In July 2021, H.E. President of IsDB and the Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Dr. Sanginga Nteranya, signed the partnership agreement of IsDB – ISFD NGOs Empowerment for Poverty Reduction Program (or TADAMON). This is considered as an important target of the resource mobilization efforts of the civil society practice of the Resilience and Social Development Department, Product and Partnerships Directorate - increasing the financial base of the program - to support the hard-to-reach communities in the member countries.

IITA has joined the “IsDB & ISFD NGO Empowerment for Poverty Reduction Program” to promote agricultural development, capacity building of small holder farmers, knowledge sharing as well as projects and programs in 18 IsDB Member Countries. In this framework, IITA will provide technical, in-kind and financial support worth at least US$ 56.5 million notably in Nigeria, Niger, Mali, Cameroon and Burkina Faso. Its participation will consist of leverage its existing and future projects to better synergize with the NGO Empowerment objectives. IITA will contribute to supporting countries in transition or recovering from conflict and those with abundant agricultural land and highly fertile soils.

IITA is a regional not-for-profit institution based in Nigeria that supports vulnerable communities’ livelihoods and food security. It generates agricultural innovations to meet Africa’s most pressing challenges of hunger, poverty, and natural resource degradation. In 2019, IITA participated in the consultative meetings of the IsDB Civil Society Engagement Policy and the “IsDB & ISFD NGO Empowerment for Poverty Reduction Program”.

The IsDB - ISFD NGO Empowerment for Poverty Reduction program was officially launched by H.E. the President, IsDB, in September. 2019 on the margin of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. It is an innovative and transformative partnership initiative derived from the existing IsDB NGO Program, ISFD mandate and new strategy 2030 to reduce poverty in OIC member countries and IsDB policy-level and strategic engagement with the Civil Society.

The program goal is to contribute to the reduction of poverty in IsDB MCs through development and humanitarian initiatives. More specifically, it empowers CSOs to improve the socio-economic well-being of hard-to-reach communities by better identifying impactful CSOs. It also supports them in increasing the education of refugees and remote communities, creating jobs, building resilience, and contributing to a more robust community livelihood. The Program aggregating platform “TADAMON” also serves as a “Trip advisor” for citizens and the private sector to make it easier to support the humanitarian and development efforts of CSOs financially, networking and through advanced skill-building.