18 March 2025
Plant breeder and researcher, Dr Mouritala Sikirou, Cassava Breeder at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), will join us for our fifth webinar in the 1000FARMS series to discuss “On-farm tricot estimation of newly bred cassava clones in different agro-ecologies in DR Congo”.
Date: Thursday 20 March
Time: 15:00–15:30 (CET)
Summary
Dr Mouritala Sikirou is a plant breeder with 20 years of research and teaching experience. He was a former NARS researcher at the National Institute of Agronomic Research of Benin, where he released three rice varieties under the Stress-Tolerant Rice for Africa and South Asia project and led lowland rice breeding in Liberia. Since joining IITA in 2018, he has contributed significantly to cassava breeding in Central Africa, releasing four CBSD-resistant varieties in 2021 and planning tricot-based variety releases for 2025. He has authored over 30 research papers and book chapters in more than 12 different journals – including seven published in 2025.
Dr Sikirou will share the results of the farmers’ on-farm tricot evaluation of the newly bred varieties in the cassava breeding programme in DR Congo. Before implementing tricot, 23 trials with 20 cassava clones were conducted across National Agricultural Study and Research Institute stations for two cropping seasons, leading to the selection of six advanced clones for evaluation by 450 farmers in nine provinces of DR Congo. Farmers, including smallholders, processors and consumers, assessed the varieties based on socio-cultural traits, with MVZ2016-364 excelling for the fresh market, MVZ2018-016 preferred for Fufu and mechanisation, and biofortified GKA2016-214 gaining interest for chikwangue in Kongo Central. Despite challenges in eastern DR Congo, 350 tricot fields have been harvested, and the naming ceremony for official release and integration into the seed system is expected in June 2025.
About the 1000FARMS webinar series
Our webinars will highlight the varied projects carried out by our partners, featuring experts, farmers, groundbreaking studies, and discussions on the overall impact of tricot and other farmer-led trials.
The webinars will take place every two weeks, usually on Tuesday or Thursday afternoons (CET), and are open to anyone. The format is a 15-minute presentation followed by 15 minutes of open discussion.
Missed a previous webinar? Find the catch-up videos in the 1000FARMS Community.
