementing effective control strategies.
𝟑. 𝐒𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡: Collaboration on fertility management and sustainable land use practices, which will inform a modern Soil Intelligence System.
𝟒. 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Joint exploration of “farm-to-plate” strategies, agro-processing, and value addition for core crops.
𝟓. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Supporting programs that build capacity in agribusiness and entrepreneurship.

Responding to the development, His Excellency, Mallam Umar A. Namadi, FCA, the Executive Governor of Jigawa State, who anchored the government's focus on unleashing the state's agricultural potential, emphasized the significance of the collaboration:
"𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑤𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐴𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎 𝐹𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑆𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑠 𝑆𝑢𝑚𝑚𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝐷𝑎𝑘𝑎𝑟. 𝑇𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦, 𝑤𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝. 𝑊𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑒𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒—𝑐𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒—𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑑𝑠. 𝑊𝑒 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑒𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝. 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝐽𝑖𝑔𝑎𝑤𝑎, 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑔𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑢𝑛𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦."

On his part Dr. Simeon Ehui, the Director General of IITA and Regional Director for Africa, CGIAR, welcomed the partnership as a strong foundation for impactful collaboration, "𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑢𝑛𝑤𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑔𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑠 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐽𝑖𝑔𝑎𝑤𝑎 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒 ... 𝐼𝐼𝑇𝐴’𝑠 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛—𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑦 𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 ℎ𝑢𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟, 𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑝𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑦, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑛𝑣𝑖𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛—𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑠 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙—𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝐽𝑖𝑔𝑎𝑤𝑎’𝑠 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑠 ... 𝑈𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦, 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟: 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠, 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑡—ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠, 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑠, 𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑡ℎ, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝐽𝑖𝑔𝑎𝑤𝑎."

Commenting the partnership, Dr. Saifullahi Umar, the Director General of the Jigawa Agricultural Transformation Agency (JATA), who signed the MoU on behalf of the State Government, reinforced the commitment to action:
"𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑀𝑜𝑈 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝 𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐺𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑜𝑟’𝑠 𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐽𝑖𝑔𝑎𝑤𝑎 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑎 '𝑁𝑒𝑤 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑' 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑔𝑟𝑜-𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑊𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝐴𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎. 𝑊𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝐼𝐼𝑇𝐴 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑜-𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎 𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑚𝑎𝑝 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦. 𝑂𝑢𝑟 𝑔𝑜𝑎𝑙 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒: 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦’𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠’ 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑎𝑔𝑟𝑖𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑦."

The Jigawa State Government has already established a robust foundation for this work, boasting 1.4 million hectares of cultivable land and strategic irrigation facilities. The State already made unprecedented investments in farm mechanization, established Nigeria's most extensive extension network, and pioneered Digital Agriculture Solutions.
In a major development, Governor Namadi extended a formal invitation to IITA to establish a Substation in Jigawa State , offering to provide the necessary land and infrastructure to serve as IITA’s operational hub for research, technology transfer, and seed systems innovation across the North-West and Sahelian region.

The MoU is effective upon signature and will remain in force for a period of 5 years , setting the stage for a long-term strategic partnership to build a resilient and prosperous agricultural future for the people of Jigawa.