Partnering and PPP to improve tef

Tef is Ethiopia's main cereal crop

Zerihun Tadele

10 October 2012. Covering more than 2.6 million hectares, tef (Eragrostis tef) is Ethiopia's main cereal crop. (Zeherun Tadele in the New Agriculturist) With a higher tolerance to extreme conditions such as drought, water-logging and pests and diseases compared to wheat and maize, tef is favoured by millions of Ethiopian smallholder farmers. The seeds are also high in fibre, iron, and protein, and free of gluten, a substance in wheat that people suffering from coeliac disease are allergic to. But compared to other major cereals tef produces very low yields.

The major constraint of tef is a weakness of the stem which causes the plant to fall. A permanent displacement of the stem from the upright position, or lodging, results in considerable harvest losses, reducing both the quality and quantity of harvested grain. The use of nitrogen fertilisers, which weakens the stem further, and mechanised harvesting are also hindered. To increase the productivity of tef, a group of scientists from the Institute of Plant Science based at the University of Bern in Switzerland have teamed up with the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture and Syngenta Switzerland to develop semi-dwarf varieties that will be resistant to lodging and respond to the application of fertiliser.

Hereunder is an interview with prof Zerihun Tadele (Group Leader Molecular Breeding & Genomics; Institute of Plant Sciences at the University of Bern. He was interviewed by PAEPARD following the joint meeting was between the European Forum for Agricultural Research (EFARD) and the Swiss Forum for International Agricultural Research (SFIAR) at the Bern University of Applied Sciences, School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (HAFL).

The interview focused on the role of Public Private Partnerships in the Tef Biotechnology Project.

The project has access to Syngenta's greenhouse facilities in Switzerland, free of charge. "We are able to identify semi-dwarf lines in these modern greenhouses where environmental conditions such as light, temperature and humidity are properly regulated," Dr. Zerihun Tadele, the tef project leader reveals. So far, 6-8 plants have been grown from over 4,000 mutagenised lines, of which ten had inherited the semi-dwarf trait.

Semi-dwarf lines (left) have a much 

stronger stem than traditional varieties 

"This public-private partnership is very important," Dr Tadele adds. "Private companies, like Syngenta, have a lot of expertise and equipment which are not available in public organisations in developing countries. Our partnership with Syngenta has brought a lot of benefits to the project."

Dr Tadele and his colleagues launched the Tef Genome Sequencing Project in 2010, with funding from the Syngenta Foundation. While the Functional Genomics Center in Zurich has begun sequencing, the work will be completed at BecA (Biosciences in Eastern and Central Africa), based in Nairobi, as part of the projects strategy to transfer knowledge and technology to Africa.

"Sequencing does not just have an academic purpose; we want to apply it also," Tadele states. "Many times we had problems identifying and isolating genes using the TILLING (Targeting Induced Local Lesions in Genomes) technology, but when we have the genome sequence we can easily isolate the gene."

In addition, tef is a hardy plant, and sequencing the genome could reveal why tef has a higher tolerance than other major crops to drought, water-logging and pests and diseases. When complete, the genome sequence will be made freely available for public use so that it can be used by scientists to identify traits that will directly benefit African farmers.

Related:

New Approaches to Plant. Breeding of Orphan Crops in Africa:
Proceedings of an International Conference,
19-21 September 2007, Bern, Switzerland.

Extract: (page 17-18)

In the near term, the opponents of plant biotechnology in the developing world will continue to win their propaganda war. They have the passion and the resources, both money and time, that are not matched by anything in the public or private sector. The big corporations are not willing to invest much on this issue, as they see relatively few profits in developing world agriculture at this time. 

Developed world agricultural organizations are mostly devoted to serving their clients, the nation’s farmers, ag businesses and consumers, and only give token attention to the developing world. The scientists who work in plant genetics and biotechnology understand the current travesty, but have no serious lobbying capability. Moreover, scientists who take any stand on any controversial issue can risk their credibility, and their careers, because we are expected to be “above the fray”. For most U.S. scientists, for instance, any time spent on developing world issues (whether doing the science or advocating for more commitment to the problem) is time taken away from the research and teaching that will earn promotions and research support. 

 As scientists, we need to exit our comfort zones to both educate and advocate for crop biotechnology in the developing world. We may receive no rewards, and will certainly receive a hostile reception in some quarters. But this activism should be viewed as an obligation of the privileged lives we lead, motivated by the next experiment and the next discovery, rather than by wondering where the next meal will come from.

