20 March 2012
AfDB Supports CGIAR’s Institutions Work on Africa’s Strategic Crops
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AfDB has signed a grant agreement worth $63 million with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) to increase productivity of four key crops in Africa.

The five-year project, titled “Support to Agricultural Research for Development of Strategic Crops in Africa,” will be implemented by the IITA, as well as the Africa Rice Centre and the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).

19 March 2012: The African Development Bank (AfDB) has signed a grant agreement worth $63 million with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) to develop the value chains of four key African crops agreed upon under the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP), namely rice, cassava, maize and wheat.

The five-year project, titled “Support to Agricultural Research for Development of Strategic Crops in Africa,” will be implemented by the IITA, as well as the Africa Rice Centre and the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). The project aims to enhance productivity and income from the four crops through: agricultural technologies and innovations generation and dissemination; capacity building; and project management. The results are expected to include a 20% increase in the yield of each of the crops, a 60% increase in annual average household cash income, and a large increase in food security over the project’s five years. The efforts are expected to focus on the AfDB’s low-income regional member countries, namely Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

IITA, Africa Rice Centre and ICARDA are members of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). [AfDB Press Release] [IITA Press Release]

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