Platform for African – European Partnership in Agricultural Research for Development

Friday, October 29, 2010

Internal consultation of PAEPARD-EAFF

The 25 participants at the Glory Hotel Nairobi, Kenya
15 October. Nairobi. EAFF organised an internal PAEPARD consultation to develop a consensus on challenges and opportunities in Africa Agriculture.  A consensus mechanism was developed so that prioritizing on issues was participatory. 


Objectives of the meeting:

  1. A common understanding of the PAEPARD project and a definition of the related expectations by each stakeholder category of actors.
  2. For each stakeholder, a review of partnerships experiences with research and other ARD stakeholders.
  3. Identification of Interesting case studies of multi-stakeholder ARD and non research partnerships.
  4. A review and amendment of the partnership guidelines elaborated by the Working Group of WP5 and recommendations aiming at taking into account the experience of each stakeholder category.
  5. Identification of capacity strengthening needs for each stakeholders category and review of the capacity strengthening expertise among the stakeholders to be put at the disposal of the  WP4
  6. Identification of concrete innovation challenges in production, NRM, markets access (value chains) around which the stakeholder category would like to work with others.
  7. Provide WP3 with information regarding each stakeholder category’s information needs for media and timing;
  8. Review the communication strategy.
An analysis of questionnaires was presented by Marygoretti Kamau of EAFF; which mainly focused on findings from the internal consultations and showed clearly the organizations that were interested in participating in PAEPARD project. 

Presentation of case studies from NUCAFE, EAFF, ASARECA, RUFORUM :
  • The National Union of Coffee Agribusiness and Farm Enterprises (NUCAFE) is an umbrella association of coffee farmers of Uganda. It has positioned itself in empowering coffee farmers in the Coffee Value chain. It works in partnerships with various organizations and among them is IFPRI in a project aimed at improving the lives of small holder farmers by determining how to strengthen the ability of rural producer organizations to provide market access to their members. 
  • Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF)works with a multiple of partners and the most successful was the CAADP process in Africa. EAFF took the lead role in Youth in Agriculture. EAFF was meant to find out how actively the youth can be involved in agricultural activities. EAFF and other group leaders developed a profiling questionnaire for their commodities. There were however no significant responses from the respondents on all the issues/commodities questionnaires.  
  • ASARECA's presentation focused on financing methods and accountability in a multistakeholder projects  
  • RUFORUM is an African Initiative managed locally.It obtained funding on training and research programmes to strengthen its member institutions, their structures and mechanism. 

An assessment made on selected African-European partnerships in ARD indicate that stakeholders:
  • Lack information on knowledge on funding opportunities, difficulties in finding adequate partners, as well as full understanding of the complex and elaborate mechanisms of fund raising;
  • Concentration of partnerships on only two institutional categories of actors (universities and national research institutes), with very limited participation from private 
  • EC funded coordination mechanisms are not maximizing their role in facilitating interaction between different stakeholders; 
  • European institutes who are more familiar with the EC mechanisms are the initiators of the partnerships and tend to be the coordinators of EC-funded projects; 
  • dissemination of innovations is valued least amongst the outcomes of research partnerships as compared to publications, training and access to funding; 
  • and the EC instruments that support ARD are difficult to acces by African partners, and their administrative and financial rules are difficult to follow. 

Monday, October 25, 2010

Democratising agricultural research for food sovereignty in West Africa

Democratising agricultural research for food sovereignty in West Africa
Michel Pimbert, Boukary Barry, Anne Berson, Khanh Tran-Thanh

Published: Oct 2010 - IIED, CNOP, IRPAD, Kene Conseils, Centre Djoliba, URTEL
Language: English

This multimedia publication is available online only. A hardcopy version will be printed in early 2011.
This multimedia book reports on an initiative in West Africa that seeks to create safe spaces in which food providers and consumers can discuss how to build an agri-food research system that is democratic and accountable to wider society. An explicit aim of the entire process is to strengthen the voices and effectiveness of small-scale producers and other citizens in the governance of agricultural research as well as in setting strategic research priorities and validating knowledge. 

