By Busani Bafana
NAIROBI, Apr 9 2025 – Two crucial partnerships were signed at the CGIAR Science Week in Nairobi today (April 9, 2025), aimed at delivering research for development at scale across Africa.

The CGIAR and the African Agricultural Research, Innovation, and Education Institutions (AARIEIs) signed a Joint Statement in support of the Kampala CAADP Declaration and the CAADP Strategy and Action Plan (2026-2035). In January 2025, the African Union (AU) adopted a new agricultural development strategy that will see the continent increase its agrifood output by 45 percent by 2035 and transform its agrifood systems as part of its new plan to become food secure in a decade. During the signing ceremony, the organizations pledged to forge a partnership that would harness the power of collaboration to deliver research at scale.
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By Busani Bafana
NAIROBI, Apr 9 2025 – In East Africa, climate change has made water a lifeline and threat.

In a region highly dependent on rainfall for growing crops, climate change is threatening water security but science-backed solutions are helping turn the tide.

Global leaders, scientists, policymakers, and development partners meeting in Nairobi during the inaugural CGIAR Science Week  made a tight case for water security and productivity in East Africa, a region vulnerable to the increased impacts of climate change such as droughts and floods.

The use, conservation and management of water underpins sustainable development of the East Africa region, which covers Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia.

“Water security means considering how much water you have, water of sufficient quality and being  able to manage risks – drought, floods, extreme events – in ways that livelihoods and lives, the economy and ecosystems can all thrive together,” said Mark Smith, Director General of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), at the launch of the IWMI Strategy 2024–2030 in East Africa.

Smith noted that the new strategy was a significant leap forward in the institute’s mission to harness science research in enhancing water security, supporting climate adaptation and driving sustainable agriculture across East Africa.

“Water security  is necessarily systemic and our strategy reflects that,” he said. “There is a  flipside to that aspect of water in which it intersects with different types of uses. If you can get water security right, then you can  trigger transformation across those systems as you open access to water and enable more  sustainable and fairer sharing of water across different uses.”

Mark Smith, Director General of the International Water Management Institute. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

By harnessing  cutting-edge research and fostering regional partnerships, IWMI aims to deliver solutions that improve livelihoods across East Africa.

“Water security is important for the transformation of agriculture and for sustainable development,” he said, adding that, “Water is at the heart of climate resilience, food security and economic development.”

Sara Mbago-Bhunu,  Director of the East and Southern Africa Division of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), highlighting the importance of collaboration in enhancing water security,  called for continued public and private financing for the water sector, particularly to benefit small-scale farmers through irrigation facilities.

IFAD has invested USD 2 billion in irrigation and water management in 100 projects worldwide, while in East Africa it has supported 14 projects in 12 countries. Mbago-Bhunu said it was critical to invest in water accounting.

“We tend to underestimate what water accounting is  and irrigation performance assessment translated into how we source water, how we manage it but also how we account for it because accounting  will give us further breakthroughs to where we should change in the way we invest in water technologies,” she said.

Ephantus Kimoto, Principal Secretary in the Department for Irrigation in the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation of Kenya. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

Ephantus Kimoto, Principal Secretary in the Department for Irrigation in the Ministry of Water, sanitation and Irrigation of Kenya,  said the government was working to boost irrigation capacity in the country. Currently only four percent of Kenya’s arable land was under irrigation under the National Irrigation Sector Investment Master Plan (NISIP); there is irrigation potential of 3.5  million acres in the country.

Kimoto noted that Kenya had enough water resources but lacked the economic means to scale up irrigation projects. Under the national plan, Kenya seeks to increase the land under irrigation up to 1 million acres and boost food productivity and job creation, especially among the youth.

A panel discussion hosted alongside the launch of the IWMI strategy noted the importance of collaboration in the management of water resources in East Africa while at the same time scaling up innovation and research.

For farmers, saving water is everything.

“Water is a scarce resource and we need to  guard it well, “ said Elizabeth Nsimadala, President, Eastern Africa Farmers Federation.

“We are seeing a lot of water wasted and what is missing is the science bit. When you look at wasted water when it comes to irrigation, there is a lot and this directly affects the output. What is also a missing from our end as farmers is how much quantity does this crop require, as different crops require different quantities of water.”

