Platform for African – European Partnership in Agricultural Research for Development

Sunday, September 30, 2018

PAEPARD blog posts of September 2018


End of September the PAEPARD Dgroups has 9,990 members (+ 85 during this month)
Hereunder are the blog posts related to ARD activities in September 2018 in chronological order


28 September 2018. Brussels. DevCo Infopoint. Mobilising private-sector investment to mitigate climate change in Africa
28 September 2018. New York. The International Forum on Food and Nutrition, was held to promote a dramatic change in the mindset of all stakeholders in a coordinated, unified manner.
27 September 2018. News & Analysis on Food & Beverage Development - Europe Special Edition: Doing food business in Africa
25-27 September 2018. Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA.
24-26 September, 2018.  Addis Abeba. Workshop African Food Safety Index (AFSI)

26 September 2018. This year Climate Week came on the heels of the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, California, US.
25 September 2018. This meeting, called Exploring the Link Between Conflict and Global Hunger, was co-hosted by The Netherlands, the United States, the European Union, Sweden, FAO, IFAD, and WFP.
25 September 2018. Transforming food systems was the focus of an event that aims to “stretch the very fabric” of SDG 2, organized by Kellogg, FReSH and the SDG 2 Advocacy Hub.
25 September 2015. Food System Approaches to the Prevention of Non Communicable Deseaeses
25 September 2018 - Press briefing by Mr. Neven Mimica, European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development and Mr. José Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the FAO
25 September 2018. New York. Financing Sustainable Agriculture: Global Challenges & Opportunity.
A multimedia exhibit on ‘Tech and the end of hunger’ presented by the World Food Programme (WFP), Global Pulse, and the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD).
25 September 2018. New York. The OECD, UN Environment and the World Bank Group hosted a high-level discussion on Financing Climate Futures
24 September 2018. IFAD, FAO and GPSDD (Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD)) continued their focus on ending hunger, along with the governments of Kenya, Ghana and Sierra Leone, and the Gates Foundation, hosting an event on ‘Data to end hunger.
23 September 2018. Partnering to Address Acute Food Insecurity.
The spice of life: the fundamental role of diversity on the farm and on the plate
Seth Cook Report/paper, 56 pages
25 September 2018. Webinar.
25 September 2018. Trinidad. Webinar
24-26 September 2018. Cape Town, South Africa.
24 September 2018. New York. The Africa Adaptation Initiative High Level meeting co-hosted by the Africa Union and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) attracted over 80 High-level representatives from national governments, multilateral institutions, scientific bodies and global climate change bodies such as UNFCCC
24-28 September 2018. Mangochi, Malawi. Sixth International Conference of the PanAfrican Fish and Fisheries Association (paffa). The organisers have received 230 abstracts to be presented by contributors from 37 different countries.
24 September 2018. Dakar.  A farmer from Burkina Faso who popularized an ancient farming technique to reverse desertification is among the winners of Sweden's "alternative Nobel prize".
24-26 September 2018. Khartoum Sudan. AICTO and the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD) launched the initiative: 1 Inter-Regional Smart Agriculture Forum (ISAF)
24-25 September 2018. Nairobi.
23 September 2018. Ghent, Belgium
20-21 September, 2018, Nairobi-Kenya.
20 September 2018. Washington, DC. Embassy of France. BOOK TALK: Serge Michailof: Africanistan, Development or Jihad.
19-21 September 2018. Uppsala, Sweden. Engaging Africa Diaspora in Knowledge Transfer through Networking.
19 September 2018. Webinar.
16-19 September 2018. Gent, Belgium. Tropentag 2018. Poster presentation: South-South Learning to Advance Cavy Culture in Sub-Saharan Africa.
18 September 2018. Gent, Belgium. Tropentag. Video interview with Yann E. Madode - with his CIRAD partner Aurelien Briffaz of the ICOWPEA project (Increasing Cowpea value chain sustainability in West Africa through product and process innovation)
19 September 2018. Brussels. The latest Brussels Development Briefing
18 September 2018. Gent. In June 2016 The German Ministry for Food and Agriculture (BMEL) and The Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) launch a call on: “Innovative approaches of food processing in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia to improve nutrition and to reduce food losses in quality and quantity”
19 September 2018. Gent, Belgium. Tropentag 2018. Interview with keynote speaker Dr. Namukolo Covic, coordinator A4NH in Ethiopia.
36.   Tropentag 2018 + video PAEPARD participation
16-19 September 2018. Gent, Belgium. Tropentag is an annual interdisciplinary conference on research in tropical and subtropical agriculture, natural resource management and rural development
16 September 2018. Gent, Belgium. Tropentag 2018 Workshop number 5.
12 September 2018. To speak of the future, one must speak of Africa – Europe's twin continent.
12 September 2018. Washington, DC. As part of Feed the Future Week 2018, the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD) hosted a public meeting and via live-stream on the new Feed the Future Learning Agenda.
10 September 2018. UNITAR and Wageningen University-Environmental Sciences signed a Memorandum of Partnership to strengthen the cooperation on the SES4Food Program.
8 September 2018. Third Call for applications
6-7 September 2018. M’bé near Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire. The Rice Value Chain Compact of the African Development Bank (AfDB)-funded “Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT)” initiative was officially launched at the AfricaRice Research Station.
43.   Fertilizing innovations + video
The Tanzania Inventors and Techno-Thinkers Consortium is a non-profit organization responsible for seeking bright inventive or innovative ideas
5 – 8 September 2018. Kigali, Rwanda.
5 September 2018.
5 – 6 September 2018. University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany.
29 August 2018. Bioversity International collaborates with Biovision to encourage farming families in the Vihiga District of Kenya to grow a wider range of vegetables, boosting their health and self-confidence and opening up opportunities to earn money, while in turn conserving biodiversity.


