CGIAR to boost Africa’s agricultural innovation with new Nairobi hub
NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 13 – The hub seeks to bolster agribusiness through agricultural research, fostering collaboration, and ensuring that CGIAR’s innovations effectively reach farmers and other end users.
The initiative is part of CGIAR’s broader Scaling for Impact Program and aligns with its 2025-2030 Global Science Portfolio, which aims to deliver sustainable agricultural solutions worldwide.
“This hub provides a physical space for CGIAR and our scaling partners to co-locate and jointly develop the most effective scientific solutions for Africa, by Africa,” said Inga Jacobs-Mata, a key leader in the initiative.
“We want to push the frontier of ‘science for the last mile’ ensuring that innovations are scaled in cheaper, faster, and more inclusive ways. The hub will be a center for innovation, collaboration, and creative problem-solving.”
On his part, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) Director General Appolinaire Djikeng underscored the importance of scaling agricultural innovations.
“For CGIAR, it is imperative that we ensure our solutions for small-scale farmers are effective and accessible. This new scaling hub will facilitate a dynamic co-design process, enabling our research-driven solutions to be deployed at scale.”
The Scaling Hub is designed to facilitate multi-stakeholder partnerships, connecting farmers, cooperatives, governments, financial institutions, research organizations, universities, civil society, youth agricultural influencers, and the private sector.
By leveraging these partnerships, the hub aims to enhance knowledge exchange, scale proven innovations, and create sustainable agricultural solutions.According to CGIAR, the hub will play a critical role in realizing the objectives of CGIAR’s Scaling for Impact Program, which targets supporting over 62 million people by 2030.
The programme plans to ensure that 30% of these beneficiaries include women, youth, marginalized, and under-represented groups.
Additionally, the initiative seeks to generate or enhance 250,000 jobs and improve access to healthier diets for 480,000 individuals, half of whom will be women.
February 13, 2025 at 02:26PM
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PHIDEL KIZITO