Boosting Agricultural Higher education into CAADP

28th to 30th November 2011. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The African Network for Agriculture, Agroforestry and Natural Resource Education (ANAFE), ACP-EU Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Development Cooperation (CTA), Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), the NEPAD Coordinating Agency, CORAF-WECARD and the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) held a Sensitization workshop for Engaging French Speaking African Higher Agricultural Education Institutions into CAADP.

Other key partners of the organization are the University of Ouagadougou, University of Abomey Calavi (Benin), the Association of African Universities (AAU), the African and Malagasy Council for Higher Education (CAMES), the Conference of rectors of Universities of Francophone West Africa, Central and Indian Ocean (CRUFAOCI), the Network of Institutions of higher Education in
Fishing (Afri-FishNet), the European Alliance on Agricultural Knowledge for development (Agrinatura) and the French consortium Agreenium.

During the three days conference, a number of papers were presented, followed by debates and discussions, and propositions made. This led to the following results:

• An increased awareness about the objectives, the constants and the expected outputs of the CAADP;
• A better understanding of the role to be played by Universities and other agricultural higher education institutions in cooperation with their supervisory ministries and those in charge of agriculture;
• The massive presence at the meeting of Universities, other higher education institutions and technical and financial partners, is a testimony of their willingness to be involved in actions undertaken for the attainment of the CAADP objectives;
• Important activities were formulated which will lead to a stronger involvement of agricultural training institutions;
• Concertation frameworks were proposed with CAADP, ANAFE, RUFORUM and FARA which will be able to serve for interaction between Universities and Agricultural training institutions.

Resources:

• Boosting Agricultural Higher education into CAADP
• Relance de l’enseignement supérieur Agricole à travers le programme détaillé de développement de l’agriculture en Afrique(PDDAA)

Interview with Agricultural Innovation Facilitators

Interview with GLINX Laurent, General Secretary of the National Platform for Innovation in the Agricultural Sector in Benin (PNISA-Bénin). GLINX Laurent participated previously at the first European multi stakeholder consultation of PAEPARD (7-8 March 2011), Florence, Italy. He participated at the Workshop for Agricultural Innovation Facilitators which was held in Entebbe (28/11-02/12/2012).

Transcript of the interview:

I'm currently secretary general of the platform for agricultural innovation in Benin. This platform wants to create trust between research, universities, the private sector, NGOs and Farmer Organisations to create innovation with multiple actors and perspectives. This involves the technical aspects with the institutional, organisational and political aspects. The workshop which just ended is important because I could update myself on the role of a facilitator. What are the required competencies to play an efficient role? An important aspectfor me is the self-reflection. This means: asking if we are in the right direction? Content-wise and process-wise: what worked and what could be improve? As General Secretary of the National Platform for Innovation in the Agricultural Sector in Benin I will be able to add value to all what I learned here for the benefit of multi stakeholders partnerships. As potential facilitator for the Concept Note on Soja for Benin, I will immediately be able to put my knowledge and acquired capacities into practice. Not only for this consortium but eventually also for other actors in Benin.

David Suale is Country Coordinator of the DFID-UK Research Into Use Sierra Leone Programme. He participated at the Workshop for Agricultural Innovation Facilitators which was held in Entebbe (28/11-02/12/2012). As Country Coordinator, he facilitated the establishment of a platform called Partnership in Agricultural Innovation for Development in Sierra Leone – a self-organizing network for planning, policy and practice. He participated in several partnership building or multi-stakeholder training courses including, design and management of interactive learning rural innovation; and facilitating pro-poor value chain development and actor empowerment facilitated by ICRA and KIT respectively.

Interview with Sylvie Mbog from ODECO, a non governmental organisation in Cameroon. Sylvie Mbog was nominated by PROPAC to be part a the training of Agricultural Innovation Facilitators.

