USA and African Development Bank cooperation bolster staple crop production
By Freeman Ya Ngulu.
The United States and the African Development Bank are forging stronger ties to boost food production in rural Africa.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and African Development Bank Group President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, met this week at the headquarters of AfricaRice—a pan-African centre of excellence for Rice Research, development and capacity building that implements the Bank’s agricultural programmes.
Beyond crops such as rice, Secretary Blinken said the Biden administration is convinced of the tremendous potential in investing in the production of crops that are climate-resilient and nutritious like some of Africa’s neglected traditional foods.
The Bank launched the AfricaRice initiative in 2018 to boost rice production. It now has 28 country members across Africa of which some 15 expect to reach rice self-sufficiency shortly.
“Since 2018, rice yields have increased by 25% and livelihoods by more than 31%,” said AfricaRice Director General, Dr Baboucarr Manneh.
Speaking during the visit, Dr Adesina thanked Secretary Blinken for a new grant of US$9.5 million to support the Bank’s Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) initiative. “I applaud the work President Biden is doing for global food security. I’m delighted with the partnership we have with the US Government to help us move forward on food security in Africa,” said Dr Adesina.
TAAT’s target is to double the productivity of staple crops, livestock, and fisheries, by making proven technologies available to more than 40 million agricultural producers by 2025. This will produce an additional 120 million tons of food.
Alluding to that work, Blinken said: “The African Development Bank is making the necessary investments in sustainable production in a smart, effective way and along with its AfricaRice programme maximising crops and producing crops that can stand up to climate change.”
The United States of America is the second-largest shareholder of all African Development Bank member countries, and the largest contributor in cumulative terms to the African Development Fund, which provides concessional funding to Africa’s poorest countries. During the visit, President Adesina highlighted the sustainable impact of United States investment in Bank operations that align with shared priorities in Africa.
The Bank and the US Government share a long-standing, results-oriented track record of collaboration. For instance, in December 2022, the United States announced support of US$15 million for the Bank’s African Emergency Food Production Facility, introduced in May 2022 in response to food supply disruptions across the continent arising from the Russian invasion of the Ukraine.
The US Administration also recently pledged support for the Africa Disaster Risk Financing Programme (ADRiFi) to help African nations be more resilient to climate shocks like flooding and drought.
African Development Bank Group President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina (left) and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken listen attentively as a local rice farmer explains how climate-resilient seeds from the Bank’s TAAT programme have increased her yield. (Photograph courtesy of the African Development Bank at https://www.afdb.org/