Total number of page views in the month of September 2018: 27,384
Most viewed pages on PAEPARD blog over the past month:
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More:  forthcoming ARD conferences UPCOMING EVENTS IN AGRICULTURE RESEARCH FOR DEVELOPMENT.


African Food Safety Index (AFSI)

24-26 September, 2018.  Addis Abeba. Workshop African Food Safety Index (AFSI)

Report forthcoming


Doing food business in Africa

27 September 2018. News & Analysis on Food & Beverage Development - Europe Special Edition: Doing food business in Africa
Africa is an important source of commodities for global food makers, from cocoa and palm oil to less well known ingredients that can inspire innovative new products in western markets.

Demographic and economic trends mean that Africa also offers increasing potential for food makers as a consumer market for finished goods.

In this month's Special Edition of Food Navigator, the spotlight is on the challenges and opportunities of doing [food] business in Africa.

Breaking into Africa: Global industry-wide cooperation essential for export entry
How can manufacturers compete and excel in a marketplace as diverse as the African continent? We take a look at the opportunities and obstacles... Read

From ‘revolutionary’ tech to empowering farmers: How Olam leverages its African footprint to improve cocoa sustainability
Olam International has a “considerable” presence in Africa as the world’s leading originator of cocoa beans and a globally leading cocoa processor. Andrew Brooks, Olam Cocoa’s head of sustainability for Africa, speaks to us about how the group leverages this to build sustainability in its supply chain... Read

DVees brings West African flavours to Europe with 'accessible' formats
UK start-up DVees is on a mission to bring West African flavours to Western Europe, starting with a hibiscus-infused drink and range of condiments. "You can find West African food if you look for it, but it's not accessible or beautifully presented," its co-founder says... Read

Allanblackia seed oil: Another oil in the dairy alternative and margarine toolbox?
Allanblackia seed oil can now be used in greater quantities in margarines, spreads and dairy alternatives as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has okayed a novel food application submitted by Unilever... Read

Flavoured jackfruit snack start-up Jacked promises to shake up the 'dead' dried fruit category
While people know jackfruit as a plant-based meat alternative, they are less familiar with it as a healthy snack. 'The dried fruit market is also not that interesting in the UK," says newcomer Jacked Foods. "We’ve created a quirky brand in what is effectively a dead space.".. Read