Transcript of the interview:

My name is Sylvie Mbog. I'm coming from Cameroon. I work for an ong in Cameroon and I was nominated by PROPAC to participate in this AIF workshop in Uganda. During 5 days we have reviewed all the processed of PAEPARD which has allowed me to better understand PAEPARD and in particular the role of facilitators from farmer organisations: myself and 3 colleagues. At the end of this workshop I'm very satisfied because I know what I have to do, with whom I have to do it, how I have to do it and when I have to do it. I will have a technical meeting next Monday with the representatives of PROPAC to give a feedback of the workshop, to tell them what I expect from them, their responsibility in the process and what are my responsibilities and how we can join our effort to improve partnerships and have a significant role in PAEPARD

Farmers’ organizations and agricultural research for development in Africa: roles, complementarity with others stakeholders and partnerships institutionalization

In the frame of the PAEPARD project , the CSA organized on September 27, 2011 a workshop in Brussels about: « Farmers’ organizations and agricultural research for development in Africa: roles, complementarity with others stakeholders and partnerships institutionalization ». The workshop report is now available on the CSA website in ENGLISH and in FRENCH.

This workshop gathered European NGOs and agri-agencies, African farmers ‘organizations, researchers and private sector’s representatives. It included presentation of experiences and debates.

The workshop was organized around two main questions:
1. What role for FOs and what complementarity with others stakeholders for:
2. How to formalize partnerships between FOs and others stakeholders inside agricultural research institutions, at level of
funding and governance mechanisms and the choice of research topics.

Related blog post: PAEPARD/CSA internal consultation for European NGO and FO

Agriculture innovation systems: An investment sourcebook

Forthcoming on February 17, 2012.
Agriculture and Rural Development Series
English; Paperback; 696 pages; 8.5x11
Published February 17, 2012 by World Bank
ISBN: 978-0-8213-8684-2; SKU: 18684
Price: $49.95
Book ordering information

The long-awaited agriculture innovation systems sourcebook is going to be published by the World Bank early in 2012.

According to some pre-materials, “the agricultural innovation system (AIS) approach has evolved from a concept into an entire subdiscipline, with principles of analysis and action, yet no detailed blueprint exists for making agricultural innovation happen at a given time, in a given place, for a given result. This sourcebook draws on the emerging principles of AIS analysis and action to help identify, design, and implement the investments, approaches, and complementary interventions that appear most likely to strengthen innovation system and promote agricultural innovation and equitable growth.”

It is “targeted to the key operational staff in international and regional development agencies and national governments who design and implement lending projects and to the practitioners who design thematic programs and technical assistance packages. The sourcebook is also an important resource for the research community and NGOs and may be a useful reference for the private sector, farmer organizations, and individuals with an interest in agricultural innovation.”

Key messages of the sourcebook are:

• Agricultural development depends on innovation. Innovation is a major source of improvedproductivity, competitiveness, and economic growth throughout advanced and emerging economies, and plays an important role in creating jobs, generating income, alleviating poverty, and driving social development.
• If farmers, agribusinesses, and even nations are to cope, compete, and thrive in the midstof changes in agriculture and economy, they must innovate continuously.
• Investments in science and technology are a key component of most strategies to improve and maintain agricultural productivity and innovate.
• Research, education, and extension investments are necessary components but have not been sufficient for agricultural innovation to occur. Other conditions and complementary interventions are needed.
• In addition to a strong capacity in R&D, components of effective agricultural innovation are collective action and coordination, the exchange of knowledge among diverse actors, the skills, incentives and resources available to form partnerships and develop businesses, and enabling conditions that make it possible for actors to innovate. These conditions and complementary interventions have not been consistently addressed to date.
• Innovation and business development by different stakeholders does not occur without complementary investments to create a supportive environment. Enabling conditions in a given context depend on a (innovation) policy mix, innovation governance, a diverse set of regulatory matters and other investments with synergistic effects.
• The agricultural innovation system (AIS) investments must be context specific and respond to the stage of and vision for development in a particular country and agricultural sector. Given the resource limitations, investments need to be assessed, prioritized, sequenced, and tailored to the needs, challenges, and resources that are present.

