Farm Productivity

ABOUT THE PROGRAMME

Agriculture remains the single greatest contrib¬utor to gross domestic product and employment across Africa. The sector makes up an estimated 25 percent of the con-tinent’s GDP, and more than half of its jobs. Around 80 percent of farms in Sub-Saharan Africa are smallholdings, employing around 175 million people, and women make up between 60-80 percent of the workforce. Improvements in agricultural technology have the potential to impart broad-based economic benefits and help to sustain the economic growth that SSA has been experiencing. The World Bank estimates that the sector could more than triple in size to US$1 trillion by 2030, up from the current US$300 billion. The potential for growth is enormous.

To this end, the AATF productivity and Stress Management Programme is geared towards assisting smallholder farmers to access agricultural innovations that can sustainably optimise production systems and build resilience of agricultural and food security systems, address farmer needs and contribute to Africa’s agricultural transformation. This will result in integrated innovations and the know-how applications required to improve efficient agricultural productivity of African staple and cash crops

Smallholder farms constitute approximately 80% of all farms in SSA and employ about 175 million people directly. With agriculture being a major component of the economies of SSA, there is an urgent need for stakeholders to focus on resilient agriculture. This calls for advanced agricultural techniques including biotechnological approaches for genetic improvement of crops, inputs, as well as equipment that can radically transform the region. To this end, the AATF productivity and stress management programme is geared towards assisting smallholder farmers to improve their crop yield through transfer and adoption of agricultural technological innovations.

AATF PROGRAMME AREAS

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Policy Environment and Public Participation

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Market Systems for Commercialisation

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Nutrition, Food Quality and Post-harvest Management

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Mechanisation and Digital Agriculture

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OUR CONTRIBUTION

80%

SMALLHOLDER FARMS IN SSA

175M

EMPLOYED DIRECTLY

USD 1T

MARKET POTENTIAL

PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION

Agricultural technologies that allow farmers to increase their output in a sustainable, resilient manner will help catalyse transformation of the economies of Sub-Saharan Africa. Through our various projects and special initiatives, we have put mechanisms in place to facilitate the transfer of these technologies to smallholder farmers.

Need Identification and Technology sourcing

With input from farmers, scientists and other stakeholders, we define the problem and identify appropriate agricultural technologies and products that are needed to address the constraints. We continue our traditional role of scouting and accessing appropriate technologies and products from around the world that can increase smallholder farmer productivity, address their current challenges and reduce their vulnerabilities.

Product Development

We work with farmers, scientists, policymakers and other stakeholders to create partnerships through which technologies are developed and adapted into tangible products for use by smallholder farmers

Product Deployment

We work across the value chain with farmers, scientists, policymakers and other stakeholders to create partnerships and mechanisms through which technologies and products can be transferred and utilised by smallholders.

Enabling Environment

We engage with governments and with public and private sector partners across the value chain to create an enabling environment, that will facilitate farmer access to these technologies in an affordable and economically sustainable way