‘Sustainable vanilla is a hot topic’: Bell innovation meets vanilla challenge
Sourcing vanilla is a significant challenge for food makers. FoodNavigator speaks to flavours group Bell Flavors and Fragrances about the problems in the market and the launch of its new line of "authentic vanilla solutions"... Read

‘Extended supply chains are broken’: Why Mars thinks the commodities era is over
Food giant Mars is using procurement to tackle some of the most significant social and environmental challenges facing the world today. FoodNavigator spoke to Barry Parkin, chief procurement and sustainability Officer at Mars, to find out more... Read

Saturday, September 29, 2018

A business case for engaging the private sector in climate-smart solutions for smallholder farmers

CTA discussion paper “A business case for engaging the private sector in climate-smart solutions for smallholder farmers” is just out.

This report explores these questions and presents a business case for engaging the private sector in designing and implementing sustainable, climate-smart agriculture solutions in ways that reduce the risks not only for businesses, but also those faced by smallholder farmers.

Large and growing numbers of poor rural households depend on climate-sensitive agriculture and operate on the margins of the mainstream economy. This combined with a broken public extension service and faltering international development efforts places millions of smallholder farmers at disproportionately high risk from a changing climate. Acknowledging the magnitude of the challenge and the required pace and scale of response, coupled with honest introspection on past performance, has prompted the need to look beyond the public sector for delivering climate-smart solutions. Harnessing the financial, technological and intellectual capital in the private sector to complement public sector-driven climate responses is a new dimension in delivery of sustainable climate-smart solutions at scale.
Download your copy on https://publications.cta.int/en/publications/publication/2038/


Related: Webinar Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Doing Business Differently: How the use of data can enhance the role of the private sector in addressing climate change

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7496086941936837123
15:00  1 hr 15 mins

Related:
28 September 2018. Brussels. DevCo Infopoint. Mobilising private-sector investment to mitigate climate change in Africa

Frontiers in Development Policy is a series of infopoint events on emerging trends, challenges and opportunities that will shape the future of development cooperation. The first event in this series will focus on cities and the challenges and opportunities that continued rapid urbanisation in our partner countries presents. The ETTG is a group of five leading European Think Tanks working on international development. The group works together in order to pool expertise, deepen analysis, improve communication, and maximise engagement with policy actors in EU Member States and EU institutions.
  • Felice Zaccheo, Head of Unit, DEVCO C6 - Sustainable Energy, Climate Change
  • Leo Roberts, Operations and Partnerships Manager, ODI, ETTG
  • Jessica Stephens, COO, AMDA
  • Giulia Maci, Programme Lead ETTG




Innovations in Agriculture: Scaling Up to Reach Millions

25-27 September 2018. Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA. Innovations in Agriculture: Scaling Up to Reach Millions.

Successfully scaling up innovations to make them truly impactful and sustainable has proven to be difficult. The Scale Up Conference is a high-level event that will bring together 200-300 individuals and organizations engaged in the introduction, diffusion, and adoption of agricultural innovations that have the potential to reach millions.
  • Scaled-up agricultural technologies and innovations can be a game-changer in food-insecure countries. This conference seeks to address the following questions about scale up:
  • What hinders large scale adoption?
  • What makes things scalable?
  • What driving factors are critical for successful scale up? (e.g., markets, capital, policy, behavioral changes)
  • How can multi-stakeholder partnerships and initiatives facilitate success?
  • What has worked, what hasn’t, and why?
  • Who can I connect with at the conference to enhance scale up efforts?
Extracts of the programme

Download the Scale Up Conference Program.
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION Scale Up: A Necessity for Transformative Development Akinwumi Adesina – President, African Development Bank Group

