Benin : Soyabean processing

12 June 2016. Kigali. PAEPARD side event at the 7th AASW and FARA General Assembly. 

Presentation by:

L’Association SOJAGNON du Bénin est une Organisation Non Gouvernementale. Elle est Leader du Consortium Soja du Bénin (CSB) et Coordonne le Projet CRF du Bénin qui porte sur l’amélioration de transformation du soja au Bénin le cas de Lait et de Afitin de Soja.

Le Projet Soja Afitin- Milk (ProSAM) du CRF/PAEPARD-FARA sous financement de la Commission Européenne.

D’une durée de 36 mois, le Projet ProSAM du Fonds Compétitif de Recherche (CRF) du PAEPARD a démarré ses activités de recherche développement en Octobre 2014. Actuellement ce projet vient de boucler vingt et un mois (21 mois) dans sa phase d’exécution par les partenaires du Consortium.

• Les activités menées et résultats obtenus par les partenaires du projet sont capitaliser et publier à travers les posters. Ces outils de publication sont réalisés par les partenaires ci-après :
• La Faculté des Sciences Agronomique de l’Université d’Abomey-Calavi à travers le Laboratoire des Sciences des Aliments (LSA) du Professeur D. Joseph HOUNHOUIGAN, Doyen de la FSA/UAC et de l’Université de Wageningen au Pays-Bas;
• L’Institut National des Recherches Agricoles du Bénin (INRAB) à travers le Programme Technologie Agricole et Alimentaire (PTAA) du Centre de Recherches Agricoles d’Agonkanmey. Le Programme est sous la responsabilité du Docteur Paul HOUSSOU et de l’Université de Lisbonne au Portugal (ISA-Lisboa) ;
• L’Association pour le Développement du Soja au Bénin (SOJAGNON-ONG) à travers la coordination du Projet Soja Afitin-Milk ProSAM du CRF-PAEPARD du Bénin, dirigé par Monsieur Patrice Lagnon SEWADE.

International Floriculture Trade Fair (IFTEX) 2016

8 - 10 June 2016. Nairobi, Kenya. 5th edition of the International Flower Trade Expo IFTEX.

Well over 200 companies are exhibiting and more than 4,000 national and international trade visitors are expected to attend, a 15% increase, bringing the number of participating countries this year to at least 50. Exhibiting companies will include growers, exporters, brokers, breeders, propagators, and other suppliers of the flower industry. Visitors will include especially flower buyers that will fly in from all over the world, and is the prime target group on the attendance part of the fair. The exhibition itself has grown
another 10% in size and will for this reason accommodate about 10% more exhibitors.

The special focus of exhibitors this year will be on finding new customers in order to increase exports. Many first time buyers are expected to attend this year from especially China, Russia, USA, Japan, Middle East and South East Asia, all new big potential flower consuming countries and regions that are looking more and more especially for Kenyan grown flowers. With a high number of pre-registered attending buyers, exhibitor’s expectations are set high on a good turn out this year. And because of the presence of nearly all Kenyan flowers growers at this year’s IFTEX, the fair should be able to present an almost complete showcase to its attending buyers of what Kenya has to offer in terms of flowers.

The involvement of European corporate and financial entities in land grabbing

Land grabbing and human rights: The involvement of European corporate and financial entities in land grabbing outside the European Union.
Saturnino M. BORRAS Jr. (International Institute of Social Studies, Netherlands), Philip SEUFERT (FIAN International, Germany), Stephan BACKES (FIAN International, Belgium), Daniel FYFE (FIAN International, Switzerland), Roman HERRE (FIAN Germany, Germany), Laura MICHELE (FIAN International, Germany) and Elyse MILLS (International Institute of Social Studies, Netherlands)

In early research on land grabbing, the initial focus was on foreign companies investing abroad, with a particular focus on those based in countries such as China, Gulf States, South Korea, and India. In recent years, it has become evident that the range of countries land investors originate in is far broader, and includes both North Atlantic - and EU-based actors. In this study, we offer both quantitative and qualitative data illustrating the involvement of EU-based corporate and financial entities in land deals occurring outside of the EU.

