The African Development Bank's Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) program is gaining increasing recognition as stories emerge of its impact across the continent.
The acclaim for TAAT is timely ahead of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, where the African Development Bank will be showcasing its role as a global leader when it comes to climate action. TAAT has been instrumental in supporting communities who have been left vulnerable by weather patterns linked to climate change.
The innovative agricultural initiative has provided 11 million farmers across 29 African countries with technologies such as drought-resistant maize, heat-resistant wheat, higher-yielding seed varieties and seed treatments to protect against pests like the fall armyworm, which has been devastating African crops in waves of hungry, winged swarms.
The TAAT program recently gained global recognition when a digital campaign demonstrating its impact was awarded a Golden Stevie prize from the International Business Awards for a video series that chronicles TAAT's impact. The 2021 International Business Awards drew more than 3,700 nominations from 65 nations.
The Bank's video series chronicling TAAT's impact, was streamed during the 2021 High-level Dialogue on Feeding Africa. The videos told the stories of farmers who have benefited from the program. They were beamed to more than a dozen Heads of State, global leaders and thousands of high-level online participants.
"The 17 Heads of State and others who watched would have been impressed with the quality of the film and, more importantly, the program itself. Excellent initiative," wrote one judge who recognized the challenges of documentary film production during Covid-19 lockdowns.
"These programs are just so necessary to bring positive change and this documentary shows it excellently," said another awards panel member.
"I emotionally connected with each video provided... the documentary captured wonderful, intimate and sensitive interviews with people. It became personal and heartfelt," another judge remarked.
This 18th annual International Business Awards recognize outstanding organizations and highlight their positive contributions globally. Last year, the Bank earned a Gold Stevie for its 2019 Annual Report in the publication category and bronze for the Report's companion video.
This year's other award winners include Google, IBM, Yapi Kredi, DHL Express Worldwide, Dubai Municipality and Tata Consultancy Services. The winners will receive their prizes during a virtual ceremony due to be held 8 December 2021.