The book combines text, photos, video and audio recordings to describe the methodologies used in processes of deliberation and inclusion that involved small scale producers (farmers, pastoralists, fishermen and food processors) and holders of specialist knowledge on agricultural research. The policy recommendations that emerged out of two citizens’ juries and farmer led assessments of agricultural research are presented here along with some critical reflections on the process so far. The outcomes of these citizen deliberations have significant implications for current debates on the future of food and farming in West Africa.

Related:
Democratising agricultural research: 
An initiative that questions the often narrow interests of agricultural research. Focussing on four regions aiming to make the voices of small scale producers and other excluded citizens heard — and count — in the governance and process of agricultural research.


Making excluded voices count in food 
and agricultural policy making


THE JURY Farmers' reflections on the process and on their role as jury members

Origins and design of the citizens' jury process - a brief history

The work of the facilitators during the citizens' juries

A member of the independent oversight panel assesses the process - Blandine Sankara, Burkina Faso

The role of the press and other media in West Africa - before, during and after the citizens' juries

See a number of videos : 

http://iied.blip.tv/posts?view=archive&nsfw=dc

01. Dr Samba Traoré, Director, Cinzana Research Station, Mali


OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2010-2019

The 2010 edition of the Agricultural Outlook marks the sixth year of collaboration between the OECD and FAO in publishing a projection of the global markets of key agricultural commodities.

The Outlook brings together the commodity, policy and country expertise of both organisations, providing an assessment of agricultural market prospects for production, consumption, trade, stocks and prices of the included commodities.

The goal of this collaborative work is to build consensus on how global agriculture may evolve in the coming decade and the key issues impacting its course.

Agriculture OUTLOOK

11-14 October. Africa Outlook.

The purpose of this conference was:

To acquire regional updates on the continent
To combine farmland and farming to maximise returns
To learn how to utilise your land to its full potential
To tap into the resources of Africa’s food security potential
To evaluate effective strategies to decrease the risk factors
To find out about new innovations in the biotech and bioenergy fields
To hear from top financial institutions on how to obtain finance for potential agricultural projects

Speakers

  • Nixon BugoProgram Officer, Innovative Finance, Policy and Partnership Programs, AGRA-Alliance
  • Momodou CeesayManaging Director, GAMBIA HORTICULTURAL ENTERPRISES
  • Niel FittCoordinator Agricultural Hub, Ministry of Agriculture Botswana
  • Trevor GrantManaging Director, Omnia
  • Mr Humphrey HarrisonManaging Director, World Heritage Investments
  • Bello M. IliyasuAgriculture Officer, Department of Agriculture, Commerce and Industrial Development
  • Anup JagwaniDirector: Agriculture in Africa, International Finance Corporation
  • Ernst JanovskyGeneral Manager, ABSA Agribusiness
  • Evans KacelengaGeneral Manager, Pressethanol
  • Jagger KalyelyeHead of Agriculture, Stanbic Bank Zambia
  • Joseph MavuGeneral Manager: Vegetables and Fruit Division, Cairns Foods
  • Jethro MbauChairman, Afgri
  • Willem MeyerInvestment Manager, PSG- Zeder Investments
  • Zhann MeyerRegional Head for Commodity Traders and Agriculture for Africa, Standard Chartered Bank
  • Prof. Richard MkandawireAdvisor: Agriculture Food and Security, NEPAD- Agriculture And Food Security
  • James MulwanaDirector- Uganda, East African Development Bank
  • John MutorwaMinister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture Namibia
  • Hon. Gideon NdambukiAssistant Minister of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture Kenya
  • Andrew NdishishiPermanent Secretary of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture Namibia
  • Nelson NjikhoSpecialist, Agri-Investment and Advisory Services, First Merchant Bank, Malawi, First Merchant Bank
  • Daniel NyabutaAgriculture, Barclays
  • Abah OfonSoft Commodity Analyst, Standard Chartered Bank
  • Patrick OketaChief Investment Officer, African Agricultural Capital
  • Leslie OmariChairman, East African Fine Coffees Association
  • Susan PayneChief Executive Officer, Emergent Asset Management
  • Mahendra RaghunathSABC News Anchor and Producer, Chairperson
  • Karim SadekManaging Director, Citadel Capital
  • Meghan SappSectretary General, PANGEA- Partners for Euro-African Green Energy
  • Lucas SimonsDirector, New Foresight
  • Jaques TaylorHead: Agriculture, Standard Bank- Agribusiness
  • John WakiumuProgram Officer, Innovative Finance, Policy and Partnerships, AGRA-Alliance
  • Jerome YazbekGroup Chief Executive Officer, Farmsecure Technologies 

