Making Agricultural Research for Development more pro-poor; improving the accessibility and relevance of ARD results to the poorest

Two policy briefs have recently been commissioned by EIARD to Agrinatura, with the support of the Food Security Thematic Programme (FSTP) of the EU. These policy briefs are based on detailed studies available on the EIARD website, together with other studies and policy briefs.

The policy brief (November 2011, 10 pages) on "Making Agricultural Research for Development more pro-poor; improving the accessibility and relevance of ARD results to the poorest" highlights that:

• European ARD policies and supports could increase their contribution to the alleviation of poverty and hunger in the developing world by identifying more explicitly its direct and indirect target groups (the "poor"), by involving them in the research process (in priority setting, design, implementation and monitoring), and by making research results accessible to them through a more conducive uptake environment and through dissemination mechanisms catering for the specific needs of the poor. 
• It also established that a number of promising programmes targeting the poor, promoting gender equality and involving the poor during the different stages of the research process, exist among EIARD members and that experiences from these initiatives need to be shared more widely between ARD decision makers, in Europe and more globally. 
• The policy brief is based on the full report (August 2011, 65 pages)

The second policy brief (January 2012, 11 pages), on "capacity development for agricultural research for development (ARD)", is based on a review of the policies, programmes and projects in capacity strengthening for ARD of fourteen European countries. It recommends increasing support to capacity development for ARD, with a stronger focus on organizational and institutional strengthening as opposed to individual training, encouraging more multi-stakeholder initiatives and participatory methods, improving the planning, monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment of current capacity strengthening initiatives, and giving more attention to encouraging young people, especially women, to enter agriculture as a profession.