This study also analyses the global land rush within a human rights framework, examining the implications of particular land deals involving EU-based investors and their impact on communities living in areas where the investments are taking place. The research presented here builds partly on Cotula’s 2014 study on the drivers and human rights implications of land grabbing, but differs in that it focuses explicitly on particular cases of possible, actual or potential human rights abuses and violations, in the context of activities involving European corporate and financial entities. In our conclusions, we offer a series of recommendations on how the EU can more effectively address these issues.

Extracts:

During the earliest wave of research on land grabbing, the initial focus was on foreign companies, with emphasis on a set of foreign players (China, Gulf States, South Korea, India, and others). (page 12)

The reality is more fluid and complex than what available databases tell us partly because: (a) land grabbing cannot be understood in a static, technical and restrictive way; (b) land grabs are multi-layered and complex processes, in which a land deal involves many actors via investment webs implicating diverse types of public and private actors (which cannot be clearly separated), and “nationality” of land deals is never a straightforward issue; and (c) EU actors are involved in land grabs and related human rights violations at different points in investment webs. (page 7)

There has been comparatively less examination of the role that EU Member States play in the global land grab (19), likely partly because many EU-based investors and companies have multiple foreign subsidiaries that make it difficult to trace their roots directly to the EU. However, companies registered in the EU are engaging in numerous land deals, that, when aggregated, add up to vast amounts of land in developing countries. Companies registered in France and the United Kingdom have been involved in 40 to 124 land deals, respectively – as a result, gaining control of 629 953 to 1 972 010 hectares of land in various countries outside the EU. Corporations registered in Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy are not far behind, with 20 to 21 deals each, involving a total of 251 808 to 615 674 hectares of land. (page 14)

It is more adequate to talk about investment webs rather than investment chains. As a result, attributing responsibilities for human rights violations to each of the countries involved becomes a substantive challenge for those in charge of determining accountability and providing remedies (including parliamentary, quasi-judicial and judicial mechanisms). It also hampers the advocacy work of CSOs, grass roots communities and their advocates seeking justice. (page 20)

Major financial capital company players with regard to land grabbing are pension funds. At the end of 2014, total private pension assets in the 34 OECD countries were valued at 38 trillion USD and managed mainly by pension funds (OECD. (...) 29). As for private pension funds or funds that are of a more embroiled construction, EU Member States have the obligation to regulate them in order to avoid that their funding contributes to human rights abuses abroad, and ensuring effective remedy in case of abuses. The Dutch private pension fund ABP is an illustrative case. (page 22)

In recent years, the EU has increasingly shifted towards a private sector-led approach to development, arguing that private sector engagement and funding is an indispensable complement to EU development assistance (EC, 2014). However, so-called partnerships” with the corporate sector carry major risks, in particular when conflicts of interest are not adequately addressed. (...)A study conducted by family farmers’ organizations in Africa concluded that resources are targeted towards industrial agriculture and that PPPs are not an appropriate instrument for supporting the family farms that are the foundation of African food security and sovereignty (EAFF, ROPPA and PROPAC, 2013). (page 30).

At a Hearing on the New Alliance in the Committee for Development (DEVE) in the European Parliament in December 2015, De Schutter presented an expert study, which raises six major concerns regarding the New Alliance, including the fact that within the New Alliance, “speculation over land increases, and so does land concentration: foreign investors are mostly interested in developing large-scale plantations, that are relatively non-labour-intensive and contribute relatively little to rural development; and conflicts over land increase as land becomes a valuable asset” (De Schutter, 2015). (page 30)

In many cases, the number of jobs created in the context of land deals has been considerably below what was promised and communities frequently complain about low wages, long working days, temporary or seasonal employment contracts and poor working conditions in general. (..) Instead of contributing to development – as claimed by many promoters and defenders of large-scale land acquisitions – land deals thus often lead to adverse incorporation of people and communities into increasingly globalised value chains. In many cases, they end up in situations of dependency from one company and complete loss of autonomy, or even infringements against their right to self-determination. (page 37)

Indeed, in cases where human rights abuses and violations have occurred, communities face major difficulties in obtaining adequate and just reparation. Damage done by the respective project and adverse human rights impacts often continue to affect people even after the end of a project and projects usually do not foresee redress and reparation for abuses and violations suffered. (page 38)

