The Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) has convened a high-level Work Planning Meeting under its Phase II Addendum to strengthen the delivery of climate-smart agricultural technologies across Africa.
The meeting, which was held in Kigali, Rwanda, from March 23 to 24, 2026, with support from the African Development Bank (AfDB), brought 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 actors, and development partners.
A major highlight of this phase is the implementation of a €5 million grant from Germany, administered through the African Development Bank’s Transition Support Facility (TSF Pillar IV). The funding will support activities in Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi, and Nigeria.
The Work Planning Meeting seeks to review and validate the Work Plan and Budget, finalise implementation arrangements, and strengthen collaboration among partners to ensure effective rollout of programme activities.
Key areas of focus include strengthening seed systems, building institutional and technical capacity, promoting youth engagement in agriculture, and expanding digital advisory solutions to enhance productivity and climate resilience.
Since its launch in 2018, TAAT has played a pivotal role in advancing Africa’s agricultural transformation by scaling proven technologies. The programme has supported the production of over 4,333 metric tonnes of breeder seeds, leading to more than 309,000 metric tonnes of certified seeds, significantly improving crop yields and farmer livelihoods across the continent.
The programme has integrated 71 cases of technologies into 14 large-scale projects and technical assistance into 21 projects across 24 countries, thereby influencing $857 million, and the integration of 136 cases of technologies into 18 large-scale projects across 21 countries, influencing $1.7 billion under the African Development Fund (ADF) concessional loans and grants window of the African Development Bank.
In his remarks at the opening and signing ceremonies, Mr. Innocent Musabyimana, the Chief Agricultural Technologies Officer at the African Development Bank, affirmed that TAAT remains central to delivering the African Development Bank Feed Africa vision.
“Strong partnerships are key to scaling agricultural transformation, and this meeting is about moving from planning to accelerated action,” Mr. Musabyimana said.
The representative of the IITA Management at the event and Country Representative for Rwanda, Mr. Matieyedou Konlambigue, applauded TAAT’s commitment to African food systems transformation, noting the production and dissemination of over 309,000 MT of certified seeds to millions of farmers across the continent.
“TAAT has demonstrated success in strengthening seed systems across Africa, and now we need to scale with speed, promote sustainability, and align implementation and accountability commitments to delivering measurable impact for farmers,” he added.
The acting Coordinator of the TAAT Programme Management Unit, Ms. Rachel Zozo, stated that the TAAT Phase II Addendum grant would focus on bolstering strategic investment in the six countries, with a view to building their capacity, resilience, and innovation, while addressing fragility concerns through strengthened food systems.
“Our priorities in this phase will be to strengthen seed systems and early generation seed (EGS) production, empower youth and institutions, scale digital agriculture solutions, and enhance collaboration across public and private sectors,” Ms. Zozo added.
Speaking on the importance of the initiative, stakeholders at the event emphasised that strengthening partnerships and investing in local capacity are critical to reducing Africa’s vulnerability to global agricultural shocks and ensuring long-term food security.
The meeting resulted in finalised implementation plans, strengthened partnerships, and a signed sub-grant agreement between the Government of the Republic of Rwanda, the African Development Bank, and the TAAT Programme, represented by the IITA.
The agreement which seeks to facilitate rapid execution of activities across all four components of TAAT II, with a strong focus on capacity building for key stakeholders in the six countries, will support strengthening the seed systems in the target countries, capacity building for National Agricultural Research Systems and the private sector to produce early generation seeds, technical capacity building for young professionals in National Agricultural Research Extension Institutions, and build target countries capacity in digital advisory solutions for extension, climate information and input distribution.
Dr Solange Uwituze, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture, who signed on behalf of the government of Rwanda, welcomed the MoU, noting that it will help increase productivity through the Food Basket Sites initiated by the Ministry, as well as create youth employment in Rwanda.
“In line with our 2050 vision of Rwanda, which enhances food security among Rwandans, we should increase the agricultural productivity by 13 times from what we produce now. This requires us to adopt modern agronomic practices and improved technologies. That’s what this MoU is going to contribute to. Because it will help provide clean seeds and increase the capacities of local actors to practise agriculture on small lands but with increased productivity,” Dr Uwituze added.