Since its inception a year ago, the partnership between CGIAR, TAAT, and the Global Centre for Adaptation (GCA) has seen significant progress.
On 11 April, a stocktaking meeting was held at the Trademark Hotel in Nairobi on the sidelines of the CGIAR Science Week event.
Discussions highlighted significant progress in integrating agricultural innovation and climate adaptation into large-scale investment programs, along with strategic directions for future collaboration.
Dr Bernard Vanlauwe, Deputy Director General Research at International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) provided a comprehensive overview of the partnership’s journey, noting three pivotal developments since its inception, a year ago.
In 2024, a crucial agreement was signed between GCA and TAAT, establishing a singular entry point for GCA into the CGIAR system.
This streamlines GCA’s access to agricultural technologies and climate adaptation innovations, addressing the previous challenge of navigating 13 different CGIAR centres.
The meeting served to review the progress of this agreement, a year later, and identify areas for improvement.
He further reported that it has successfully expanded its funding base, now benefiting from strong backing by the Gates Foundation, German donors, and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
“This diversified support underscores funders’ recognition of TAAT’s critical role within CGIAR and its strong links with major investment banks like the AfDB, World Bank, and the Islamic Development Bank.”
He further noted growing interest from Asia, with the Asian Development Bank actively exploring similar initiatives, potentially in collaboration with institutions like the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).
A significant development reported was the establishment of a CGIAR scaling programme, which was previously a missing component. This program aims to accelerate the widespread adoption of agricultural innovations.
The TAAT Clearinghouse unit, which facilitates access to technologies, is integrated into one of the scaling programme’s key work areas, and there is an ongoing commitment to further strengthen this function.
Dr Solomon Gizaw, Head of the TAAT Clearinghouse, detailed the Clearinghouse’s role in enhancing project robustness through expert mobilisation and technical assistance for large-scale investment programmes.
“Over the past year, the TAAT Clearinghouse has engaged in six such projects, providing comprehensive technical support and information. These experts contribute to both climate adaptation and the integration of relevant agricultural technologies, Dr Gizaw said.”
The TAAT Clearinghouse plays a crucial role in responding to GCA’s calls for proposals. It identifies and mobilises appropriate CGIAR centres and experts to prepare robust technical assistance proposals, which are then submitted to GCA to ensure specialised support is provided by the respective CGIAR centres.
“Lessons learned include the need for advanced advertisements and information from GCA regarding calls for proposals to ensure timely engagement of CGIAR experts. A significant positive development is the increasing availability of climate adaptation experts within CGIAR, strengthening TAAT’s capacity to support large-scale investments with integrated technological and climate adaptation solutions,” Dr Gizaw added.
On their part, GCA highlighted its strategic approach to integrating climate adaptation into large-scale investment programs.
Established approximately five and a half years ago, GCA emerged from the Global Commission on Adaptation with a core mandate to bring global leaders together around the adaptation agenda.
Recognising that advocacy alone is insufficient, GCA’s CEO, Patrick Verkooijen, and AfDB President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, launched the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP) in 2021.
AAAP’s unique business model focuses on integrating adaptation innovations, technologies, and practical execution directly into the design of large-scale investment programs, bridging the gap between research/solutions and investment decisions.
It channels adaptation solutions through four main investment streams. It provides technical assistance funding to help Multilateral Development Banks’ project teams design robust adaptation components into their large-scale investment projects across sectors such as infrastructure, urban development, water, and food security.
According to Dr Olu Ajayi, the Global Program Lead, Food Security & Rural Wellbeing at GCA, the centre “collaborates with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) through programs like its Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) to design policy frameworks that incentivise governments to implement adaptation-driving policies, often linked to general budget support.”
“GCA further facilitates direct access for entities in countries like Senegal and the Democratic Republic of Congo in developing evidence-based funding proposals to access global climate funds directly,” he said.
“GCA is expanding its partnerships with local financial institutions in Africa, including Equity Group and KCB Bank in Kenya, and NMB Bank in Tanzania. The aim is to leverage these banks’ deep channels to deploy adaptation finance directly to local levels (SMEs, organisations, corporates),” Dr Ajayi added.
From the CGIAR-TAAT perspective, the core purpose of this partnership is to integrate CGIAR’s extensive innovations, technologies, and solutions into these four large-scale investment strategies, thereby achieving adaptation at scale.
