Strategies and priorities for African agriculture

9 January 2013. IFPRI.  The authors of Strategies and Priorities for African Agriculture: Economywide Perspectives from Country Studies argue that, although the diversity of the region makes generalization difficult, increasing staple-crop production is more likely to reduce poverty than increasing export-crop production. 

This conclusion is based on case studies of ten low-income African countries that reflect varying levels of resource endowments and development stages. The authors also recommend increased, more efficient public investment in agriculture and agricultural markets and propose new directions for future research.

Although regional diversity makes generalization difficult, the study does reach some overall conclusions with practical implications for African policymakers. One important finding is that producing more staple crops such as maize, pulses, and roots and more livestock products tends to reduce poverty further than producing more export crops such as coffee or cut flowers. These and other findings point to promising future policies for African nations.

PDF file: 

oc73.pdf(4.4MB)

Global Food: Waste Not, Want Not

10 January 2013. Today, we produce about four billion metric tonnes of food per annum. Yet due to poor practices in harvesting, storage and transportation, as well as market and consumer wastage, it is estimated that 30–50% (or 1.2–2 billion tonnes) of all food produced never reaches a human stomach. 

Furthermore, this figure does not reflect the fact that large amounts of land, energy, fertilisers and water have also been lost in the production of foodstuffs which simply end up as waste. This level of wastage is a tragedy that cannot continue if we are to succeed in the challenge of sustainably meeting our future food demands.

Read the Global Food report [PDF, 1MB]

SEE ALSO: Almost Half Of The World's Food Thrown Away, Report Finds, Guardian, January 10
SEE ALSO: Up To Half Of World's Food Goes To Waste, Reuters, January 10 

The End Users Led Process of PROPAC on Garden vegetables in Central Africa

PROPAC will organise 22-25 January 2013 in Brazzaville a Multi-Stakeholder Research Question (MSRQ) Workshop around Garden vegetables in Central Africa.

The other regional meetings are scheduled as follows:

• ROPPA: 8-10 March 2013 in Ouagadougou 
• COLEACP: 11-14 March 2013 in Dakar 
• FANRPAN/SACAU: April 2013 (date to be confirmed)

The End Users Led Process comprises the following steps:
1- The Definition of the federating theme;
2- The Desk Review of the federating theme;
3- The National Consultations on the federating theme (if possible);
4- The Multi-Stakeholder Research Question Workshop;
5- The Concept Note by a Core Group of Experts;
6- The Proposal development and submission to potential donors

Hereunder follows an interview with Sylvie Mbog about the desk study on the federating theme of PROPAC: Garden vegetables in Central Africa

Sylvie Mbog explains [in French] how the upcoming meeting in Brazzaville will discuss the findings of the REVUE DOCUMENTAIRE SUR LA FILIERE MARAICHERE AU CAMEROUN, CONGO BRAZZAVILLE ET EN REPUBLIQUE DEMOCRATIQUE.

She answers following questions :

• How innovative is the users led approach?
• How do researchers appreciate this approach?

RAPPORT DE LA REUNION DES FACILITATEURS AIF/ROPPA

12 décembre 2012. Niamey (Niger). Première réunion de formation des facilitateurs d’Innovation Agricole (FIA) dans le cadre du projet PAEPARD. Organisé par le ROPPA, la rencontre a vu la participation des FIA du Mali, du Benin et Burkina Faso ; des représentants du secrétariat du ROPPA, d’AfricaRice et du Réseau de Recherches pour l’appui au développement en Afrique (REPAD).

Depuis la fin de 2011, les partenaires de PAEPARD ont changé la façon d’initier les partenariats en adoptant ce qu’ils ont qualifié de « Users Led Process » c'est-à-dire un Processus guidé par les utilisateurs, qui se décline en 6 étapes suivantes :

• Définition du thème fédérateur par chaque Fédération des producteurs 
• Etude documentaire sur le thème 
• Formation des FIA nationaux 
• Séminaire multi-acteur sur la question de recherche développement 
• Développement d’une note conceptuelle 
• Atelier d’Ecriture

Une proposition de plan d’action et de définition des rôles et responsabilités des différents acteurs a été faite à l’issu de la formation des FIA à Entebbe.