Partners for Euro-African Green energy

CTA Interview wirh Ms. Meghan Sapp. Ms. Meghan Sapp is the secretary general of PANGEAN, a Brussels based organization specialized in renewable energies issues in EU-ACP relations. During her visit at the CTA Brussels’ office, Ms. Sapp accorded to us an interview, where she explains highly debated issues such as food security vs. biofuels and environmental goals vs. development goals. Ms. Sapp speaks about the opportunities offered by biofuels for developing countries, by giving us a technical and political overview on biofuels and rural development.

Interview of Meghan Sapp- Secretary General of PANGEA from CTA on Vimeo.

Announcement: Governance and Small-scale Agriculture in West Africa

From 8th to 10th November 2010, Idasa’s Economic Governance Programme will host a conference on ‘Governance and Small-scale Agriculture in West Africa’.

The aim of the conference is to discuss governance and public investment processes and how these are shaping small-scale agriculture in the region.
Specifically, the meeting will focus on three themes: priorities for public investment in agriculture; trends in public expenditure on small-scale agriculture; and, policy processes and stakeholder participation. The conference will provide a forum for stakeholders to identify constraints and opportunities in agriculture and draw interdisciplinary lessons and best practices.

AGRISAT WORKSHOP: Earth observation for worldwide agricultural monitoring

13-15 October 2010 AGRISAT WORKSHOP, Brussels. The objective of this workshop was to review the state-of-the-art, the current issues and the way forward in agricultural monitoring systems for the different regions of the world. Key recommendations were formulated in order to improve food security and agricultural production monitoring on a global scale, taking into account policy evolutions, agro-ecosystems diversity and satellite system developments.

It was admitted that agriculture has not been the priority of remote sensing so far.
  • The focus has been on land cover areas for environmental purposes.
  • Also the climate change community is mainly concerned by land cover and not land use.
  • Crop monitoring is mainly focusing on high production countries, not subsistence farming
  • Participants urged for more funding for  subsistence farming’ crop monitoring
  • Remote sensing specialist cannot be expected to responsible for the use of their information up to the level of farmers. They need information intermediaries for this but experience a lack of follow up
  • A separate forum/venue is needed to discuss the recipients’ perspective (dixit Christopher Justice, University of Maryland, USA)
  •  The users’ perspective was not so well represented because a number of persons participate at the Fifth International Conference on Agricultural Statistics (ICAS-V) ( 12-15 October 2010, Kampala, FAO).
  • Only one NGO attended: Action Contre la Faim ACF Espagne-Mali: Erwann FILOL & Frederic HAM
  • The African participants came from Senegal, Sudan, Ethiopia, Niger, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique (BEYE Gora Centre de Suvi Ecologique Senegal;  AZAHRI FARH MAHGOUP Mohamed Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forests Sudan; EL SHEIKH Hassan GMFS Sudan; TULU Mathewos Hunde Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ethiopia; ALFARI Issifou AGHRYMET Niger; AGATSIVA Jaspat Regional Center for Mapping of Resources Development (RCMRD) Kenya; GALU Gideon USGS/FEWS NET Kenya; KORME Tesfaye RCMRD Kenya; SITUMA Charles Department of resource survey and remote sensing Kenya; MBUKWA Christopher Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security Malawi; PATRICIO Domingos Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia, Mozambique; DAMELIO Jacopo FAO Zimbabwe

Satellite images with a high and moderate spatial resolution are expected to have a strong development in the coming years. It will become easier to integrate remote sensing data in the policy making and foresight capacity of African Ministries of Agriculture. Remote sensing data are to lead to improved statistical analysis and the creation of information products which allow for easier interpretation. Having reliable figures before harvest is a major challenge. In well organized African countries crop area estimates are generally available a few months after harvest. The management of agricultural policy and food security requires timely and possibly objective agricultural statistics.