Session 2: Assessing Scalability - Case studies
  • Africa’s Private Sector-Led Seed Revolution. Joe DeVries – Vice President, Program Development and Innovation, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
    Investments by The Rockefeller Foundation and others in agro-ecology-based crop breeding and private sector seed supply in the early 2000s, revealed that Africa’s farmers were highly interested in higher-yielding seed but lacked dependable access to seed of improved varieties adapted to local growing conditions. Rockefeller’s focus on African crop breeding, establishing private, independent seed companies, and village-based agro-dealers received a major boost when the Gates Foundation joined up with Rockefeller in 2006 to establish the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). 
  • Incentivizing Affordable On-Farm Storage for Smallholder Farmers. Parasto Hamed – AgResults Field Coordinator, Deloitte
    The AgResults Kenya On-Farm Storage Challenge Project attempts to address the challenge of reducing post-harvest grain losses by incentivizing private sector actors to develop, market, and promote new or redesigned on-farm storage devices to smallholder farmers who cultivate five hectares or less. Under the pay-for-results (P4R) model, monetary awards are given to participants that achieve predetermined result thresholds. The distribution of awards is based upon the cumulative storage capacity sold by the private sector companies to smallholder farmers. The P4R mechanism is technology, marketing, and distribution agnostic, encouraging participating companies to consider cost and storage effectiveness as well as the economic benefits to smallholder farmers.
  • USAID’s Tool for Assessing Scalability: Lessons from Development and Applications. Richard
    Kohl
    – Lead Consultant and Vice President for Scaling and Strategy, Strategy and Scale LLC; Mark Huisenga – Senior Program Manager, Bureau for Food Security, Market & Partnership Innovations Office, USAID
    The Agricultural Scalability Assessment Tool (ASAT) is designed to provide a qualitative appraisal of an innovation’s scalability. While innovations do have intrinsic features that may make them more or less scalable in general, most of the factors affecting scaling potential can only be assessed relative to a specific socio-economic context and the characteristics of target adopters. The
    ASAT provides information on the strengths and weaknesses of the innovation relative to scalability, the most promising scaling up pathways (i.e., commercial, public, or public-private partnerships), and information on the extent to which target contexts -- locations and populations – and their market and public-sector capacity currently facilitate scaling
  • Scaling Up Agricultural Machinery in Bangladesh. Tim Prewitt (CEO) and Conor Riggs – Director of Market Systems and Entrepreneurship, International Development Enterprises (iDE)
    The innovations currently being scaled up are three agricultural machines that are relatively
    new to Bangladesh. These are: (1) axial flow pumps (AFPs) which are used for irrigation from surface water sources and operated by separate diesel engines; (2) power tiller operated seeders (PTOS) which provide tilling, seeding and, in principle, fertilizing services; and (3) self-propelled reapers (SPRs) which cut field crops like rice, wheat, jute and possibly other crops like jute
  • From Thousands to Millions: Selected World Bank Experience on Scaling Up Innovations in Agriculture Simeon Ehui – Agriculture Global Practice, World Bank Group
Session 5: Effectively Engaging and Leveraging Partners
The Importance of Partnerships to Catalyze and Sustain Inclusive Agricultural Transformation (IAT) in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia: BMGF Perspective Enock Chikava – Deputy Director, Agricultural Development, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Panel Discussion: Roles of Actors That Help Take Technology to Market
  • Extension. Tunji Arokoyo – Prof.; Consultant Agriculturist and Participatory Extension Specialist & Trainer, Ahmadu Bello University 
  • Local Business. Suraj Devani – Director, Pee Pee Tanzania Ltd. (PPTL) 