Interview avec Andre Tiorro (ROPPA)

L’objectif visé par la rencontre était de familiariser les facilitateurs d’innovation agricole avec leur rôle de facilitateurs dans le "processus guidé par les utilisateurs " pour établir l’équilibre entre les différents acteurs intervenant dans le projet de PAEPARD.

L’enjeu régional sur la relance du secteur rizicole est basé sur les trois piliers de l’ECOWAP:

• l’amélioration de la productivité et de la compétitivité des agricultures régionales 
• la promotion du marché régional des produits agricoles 
• l’adoption d’un régime commercial extérieur adapté au développement agricole régional 

Les tendances actuelles de la riziculture en Afrique de l’Ouest affichent une nette croissance en termes de production :

• Tendance à la hausse au niveau des rendements et des superficies 
• Augmentation de la production du à une augmentation à la fois des superficies et des rendements de 2001 à 2010 
• Récent progrès dans l’augmentation de rendements en Afrique de l’Ouest: 1.56T/ha (2001-2007); 1.63T/ha (2001-2010); 1.81T/ha (2008-2010)

Des efforts d’investissements sur les autres maillons de la chaine de valeur doivent être consentis pour :

• Promouvoir une transformation durable pourvoyeuse d’emplois 
• Privilégier la fabrication locale d’équipements agricoles adaptés pour une transformation de qualité tels que les mini-décortiqueuses 
• Stimuler (par un programme de crédit, réduction de taxes) l’investissement dans l’équipement agricole 
• Stimuler une commercialisation du riz local de qualité et en grande quantité 
• Désenclaver les zones de production par la construction de routes ou pistes de production durables 
• Stimuler l’investissement dans les infrastructures de stockage 
• Renforcer le packaging et promouvoir label pour le riz local

La plate forme régionale des AIF / AIF regional platform

8 - 11 January 2013. Yaoundé, Cameroon. During four days this PAEPARD communication workshop brought together representatives of the four regional farmer organisations - ROPPA, EAFF, PROPAC and FANRPAN/SACAU and a private sector representative collaborating with ColeACP.
They were trained in the use of communication tools and especially to build five regional platforms whose objective is to facilitate the implementation and monitoring of User-Led-Process in the regions.

The analysis of the communications needs of regional Agricultural Innovation Facilitators from the Regional Farmer Organisations (AIFs of the RFOs) revealed four major communication functions:

1. Feed the regional and national actors with relative information to federated themes (web articles, publications, studies, websites, news) discussed by the group 
2. Inform the progress of steps performed within the User-led process by the group 
3. Having a set of tools and a space for group works, prepares and performs the steps of User-Led Process. 
4. Having the possibility to re-use the approach, tools and IT structures in place for the group after the end of the project

The goal of the workshop was therefore:

• to define together what might be the future shape of the regional platform. 
• Why and how this platform can help User-Led-Process players to work better together and display the results? 

Once the platform was described in a consensusal way, Work Package 3 of the PAEPARD project (led by CIRAD) translated those needs into functional tools.

• The use of these tools was tried out by the participants of the workshop
• They used those new skill to build their regional platform as described in the previous step. 

IT platform
The "platform" of the users led process for the respective sub regional farmer organisations takes the form of a website including three parts (three menus):

1. A section devoted to the presentation of the regional group and to display news 
2. A section gathering some progress on the steps of user-led process and offering the consultation of information or documents produced during these stages 
3. An intranet dedicated to collaborative work for the user-led process’ actors using for the preparation and the implementation stages of this process.

A platform for what audience?

