Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT), along with other agriculture leaders, policymakers, farmers, and seed companies, will meet at the 2024 SeedConnect Africa, West Africa’s premier forum for seed and food systems transformation, in Abuja, Nigeria, from November 26 to 27, 2024.

The Programme is leading discussions on leveraging Seed Technology to Scale Up Africa’s Agricultural Productivity, electronic /digital extension services to enhance farmers’ adoption of certified seeds, leveraging technology for seed distribution and access, and farmer community-managed seed systems at the conference.

During one of the opening sessions, the TAAT Private Sector Specialist, Mr Geoffrey Nsofon reinstated TAAT’s focal commitment to boosting agricultural productivity by scaling up innovative agricultural technologies across Africa.

“TAAT is achieving this through its African Cereal and Legume Breeding Consortium (ACLBC), a contemporary step towards an integrated approach that builds on years of experience in plant breeding, agronomic research, and seed system development in Africa,” Nsofon said.

“Within months of inception, the consortium is already facilitating the sharing of genetic resources and breeding techniques for superior crop varieties with private seed companies while serving as an incubator for innovation in plant breeding technologies” Nsofon added.

The ACLBC, a product of the collaborative efforts between the African Seed Trade Association (AFSTA) and the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) represents a forward-thinking approach to boosting Africa’s agricultural productivity. By harnessing the combined strengths and resources of both public and private sectors, ACLBC seeks to address the urgent need for advanced cereal and legume varieties that can thrive amidst climate challenges and shifting market demands.

Established in 2018 as a central pillar of the African Development Bank’s Feed Africa strategy, TAAT represents a transformative initiative to reverse the trend of declining food productivity in Africa through the scaling of modern food production technologies to 40 million farmers across Africa, focusing on supporting young people and women in low-income regions.

TAAT has scaled up the dissemination of heat-tolerant wheat varieties, drought-tolerant maize, high-yielding rice, cassava, high-iron bean, sorghum, millet, orange-fleshed sweetpotato varieties and high-quality livestock breeds, and fingerlings to more than 12 million farmers, boosting crop production by an estimated 25 million tonnes. This increase in food production is a testament to the programme’s effectiveness in enhancing agricultural productivity across the continent.

TAAT acquires cutting-edge technologies from developers and agricultural research institutions led by the CGIAR for several agricultural value chains covering crops, livestock and fisheries, vets them for scaling readiness and integrates them into its electronic technology catalogue. TAAT engages governments to integrate proven technologies into their large-scale agricultural investment programmes and partner with the private sector to commercialise them.

SeedConnect Africa is an annual event that brings together investors, policymakers, agriculture, and food systems experts to discuss and catalyse seed sector investments and partnerships within the agricultural sector in Nigeria and West Africa.