AfDB’s “Technologies for African Agriculture” initiative awarded
America’s largest organization of journalists and media professionals of color has named the African Development Bank a “Salute to Excellence” award winner for the Bank’s communication around its Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation program.
The National Association of Black Journalists
cited the Bank’s excellence in online media relations and marketing about the
landmark initiative, also known as TAAT. The online campaign featured the
impact of TAAT delivering climate-smart agricultural technologies to millions
of African farmers, helping African nations grow more food. The awards were
announced on Saturday at a gala event during the joint convention of the
National Association of Black Journalists and National Association of Hispanic
Journalists at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“This recognition from the National Association of
Black Journalists comes at a time when African and global food security are at
risk due to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Our Bank communications help tell the
world, through the stories of African farmers participating in the TAAT
program, that Africa has solutions to boost its food production and reduce
dependence on grain imports from the Black Sea region,” said Dr. Beth Dunford,
the Bank’s Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development.
“The Salute to Excellence award also honors Bank
staff, consultants and partners working within these communities to improve the
quality of life for the people of Africa. Their expertise helped shape our
communications campaign,” Dunford added.
In July, the Bank’s Board of Directors approved
$30 million in new financing for the TAAT program, which overall aims to
increase Africa’s food output by 100 million tons and lift 40 million people
out of poverty by 2025.
The Bank’s digital campaign showcases some of the
millions of African farmers benefitting from TAAT-funded, climate-adapted
wheat, maize and other certified seed varieties, fertilizers and technical
support since the program started in 2018.
The campaign’s lead video looks at TAAT operations
in Sudan and Ethiopia, where government-led collaboration with the Bank and
partners is scaling up wheat production to record-breaking levels. In Ethiopia,
TAAT helped seed companies to produce and distribute enough heat-tolerant,
certified wheat varieties and helped farmers to expand production across more
areas last season, allowing Ethiopia to grow enough of the grain to eliminate
wheat imports for the first time in modern history. The country’s embrace of
TAAT should see Ethiopia export wheat in 2023.
The National Association of Black Journalists and National Association of Hispanic Journalists’ Convention & Career Fair is the premier conference for journalism education, career development, networking, and industry innovation, attracting leaders and influencers in journalism, marketing and communications, media, technology, business, health, arts, and entertainment.