Following the presentation of David Radcliffe on “EU Policy framework and (future) challenges: Agriculture and food security for development” there was a discussion on how to stimulate the uptake of Earth Observation (EO) data by other users (non governmental and non research actors). Pathways are to be designed for transitioning from research to operations, targeting information providers and users. Local organizations (ngo, farmer organizations, etc) have not the capacity to generate sophisticated data. It is thus difficult to expect from local stakeholders to generate ground truthing data (verification, calibration and validation of remote sensing data). Universities should partner with non-research stakeholders to clarify the local need for natural resources data.

In the plenary David Radcliffe said that he saw a role for PAEPARD to articulate the demand of non-research stakeholders for EO data. Proposals (ENV.2011.4.1.4-1) should include a strong communication strategy “to get the message down to the farmer organizations”.

Background:
The workshop frames under the GMES initiative and is a contribution to the GEO Agricultural Monitoring Task (Ag 0703) which has the goal of improving international coordination on earth observation for enhanced agricultural monitoring. Related blog post: Developing increased EO capacity for better agriculture and forestry management in Africa
GMESGEOBELSPOVITOUCLJRC
Downloads
Presentations

AgriBusiness Forum 2010 - Food Security: a Business Opportunity

3 – 6 Oct 2010. Kampala. The AgriBusiness Forum 2010. For four days, over 400 industry leaders, cooperatives, SMEs, financiers, government officials, NGOs, researchers, international organisations, multinationals and donors from 42 countries around the world gathered in Kampala and discussed the urgent matter of food security and its potential to generate business opportunities.

Ralph von Kaufmann from FARA
In particular, the AgriBusiness Forum assembly agreed that Africa plays an important role in the increase of food production and thus, in the long run, can contribute significantly to solving the projected 70% increase for food demand by 2050.

The AgriBusiness Forum 2010 looked at food security as an opportunity to:

  1. Boost the African agro-food sector through the design, planning, and implementation of diverse agricultural policies and projects.
  2. Debate on the role of the private sector in improving food access and increasing sustainable agricultural productivity.
  3. Improve production as well as pre and post-harvest intervention, commodities, and inputs.
  4. Attract new & strengthen existing partnerships and investments in the agri-food sector in Africa.
They resolved that the private sector plays a crucial role in up-scaling agricultural productivity; putting in mind that capacity building will create a more efficient agribusiness.

For her Bee Natural Project, Maria Odido won the amount of US$ 15,000. The project aims at processing carrot relish, carrot and pineapple jam. Maria Odido was delighted with her award and summed up the motivation of many of the AgriBusiness Forum participants, ‘It’s not my job, it’s my life’.
 
Click here to find out more aboutMaria Odido's Project


Including small-scale producers in the value-chain, the experts said, is vital for agribusiness innovation.

"Indigenous knowledge should be improved on - farmers require training, technology, information technology and mobile applications to improve their smallholder agribusiness operations," the forum agreed.

Background:
AgriBusiness Forum, an annual business Forum that aims to contribute to the sustainable economic growth of Africa by further developing its agriculture and agro-food industry, was organised by teh Brusels-based non-profit organisation EMRC, in partnership with the Uganda Government.

Established in 1992 in Brussels, EMRC is a non-profit International Association composed of a network of entrepreneurs, financiers, consultants and officials based throughout the world. EMRC's mission is to lead the private sector in Africa to sustainable economic development and to drive regional change via partnerships.

This AgriBusiness 2010 was sponsored by FAO and Rabobank, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), USAID, Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, Novus International, Heineken, FARA, Stanbic Bank, Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund, KPMG, ProInvest and IFDC.

Interview with PAEPARD members by CTA

Le CTA a interviewe le Dr. Jonas Mugabe (FARA) et Myra Wopereis (FARA), lors de leur passage a Bruxelles en Septembre. Il est administrateur du programme PAERPARD au sein du Forum pour la Recherche Agricole en Afrique (FARA). Dans cette interview Mr. Mugabe nous explique la coopération entre le FARA et la Commission européenne ainsi que les projets en cours au sein du FARA.


Mrs. Myra Wopereis, the Director of Access to Knowledge and Technology at the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA). In this interview she outlines the challenges underlying access to agricultural research in Africa. She also presents some of the major projects of FARA to address those challenges.


