New Partnership for Inclusive Agricultural Transformation in Africa

A new strategic initiative, The Partnership for Inclusive Agricultural Transformation in Africa (PIATA), was launched at the 2017 African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF), which took place in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire from 4-8 September 2017. The theme of this year’s AGRF was “Accelerating Africa’s Path to Prosperity: Growing Inclusive Economies and Jobs through Agriculture”.

PIATA is aimed to be an innovative and transformative partnership and financing vehicle to drive inclusive agriculture transformation across the African continent. The organisations involved are the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

Together, these partners want to provide up to USD 280 million to catalyse and sustain inclusive agricultural transformation in at least eleven countries in Africa, which in turn should increase incomes and improve the food security of 30 million smallholder farm households. Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique are the countries that PIATA focuses on.

The partnership aims to allow partners to align and complement existing efforts, making new investments in developing input systems, value chains and policy where they will have the most impact. Under PIATA, the partners have committed to delivering impact against a shared results framework and aligning the Partnership’s country operations to national agriculture plans.

PIATA represents just one of a variety of means by which each of the partners is supporting African countries to deliver on agricultural transformation. They all continue to provide support through avenues including direct support to continental agencies, government bodies and in-country partners.

AGRA is the primary implementing institution of the Partnership under the institution’s new strategy and plan for the continent agreed with priority countries.  AGRA now sees the Partnership as a way to scale up its support to country agricultural transformation. It can also and serve as a go-to partner for governments, AGRA maintains.

(AGRA/ile)