TAAT maize and soybean seed varieties bring new life to dormant fields

The African Development Bank Group supports the continent’s mission to feed itself and rely less on food imports, which could soar past $110 billion annually by 2025. As the continent’s population continues to grow, along with its food needs, the Bank has launched a continental effort known as the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation initiative.

As part of the TAAT-Savannah project, Ghana’s dry, savannah region is being transformed into prosperous, no-till farmlands. Farmers, such as Jamila Tahiru, are already seeing positive results. In just three years, her farming collective has increased their area of arable land by 9,000%.

“If it were just for my efforts and capacity, I would have still been maintaining my small-scale farming,” said Tahiru, the CEO of Ghana’s Global Farms and Trading Company Ltd. She said the TAAT-S project helped her with the hands-on human resources required to improve her agricultural skills.

As part of the project, farmers receive heat-resistant soybean and maize seeds varieties. The savannah program seeks to reach 100,000 hectares of farmland in the next 5 years.

Overall, TAAT aims to help the continent fulfill its agricultural potential by exploring and employing high-impact technologies to boost output in commodities such as wheat, soya, maize, beans, cassava, orange-fleshed sweet potato, and aquaculture. TAAT seeks to raise food output across the continent by 100 million tons and lift 40 million people out of poverty by 2025.

Watch the full video above to hear farmers explain how technologically advanced maize and soya varieties made a difference in fields across Ghana and Kenya.