• Launch of IGNITE+ in Kenya and Burkina Faso: The IGNITE+ project aims to strengthen African agricultural institutions by integrating gender and nutrition-sensitive approaches. It builds on the success of the IGNITE program, which ran from 2018 to 2024.
• Impact and Achievements: The IGNITE program provided technical assistance to 35 agricultural institutions across 18 African countries. In Burkina Faso, the Professional Association of Decentralized Financial Systems transitioned from a client to a local service provider, enhancing its capacity to offer gender and nutrition integration services.
• Future Vision and Collaboration: IGNITE+ plans to scale its impact across Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania. The project emphasizes collaboration with various stakeholders to ensure inclusive growth, increased incomes, and better nutrition outcomes for small-scale producers.

On Dec. 3 and 10, respectively, Kenya and Burkina Faso each became the focus of agricultural transformation as government agencies, development organizations, researchers, and private sector actors joined Tanager at the launch of its IGNITE+ project. IGNITE+ is a technical assistance program designed to strengthen African agricultural institutions’ ability to integrate gender and nutrition-sensitive approaches into their operations and interventions. It is an extension of the IGNITE program, which Tanager implemented from 2018–2024.  

With Kenya now a focus country under the new project, stakeholders at the Kenya launch learned about the role they can play in mainstreaming gender and nutrition.  

“We all have a responsibility to ensure decisions made at institutional and programmatic levels reflect gender and nutrition approaches and that benefits are cascaded to the household level,” said Maureen Munjua, Tanager’s Kenya country representative and IGNITE+ team lead. 

That philosophy appears to dovetail with Kenyan country priorities.  

“Kenya has made efforts to mainstream gender and nutrition through various policies, such as the Agri-Nutrition Implementation Strategy (2020-2025), Agricultural Policy (2021), and the National Agricultural Sector Extension Policy,” said Calistus Efukho, the acting director of the Food Crops Directorate at the Food and Agriculture Authority. He spoke on behalf of the chief guest at the Kenya launch, the principal secretary of the State Department for Agriculture.  

Efukho added: “Collaboration with institutions like Tanager will bolster efforts towards implementing these policies, which require a comprehensive and integrated approach to achieve food and nutrition security.” 

Impact Through Integrated Approach

The IGNITE program has prioritized such an approach from the start, with progress seen across an array of institutions. From 2018-2024, Tanager provided gender and nutrition technical assistance to 35 agriculture institutions across 18 African countries, working in tandem with five local service providers (LSPs) to co-deliver technical assistance services. 

In Burkina Faso, Tanager worked closely with two such LSPs: PanAfricare and the Professional Association of Decentralized Financial Systems of Burkina Faso (AP/SFD-BF), an association of microfinance institutions. Initially, AP/SFD-BF was an IGNITE client. They later transitioned to become an LSP—making it one of the first microfinance associations in Africa to offer gender and nutrition integration services and giving it a strategic advantage to offer this unique mix of services in other countries across the continent. 

“As an LSP, we have made several gains at the institutional level. We increased staff knowledge on gender and nutrition, updated our procedure manuals to incorporate gender and nutrition, revised our gender strategy, and conducted a diagnostic assessment to identify gaps in the integration of gender and nutrition, in order to make improvements,” said Irene Denne, gender specialist, AP/SFD-BF, at the Burkina event. 

IGNITE clients in East Africa, meanwhile, leveraged IGNITE support to address programmatic issues. “We realized there was a gap among our stakeholders in the adoption of agricultural technologies, particularly with women and youth. Additionally, our projects were designed without a focus on nutrition, despite our goal to improve food security and livelihoods,” said Dr. Cecilia Limera, program officer and nutrition lead for IGNITE client African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF).  

Through its engagement with the IGNITE program, AATF was able to incorporate gender and nutrition as a key thematic area under its organization strategy. The institution also developed a stand-alone strategy for these two domains, which has led to increased budget allocation. “Furthermore, we have developed specific indicators to monitor the progress on gender and nutrition integration,” Limera added.  

IGNITE+ Vision

According to Munjua, IGNITE’s many accomplishments have bolstered Tanager’s standing as a thought leader and agent of change and provided the technical expertise on gender and nutrition required to transform Africa’s agricultural sector. 

Under IGNITE+, Tanager plans to scale these achievements to positively impact hundreds of smallholder farmers in the focus countries of Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania. Similar to the IGNITE model, the technical assistance will be provided jointly between Tanager and six LSPs.  

“I invite all institutions to collaborate with Tanager in the IGNITE+ project,” Munjua said, whether as an LSP, client, investor, collaborator, or accountability partner. 

Dr. Vimal Shah, a member of Tanager’s Kenya board of directors and chairman of Bidco Africa Limited, commended Tanager for using the value chain approach in the delivery of technical assistance.  

“This takes into account all stakeholders in the ecosystem,” he observed. He echoed Munjua’s sentiments, noting the critical role of partnerships in ensuring the success of the IGNITE+ program. 

As Burkina Faso and Kenya’s agriculture sectors continue to evolve, IGNITE+ will serve as a catalyst to building an Africa where agriculture promotes inclusive growth, increased incomes, and better nutrition outcomes for small-scale producers and their households.