The air at Tropentag 2025 crackled with urgency this morning as Dr. Simeon Ehui, Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and CGIAR’s Regional Director for Africa, took the stage with a keynote that was equal parts warning and roadmap.

“We face a dual imperative: we must produce more and better from less land while preserving the ecosystems that sustain us. This is not just a technical challenge; it is a systemic one.” Dr. Ehui told a packed auditorium. 

His talk, titled “Innovations for Reconciling Land Use Change with Human and Environmental Health,” cut straight to the heart of the Tropentag 2025 theme. Dr. Ehui outlined a suite of science-driven solutions: climate-smart maize and cassava varieties, disease-resistant bananas, soil regeneration and restoration techniques, and innovations in water harvesting and integrated landscape management.

But his message went far beyond technology. 

“Our work cannot remain in the lab or the field alone,” he insisted. “It needs to shape the strategies and investment plans that drive adoption and climate action. That is how innovations become part of the broader solution, not isolated success stories.”

In what many attendees saw as a defining moment of the conference, Dr. Ehui called for synergy across science, policy, and practice, urging researchers to step beyond disciplinary silos and engage with governments, investors, and farmers alike. He also stressed that youth and women must not be left on the margins. “They are not just beneficiaries,” he said. “They are innovators and key actors in the transition we seek.” The keynote came with reason to celebrate: IITA was honored with the 2025 Africa Food Prize, recognizing its decades-long commitment to transforming African agriculture and building resilient food systems. The announcement was met with enthusiastic applause, affirming the significance of IITA’s work in shaping the continent’s agricultural future.

Dr. Ehui’s closing words drew the room into a brief, thoughtful silence, and then warm applause filled the hall. 

“By working together across disciplines and across boundaries, we can build land system solutions that benefit both humanity and the earth,” he said, leaving participants inspired and energized.

If the mood at Tropentag 2025 was electric before the keynote, it was nothing short of galvanizing afterward. Participants left the hall with a renewed sense of purpose: the task of reconciling land use and planetary health is urgent, and the time to act is now.