Representatives from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), and IITA convened at the seventh African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF), held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, 4 - 8 September, to formalise ongoing strategic partnership and strengthen collaboration
The three organisations have a shared vision of improving the lives of smallholder farmers and transforming African agriculture. Kenton Dashiell, IITA Deputy Director General, Partnerships for Delivery; Agnes Kalibata, AGRA President; and Boddupalli M. Prasanna, Director, CGIAR Research Program Maize & Global Maize Program, CIMMYT, signed a memorandum of understanding on behalf of the three organizations as a step in the formation of a new partnership directed at accelerating African agricultural transformation.
Through the MoU, AGRA, IITA, and CIMMYT will work together as a team to assist seed companies in gaining access to financing for production increase and commercialisation, in response to increased demand for hybrid seed. The agreement was reached on needs for increasing farmer awareness of the new hybrids, including the establishment of on-farm demonstrations and links to agro-dealers in some Eastern, Western, Southern, and Central African countries.
The collaborative partnership among IITA, CIMMYT, and AGRA will ensure the scaling-up and delivery of seeds of improved high-quality maize varieties, especially hybrid maize seed in 11 African countries, specifically Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.