Nsimadala – a coffee farmer – said policy, infrastructure, sustainability, access and management were priority issues for farmers in terms of water use. She called for the provision of water-saving technologies for farmers because of the competing water uses that have been worsened by the impact of climate change.

While Yelvin Denje, a research fellow with the African Group of Negotiators Experts Support

(AGNES) said the interface between science and policy has led to improvements in equitable access and unlocked the potential for water and development on the continent but it was hard to measure the effectiveness of policies.

“There are now in many African countries water regulations, acts and water laws,” he said, citing the Africa Water Vision for 2025.

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By Busani Bafana
NAIROBI, Apr 9 2025 – Climate change is outpacing science and farmers are paying the price. Agricultural research innovations need to reach farmers before it is too late.

Partnership, collaborations, and the right dose of political will are the fuel to put innovations into the farmer’s hands, says Simeon Ehui, Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and CGIAR Regional Director, Continental Africa. The IITA has delivered solutions to low crop yields, poor quality, and unhealthy diet to boost food security, nutrition, and livelihoods for smallholder farmers who keep the world fed.

“We have developed a number of technologies; unfortunately, many of these technologies are not always going to farmers, the final users,” said Ehui, adding that with political will, innovation can be rolled out faster and wider.

“Policy makers understand the importance of science but face competing needs and sometimes need to make decisions that will not always go in the interest of farmers. We need to continue lobbying them to convince them of the importance of science.”

Ehui told IPS that the IITA has tackled food insecurity, poverty, and environmental degradation through cutting-edge research on key crops  like maize, banana, cowpea, soybean, cassava, and yam. With global hunger rising despite scientific advances, the question is, why are innovations not reaching farmers fast enough?

“While scientific breakthroughs are abundant, the real gap lies in delivery—getting these innovations into the hands of farmers at scale,” Ehui noted, citing that many countries still face weak extension systems, fragmented value chains, and limited private sector engagement.

IITA has bridged this gap through initiatives like the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) program, in partnership with the African Development Bank. TAAT has helped move proven technologies across priority value chains from research to farmers via CGIAR centers, governments, private sector actors, and financial institutions.

“It’s not just about deploying technologies; it’s about building systems for scale—streamlining release processes, aligning with policy, and expanding access to inputs and markets, especially for women and youth,” said Ehui.

Ehui quipped he had three messages for policymakers. “You need science to develop your agricultural productivity. You need investments in rural infrastructure, and you also need partnerships. Without partnerships, nothing can be done.”

Seeds for food security. Seed varieties from the IITA Gene bank. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

Revolutionary breakthroughs

The science research institute has put out more nutritious, climate-resistant crops, which have helped fight hunger and boost the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Africa. It developed and released stress-resilient maize varieties that are both drought and Striga resistant and more nutritious. More than 170 maize varieties have been released between 2007 and 2024 in collaboration with IITA and national partners in Benin, Ghana, Mali, and Nigeria.

As a result of the research innovation, more than  480,000 metric tons of certified seed have been produced, which have been planted on an estimated 18 million hectares by 45 million households. Well over 500 million people have benefited from the improved maize crop.

Banana breeding programs have developed hybrids with enhanced resistance to the fungal diseases Fusarium wilt and Black Sigatoka, which can wipe out banana crops.

Ehui said IITA has also developed early-maturing, disease-resistant yam and cassava varieties, alongside digital tools like AKILIMO, which support farmers in optimizing agronomic practices and fertilizer use.

“We have also developed an economically sustainable seed system for root and tuber crops, powered by innovative rapid multiplication techniques,” he said, pointing out that the rapid stem multiplication approach has enabled the fast and efficient scaling of improved varieties to growers and the processing industry.

The science is progression; now it’s crucial farmers benefit, Ehui says.

“The IITA and CGIAR centers have to work with governments to ensure that technologies are taken up and we modernize the agriculture sector. This is the challenge we face because having research products in our labs does not help if they are never taken up by end users. The agricultural revolution is not in the lab but outside (in the real world). The lab is needed—the lab is not the end point.”

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