CLIMATE CHANGE IS WITH US AND WE MUST TAKE ACTION, SAYS IITA’S DG SANGINGA
The negative consequences of climate change on agricultural production and productivity are with us and resolutions must be implemented to save West and Central Africa, said the Director General, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Dr Nteranya Sanginga. Addressing national and international researchers attending a conference on Biotic stresses, climate change and agricultural production in Cotonou, Bénin, on Monday, Dr Sanginga noted that the emergence of agricultural pests such as the papaya mealybug was closely linked to climate change, and stressed that there was the need to go beyond rhetoric to action. “Whatever recommendations we make at this meeting, let’s work towards implementing them,” he said. The Director General pinpointed to agricultural research and the capacity development of adequate human resources as the critical tools needed to tackle the challenges posed by climate change. He cited the example of cassava pests (cassava mealybug) in which past