The
Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and IITA organized a capacity
development workshop for laboratory technologists from the national
agricultural research systems of Ghana and Nigeria.
The
training aims to improve the professional skills of laboratory technicians in
soil and plant analytical laboratories in Ghana and Nigeria, and improve the
capacity of the countries’ laboratories in soil and plant testing to enhance
the quality of fertilizer recommendations to farmers.
The
2-week training covered areas such as quality control in soil analysis, data
analysis and fertilizer recommendation, plant analysis and soil fertility
management, modern trends in plant and soil analysis, safety in the laboratory
and management of commercial laboratory, among others. Participants also
developed country action plans.
Dr.
Kenton Dashiell, a deputy Director-General at the IITA has reiterated the
Institute’s commitment to capacity development across Africa. He said that the
Institute would redouble its efforts towards building the critical human
capacity that would fight hunger and poverty in Africa.Prof. G.O. Adeoye of the Department of Agronomy, University of Ibadan, called for greater attention to laboratory science.
In
his presentation, “Equipment Selection and Environment”, Prof Adeoye gave a
series of parameters to be considered when selecting equipment for
laboratories. These include cost, speed of delivery from the manufacturers,
quality, availability of installation and maintenance manuals, areas of
installation and human resource to operate the equipment.
Mr
Joseph Uponi, Project Manager with IITA, said that the training workshop was
timely and it would contribute to food security. He noted that with the right
knowledge and skills in soil and plant analysis, participants would be able to
tackle the challenges facing their individual countries.
The
training course had 10 participants from Ghana and 13 participants from
Nigeria.
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