Hemant Nitturkar is the Project Director for the Cassava Seed System Project at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Nigeria. He gave a presentation on possibilities for India-Nigeria collaboration in agricultural innovation and entrepreneurship for inclusive development. Some key points from his presentation include: the importance of innovation, inclusive growth, and entrepreneurship for creating jobs, especially for youth; the need for both bottom-up and top-down approaches as well as aspiration-driven ecosystems; and his interest in potential areas of collaboration between India and Nigeria like private seed industry partnerships, seed certification, social entrepreneurship, and CSR initiatives aimed at achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

1. Hemant Nitturkar
Project Director
Cassava Seed System Project
Innovation and entrepreneurship for
inclusive agricultural development:
Possibilities for
India – Nigeria collaboration
5thDecember2017
ASSOCHAMandNACCIMA
ABUJA

2. I bring greetings from:
Entity Background
RTB is a collaboration of five international non-profit research centers:
Bioversity International, CIAT, IITA, CIRAD and led by CIP. RTB creates a
collaborative and multi-disciplinary approach to addressing challenges in
cassava, potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, bananas, plantains, and tropical
and Andean roots and tubers across regions. Headquartered in
Montpellier, France.
Striving to reduce poverty and achieve food security on a sustained basis
in developing countries through scientific research and related activities
on potato, sweet potato, other root and tuber crops. Headquartered in
Lima, Peru.
Fifty years of leading public good research to transform African agriculture
through work on Cassava, Maize, Cowpea, Soybean, Yam, Plantain,
Banana and Cocoa. Head quartered in Ibadan, Nigeria.
Hemant Inclusive development evangelist and India-Africa-phile, currently based
in IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria and managing a project to establish an
economically sustainable seed system for cassava in Nigeria.

3. Population dynamics

4. Imperatives for both countries
INNOVATION
INCLUSIVE GROWTH
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Our countries cannot create jobs for all, the youth
need to create jobs for themselves, and others!
Scarce, costly and dwindling resources mean, frugal
innovation is the way forward to make progress!!
Excluded populations too have aspirations;
and they are no longer patient!!!

5. Learnings from India and Nigeria
TOP
DOWN
BOTTOM
UP
ASPIRATION
AL MIDDLE
CLASS
ECOSYSTEM
ECOSYSTEM

6. Learnings from India and Nigeria
TOP
DOWN

7. Learnings from India and Nigeria
BOTTOM
GRANDMA
TECHNOLOGIES

8. Learnings from India and Nigeria
ASPIRATION
AL MIDDLE
CLASS

9. Learnings from India and NigeriaECOSYSTEM
ECOSYSTEM

10. WHAT CAN I HELP WITH AND
WHAT AM I LOOKING FOR?
• India-Nigeria private seed industry
collaboration
• India-Nigeria seed certification agency
collaboration in cassava
• Social entrepreneurship development
• CSR development initiatives
• Anything that aims at SDGs
development

11. The time now!
THANK YOU
h.nitturkar@cgiar.org