FEBIO: link all Ethiopian Biotechnologists at home and abroad

10 October. Bern, Switserland. In 2011 FEBIO was created: Forum for Ethiopian Biotechnologists in order to link all Ethiopian Biotechnologists at home and abroad.

Hereunder is an interview with prof Zerihun Tadele (Group Leader Molecular Breeding & Genomics; Institute of Plant Sciences at the University of Bern.

He is the facilitator of FEBIO: Forum of Ethiopian Biotechnologists which networks Biotech researchers and educators from of 18 institutes, including Ethiopian “Diaspora” researchers based in USA, Kenya, Nigeria, UK, South Africa, Sweden, Germany, India, Switserland. The mission of the forum is to:

• facilitate the platform for experience sharing among Ethiopian biotechnologists.
• organize discussion forums on pertinent topics of biotechnology.

He was interviewed by PAEPARD following the joint meeting was between the European Forum for Agricultural Research (EFARD) and the Swiss Forum for International Agricultural Research (SFIAR) at the Bern University of Applied Sciences, School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (HAFL).

In this first interview prof Zerihun Tadele explains what the Forum of Ethiopian Biotechnologists is doing, how non researchers are involved and how the activities impact on small scale farmers.

In a second interview prof Zerihun Tadele explains how he relates towards his Ethiopian colleagues and with the Swiss Forum for International Agricultural Research (SFIAR).

In a third interview prof Zerihun Tadele explains that there is an increased interest for Tef in Europe and why.

 

Tracking Alumni Career Paths

Engelage S, Zimmermann AB, Herweg K, 

Michel C, Breu T. 2012. 

Tracking Alumni Career Paths: 

Third NCCR NorthSouth Report 

on Effectiveness. 

NCCR North-South Dialogue 42. 

Bern, Switzerland: NCCR North-South.

20–22 August – Tracking Alumni Career Paths: Third NCCR North-South Report on Effectiveness NCCR North-South Dialogue

This was presented at a conference in Bern, Switzerland, (20–22 August). It looked at PhD alumni of the Swiss National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South Programme, which is hosted by the University of Bern.

The NCCR programme has trained 112 PhD students over the past 12 years, in areas including health, natural resources and poverty, with the aim of contributing to sustainable development and capacity building.
The Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South is an international research programme on global change and sustainable development. One of the NCCR North-South’s goals is to improve research structures in Switzerland and in the South. To this end, the NCCR North-South provides research funding and training for Swiss and Southern PhD students, among others.

The present report is based on a survey of 83 NCCR North-South alumni – former PhD students – conducted in an effort to fi nd out whether the NCCR North-South’s aims were achieved, specifically with regard to capacity development and career building. All alumni were informed about the planned survey and asked to confirm their email address in July 2011.

The participants in the survey came from 27 different countries: about half were from Switzerland, Germany, and France, while the other half came from 24 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Alumni from Switzerland overwhelmingly had backgrounds in geography and other earth sciences. The social and political sciences, as well as agriculture, environmental studies, and forestry were more frequent in the South than in the North. As a discipline, economics was almost entirely missing from the picture. This stems from the thematic composition of the NCCR North-South research consortium.

In cases where alumni did not respond, the authors contacted their colleagues or supervisors to obtain their current address. Further, some alumni were located via Facebook and other social media. By the end of 2011, the authors had valid addresses for 111 of 112 alumni: there was only one alumnus who could not be located. Of these 111 alumni, 83 completed the questionnaire. A raffle (three $100 Amazon gift cards) was organised to incentivise participation. All statistics were performed using SPSS 18 EM.

Excerpts from the report:

• The NCCR North-South programme has not simply reproduced an existing class of Southern elites. In many cases, it has provided people in disadvantaged positions the chance to advance their career.
• The career-boost effect in the South was impressive, equal to almost a 60% increase in leading or middle management positions among Southern alumni following their PhD. The great majority of these worked at universities or research institutes
• From these results, we conclude that the PhD title had a very important effect on the careers of Southern alumni, especially those working in academia. 
• The percentage of Northern alumni in higher positions after the PhD was considerably lower. This could be because it takes more time for researchers/scientists to obtain a leading position in Switzerland than in the South.
• The NCCR North-South’s transdisciplinary research approach – emphasising application-oriented research and working with non-academic actors – might hinder Northern alumni from experiencing a classic academic career trajectory. 
• In Switzerland, publication of peer-reviewed articles in high-ranked journals is among the most important factors in obtaining leading positions within universities. However, NCCR North-South alumni sought not only to publish their results on behalf of the scientific community, but also invested a considerable amount of time working to apply their results and communicating with non-academic partners. Learning more about whether the transdisciplinary research approach has hindered the academic career trajectory of Swiss alumni appears crucial.
• About 12% in the North and South had acquired one or two research and development projects after their PhD, while 23% had acquired three or four projects. In Switzerland, most projects were financed by Swiss funding agencies such as the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) or the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). In the South, eight projects were financed by Swiss donors, 13 by international donors, and nine by Southern funding agencies.
• Alumni were in frequent contact with non-academic partners, such as NGOs, IOs, governments, private industry, and extension staff. Of course, our data cannot show whether alumni actually contributed to more sustainable development in their countries – but it does indicate that many alumni made a conscious effort to apply their knowledge and experience in practice.
• More than 90% of Southern alumni remained in their country of origin or worked in another country in the South. In other words, the “brain drain” phenomenon was averted. Among Northern alumni, the majority worked in their country of origin at the time of the survey. We were surprised to find so few Northern alumni employed abroad – especially considering that many of them had already worked in the developing world before starting their PhD and had spent several months or years in a developing country for their fieldwork.

Claudia Michel, NCCR

Claudia Michel, a researcher at NCCR and one of the report's authors, told SciDev.Net (see below: related article) that the findings appeared to conflict with a widely held belief that North-South partnerships can lead to a brain drain, and favour students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. The survey data dispels these myths, she said.

• In the global South, it is more difficult for women to pursue a PhD, especially if they are from lower social strata. But once they have gained access to higher education and earned a PhD, it seems to “outweigh” many obstacles posed by gender discrimination. 

Sarah Ayeri Ogalleh

Sarah Ayeri Ogalleh, a Kenyan PhD student on the NCCR North-South programme, told SciDev.Net that most southern researchers want to remain in their home country because of their families and a desire to boost a country's development. Ogalleh added that the NCCR programme has helped students remain at home through capacity building and linking them withnetworks and partnerships that continue even after a student leaves the programme.

Sarah Ayeri Ogalleh graduated from a Bachelor Programme in “Animal Production” at Egerton University in Kenya. She later obtained her Masters Degree in “Environmental Science” and wrote her Masters thesis on 'Status of On-Farm Tree Establishment and Factors Affecting Tree Planting: The Case of River Njoro Watershed, Nakuru District, Kenya'. She is currently pursuing her doctoral degree on 'Assessment of local agronomic practices (characterization, effectiveness, sustainability) in small scale agriculture as building blocks for Adaptation to Climate Change in Laikipia District, Kenya' (supervised by Christian R. Vogl, Michael Hauser). This study intends to identify the existing local agronomic practices used by smallholder farmers to adapt to climate change. The project will also highlight the economic, social and ecological sustainability of the identified adaptations for appropriate policy recommendations. Sarah Ayeri Ogalleh receives a scholarship from OEAD for her doctoral study.

• Respondents valued the alumni network, but that the platform must become more user-friendly and more adapted to the specific needs of alumni.

Recommendation No. 3: 

More research is needed on the specic contexts in which researchers in the global South are embedded, especially regarding the relevance of science in local policymaking, the relative standing of researchers and universities in society, and the obstacles to pursuing a PhD, particularly for Southern women.

Related:
North-South collaboration helps researchers stay at home

Gozde Zorlu 23 August 2012 SciDev

Bridging Africa and Europe through the scientific diaspora

Impact of Climate Change and Globalisation on Safety of Fresh Produce Governing a Supply Chain of Uncompromised Food Sovereignty

Interview with Dr. Kofitsyo Cudjoe, Head of section, Food bacteriology and GMO, National Veterinary Institute, Oslo, Norway, during the Diaspora Expert Meeting in Uppsala on 28/09/2012. 

He explains how he got involved in the: Veg-i-Trade FP7 consortium which is funded by the seventh Framework programme for research of the European Commission. The project seeks to assess the impact of anticipated climate change and globalisation on the safety issues concerning fresh produce and derived food products. Research will be performed concerning the economic structure of the fresh produce chain, and control measures to minimise microbiological and chemical risks will be developed.

Veg-i-Trade unifies 23 international partners from universities, research institutes, SMEs and large industrial partners. Recommendations concerning good practices and quality assurance in the fresh produce supply chain will be developed and exchanged via international collaborations and capacity building. In parallel, Veg-i-Trade will organise discussion fora concerning particular aspects of food sovereignty related to the safety of fresh produce.

