The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) programme have secured a €5 million grant to scale the delivery of climate-smart agricultural technologies across Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Malawi.
The funding, provided by Germany through the AfDB’s Transition Support Facility (TSF Pillar IV), is targeted at strengthening agricultural systems, improving productivity, and building resilience among farmers in the six beneficiary countries.
To drive implementation, TAAT convened a high-level Work Planning Meeting in Rwanda last week, bringing together key stakeholders including the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), CGIAR centres, Advanced Agricultural Research Institutes (AARIs), National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES), government representatives, private sector players, and development partners.
The meeting focused on validating the programme’s work plan and budget, finalising implementation arrangements, and aligning partners for a coordinated rollout of activities under the Phase II Addendum of TAAT.
Key intervention areas outlined include strengthening seed systems, supporting early generation seed production, building institutional and technical capacity, promoting youth engagement in agriculture, and expanding digital advisory services to enhance climate resilience and productivity.
Speaking at the event, the Chief Agricultural Technologies Officer at AfDB, Innocent Musabyimana, emphasised that TAAT remains central to the Bank’s Feed Africa strategy, noting that stronger partnerships are critical to accelerating agricultural transformation across the continent.
Also, the IITA Country Representative for Rwanda, Matieyedou Konlambigue, highlighted TAAT’s achievements, revealing that the programme has supported the production and distribution of over 309,000 metric tonnes of certified seeds to millions of farmers across Africa.
He stressed the need to scale ongoing interventions with greater speed while ensuring sustainability and accountability in delivering impact.
In her remarks, the Acting Coordinator of the TAAT Programme Management Unit, Rachel Zozo, said the new phase would focus on strengthening resilience, enhancing innovation, and addressing fragility within food systems in the target countries.
She added that the programme would prioritise capacity building for national research systems and young professionals, while also deepening collaboration between public and private sector actors.
The meeting concluded with the signing of a sub-grant agreement between the Government of Rwanda, AfDB, and TAAT, represented by IITA, to fast-track implementation across all programme components, particularly in seed systems development, capacity building, and digital agricultural solutions.
