Our team
There are two small groups behind the TAAT Technology e-catalogs: the Technology Profiling team and the AKM Services team. Both teams collaborate very closely to bring to you the best experience, whether you are a Technology Provider offering a technology or a Decision-maker looking for a solution to improve agriculture in Africa. Together, we created the e-catalogs and all the back office systems needed to make them work.
AKM Services are the magicians who transformed our vision into a fast and reactive web-based database, with user-centric interfaces crafted for the best experience we could provide to our users.
The on-going work of the Technology Profiling team populates the e-catalogs with detailed but relevant and clearly expressed information about the technologies we showcase. We strive to explain technologies to those who can decide to adopt them, by presenting them in the best way possible for our audiences.
Technology Profiling – TAAT Clearinghouse (IITA)
Marie Michèle Codja
I am Marie Michèle Codja, holding an MSc in Crop Science, and I serve as a Technology Profiling Consultant at TAAT Clearinghouse. Within TAAT, my role entails sourcing technologies for our database, creating user-friendly profiles, and evaluating them using the Scaling Readiness tool. With my expertise in Crop Science, I am dedicated to utilizing technology to foster agricultural innovation and sustainability throughout Africa. Let's work together to make a difference in African agriculture!
Beata Adonon
I am Beata Adonon, a Technology Dissemination consultant at the TAAT program (Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation), holding a Master’s degree in Agronomy. As a Technology Profiler, my role includes collecting, simplifying complex information, and organizing data on agricultural technologies to power the TAAT database and e-catalogs. Drawing upon my expertise in Agronomy, I am committed to leveraging technology to drive agricultural innovation and advance sustainability across Africa.
Hardi Hinvi
I am Hardi Hinvi, a Technology Profiling Consultant at TAAT Clearinghouse, holding a Master's degree in Crop Science. My responsibility is to gather, translate, and organize data on agricultural technologies to fuel the TAAT's database and e-catalogs. With a strong background in agriculture and expertise in planning and communication, I strive to create effective and accurate digital catalogs for the private, governmental, and institutional sectors. My goal is to promote the adoption of proven and validated technologies to transform agriculture in Africa.
Deborah Ndekatubane
I am Deborah Ndekatubane, a technology profiler in the dynamic TAAT e-catalog team. My role is to unravel the complexities of agricultural technologies and present them in a clear and accessible manner. With a fresh perspective and boundless enthusiasm, I'm passionate about simplifying intricate concepts, empowering my audience to make informed decisions. Beyond work, I delve into the captivating world where technology intersects with agriculture. Join me on this exciting journey as we revolutionize the agriculture landscape together!
Bruno Tran
I am Bruno Tran, Scaling Expert at the TAAT Clearinghouse. With my young colleagues from the Technology Profiling team, we designed the concept of the technology database and its e-catalogs and worked closely with the AKM Services team who transferred our ideas into a powerful and user-friendly system that you can access online.
AKM Services
Frank Sonntag
I am Frank Sonntag, an atmospheric scientist by training, with nearly 30 years of software development experience, mostly writing custom websites with complex databases and scientific business logic at the core. In the last 20 years I have built a real-time synchronised weather database for the BBC, built numerous databases and content management systems for the digital media sector and in 2012 formed AKM Services to develop systems that help to improve the lives of smallholder farmers. At AKM Services, I have planned, implemented and run a range of specialised content management systems. I am also responsible for hosting and maintaining these systems.
Lisette Slegers
I am Lisette, user experience and interface designer at AKM Services with over 20 years' experience. After having worked for many of the big names in London, I joined forces with Frank in 2017. Although I am traditionally schooled in visual and graphic design, I started working on design and user experience of digital products and services early on in my career. Being curious about the nuts and bolts of websites I have also branched out to front-end development.
Karin Kilian
I am Karin - having my academic background in geography and biology and a genuine interest in languages, sustainability and information management, I have been supporting software development in various international development projects for many years. Within AKM Services, I am a vigilant bug tracker and a conscientious software tester, as well as AKM's dedicated translator, localizer and documentation writer. I am responsible for data scraping and online research, as well as for the technical user support.
Featured technologies
Reduce milling losses, enhance nutritional and organoleptic quality Parboiling is a process whereby rough rice is steeped in cold or warm water, heated with steam under pressure or in boiling water to gelatinize starch with minimum grain swelling, followed by slow drying. The nutritional, flavor and textural characteristics of parboiled rice are better than non-parboiled counterparts and can match the quality of imported rice making it more appealing to consumers. Traditionally, parboiling is carried out in a cast iron drum with a false bottom for soaking and steaming that is placed on a three-stone fire, which is severely expose processors to air pollution from emissions of carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5). These easy-to-build systems are highly suitable for small to medium scale processors in rice growing areas of Sub-Saharan Africa that have poor energy and market infrastructures.
Wheat cultivation in high temperature regions ICARDA has developed heat and drought-tolerant wheat varieties. These varieties mature in 90 days, resist heat, drought, diseases, and pests, and increase wheat grain harvests. They are tested and adapted to local conditions before release. This innovation benefits farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Mitigating Africa’s worst pest threat to food security by revolutionizing crop protection with a biological and sustainable weed control alternative. The Toothpick Project introduces an innovative biocontrol technology utilizing a specific strain of host-specific fungus, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. strigae, to combat Striga (witchweed), Africa's most severe pest threatening food security. Approximately 50 million hectares of croplands (around 40 million farms) in sub-Saharan Africa are infested with Striga, causing over $9 billion in crop losses annually. Striga plants produce over 50,000 seeds per season, easily spreading through wind, human and animal traffic, and farming tools, adding to the soil seed bank. This selective biological herbicide “Kichawi Kill”, applied by farmers as a seed coating, aims to restore crop yields by targeting Striga without harming maize. This game-changing agri-tech provides a safe, effective, and affordable alternative to traditional chemical herbicides.