One step to avoid harm in other countries is the conduct of prior human rights impact assessments (HRIAs) and the monitoring of the extraterritorial human rights impacts of policies, laws and practices, in particular where the risk of adverse impacts is high. Such assessments must be conducted under public participation, and their results be made public and inform measures to prevent, cease, and remedy the harm (page 42)

Health and Climate Colloquium

8 - 10 June 2016. Columbia’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory campus. The International Research Institute for Climate and Society and Mailman hosted a Health and Climate Colloquium

The purpose of the three-day event was to help build a global community of health practitioners and policymakers that understand and can use climate information to support health delivery and improved outcomes in the context of a changing climate. The meeting focused on infectious diseases, nutrition and the public health outcomes of meteorological disasters.

Extract of the programme:

Wednesday, June 8, 2016 (Day 1) – Climate Information to Serve the Health Community
Climate information needs of the Agriculture and Nutrition Community: John McDermott, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH)
See video @ 1:26

Thursday, June 9, 2016 (Day 2) – Case Studies and Tools
11:25am – 11:45am Delia Grace, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)

World Mycotoxin Forum

6 - 9 June 2016. Winnipeg, Canada. This event with over 400 delegates from 31 countries, combines the 9th Conference of The World Mycotoxin Forum and the XIVth IUPAC International Symposium on Mycotoxins. The conference builds on the success of the previous edition held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands (2012).

The aim of WMFmeetsIUPAC – the world's largest mycotoxin event – is to increase the awareness of human and animal health risks due to mycotoxin contamination. It offers a platform for the food and feed industry, science and regulatory authorities to exchange current knowledge, to promote harmonization of food and feed safety regulations and control procedures, and to make recommendations for integrated strategies ensuring the safety and security of food and feed supply chains.

Extract of the programme:

•  Perspectives on FAO’s work on mycotoxins in a changing world Dr. Vittorio Fattori, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), Italy
• Economic impact of aflatoxins – situational analysis in six African countries Dr. Ranajit Bandyopadhyay, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria
• EU regulations and mycotoxins in the food chain: more than a drop in the ocean? Frans Verstraete, M.Sc., European Commission-Directorate General Health and Food Safety, Belgium
• MyToolBox – Safe food and feed through an integrated (e-)ToolBox for mycotoxin
  management Prof.dr. Rudolf Krska, Department IFA-Tulln, BOKU Vienna, Austria



Dr. Andreia Bianchini, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA
A North American perspective on deoxynivalenol
management in grains considering new Codex guidelines

• From MycoRed to MycoKey: integrated and innovative key actions for mycotoxin management in the food and feed chain Dr. Antonio Logrieco, Institute of Sciences of Food Production, Italy
• Best practices for rapid mycotoxin testing Kyle Donovan, EnviroLogix, USA 
• Development of an online FAO mycotoxin sampling tool and its application to aflatoxin sampling protocol for corn and groundnuts in Africa Dr. Sheryl Tittlemier, on behalf of Dr. Andy Slate, NC State University, USA 
• Recent advances in adoption of aflatoxin biocontrol by farmers in Africa Dr. Ranajit Bandyopadhyay, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria
• The effect of corn plant density and water availability on fumonisin-producing Fusarium spp. infection and fumonisin synthesis Dr. Belinda Janse van Rensburg, Agricultural Research Council, South Africa 
• Is organic farming a suitable approach to reduce mycotoxins in agricultural crops? Dr. Ingerd S. Hofgaard, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Norway, on behalf of Dr. Gunnar S. Eriksen, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, Norway
•  Decontamination and detoxification of mycotoxins in grain to improve feed quality and animal health Dr. Natacha Hogan, University of Saskatchewan, Canada
• Avoiding the unavoidable: regional impact and human counter measures to control mycotoxins Dr. Ranajit Bandyopadhyay, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria
• Mycotoxin binders for the reduction of aflatoxins in animals and humans Dr. Sarah Elmore, Texas A and M University, USA
• After 125 years of mycotoxin research, what is expected from researchers now? Prof.dr. David Miller, Carleton University, Canada

Launch of the 3GF Partnership “Food Loss & Waste Protocol”

6 - 7 June 2016. Copenhagen. The 3GF 2016 Summit, has made a global commitment to advancing green transformation at speed and at scale. Hosted by the Government of Denmark, representatives from 3GF partner countries; China, Ethiopia, Kenya, The Republic of, Korea and Mexico attended the 3GF Summit along with representatives from new partner countries Chile and Vietnam .