Four categories of users that may come on the flat platform:

1. Family n° 1: All those involved in collaborative work (intranet) and will produce information: regional AIF, AIF national and regional referral FO 
2. Family n°. 2: User-Led-Process players who do not have access to the collaborative workspace (WP2, WP1, project members involved PAEARD deans ULP, invited experts, comanagers) 
3. Family n° 3: PAEPARD's project members 
4. Family n° 4: PAEPARD's Community (Dgroups) 
5. Family n° 5: Everyone involved in the User-Led-Process (donors, regional organizations research, OP ...) 
6. Family n° 6: The global public

The “User-Led Process progress

The first part of the website gives general information on the User-Led-Process. The second part is dedicated to visitors who wish to learn more about the User-Led-Process and its progession in the region. These pages are visible to all Internet users, their goal is to provide access to the results produced by the regional group and national groups in steps of User-Led-Process. According to the outputs, the User-Led-process can be summarized by the following 5 chronological stages:

1. Desk review 
2. National workshops 
3. Regional Workshop 
4. The concept note 
5. The Research project

"Intranet" or "Collaborative work space" part

These pages are only accessible by authorized persons who must have a password to access this space, it is not public. There is a workspace where User-Led-Process players will be able to prepare the different stages of this process.

Each country that organizes a workshop has an entry point and its own workspace. This space is used in the preparation of the workshop. The workshop and the results will be published in the "User-Led Process progress stage follow up"

A - The preparation phase of the workshop: 

• The development of the list of participants and its validation 
• The development of the workshop program and its validation 
• The implementation of the workshop logistics (location, dates, recipients, trips ....) 

B - The facilitation of the workshop with: 

• Access to communication and animation tools available and to their user guide The development and validation of the presentation materials and animation 
• A library of useful documents to prepare the presentation materials Sample letters of invitation, cover pages, logos 

C - The conclusions of the workshop: 

• The development and validation of synthesis, 
• summaries and records of decisions

Research project Each step of this process has a dedicated workspace: 

A - Identification of Reasearch centers involved 

B - The establishment of the research team 

C - Identification of donor 

D - Project formulation

PARTICIPANTS

André Tioro (ROPPA)

Bernard Likalimba (SACAU)

Edit Kabre (ColeACP)

Gustave Ewole (PROPAC)

Kenneth Katungisa (EAFF)

Lamine COULIBALY (ROPPA)

Macaire NGWASI (PROPAC)

Sylvie Mbog (PROPAC)

Thierry Helmer (CIRAD)

Francois Labastie (Outils Reseaux)

Agnes Carbon (CIRAD)

Michel Tchoungui (PROPAC)

Francois Stepman (Agrinatura)

 

Daphne MUCHAI  (KENFAP/EAFF)  

Serge Fegue (PROPAC) 

Josephine Atangana (PROPAC)

About Us

Hi Frnds, Welcome to PinkuSays About page and here you will get one step closer to us. You will be getting to know me and PinkuSays more closely and probably after reading this, you might like to join us on various social networking sites. This page will be about me (Pankaj Panday). I will not be talking about How I started So, lets jump into some of the background information, so that you can feel like a Close Frnds:

Hi guys, Welcome to PinkuSays and let me introduce myself to you. Like any other, I’m a normal guy who is passionate about Computing and Internet. I’m an Engineer by education and a Blogger by profession. You will find my mostly writing about Blogging, Social media, WordPress, SEO, Technology and Make money online.

Here at PinkuSays, I share tips which I learned over time about Blogging and how to earn passive income online. I make a living out of Blogging.But now, Sitting in front of computer and writing what I enjoy writing.

Computer and technology have been my passion since I was a child and after few blogs and communities on technology I started blogging via PinkuSays.

I’m a normal guy who lives life to the fullest, loves travelling and lives a happy-go-lucky kind of life. I like to talk stuff related to marketing, solopreneurship and art of living. If you share the similar qualities, feel free to join me on Facebook.

Snowmen Families

I really enjoyed this simple art project.     The original idea comes from Gail Bartel.

You may know her as 'That Artist Woman'.  Hop on over and check out her fabulous blog and her step-by-step instructions on how to make these cute families.

 

I used some grey card stock that I had lying around.  I like the contrast between the virbrant blue and stark white.

 

 

 After they stamped the families above they decorated their families.  I used a hole punch to punch out the little circles for buttons and eyes, but the rest was all done by them. 

 

Oh yeah, the letters were done with a die cutting machine.  Next time I do this activitiy I will use a die with smaller letters.  I didn't realize just how big some of the long names in my class would be.

 

I made sure that they only stamped family members that they live with.

 

 

This little girl is the youngest of 8 sisters.

 

Many of my students live with their grandparents too.

Don't forget to hop on over to Gail's blog for instructions.