CSIR-CRI Organizes In-House Review and Research Planning
The CSIR-Crops Research Institute (CSIR-CRI) held its annual In-House Review and Research Planning (IRREP) from March 10th to 14th, 2025.
The meeting was opened by the Director, Prof. Maxwell D. Asante, who provided a bird’s-eye view of the current status of the Institute and emphasized the need to sustain and enhance the IRREP. He shared his vision of transforming the CSIR-CRI into a premier Center of Excellence in African agricultural research.
Additionally, managers of the Institute’s outstations—spanning the country’s various agroecological zones, delivered presentations on their activities. The opening session was chaired by Prof. Marian D. Quain, the Deputy Director-General of CSIR. Over the five-day event, 69 scientific presentations covered research on our mandate crops, including:
Cereals & Legumes: Maize, Rice, Wheat, Cowpea, Soybean, Groundnut, Bambara groundnut, Canning beans
Fruits & Vegetables: Plantain, Banana, Citrus, Mango, Pineapple, Avocado, Pawpaw, Pepper, Garden egg, Tomato, Onion, Garlic, Leafy vegetables
Roots & Tubers: Cassava, Yam, Cocoyam, Sweet potato, Taro
Industrial Crops: Rubber, Sugarcane, Tiger nut, Roselle, and Kenaf
The presentations spanned diverse subject areas such as Genetics and Breeding, Physiology and Agronomy, Seed Science, Plant Health, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Food Science, Agricultural Engineering, Socio-Economics, and Climate Science.
Many ready-to-go technologies and those still in development were showcased. These comprised:
1. Crop Varieties: New high-yielding, climate-smart, disease-resistant, and nutrient-dense varieties of Maize, Rice, Cowpea, Soybean, Groundnut, Canning beans, Tomato, Cassava, Yam, Cocoyam, Sweet potato, and Taro.
2. Agronomy Innovations: Nutrient and water management packages for our mandate crop.
3. Rapid Production of Roots Tuber and Plantains: Production of quality plantain suckers using the post-Tissue Culture macropropagation technique. Production of quality yam minitubers using leaf bud cutting. Two-node cassava multiplication technology
4. Agricultural Engineering Innovations: Manual Cassava Harvester, Improved Yam Storage Barn, Enhanced Drying Platform for Agricultural Produce, Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS), Multifunctional Constructed Wetlands, Biochar Kiln, Improved Smoke-Drying Oven, Rotatable Fish Grill, Mobile Biogas Digester, Automated Water Table Alert System for Rice Irrigation Scheduling
5. Plant Health Solutions: Integrated pest, weed, and disease management packages, Biopesticides from Beauveria bassiana fungus
Awards and Recognitions
As part of the event, the Institute recognized and celebrated excellence among its scientists. Awards were presented to the ten (10) best presenters for their outstanding research presentations, the highest-publishing scientists for their exceptional contribution to scientific literature and the most resourceful scientists for securing the most research funding for the institute.
Looking Ahead: The CSIR-CRI is open for business and will host an Open Day in mid-2025, inviting stakeholders to explore these groundbreaking technologies firsthand.