The Summit also welcomed decision makers from 37 different countries across the public and private sectors along with civil society. Over 450 high level delegates attended the event including representatives from 68 private companies.

Extract of the programme:
Delivering Smarter Food Systems

As we think about our food supply, how can new partnerships help increase efficiency working through such deeply embedded and existing supply chains? How can food waste be reduced at both the production and consumption ends of our food systems? How can we achieve scale in markets where smallholder farmers can play a significant role? See: Session note: Delivering Smarter Food Systems 

Panel:

• HE Mr Espen Lunde Larsen, Minister of Environment and Food, Denmark 
  
• Khalid Bomba, CEO, Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency, (ATA)
• Liz Goodwin, CEO, WRAP
• Michiel Kernkamp, CEO, Nestlé Nordic Region
• Toine Timmermans, Wageningen University

A Call to Action: An In Conversation on Enabling Solutions at Speed and Scale in Ethiopia

This session explored green growth in Ethiopia - the experience of climate solutions in the context of
mitigation and climate changes in the country. One of the key strategic priorities for the Ethiopian government has been the development of industrial parks to attract investment, to both build up infrastructure and create employment opportunities. According to the UNDP, it’s estimated that building the green economy in Ethiopia would require over US$150 billion over 20 years from 2011 to 2030. A green path of development would allow Ethiopia to tap into streams of climate finance as well as traditional investment, whilst providing future-proof jobs in emerging sectors.

Session note: A Call to Action: An In Conversation on Enabling Solutions at Speed and Scale in Ethiopia

Launch of the 3GF Partnership “Food Loss and Waste Protocol”

What gets measured can be managed: Presentation of the 3GF partnership that has developed a global
standard for measuring food loss and waste in a consistent, credible and transparent manner.

Press RELEASE 06/06/2016: First-Ever Global Standard to Measure Food Loss and Waste Introduced by International Partnership

Panel:

• HE Mr Kristian Jensen, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Denmark 
  
• Liz Goodwin, CEO, WRAP
• Michiel Kernkamp, CEO, Nestlé Nordic Region 
• Andrew Steer, President and CEO, World Resources Institute, (WRI) 
• Ren Wang, Assistant Director General, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

“This standard is a real breakthrough. For the first time, armed with the standard,

countries and companies will be able to quantify how much food is lost and wasted, where it occurs, and report on it in a highly credible and consistent manner. There’s simply no reason that so much food should be lost and wasted. Now, we have a powerful new tool that will help governments and businesses save money, protect resources and ensure more people get the food they need.” Andrew Steer, President and CEO, World Resources Institute. “

“WRAP’s work to help reduce household waste in the UK by 21 percent was only possible through our ground-breaking analysis to quantify how much and where it was wasted. Food waste is not confined by borders, so WRAP is delighted to have helped develop the Food Loss and Waste Standard. I am confident it will empower businesses, governments, and other organisations to take action on an international scale, an outcome that WRAP will strongly support.” Dr. Liz Goodwin, Chief Executive Officer, WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme)

“Measuring the level of food waste in a structured way is critical for developing effective

strategies that focus on reducing food waste and monitoring progress at the business, national and EU level, as well as contributing to the achievement of SDG Target 12.3. The EU-FUSIONS' Food Waste Framework and Quantification Manual is fully synchronized with the Food Loss and Waste Protocol's FLW Standard. This enables users of the FUSIONS manual which are monitoring and reporting on food waste amounts and trends over time to be harmonized with the requirements of the global accounting and reporting standard.” Toine Timmermans, Project Coordinator for EU-FUSIONS

The Food Loss and Waste (FLW) Standard (160 pages)

• provides a set of global definitions and reporting requirements for companies, countries and others to consistently and credibly measure, report on and manage food loss and waste. The Standard will help governments and businesses save money, protect resources and ensure more people get the food they need.
• The FLW Standard was developed over the past three years by a partnership of leading international organizations, led by the World Resources Group (WRI). More than 200 external stakeholders representing companies, national governments, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, and academic institutions from around the world provided feedback on the Standard.

