Stepping up productivity with more women in IITA

More and more stakeholders are realising that the involvement of women is vital in the effort to increase agricultural production on the African continent.

Nteranya Sanginga, director-general, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in a statement by the institute recently, said “increasing the quota of women in research transcends the clamour for gender mainstreaming; it is all about improving productivity and efficiency.”

Sanginga made this statement while addressing women staff members in Ibadan recently, stating that the need to increase the population of women in IITA was driven by the productivity of women staff, which had proven to be above their male counterparts over the years.

Citing an instance at the Threshing Building – a unit involved in the threshing of crops such as maize, soybean, cowpea, and rice, Sanginga said out of a workforce of over 100 in that unit, 30 percent are women, but in terms of output, they account for more than 70 percent. Citing other examples, he described the women workforce as productive but yet to be fully tapped resource.

To make increasing the numbers of women a reality, Sanginga said he envisioned more women in management of the institute in the years ahead, calling on women to come out of their shells and aspire for higher positions. “You need to be excellent in whatever you are doing… You need to be innovative,” he said. But he noted that challenges abound that limit the performance of the women folk.

He urged women to muster more courage than ever before and participate in project execution to ensure that IITA meets its delivery goals, saying “if we are able to meet our delivery targets, I will not hesitate to employ more women. But if we fail to meet our project execution targets, we will have no option but to downsize.”

He added: “In less than two years, IITA has doubled its annual budget and there are still prospects for growth. The energy from the women is needed now to ensure that the Institute meets its obligations, emphasising that “if you (women) take care of IITA, IITA will take care of you.”

In response to the call for greater participation of women and to be able to fill top management positions in IITA, some women called for policies that would enable them to further their education while at the same time keep their jobs and take care of their babies.

“We need to further our education,” Kafilat Odesola, IITA scientist, said, emphasising that such opportunities would not compromise research, “because women can multitask and do a hundred things at the same time.”

Besides the challenge of furthering their education, women at the forum also voiced out other limitations.

However, Bussie Maziya-Dixon, IITA crop utilisation specialist, noted that climbing the corporate ladder would entail women setting their priorities right. “Women should know what they want. What you want to achieve at 30… What you want to achieve at 40, etc. I have seen a lot of women who come with the ambition to do a PhD. And the supervisor looks for funds because he/she knows that if he/she educates a woman, he/she is actually educating 20 people at a go. But in the middle of the programme when the boyfriend comes and says we are getting married, she drops everything just like that. So, my advice is: “know what you want as an individual and pursue it.”

Corroborating Maziya-Dixon’s position, Bukky Adeyemo, executive assistant to the deputy director general (corporate services), said encouraged women not to look at limitations if they want to be at par with their male counterparts.

But more than rhetoric, the women staff set up a committee to map out an implementation strategy to increase the workforce of women, and advise on matters relating to staff promotions in IITA. The committee, which has strong institutional backing, plans to raise the number of women staff by 50 percent over the next three years. At the moment, women represent 22 percent. The committee will ensure training for women which could be in the form of mentorship, training, and seminars.

OLUYINKA ALAWODE