International Forum on the Mainstreaming Participatory Approaches into Agricultural Research and Development

21st March 2011. Dar es Salaam. PROLINNOVA International Partners Workshop (IPW) 2011 including a one day. "International Forum on the Mainstreaming Participatory Approaches into Agricultural Research and Development".

PROLINNOVA organised its International Partners Workshop and the PROLINNOVA Oversight Group meeting / FAIR meeting from 19 – 25 March 2011 in Tanzania. During the International Forum the INSARD project was presented (Including Smallholders in Agricultural Research for Development) This initiative is a 3-year project financed by the European Commission. It comes under FP7 KBBE "Networking of NGOs involved in ARD".

The main aim of INSARD is to ensure the informed participation of a broad range of European and African CSOs in formulating and implementing ARD. It will do so by: 
1) Designing a structure for coordination and communication between European and African CSOs involved in ARD and in influencing ARD policy and practice 
2) Identifying CSOs' research priorities and a strategy to communicate these to other actors in ARD 
3) Facilitating joint definition of specific research examples by CSOs and researchers, based on the smallholders' priorities 
4) Engaging in policy dialogue with key African and European research organisations and donors. 

The project will build up a more transparent system for CSOs to provide well-founded inputs and positions in the ARD agenda and its implementation, so that smallholders are central to publicly funded ARD. It will help make research more relevant for small-scale family farmers, including livestock-keepers. It will seek to achieve its aim by building on existing initiatives and networks in Europe and Africa that involve CSOs promoting smallholder-centred ARD.


PROLINNOVA is an NGO-initiated programme to build a global learning and advocacy network on promoting local innovation in ecologically-oriented agriculture and NRM. This international meeting provided an excellent platform to share views and experiences and to reflect on mechanisms to strengthen the mutual learning process between the different partners involved.

The 2011 partners’ meeting was also be a good opportunity to continue to further strengthen the partnerships within the PROLINNOVA family – partners who have been around longer with those who have joined more recently such as the francophone sister-programme PROFEIS (Promoting farmer experimentation and innovation in the Sahel) and partners from the Andean region, Mozambique and Kenya.

Related blog post: INSARD @ the PAEPARD European Multi Stakeholder consultation