Dr. Kofitsyo Cudjoe explains how he got involved in the FP7 Veg-i-Trade - project and the ethical issues of the export of fruit from countries where they don't have enough to eat. 

He answers a number of questions: 

• How do you relate to your Ghanaian colleagues out of Norway?
• Do you feel a member of the Diaspora or a Norwegian researcher?
• Which role you feel you can play for bridging the two continents?

Network for African agriculture professionals in Europe set to launch

4 October 2012. Jan Piotrowski for SciDev. The network will target African agriculture professionals living in Europe

A unique network to harness the expertise of African agricultural professionals living in Europe is one step closer launching after a meeting last week (28 September).

Organised by the Platform for African - European Partnership in Agricultural Research for Development (PAEPARD) and the Swedish University of Agricultural Science (SLU), the working group met at SLU in to consolidate plans for a European arm of the successful Association of African Agricultural Professionals in the Diaspora (AAAPD).

As with the American version, the Association of African Agricultural Professionals in the Diaspora-Europe (AAAPD-E) will use a database — to go online by mid-2013 — to link expatriate Africans with agricultural expertise, research centres, farm organisations and governments on the continent.

The network will fulfil a wide range of functions, such as enabling African universities to gain access to expertise, and facilitating collaboration, information-sharing and training exchanges.

It could also improve advocacy and lobbying, by creating a unified voice on issues the African diaspora can take on.

Many diaspora groups already exist in Europe, but the power of the new initiative lies in its singular focus on agriculture, said AAAPD's president, Peter Jeranyama.

"The reason why most of the diaspora groups haven't been that successful is that they are involved in too many things," he told SciDev.Net.

"If you narrow your focus down you have a chance of making a real impact."

Mobilising the diaspora effectively to tackle development problems is simply not possible without issue-specific networks, says Awil Mahamoud, director of the African Diaspora Policy Centre (ADPC), which will host the AAAPD-E in The Hague, Netherlands, for the next six months.

"We [ADPC] are getting requests from governments in Africa saying we need a diaspora group to help us in a specific sector," said Mahamoud.

But the new initiative faces significant hurdles, including how to source members, secure funding, and cope with the legal complexities of operating within multiple European countries.

A previous attempt by PAEPARD to engage with African diaspora organisations through a questionnaire got a poor response — suggesting AAAPD-E may struggle to gain support.

And many details regarding the organisation's structure, not least the involvement of PAEPARD, are yet to be decided.

Interim AAAPD-E chair, Linley Chiwona, accepted the potential pitfalls of the project, but saw important progress from the results of the first meeting.

"With any initiative there has to be a starting point with a group of motivated, engaged individuals," she said. "With this working group I see this motivation."

Related: 

Interview with Peter Jeranyama of the Association of African Agricultural Professionals in the Diaspora (AAAPD), during the Diaspora Expert Meeting in Uppsala on 28/09/2012. He answers following questions: (a) How was the AAAPD created in the US; (b) Why is a European chapter important; (c) How did AAAPD attract Gates funding?; (d) the Nigerian Minister of Agriculture Akin Adesina is a champion?

 

Interview with Dr. Kofitsyo  Cudjoe, Head of section, Food bacteriology and GMO, National Veterinary Institute, Oslo, Norway, during the Diaspora Expert Meeting in Uppsala on 28/09/2012. He answers following questions: (a) How important is the creation of a Diaspora association in agricultural research for development? (b) Why are African scientists in the Diaspora not involved in evaluation missions?; (c) Do you relate with other African scientists based in Europe?; (d) Do you meet as often as in the United States?

PAEPARD supports ARD Diaspora

Dr Peter Jeranyama, presenting AAAPD 

28 September 2012. PAEPARD organised an expert meeting on the ARD Diaspora (back to back to an SLU conference on ARD) between the Association of African Agricultural Professionals in the Diaspora (AAAPD) US chapter and the AAAPD European chapter at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet).


The purpose was to define a number of activities PAEPARD should organize in 2013, in order to include the Diaspora in agricultural research for development in the formulation of a possible new phase of PAEPARD.

Dr.LINLEY CHIWONA-KARLTUN was elected as interim chair of AAAPD-European chapter (video interview forthcoming). For the coming 6 months AAAPD-E will be hosted by the African Diaspora Policy Center (ADPC) based in The Hague.

Dr. Awil Mohamoud is the Founder
and Director of the African Diaspora
Policy Centre (ADPC). The
ADPC is an independent policy research
centre devoted to the study of migration
and development related issues
from the perspective of the diaspora.