THE ROLE OF AGRICULTURAL R&D WITHIN THE AGRICULTURAL INNOVATION SYSTEMS FRAMEWORK

This paper (40 pages) traces the evolution of the innovation systems framework within the agricultural sector in Sub-Saharan Africa, and presents a conceptual framework for agricultural innovation systems. The difference between innovation ecology/ecosystems and intervention-based innovations systems is highlighted, given that these two concepts are used at different levels in promoting and sustaining agricultural innovations. The role of open innovation, innovation platforms, and innovation intermediaries in catalyzing, enhancing, and facilitating the innovation process are discussed, as is the role of R&D in the innovation process.

The paper goes on to consider the interconnectedness of the innovation systems perspective and value-chain analysis in agricultural R&D processes, before summarizing the current status of agricultural R&D in Sub-Saharan Africa, lessons from past experience, and implications and key challenges confronting development practitioners in institutionalizing the agricultural innovation systems concept within the agricultural R&D in the region. Finally, some key conclusions and areas for investment are presented.

Related blog post:
AGRICULTURAL R&D: INVESTING IN AFRICA’S FUTURE

Scaling up impact in smallholder agriculture

Small farmers, big change: Scaling up impact in smallholder agriculture

Edited by David Wilson, Kirsty Wilson and Claire Harvey 
Published by Practical Action publishing 
Website: www.developmentbookshop.com 
2011, 140pp, ISBN 978 1 85339 712 7(Pb), £14.95

Taking agricultural projects from the research or pilot phase to the next level, to achieve substantial gains for a large number of people, is an exciting and often complex challenge. The eight case studies in this collection, compiled through a partnership between Practical Action and Oxfam, demonstrate the central importance of bottom up processes in influencing policy and investment decisions.

For example, until five years ago, the region of Western Honduras was the most isolated and least supported in the country, with no civil society representation at national level. But a ten year programme of building civil society institutions, as well as training and credit support to smallscale farmers, has enabled the area to develop its own Poverty Reduction Strategy, and successfully bid for millions of dollars to implement it. As a result, the contribution of women to household income has doubled, and in five years the percentage of women in the region engaged in agricultural businesses has risen from 1 per cent to 31 per cent.

Other studies in the collection include joint action by fishing communities in India to regain control over pond resources, strengthened links between farmers and city markets in Colombia, and new systems of cooperation by cotton producer groups in Mali. Each study is concisely and clearly presented, pulling out key lessons from the scaling up activities and offering considerable food for thought for development practitioners and policymakers.

Land Rights and the Land Rush: Findings of the Global Commercial Pressures on Land Research Project

Land Rights and the Rush for Land

Findings of the Global Commercial Pressures on Land Research Project

Author: Ward Anseeuw, Liz Alden Wily, Lorenzo Cotula, and Michael Taylor

Year of publication: 2011

Country: Global

This report, authored by leading land experts, is the culmination of a three-year research project that brought together forty members and partners of ILC, CIRAD and IIED to examine the characteristics, drivers and impacts and trends of rapidly increasing commercial pressures on land.

The report strongly urges models of investment that do not involve large-scale land acquisitions, but rather work together with local land users, respecting their land rights and the ability of small-scale farmers themselves to play a key role in investing to meet the food and resource demands of the future.

The conclusions of the report are based on case studies that provide indicative evidence of local and national realities, and on the ongoing global monitoring of large-scale land deals for which data are subject to a continuous process of verification.

But while research and monitoring will continue, this report draws some conclusions and policy implications from the evidence there is already.

Documents:

Land Rights and the Rush for Land - Full report

Land Rights and the Rush for Land - English summary

Les droits fonciers et la ruée sur les terres - Résumé en français

Los derechos a la tierra y la fiebre por ella - Resumen en español