The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) have signed a $16.61 million grant agreement to launch the third phase of the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation Program (TAAT-III), aimed at scaling climate-resilient food production across the continent.

The agreement, signed on 18 February 2026 in Abuja, bolsters a shared commitment to modernise African agriculture by scaling proven technologies, strengthening seed systems, and expanding partnerships among research institutions, governments, and private sector actors.

Since its launch in 2018, TAAT has become one of Africa’s most effective and transformative platforms for agricultural innovation, reaching nearly 25 million farmers and boosting productivity across major staples. The initiative has expanded climate-resilient agricultural practices across over 35 million hectares.

Working closely with the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research Centres (CGIAR) and national and regional partners, TAAT has increased crop yields as much as 69 percent and generated more than $4 billion in additional agricultural value. Countries including Sudan, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria have recorded notable gains in staple crop productivity and resilience to climate shocks.(Press Release)

The Forum for Social Studies (FSS) has issued an urgent call for the ratification of an independent legal framework to govern the domestic work sector, following a comprehensive study on the rights violations and harsh working conditions faced by female domestic workers in Ethiopia.

The policy document, titled “The Situation of Female Domestic Workers in Ethiopia: Current Realities, Perspectives, and Policy Directions,” released at the end of 2025, strongly criticizes the fact that while the sector employs thousands of women, it remains outside the protection of the country’s labor laws.

The study points out that despite the existing Labor and Social Affairs Proclamation No. 1156/2011 (and the previous Proclamation No. 377/1996), contracts for private domestic services are explicitly excluded from these protections.

This exclusion has left millions of workers vulnerable to severe exploitation without any legal shield.

Specifically, while Article 3(3)(c) of Proclamation No. 1156/2011 grants the Council of Ministers the authority to issue a regulation governing the working conditions of domestic workers, no such regulation has been enacted to date. This lack of legal standing remains a major obstacle to the protection of workers’ rights.

Research conducted in Addis Ababa and Hawassa reveals that the majority of domestic workers begin their employment during adolescence.

To address this gap, the Ministry of Labor and Skills announced that it has completed preliminary preparations to establish a structure that will legally bind employment contracts for domestic workers, both domestically and for overseas employment.

In its most recent discussion, the Forum for Social Studies (FSS) reiterated its call for the government to urgently issue a regulation that aligns with the standards set by the International Labour Organization (ILO).