The Oyo State Government is set to partner with the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the world’s largest publicly funded agrifood research network, to advance cassava and cocoa value chains in the state.
The partnership was disclosed on Friday, June 26, 2026, following a meeting between Governor Seyi Makinde and officials of CGIAR and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan.
Speaking after the meeting, CGIAR Chief Scientist, Sandra Milach, said Oyo State possesses enormous agricultural potential and stands to benefit significantly from the collaboration, especially in the areas of value addition, food security, and agribusiness development.
From left, Governor Seyi Makinde; IITA DG (IITA), Dr Simeon Ehui, CGIAR Chief Scientist, Dr Sandra Milach, and IITA DDG, Dr Bernard Vanlauwe
According to her, the partnership will focus on developing strategies to strengthen the cassava and cocoa value chains, identify existing challenges, and provide science-based solutions to improve productivity and market access.
“We are the largest global agriculture public goods organisation, with a mission to help farmers and communities across the world transform food systems, water and land systems,” Milach said.
She noted that Africa remains a major focus for CGIAR and described Oyo as a state with immense agricultural potential.
“You have a wonderful country, and Oyo is a wonderful state with a lot of potential for agriculture and food transformation. We are very aligned with the governor and with the leadership of Nigeria in this mission,” she added.
Milach explained that the collaboration would help the state understand the major bottlenecks affecting the cocoa and cassava value chains, including challenges relating to processing, infrastructure, and market access.
She said the organisation would work closely with the state government to generate evidence-based solutions and ensure that scientific innovations translate into practical benefits for farmers and agribusiness operators.
According to her, the processing industry also has a critical role to play in helping farmers adopt improved varieties of cassava and cocoa while creating reliable markets for their produce.
“There is an important role for the processing industry to help farmers adopt better varieties because they need to understand the type of cocoa or cassava varieties required and the yields expected. That demand from processors will help uplift farmers and provide them with real markets for their products,” she said.
Also speaking, the Deputy Director-General of IITA, Bernard Vanlauwe, said discussions with the governor centred mainly on cassava and cocoa, two crops in which the institute possesses considerable expertise.
“We just met the governor, and we talked especially about cassava. We know Oyo State is one of the major producers, and it is also investing in processing and value addition. We also talked about cocoa. These are the two crops that IITA has a lot of expertise in, and we have agreed to develop plans together with the governor on how we can advance both value chains,” Vanlauwe said.
Milach further stated that CGIAR intends to help the state convert scientific research into practical business opportunities capable of raising the value proposition of agribusiness.
She explained that the organisation would work hand-in-hand with the government to identify the critical needs of the value chains and determine how scientific evidence can be used to address them.
The meeting was attended by the Director-General of the Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA), Dr Debo Akande, and the Senior Executive Assistant to the Governor on General Duties, Chief Bayo Lawal.
The CGIAR delegation was led by the Director-General of IITA-CGIAR, Dr Simeon Ehui. Other members of the delegation included Dr Tahirou Abdoulaye, Dr Ibnou Deng, and Mrs Toyin Oke.
The proposed partnership is expected to strengthen agricultural productivity, improve value addition, enhance market opportunities for farmers, and contribute to food security and economic growth in Oyo State.
