Le Technologies pour la Transformation Agricole en Afrique (TAAT), a project sponsored by the Banque Africaine de Développement (BAD), organized a four-day appraisal workshop at IITA headquarters from 14 to 17 June. The workshop focused on discussing the achievements of the project’s first phase and plans for the second phase. TAAT compact leaders, TAAT monitoring and evaluation team, and AfDB team attended the workshop.
TAAT project is implemented by IITA to increase agricultural productivity and reach out to four million smallholder farmers across Africa.
Representing IITA Director General Nteranya Sanginga, Deputy Director General Corporate Services, Hilde Koper, welcomed the participants to the first physical workshop after the COVID-19 pandemic. Koper gushed over the project’s achievements and how staff members have been recycled between AfDB and IITA. “I wish you have good reviews, discussions, and communications to ensure a successful TAAT II,” she said.
The Director of Development and Delivery Office, Alfred Dixon, commended TAAT for its tremendous progress over the years and for being a unique flagship program of AfDB designed to help Africa. He highlighted some of the project’s achievements in phase one, including the deployment of improved numerous climate-smart crop varieties, development of immediate impact, diverse and accelerated seed production and delivery system, and development of fall armyworm control strategies.
He mentioned that despite the progress made by TAAT 1, “we envisage that TAAT 2 would be based on TAAT 1 objectives and sustain the momentum towards ensuring African food system.”
The TAAT Program Coordinator, Chrysantus Akem, summarized the program implementation structure focused on partnerships, which will help sustain agricultural transformation through the compacts. He also spelled out some of the lessons from TAAT 1, including careful monitoring and documentation and building staff capacity.
The AfDB Director of Agriculture and Agro-Industry, Dr Martin Fregene, explained that the African Emergency Food Production Plan (AEFPP) is a facility that would be used in TAAT 2 to improve the food system in Africa, as AEFPP would help to mitigate the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war due to food loss and correct fractural problems in Africa. In addition, he highlighted that AEFPP would emphasize policy reforms by ensuring there is no barrier in disseminating innovations to farmers across the entire value chain.
The facility will also focus on making farm inputs available and affordable to twenty million farmers, using smart subsidies to direct and support farmers, and employing existing private sector distribution channels of farm inputs.
Furthermore, Fregene mentioned that TAAT would be central to AEFPP projects in thirty countries focusing on commodities such as wheat, maize, rice, and soybean. Therefore, TAAT would help get the different seed varieties and support extension activities through innovation. “We will continue to support our African farmers and people who are incredibly affected by hikes in food prices,” he stated.
Moreover, the workshop featured discussions and presentations from TAAT compact leaders on wheat, maize, rice, cassava, high iron beans, and sorghum. AfDB also provided updates on the program’s financial management and future activities.
Contributed by Anita Akinyomade
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