A new pan-Africa mega initiative,
‘Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT)’, was launched
recently as an ambitious and bold plan to address poverty, hunger and
malnutrition across the African continent.
The objectives of TAAT include: scaling
up ‘proven’ technologies and innovations; contributing to engendering
transformation needed to address the issues and prevent them from worsening;
create widespread and real impact on the ground and in many realms including –
productivity, food security, market access, income, etc; and assist African
Development Bank’s (AfDB) Regional Member Countries derive greater value from
agricultural produce.
The initiative aims to revitalize and
transform agriculture within the shortest possible time while restoring
degraded land and maintaining or strengthening the ecosystems that underpin
agriculture.
At a recent international workshop,
eight priority areas for intervention were identified
Priority areas identified for
intervention through the TAAT initiative.
This initiative will be funded by AfDB
and other co-sponsors, led by the International Institute of Tropical
Agriculture (IITA) and supported by the Forum for Agricultural Research in
Africa (FARA), the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), CGIAR
centers, and national agricultural research system partners, who will provide
technical and development support.
Dr Jonas Chianu, Principal Agricultural
Economist, AfDB, listing the challenges that the African continent face,
mentioned that one-third of all calories consumed in Africa is imported,
amounting to US$77 billion per year. Poverty is widespread, with 49% of
Africans earning below US$1.25 per day. This is further complicated as 40-60%
of the 400-800 million young Africans are unemployed. Stressing on the need to
address the low agricultural productivity and the weak value chains, he stated
that solutions are needed for all categories and TAAT is a way of addressing
this challenge.
ICRISAT has been working across the
semi-arid region of Africa since the 1970s and is an active partner in
‘Achieving food security in the Sahel, with an emphasis on sorghum, millet,
livestock’, which is one of the eight priority areas.
Dr Ramadjita Tabo, Director – West
& Central Africa, ICRISAT-Mali, presented the various technologies tested and
implemented by ICRISAT for cereals and legumes across the semi-arid regions.
This included, improved varieties, fertility enhancement practices,
mechanization, conservation agriculture and water management, and cropping
systems.
Participants discussed how a
collaborative approach could help achieve the goals of TAAT and turn Africa
into a net food exporter as well as set Africa in step with global commodity
and agricultural value chains. Adopting modernized, commercial agriculture is
seen as the key to transforming Africa and the livelihoods of its people,
particularly the rural poor.
Possibilities for collaboration/funding
for TAAT with ongoing activities and funding mechanisms from different donors
was discussed. Ways to increase synergies and decrease competition and overlap
were also discussed.
The three-day workshop brought together
leading agricultural experts from Africa and beyond, development institutions,
research agencies, the private sector, financial institutions, academia, and
civil society to define and chalk out the TAAT initiative, both in terms of
approach and technical content. The workshop was held at IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria,
from 12-14 April, and was attended by more than 200 participants.
http://www.icrisat.org/collaborative-effort-for-an-agricultural-revolution-across-africa/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=buffer&utm_content=buffer474b9
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