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“It doesn’t have to be our reality,” says Omid Kassiri, his partner managing his office in McKinsey’s Nairobi. “We have seen that with the right policies, infrastructure, support and skills, agriculture in Africa can be transformed and bring about profound and meaningful changes in people’s lives.”
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Managing Partner, Omid Kassiri
Change is underway, but it will require a coordinated effort by multiple stakeholders. The African Agriculture Transformation Initiative (AATI) was established to bring together public, private and NGO partners in this work.
Sponsored by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), AATI is an international financial institution and specialized United Nations agency dedicated to the eradication of poverty and hunger in developing countries, helping African countries develop and implement agricultural transformation. aims to support McKinsey served as an integral member of the founding coalition.
Co-founded by partners such as the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, IFAD and McKinsey, his AATI builds on McKinsey’s impact on agriculture and food systems across Africa. . Millions less malnourished, 150,000 less deaths from hunger, 100,000 less new jobs.
McKinsey brought fact-based and practical support to several issues during these engagements:
increasing farmers’ technical knowledge—what to grow, how to grow, what fertilizers to use, what practices and techniques to deploy; increasing their capacity to invest in irrigation methods, fertilizer and crop protection; research and development for crops optimized for the African climate; and creating linkages to markets to name a few.
The results inspired McKinsey to find a way to build on this work, finding a path to help launch AATI through the Fund for Social Good, a pro bono program of multiyear firm support.
“McKinsey is our vital thought leader for tools and methodologies that accelerate agricultural transformation,” says Safia Boly, executive director of AATI. “The role of McKinsey here is knowledge—of working with partners and having the reach to bring partners together, bringing digital solutions, delivery expertise, problem solving, and implementation methodologies, all of which has been essential to the establishment of the AATI.”
AATI is launching its first wave of countries to accelerate effective and sustainable food systems changes based on their needs, priorities, and existing infrastructure.
“When AATI identifies strategies for economic growth and innovation through agriculture, it is key that it be an opportunity for government and private sector,” says Safia. “Governments always need a balance between the two to create an environment for the private sector to thrive and foster economic growth.”
This perspective focuses on inclusive growth.
I hope AATI will grow to be a pillar of change across the continent. It aims to be a constant force to transform the lives of millions of people country by country.
Omid Kassiri, McKinsey Partner
“Our goal is to increase the proportion of small farmers who become entrepreneurs, because after all, we are trying to make agriculture a catalyst for economic growth,” Safia says.