  • Smallholder Farmers. Brian Heese – Director, Investor Relations, One Acre Fund 
  • Development Organization-Facilitated PPPs. Floortje Jacobs –Public-Private Partnerships Advisor, SNV Netherlands Development Organization 
  • Global Company. Thavy Staal – Sustainability and Project Manager, Crop Protection Africa & Middle East, BASF
Session 6: Examples of Successes and Failures; Lessons Learned
  • From Science to Scale: Aflasafe. Ranajit Bandyopadhyay – Principal Scientist; Leader of Africa-wide Aflasafe Initiative, and Abdou Konlambigue – Managing Director, Aflasafe Technology Transfer and Commercialization, IITA
    In Africa, the bio-control product Aflasafe developed by IITA, USDA-ARS and partners, lowers aflatoxins throughout the value chain. The AgResults Initiative in Nigeria works with private-sector partners who disburse Aflasafe. They facilitate access to technical knowledge and inputs that farmers require to boost productivity and move from subsistence to market-driven producers. 
  • Scaling Up Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato for Nutrition and Incomes. Simon Heck – Program
    Leader, Sweet potato, International Potato Center (CIP); and Howarth Bouis – Interim Chief Executive Officer, HarvestPlus
    CIP and partners have been using an integrated agriculture-nutrition-marketing approach to develop and promote diversified utilization of biofortified orangefleshed sweet potato (OFSP) to address vitamin A deficiency in young children and women of reproductive age. This initiative has been coordinated through multiinstitutional technical support platforms in Uganda (for East and Central Africa), Mozambique (for Southern Africa), and Ghana (for West Africa). As a result, over the past 10 years, more than 4.5 million farming households with children under 5 years of age in at least 15 African countries have started to grow OFSP for family nutrition and increasingly also for sale
  • Scaling Agricultural Mechanization Worldwide: Case of the 2-Wheel Tractor (2WT). Jelle van Loon – Mechanization Specialist, Latin America and Lennart Woltering – Scaling Advisor, CIMMYT
    This case study reviews experiences in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia in scaling-out 2WT-based farm machinery services to benefit smallholder farmers’ livelihoods. We review crucial considerations in small-scale farm mechanization – with particular emphasis on multiple farm services provision, adaptable business models, and the facilitation of value chain and private sector ‘push and pull’ to catalyze adoption. 
  • Commercializing Strigaway Maize to Address Witchweed (Striga) in East Africa. Bob Rabatsky – Senior VP, Director of Feed the Future Partnering, and Andrew Bracken – Partnership Manager, Feed the Future Partnering for Innovation Project, Fintrac
    CIMMYT and BASF partnered with the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) to commercialize this seed technology through six seed companies in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. With Partnering for Innovation funding, AATF provided foundation seed to seed companies for replication, provided equipment and technical assistance for these companies to coat, demonstrate, and sell imazapyr-resistant maize seed to smallholder farmers, and monitored seed adoption and sales by agro-dealers.
  • Scaling Quality Vegetable Varieties in Africa. Pepijn Schreinemachers – Flagship Program Leader, Enabling Impact, World Vegetable Center
    The introduction of new tomato varieties in Tanzania coincided with the liberalization of the country’s seed laws in the early 1990s. Seed companies emerged but had no suitable breeding lines of their own. Multinational seed companies were not yet present. Success was achieved by partnering with the public and private sectors with the support of international donors investing in research. To enable further impact of vegetable varieties, WorldVeg has formalized its partnership with seed companies in Africa and Asia through vegetable breeding consortia under the umbrella of regional seed trade associations. Over thirty seed companies have already joined these consortia, which means that new breeding materials can reach farmers rapidly

