Joint EDULINK and ACP S&T Stakeholder Conference

For three days, 26 to 28 of October 2010, the ACP House in Brussels hosted the Joint Stakeholder Conference of the EDULINK and ACP S&T Programmes, entitled “Promoting the Knowledge Triangle in ACP countries (Education, Research and Innovation)”.

DAY 1

KEY NOTE ADDRESS by H.E. DR. PATRICK. I. GOMES AMBASSADOR OF GUYANA
AND CHAIRPERSON OF THE ACP COMMITTEE OF AMBASSADORS 

Session: ‘Quality of Higher Education: models and strategies’:
Paul Kibwika, project co-ordinator, made a presentation on N-S Partnerships for Training: The Approach of a Regional PhD in Agricultural and Rural Innovation (ARI): Sharing Experience
This is a A consortium of three East African universities in partnership with two European Universities undertake to jointly develop & implement a Regional PhD programme in Agric. & Rural
Innovations.

Consortium Partners
• African partners
– Makerere University - Uganda
– Sokoine University of Agriculture – TZ
– Egerton University - Kenya
• European partner universities:
– Wageningen University
– Montpellier SupAgro
• Associate partners:
– RUFORUM, FARA, Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), PicoTea

The day finished with a session on technical and financial implementation of grant contracts and related reporting matters ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’: Examples of good practices

DAY 2
The morning of the second day was reserved for two key note speakers who spoke about the potential of Education, Research and Innovation contributions for development. In the afternoon the European Commission and the ACP Secretariat presented new funding opportunities in the ACP Regions and informed about the past and future of the EDULINK and ACP S&T Programmes.

DAY 3
In the afternoon, similarly to what happened on the first day, a session on technical and financial implementation of grant contracts and related reporting matters was held to assist ACP S&T project beneficiaries, who are currently producing their first annual reports:
‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’: the role of Monitoring &  Evaluation and the reporting requirements

Hereunder is an overview of Activities addressing food productivity and security in Africa, adding value to agro products and encouraging a stronger participation by farmers in production and post-harvest management.

• African Dryland Alliance for Pesticidal-Plant Technologies: A network for optimising and promoting the use of indigenous botanical knowledge for food security and poverty alleviation in Africa
• Building the capacity of African university graduates to foster change through agricultural innovation
• Réseau d’analyse des facteurs d’offres vivrières, de marché et de diversification agricole
• Implementation of knowledge and innovation on Jatropha curcas utilization in West African countries
• African Weeds of Rice
• Capacity building in South Africa, Namibia and Ghana to create sustainable, non-food bio-oil supply chains
• Science and Technology for Enhancing the Contribution of Tropical Root Crops to Development in ACP countries
• Strengthening Capacity for Yam Research-for-development in Central and Western Africa
• GVal - Sécurité Alimentaire - Renforcer les capacités de Gestion et de Valorisation de la recherche dans le domaine de la Sécurité Alimentaire en Afrique de l'Ouest
• Policy and support actions for Southern African natural product partnership (POL-SABINA)
• Developing capacity for participatory and marker assisted plant breeding to mitigate low crop productivity and poor food security
• Agricultural and environmental Benefits from Biochar use in ACP Countries
• Building human and institutional capacity for enhancing the conservation and use of Neglected and Underutilized Species of crops in West Africa, and Eastern and Southern Africa
• Shifting from Outreach to Engagement: Transforming Universities' response to current development trends in agricultural research and training in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa
• Recherche appliquée pour la valorisation et la transformation des ressources naturelles dans un processus de lutte contre la pauvreté au Tchad et Cameroun
• Biodiversity Integration and Rural Development