Chapters authored
A New Paradigm in the Delivery of Modernizing Agricultural Technologies across Africa
This Chapter describes the approach and impacts of the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) Program. TAAT is an operational framework based upon collaboration between the African Development Bank, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, and many other partners. This Program is designed to deliver modernizing agricultural technologies as a means of achieving food and nutritional security, and to boost employment and agricultural exports across Africa. TAAT consists of nine Commodity Compacts that have assembled technology toolkits for use in development programs and six specialized Enablers that help them to do so. These commodities are rice, maize, wheat, sorghum, millet, cassava, sweet potato, common beans, fish, and small livestock. The Enablers provide policy support, youth empowerment, capacity development, irrigation and soil fertility expertise, and control of invasive pests. Together these Compacts and Enablers design and conduct collaborative agricultural development projects in partnership with national counterparts. To date, TAAT has staged 88 interventions in 31 African countries, including the incorporation of customized technology toolkits within country loan projects of major development banks. Over three years, these efforts have reached about 10.6 million adopter households and increased food supply by 12 million tons worth over US $763 million, resulting in substantial improvements in smallholder farmer’s food supply (0.75 MT yr.−1) or income ($128 yr.−1). Environmental gains in terms of carbon offset average 0.74 MT CO2e yr.−1 per adopter household, an outcome indicative of positive combined rural development and climate actions. This Chapter describes how these technology toolkits are designed, deployed and evaluated, and how TAAT is becoming a leading mechanism for agricultural innovation delivery across Africa. This evaluation is limited to eight critical field crops and does not consider animal enterprises or the strategic roles of TAAT Enablers, two other important activities within the larger Program.
Part of the book: Technology in Agriculture
Technology Promotion and Scaling in Support of Commodity Value Chain Development in Africa
Strengthening the production and processing of key food commodities forms the basis of agricultural development in Africa. These value chains follow a quasi-linear progression across seven main segments: farm planning > land preparation and crop establishment > field production > harvest > post-harvest handling > marketing > and value addition. Each of these consists of sub-segments whose improvement depends upon promotion and adoption of specific modernizing technologies. The technologies either have commercial application, as with the distribution of production input products and labor-saving equipment, or are related to management of farms and processing. For crop commodities, these products include improved varieties planted with more and better-formulated fertilizers and pest management materials. Management options are primarily directed toward the better conservation of resources and wiser integration of different farm enterprises. Key factors underlying value chain advancement include wider application of digital services, more effective incentives for climate-smart action, increased mechanization and irrigation, improved marketing efficiency and fairness, and incentives for value-creating agro-processing. An analogous set of factors also relate to value chains supporting animal enterprise. Attracting women and youth to meaningful careers in agriculture is particularly important since they are major stakeholders in the scaling of much-needed technologies and business models.
Part of the book: Agricultural Value Chains