New initiative puts emphasis on technology to transform agriculture in Africa

More than 200 research and development partners and experts are meeting at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria, to discuss a new initiative known as “Africa Feeding Africa”.

The Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) program is a critical strategy for transforming agriculture on the continent that would ensure continent is able to feed itself through agriculture.

The goal of the TAAT Program includes eliminating extreme poverty, ending hunger and malnutrition, achieving food sufficiency, and turning Africa into a net food exporter as well as setting Africa in step with global commodity and agricultural value chains.

Adopting modernized, commercial agriculture is the key to transforming Africa and the livelihoods of its people, particularly the rural poor.

To carry out these objectives, the African Development Bank (AfDB), working with IITA and other partners, has identified eight priority agricultural value chains relating to rice sufficiency, cassava intensification, Sahelian food security, savannas as breadbaskets, restoring tree plantations, expanding horticulture, increasing wheat production, and expanded fish farming.

The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and the CGIAR Consortium and 12 of its 15 international agricultural centers active in Africa support this initiative by the Bank and the co-sponsors.

It is expected to revitalize and transform agriculture within the shortest possible time while restoring degraded land and maintaining or strengthening the ecosystems that underpin agriculture.

“IITA supports AfDB and partners in ensuring that TAAT is effectively set up,” said IITA Director General, Nteranya Sanginga. “The whole CGIAR system is backing this huge initiative with its research infrastructure in collaboration with FARA, AGRA, Africa Harvest, and the national partners. Everybody wants to ensure that this initiative succeeds.”

The 12-14 April workshop is being organized by IITA in partnership with the Support to Agricultural Research for Development of Strategic Crops (SARD-SC) project for the African Development Bank, which is funding this mega initiative.

To date, about 22 African countries have been identified as potential partners with the CGIAR centers in the planning, content and evaluation of investments in agricultural transformation.