Dr Agre Paterne with participants of the Knowledge Café
IITA-CGIAR has hosted its monthly Knowledge Café seminar series on November 29, 2025, with the edition themed, ‘Cutting-edge genomic and bioinformatic applications in yam breeding: Current advances.’
Organised by the IITA Communication Office, the seminar centred on promoting knowledge exchange, strengthening internal communication, and boosting innovation in the institute.
The seminar, which highlighted the progress achieved in yam breeding through the application of genomic tools, was moderated by Ismail Rabbi, Cassava Breeding Program Lead.
While presenting, Dr Paterne Agre, a Molecular Breeder and Bioinformatics Scientist at IITA, Ibadan, stressed that the IITA team has developed genomic selection tools with highly informative markers for yams.
He noted that the tools will reduce yams’ breeding cycle from 4 years to 3, adding that yams serve as both food and cash crops, supporting an average of 300 million people in Africa.
