• IGNITE+ Launch in Ethiopia: Tanager and Fair & Sustainable officially launched IGNITE+ in Addis Ababa to scale gender and nutrition integration in agriculture, building on the successes of the IGNITE program (2018–2024). 
• Local Partnerships and Capacity Building: The program centers on strengthening the capacity of Local Service Providers (LSPs) to deliver sustainable, tailored technical assistance, with Ethiopia’s Fair and Sustainable serving as a key partner. 
• Collaborative Momentum for Inclusive Growth: Through technical discussions and shared institutional experiences, stakeholders reaffirmed their commitment to making agriculture more inclusive and equitable—highlighting IGNITE+ as a catalyst for long-term transformation in food systems. 

On 18th February, 2025, Tanager and its Ethiopian partner, Fair and Sustainable, launched the Impacting Gender and Nutrition through Innovative Technical Exchange in Agriculture Plus (IGNITE+) —a new phase of their pioneering effort to strengthen gender and nutrition integration in African agriculture. Building on the success of the IGNITE program (2018-2024), IGNITE+ expands its reach across Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania to help institutions better serve women and smallholder farmers. Ethiopia’s agriculture sector, where over 80% of the population relies on farming, is ripe for this transformation. 

IGNITE+ is more than a program —it’s a transformative movement that aims to reshape how African institutions approach gender, nutrition, and agriculture. By fostering local leadership and empowering women, IGNITE+ is building a future where agriculture feeds both people and opportunities.   

Setting the Stage for Accelerated Impact

The Addis Ababa launch brought together key stakeholders for critical technical discussions on the future of Ethiopia’s agricultural landscape. Participants reflected on IGNITE’s accomplishments and implementation challenges while showcasing opportunities for national actors and partners to engage in this next iteration of the program.  

Overall, the event aimed to strengthen an ecosystem that brings together African agricultural institutions committed to gender and nutrition integration with local service providers (LSPs) equipped to deliver the necessary technical assistance. By fostering these connections, the launch sought to generate greater demand for gender and nutrition integration support, ensuring that institutions have the resources and expertise needed to maximize their impacts and outcomes.

 

Maureen Munjua, Tanager’s Kenya Country Representative, opened the event by emphasizing the power of collaboration. She reaffirmed Tanager’s commitment to working hand-in-hand with local partners, recognizing that lasting impact depends on strategic partnerships. 

“The IGNITE+ interventions are expected to enhance the productivity of many women,” Munjua said, setting the tone for the program’s impact,“ which in turn will improve the nutritional well-being of their families and communities.” 

Speaking on behalf of Genet Abdela, the Lead Executive for Women and Social Affairs Inclusion at the Ministry of Agriculture, Samson Adane emphasized the importance of making agricultural systems more inclusive and equitable for women while also improving nutrition outcomes for all Ethiopians.  

“The IGNITE+ project will inspire many African agricultural institutions to design, implement, and evaluate nutrition-sensitive and gender-integrated agriculture interventions. These interventions will tackle the obstacles faced by smallholder farmers, especially women, such as limited access to land, credit, training, and markets.”  

Adane currently serves as the Senior Expert for Women, Children, and Youth Affairs at the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture.

 

From Results to Scale: IGNITE’s Legacy

 

During her presentation of the IGNITE program, Dr. Catherine Macharia-Mutie, IGNITE+ Deputy Team Leader, highlighted the project’s remarkable results (Figure 1) – achievements made possible through close collaborations with agriculture institutions across Africa. Highlights include training over 750 gender, nutrition and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) professionals; developing 30 custom tools; and driving a 70% increase in leadership commitments to gender mainstreaming within partner institutions.  

Local Service Providers: A Cornerstone to Sustainability

IGNITE+ places local expertise at the core of its strategy by leveraging Local Service Providers (LSPs) as implementing partners in the project’s target countries. Through IGNITE+, Tanager will continue strengthening the capacity of LSPs, including Fair and Sustainable, to provide long-term gender and nutrition technical assistance services, thereby guaranteeing sustainability of the project’s interventions across the market system. 

“Partnerships are key for the success of the IGNITE+ project,” emphasized Munjua. “We have various engagement pathways including (1) collaborating with client institutions committed to enhancing their gender and nutrition practices, (2) serving alongside LSPs to co-deliver technical assistance services, and (3) acting as an ‘ecosystem enabler’ to call upon stakeholders to work collaboratively at the nexus of gender, nutrition and agriculture.”  

 

Local Institutions Leading the Gender and Nutrition Agenda 

 

A panel featuring representatives from institutions supported by Tanager also shared the gains they had seen from integrating gender and nutrition into their programs and organizations.  

Dr. Tsion Taye Asseffa, the Program Officer at the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), applauded the organization’s commitment to inclusivity across the food system, saying, “AGRA’s gender strategy aims to eliminate barriers that hinder active participation of women and youth participation in the agriculture sector.” 

Meanwhile, Dr. Mel Oluoch, the Director for Strategic Partnerships at Sasakawa Africa Association, noted that Tanager assisted his team in developing training modules to support the integration of nutrition and promote gender equality through behaviour change communication. 

For Digital Green, a gender assessment conducted by Tanager revealed that the organization needed a gender policy which had previously been lacking:  

“Gender has become a central focus for Digital Green. We have hired a gender expert and are ensuring that our extension advisory content takes a gender-responsive approach. Additionally, our quality assurance tools now incorporate gender-specific indicators.” explained Elshaday Zewdie, the Head of Monitoring and Evaluation at Digital Green. 

 

A Vision for an Inclusive Growth in Agriculture

 

The launch of the IGNITE+ marks a significant step towards strengthening gender equality and improving nutritional outcomes across Africa. By addressing critical issues, engaging stakeholders, and driving sustainable practices, IGNITE+ is poised to make a lasting impact, where agriculture drives inclusive growth, increased incomes, and better nutrition outcomes for rural communities throughout the continent.