New multi-million dollar partnership for inclusive Agricultural transformation in Africa launched

A partnership between prominent organizations working to support African agriculture will pump $280 million dollars into the sector to increase incomes and improve food security for 30 million smallholder households across 11 countries on the continent.

The Partnership for Inclusive Agricultural Transformation in Africa (PIATA) was launched at the 2017 African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF), held in Abidjan in Ivory Coast, and signals an enduring commitment to Africa’s transformation agenda.

The partnership, between the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will provide up to U.S. $280 million to “catalyze and sustain inclusive agricultural transformation” in Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique.

It reflects a recognition that greater impact and value can be achieved through a strategic partnership that builds on what has been achieved by each partner across the continent, and pulls them together in ways that help catalyze and sustain transformation at scale. Further, it aligns behind the Malabo agenda agreed to by African Heads of State and Government in 2014.

The partners have committed to delivering impact against a shared results framework and aligning PIATA country operations to national agriculture plans. This is the first time a partnership of this scale that is based on a shared results framework has been launched on the continent, its shared results framework is a significant achievement and the cornerstone of this partnership.

At the launch this week, Mr. Mamadou Biteye, Managing Director of the Rockefeller Foundation Africa Regional Office said the PIATA was critical for the foundation's “ongoing push to build the resilience of farmers and systems that affect them, especially in light of increasing challenges such as climate change, among others.”

USAID’s Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Food Security, Sean Jones said the partnership offered a new way of doing business across the many public and private actors working to ensure food security and economic growth. He believed agriculture was one of the “best bets for job creation and inclusive growth” when there were the right policies and investments - allowing the private sector to flourish.

Welcoming the new partnership, Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), expressed her belief that the initiative would contribute significantly to accelerating Africa’s path to prosperity by growing inclusive economies and jobs through agriculture.

“ We have witnessed significant progress in our agricultural transformation over the past decade, with countries that have prioritized the sector recording notable drops in poverty levels, improved food security and inclusive economic growth. PIATA will be critical in bringing key players together to support governments in their push to fully unlock the potential of Africa’s smallholder farming and agribusiness as the surest drivers of job creation and the continent’s inclusive economic transformation,” she said.

AGRA is the primary implementing institution of the partnership under the institution’s new strategy for the continent and plan agreed with priority countries.