IITA Bénin hosts Center of Excellence for research on biotic stresses linked to climate change and biodiversity
A center of excellence for research and training to link climate change with biodiversity and biotic stresses was launched this week in the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) campus in the Republic of Benin. This follows a major conference on Biotic stresses, climate change and agricultural production in Cotonou, Bénin, held on 5-7 May. The Center, which comes under the auspices of the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD) has IITA, the National Institute of Agricultural Research of Bénin (INRAB), AfricaRice, Bioversity, the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), and the University of Abomey Calavi (UAC) as partners but is also open to other national agricultural research systems in the West and Central African bloc. The Center was inaugurated by the Republic of Bénin’s Minister of Agriculture, Madame Fatouma Amadou Djibril; CORAF/WECARD Director General, D