African-Brazil Innovation Market Place

Dr. Ramadjita TABO of FARA at the
African-Brazil Innovation Market Place
6 - 7 October 2010. African-Brazil Innovation Market Place

The Africa-Brazil Agricultural Innovation Marketplace is an international initiative supported by different donnors aiming to link brazilian and african experts and institutions to develop cooperative projects.

The Innovation Marketplace was composed of three basic pillars:

  1. A policy dialogue between the main authorities from Africa and Brazil supporting institutions focused on the development of a mutually agreed framework for collaboration
  2. A forum for presentation and discussion of research for development ideas, including proposal selection, that would be competitively supported.
  3. Support and implementation of Africa-Brazil agricultural projects.


Proposal: what happened?

250+ pre-proposals were submitted.
61 were eligible and could continue further. They had the previlege to meet their partners in Brazil during the IM Forum.
20 were selected to submit full proposal. 
6 were selected and received their cheque on the 6th of October.

E-survey system

The Innovative Marketplace was an amazing experience for some of the participants (See blog of Andrianjafy Rasoanindrainy)
The use of interactive e-survey system during the last sessions was one of the most interesting experiences that african participants had.
voting
Andrianjafy Rasoanindrainy: "Such kind of equipment should be used more frequently in Africa to improve reliability, transparence and accountability in voting and all democratic processes."

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Announcement: Festival de films documentaires ALIMENTERRE / Documentary Festival Fight against Hunger

du 16 octobre au 30 novembre 2010
Manger est un plaisir mais surtout une nécessité vitale. Quelle alimentation souhaitons-nous et comment est-elle produite ? Comment ceux qui produisent peuvent-ils en vivre dignement ? Ici ou ailleurs, on oublie trop souvent que derrière chaque assiette, il y a un agriculteur.
Depuis sa création, le Festival de films ALIMENTERRE projette et met en débat les questions cruciales liées à l’alimentation et à l’agriculture, en France comme dans les pays pauvres. 
5 documentaires pour réfléchir et échangerAu menu cette année, le décryptage d’un système agricole dévastateur aux Etats-Unis, un témoignage saisissant sur le travail esclave de paysans sans terre au Brésil, la dénonciation d’une concurrence déloyale entre les agricultures du monde mais aussi une immersion dépaysante au sein d’une communauté de femmes équatoriennes et l’expérience suisse d’une agriculture de proximité.
Réalisateurs, agronomes, chercheurs, agriculteurs, représentants d’organisations paysannes ou d’unions de consommateurs au Sud proposeront leurs témoignages et leurs analyses, en lien avec leurs expériences de terrain.

Food, Inc. > en savoir plusLa légende de la terre dorée > en savoir plusMadre(s) tierra > en savoir plusAu coeur de la proximité > en savoir plusJe mange donc je suis > en savoir plus



plus de 300 projections-débatsConsultez l'agenda des manifestations


le festival passe les frontièresAu TOGO, après le succès de l’an dernier, l’OADEL décentralise son Festival à Kpalimé avec 3 séances à l’Hôtel de Ville, mais aussi 5 projections dans des villages autour de Kpalimé et 4 projections spéciales (Université de Lomé, Centre Culturel Français, etc.).
Au BENINCREDI-ONG se lance pour la première fois dans l’aventure avec plusieurs séances à Cotonou.
En BELGIQUESOS Faim reconduit le Festival de films ALIMENTERRE du 14 au 16 octobre au Botanic à Bruxelles.
En POLOGNEPZS, partenaire du CFSI, organise un Festival multi-activités itinérant : 1er et 2 octobre à Wroclaw, 15 et 16 octobre à Cracovie, 23 et 24 octobre à Gliwice.



Programme

Bruxelles : Botanique (salle cinéma), à 1210 Bruxelles

Le 14 octobre
  • 22h00 : Débat "Nourrir le monde versus préserver l'environnement" en présence de Jérôme Lambert, réalisateur, Gérard Choplin, spécialiste en politiques agricoles pour la Coordination européenne Via Campesina et de Mohamadoun Coulibaly, partenaire malien de SOS Faim
  • 22h30 : Drink solidaire
Le 15 octobre