Friday, September 28, 2018

UPCOMING EVENTS IN AGRICULTURE RESEARCH FOR DEVELOPMENT (AR4D) - October 2018 - June 2019

1-2 October 2018. Maritim Hotel, Cologne (Germany): Revolution in Food and Biomass Production; High-tech strategy for a sustainable biomass supply. The “Future Protein Award” is given out to companies presenting the best concepts for a future-proof protein supply, derived from algae, bacteria, cell-cultured meat, insects, new crops or even from CO2 and solar energy.

1-5 October 2018. Addis Abeba. The 8th Africa Nutritional Epidemiology Conference (ANEC VIII 2018)


2-4 October 2018 Dakar, Senegal. Third PACA Partnership Platform Meeting. Theme: “Scaling-up Country-led Approaches for Sustainable Aflatoxin Mitigation in Africa ”

3-4 October 2018. Ottawa, Canada. Towards a Food Secure Future. This event will be live streamed and posted on IDRC's YouTube channel and GAC's YouTube channel and Facebook page.

3-4 October 2018. University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana. WACCI International Conference on Food and Nutrition Security in Africa.
4-5 October 2018. Harare, Zimbabwe. Bindura University 1st International Conference on Food Security and Climate

5 October 2018. Brussels. The global Diaspora week. Session3 : Diaspora innovations for agricultural productivity and sustainability

4-7 October 2018. Jahorina, Bosnia and Herzegovina. AGROSYM 2018

5-6 October 2018 The Rebranding Africa Forum, focusing on the challenges and opportunities of Africa’s green economy, will take place in Ouagadougou
7-11 October 2018 in Berlin, Germany. IWCSPP 2018 - 12th International Working Conference for Stored Product Protection.

8–10 October 2018, Bari, Italy. LEAP-Agri Project’s Kick-Off Meeting of ERA-Net LEAP-Agri Funded Projects.

8-10 October 2018. Max Rubner Conference 2018, Fungi and Mycotoxins in Foods
9-12 October 2018. Johannesburg, South Africa. Second African Congress on Conservation Agriculture
10-12 October 2018. Stellenbosch, South Africa. Science Forum 2018 (SF18)

10-12 October 2018. Seventh Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-VII)
16 October 2018. Brussels Begium. World Food Day at the European Parliament. On the occasion of World Food Day 2018,FAO and the European Commission will organize an event hosted by the MEP Mr. Paolo De Castro at the European Parliament. The registration link will be provided early September. This event will consist of a two-hour debate preceded by a networking lunch. It will provide feedback and build on the findings of the recent 2nd FOOD 2030 High Level Event that took place in Plovdiv under the auspices of the Bulgarian Presidency from 14-15 June 2018.

16 - 17 October 2018. Nairobi. Nutrition Africa Investor Forum. The Forum is being organised by The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) in partnership with Royal DSM and the SUN Business Network.
24 - 26 October 2018. Johannesburg, South Africa. "4 PER 1000"Africasymposium on soils for food security

24-25 October 2018. Accra, Ghana. 2018 GLOBELICS International Conference.
7 - 9 November 2018.  Esterhazy Palace, Eisenstadt, Austria. 6th International Conference on Organic Agriculture Sciences (ICOAS)
19-23 November, 2018. Abuja, Nigeria. IFDC workshop: Bringing Balanced Fertilizers to Smallholder Farmers in Africa

20 - 22 November 2018. Maputo. FANRPAN High-level Policy Dialogue. Transforming agriculture in Africa.

22-23 November 2018. Vienna. Austria. "People’s food - people’s health: Towards healthy and sustainable European Food Systems"
21-23 November 2018. Rome. FAO International Symposium on Agricultural Innovation for Family Farmers

22-23 November 2018. Salvador, Bahia/Brazil. 6th Brazil Africa Forum. Youth Empowerment: Transformation to Achieve Sustainable Transformation
26 - 30 novembre 2018. Dakar, Senegal. International workshop on the dairy value chain in Africa

28-30 November 2018 Bangkok, Thailand. Accelerating the End of Hunger and Malnutrition.  An IFPRI-FAO global event.

30 November- 4 December 2018: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. APIMONDIA SYMPOSIUM 2018; Role of Bees in Food Production.

2-7 December. 2018. Khartoum, Sudan. Young Scientists Conference. Genomics and Human Health in Africa

10-12 December 2018. Center of Congress Rennes, France. DIVERSIFOOD Final Congress ‘Cultivating Diversity and Food Quality’

10-12 January 2019International Conference on Aquatic Resource and Aquaculture for Sustainable Development, ICAR-AQUAS-2019.

4-8 February 2019. Worcester, SOUTH AFRICA. Workshop on Bioinformatics and Wheat Genomics II

12-14 February, 2019 Arusha, Tanzania. ECHO East Africa Biannual Symposium on Sustainable Agriculture and Appropriate Technologies

27/02-01/03/2019.  Stuttgart, Germany. Hidden Hunger Congress 2019

25-29 March 2019Washington, DC, USA, at World Bank headquarters. 20th Annual Conference on Land and Poverty.

30 April - 3 May 2019. Kampala, Uganda ICT4D Conference

13-14 May 2019. Gemboux, Belgium. CDAIS global conference. Present the results of the Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation Systems (CDAIS) project but also listen to others who did the same initiative.