• ADPC is already active since 7 years with Dutch Government funding and received in the past EC funding. 
• AAAPD US has already a database of 2000 members and the plan is to profile in the coming 6 months 200 Europe based African Agricultural Professionals in the Diaspora, based on the extensive contact lists of ADPC. (see African Diaspora Skills database of ADPC) 
• AAAPD US has secured 300,000 USD from the Gates Foundation, and with the extension to Europe additional funding could be lobbied for. 
• IICD will give support to AAAPD for automatic translation of the AAAPD website in European languages. 
• In the medium term AAAPD-E will be embedded in an agricultural research department. 
• This is already the case for the AAAPD-US (hosted by the Iowa State University, Agronomy Dept) 

The result of this meeting were:

• A log frame with activities to be undertaken in 2013 by PAEPARD. This will be submitted to the Management Team Meeting of PAEPARD for discussion and uptake in the PAEPARD revised work plan for 2013. 
• A discussion on a strategy which can support the advocacy activities of PAEPARD around the role of the ARD diaspora (among others to sensitize the European commission)

LINLEY CHIWONA-KARLTUN responds in an interview to the question "What will be the first activities of the European chapter of the Association African Agricultural Professionals in the Diaspora (AAAPD-E)"

Background documents of the Expert meeting: 

1. PAEPARD and the African Diaspora in the agricultural sector Note of 05/01/2011 of F. Stepman  
2. AAAPD by Peter Jeranyama  
3. TEAMPRO by Rachel Tocklu. Teampro encourages and promotes trade and Investments between African and European organization, including Agricultural Projects in East Africa
4. IFAD presentation. See also at Main remittances pages of IFAD and the FINANCING FACILITIES FOR REMITTANCES (FFR) publication that includes the Diasporas Investment in Agriculture Programme 

Winners of African Diaspora Marketplace innovation contest named

June 25, 2012. Western Union and USAID Announced the Winners of Second African Diaspora Marketplace. Innovative Competition Acts as Catalyst for Business and Job Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa.

17 U.S.-based entrepreneurs were awarded matching grants to fund innovative business plans and promote economic growth in seven countries in sub-Saharan and North Africa. The grants will match ADM winners' own funds to support growth of their businesses.

Support to agribusiness is one of the main priorities of the ADM (see video at the bottom of this blog post).

Nearly 500 entrepreneurs submitted business plans to compete for a grant as an investment in their business as part of the ADM II competition. ADM II is a collaboration of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Western Union Company and the Western Union Foundation.

Winning proposals included a Kenyan agribusiness implementing sustainable "zero-waste" practices through the commercial production of High Efficiency Organic Fertilizer; the first legal technology provider in Tunisia; an alternative power-generator utilizing agricultural waste in Liberia; and an online medical information delivery system in Nigeria. Each awardee can receive a total investment of up to USD70,000, which includes up to USD50,000 in matching cash grants and/or up to USD20,000 in technical assistance.
Each winning project will be monitored for a period of up to 24 months and grant payments will correspond to key milestones identified in the winner's proposal. Entrepreneurs will also have the opportunity to connect with winners of the first ADM competition, sharing best practices and learning from their experiences.

ADM II is jointly funded by USAID, the Western Union Company, and the Western Union Foundation. Other contributing partners include Ecobank, African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), George Washington University Center for International Business Education and Research, the Tony Elumelu Foundation, the U.S. Department of State and Irv Barr Management.

"The African Diaspora Marketplace will strengthen and help satisfy demand for locally-produced products and services," said USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah. "These businesses will buy, sell and hire from within the communities they serve, putting money into the local economy, building local capacity and fueling broad-based economic development."

ADM II incorporates key lessons from the first African Diaspora Marketplace. Expanding upon its success, Western Union and USAID invited small business investment funds and technical assistance mentors to participate in the effort this year.

