AfDB, IITA sign agreement to finance TAAT phase II

The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has signed an agreement with the Internal Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) to finance Phase II of the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) programme.

The TAAT Programme is a central pillar of the AfDB’s Feed Africa Strategy and serves as a core catalyst to boosting the productivity of smallholder farmers to meet Feed Africa goals.

Its development objective is to double the productivity of crop, livestock and fish through the expansion of access to productivity by increasing agricultural technologies to more than 40 million smallholder farmers.

The Director General, Nigeria, African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, Dr. Abdul Kamara said at the signing ceremony which took place on Wednesday in Abuja that agreement reaffirms the Bank’s continued commitment to advancing Africa’s agricultural transformation, and its determination to leverage every partnership in this process, including that of the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (the CGIAR).

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Kamara noted that the TAAT programme takes a regional approach to deploying and availing food production technologies, including climate-resilient technologies and those that address the threat of pests and diseases.

According to him, “Transforming African agriculture to the magnitude and scale that is targeted in the Feed Africa Strategy also requires addressing complementary bottlenecks in agricultural supply chains, seed and fertilizer polices and regulatory failures, as well as revamping extension services that impede access to locally adapted inputs and output markets.”

He highlighted that the additional financing of the TAAT Programme is building on Phase I, which the Bank funded with $40 million, and Phase II with $27 million, implemented by IITА (as lead implementer), working closely with other CGIAR Centers and National Agricultural Research Institutions in many countries.

“This Additional Financing of the TAAT Phase II Programme is financed with €5 million grant from the Donor Contributions Window of the Transition Support Facility (TSF) thanks to the generous contribution of the Federal Republic of Germany for which we remain very grateful,” Kamara stated.

He expressed gratitude to Germany for the support, which will further advance TAAT Phase II, to scale up agricultural innovations, strengthen food security, and enhance climate resilience across the continent.

In his remarks, Dr Simeon Ehui, Director General, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and CGIAR Regional Director for Continental Africa, said the event marks a significant milestone in the collective efforts to transform African agriculture.

He stated that the signing of this €5 million grant agreement between IITA and the African Development Bank (AfDB) for Phase 2 of the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) programme is a testament to the power of collaboration and innovation in addressing food security challenges across the continent.

Ehui appreciated the African Development Bank for its unwavering commitment to agricultural transformation in Africa and noted that through TAAT, “we have already witnessed the impact of science-driven solutions in enhancing productivity, improving livelihoods, and strengthening food systems”.