Country	Sector	Business Name
Kenya	Agribusiness	African Boreholes Initiative, Ltd.
Nigeria	Renewable energy	Comprehensive Design Services
Ghana	Agribusiness	Gonja Meat Company
Kenya	Information Communication Technologies (ICT)	Infinicity PLC, Inc.
Nigeria	Information Communication Technologies (ICT)	MedEnhanz Resources Ltd.
Zambia	Information Communication Technologies (ICT)	Mobile Payment Solutions Ltd.
Uganda	Agribusiness	ORIBAGS Innovations (U) Ltd.
Nigeria	Information Communication Technologies (ICT)	OTGPlaya Entity LLC
Kenya	Agribusiness	Pork Delights Limited
Nigeria	Agribusiness	Poultry Health Products Nigeria Ltd.
Tunisia	Information Communication Technologies (ICT)	PromoTunisia
Nigeria	Agribusiness	RIOL Enterprises
Ghana	Agribusiness	Sardis Enterprises
Nigeria	Information Communication Technologies (ICT)	Trafficafric Limited
Liberia	Renewable energy	TransAtlantic EcoPower
Tunisia	Information Communication Technologies (ICT)	TuniLab
Ghana	Agribusiness	Viable Vision Industries

Online press conference - Launch of the African Diaspora Marketplace

 

Second African Diaspora Marketplace: online press conference by Western Union. With Aida Diarra, Regional Vice President North, Central and West Africa, Western Union.

• Read a profile of Tony Elumelu, ADM II sponsor and founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, on Forbes.com here.
• Watch the ADM II Virtual Press Conference or listen to a podcast of it.
• Listen to an extensive interview on BBC Francofone with Aida Diarra, Western Union Regional Vice President, West Africa
• African diaspora marketplace pour le partenariat en Afrique from Afrik.com
• Western Union lance la seconde édition de l’African Diaspora Marketplace from Les Afriques on page 7
• USAID and Western Union Add Libya and Tunisia to the Second African Diaspora Marketplace This article is also available in French here.
• Check out the ADM II Press Release.
• AllAfrica.com interview with Western Union Vice President Barbara Span about ADM II "Western Union Offering Support for Diaspora Entrepreneurs"(November 29, 2011)

Second African Diaspora Marketplace

November 21, 2011 – The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) a leader in global payment services, the Western Union Foundation  and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) launched the second African Diaspora Marketplace (ADM), an initiative which encourages sustainable economic growth and employment by supporting U.S.-based African diaspora entrepreneurs with ideas for start-up and established businesses in sub-Saharan Africa.

“Through this collaboration, Western Union and USAID are helping to tap the economic potential of the 1.4 million Africans living in the U.S., bringing more direct investment to the continent. The African Diaspora Marketplace will strengthen and help satisfy demand for locally-produced products and services by leveraging diaspora capital and resources.”

The number of grants awarded will be determined based on grant pool and program need, and is likely to be in the range of 15 to 30 businesses.  The matching grant size is expected to be up to US $50,000, with an additional supplement of US $25,000-$50,000 in technical assistance. 

 African Diaspora Marketplace (ADM)  related to agriculture/agribusiness: See PAEPARD blog post 23/05/2011.

AAAPD Side event at World Food Prize & Mobilization of the African Diaspora

14 October, 2011. Africa is Ready for Business: Agriculture Development, Food Security & Wealth Creation. Event sponsored by Iowa State University, African Association of Agricultural professionals in the Diaspora & Partnership to Cut Hunger & Poverty in Africa. In Collaboration with: Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) / African Union/NEPAD Coordination & Planning Agency (AU/NCPA) / Swedish University of Agriculture Sciences (SLU).

Round Table Discussion on African Agriculture: Key Issues, Challenges and Prospects

•  Iowa State and African Agriculture: Finding a Match – David Acker, Dean – Faculty of Agriculture
• CAADP Implementation: Support for Agricultural Development in Africa – Dr. Richard Mkandawire, AU/NCPA
• Fostering Africa-US Public & Private Partnerships in Agricultural Research; Extension Investments – Dr. Monty Jones, FARA
• Harnessing African Diaspora in Africa’s Agricultural Development through teaching, research and extension – Dr. Peter Jeranyama, AAAPD
• Trans-Atlantic Cooperation for Africa’s Agriculture & Food security - Prof Lisa Forsse, Vice-Chancellor, Swedish Agriculture University

Public Forum on “Africa is Ready for Business: Agriculture Development, Food Security & Wealth Creation

Panelists:

• Hon. Jumanne Maghembe, /Minister of Agriculture – Republic of Tanzania
• Hon. Florence Chenoweth, /Minister of Agriculture – Republic of Liberia
• Hon. Aghatam Alhassane, Minister of Agriculture – Republic of Mali
• Hon. Pacheco, Minister of Agriculture – Republic of Mozambique
• Hon. Sally Kosgey, Minister of Agriculture – Republic of Kenya
• Dr. Monty Jones, Executive Secretary – Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa
• Dr. Richard Mkandawire - //Head of Partnerships, Resource Mobilization and Communication, AU/NPCA