Food loss and waste facts:

• An estimated one-third of all food is lost or wasted worldwide as it moves from where it is produced to where it is eaten, even as more than 800 million people are undernourished.
• Food loss and waste globally costs up to US$940 billion per year.
• Food loss and waste generates about 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. If it were a country, food loss and waste would be the third-largest greenhouse gas emitter behind China and the United States.

Resources:
The new FLW Protocol website, where you can access the Standard: www.FLWProtocol.org
A short 3GF film on food loss and waste and the Standard:

Related:
Interview with Vimal Shah, Chairman, Kenya Private Sector Alliance / Bidco Oil Refineries. Why is green growth important for the African region and how can public private partnerships drive green growth?

Green and growth must go together. Without green, growth cannot be sustainable and green cannot thrive without growth. A rapid, large-sale industrial transition is needed if global economic growth is to continue while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, adapting societies to climate change and promoting a sustainable use of resources.

Comic book and School/Community & Camps on Why Farm?

WHYFARM means We Help Youth Farm. It is a not-for-profit organization from Trinidad and Tobago that was developed to help young men and women capitalize on the opportunities and overcome the challenges in the agriculture industry by becoming stronger leaders and more dynamic voices in their local communities.

WhyFarm has created a simple, attractive, convenient, reader friendly fun method in teaching agriculture to youths.

• WhyFarm has introduced a powerful Food Provider "AgriMan" in the form of a comic book series. He is on a quest to grow future feeders from the ground up.
• AgriVenture takes on an intense course structure to introduce an Agricultural Adventure for children to be educated about food and nutrition security. With its unique outline it allows for the participants of the course to have fun while simultaneously learning the role in which they can adopt to contribute towards food security. 

Brazil, China roles in African farming explained

A special issue of World Development, examines the real roles that China and Brazil are playing in African agriculture, moving beyond what the authors consider as “simplistic narratives of South-South collaboration or neo-imperial expansion”.

Eight papers culled from an input of 20 research collaborators detail how Brazil and China are impacting the African economy. The work, organised via the Future Agricultures Consortium, was supported with roughly US$ 934,000 in UK Economic and Social Research Council funding.

The project set out to explore what is actually going on in Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, where Brazil and China have made investments, says Ian Scoones, fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, the UK, and editor of the issue.

Through 16 different case studies, the project revealed a complex set of engagements, which contrast with existing patterns of western-led development and investment.

World Development Open Access Special Issue Volume 81, 2016
Editors: Ian Scoones, Kojo Amanor, Arilson Favareto and Qi Gubo

1. A new politics of development cooperation? Chinese and Brazilian engagements in African agriculture by Ian Scoones, Kojo Amanor, Arilson Favareto and Qi Gubo
2. South-South cooperation, agribusiness and African agricultural development: Brazil and China in Ghana and Mozambique by Kojo Amanor and Sérgio Chichava
3. Chinese state capitalism? Rethinking the role of the state and business in Chinese development cooperation in Africa by Jing Gu, Zhang Chuanhong, Alcides Vaz and Langton Mukwereza
4. Imagining agricultural development in South-South Cooperation: the contestation and transformation of ProSAVANA by Alex Shankland and Euclides Gonçalves
5. Brazil’s agricultural politics in Africa: More Food International and the disputed meanings of ‘family farming' by Lídia Cabral, Arilson Favareto, Langton Mukwereza and Kojo Amanor
6. Chinese migrants in Africa: Facts and fictions from the agri-food sector in Ethiopia and Ghana by Seth Cook, Jixia Lu, Henry Tugendhat and Dawit Alemu
7. Chinese agricultural training courses for African officials: between power and partnerships by Henry Tugendhat and Dawit Alemu
8. Science, technology and the politics of knowledge: the case of China’s Agricultural Technology Demonstration Centres in Africa  by Xiuli Xu, Xiaoyun Li, Gubo Qi, Lixia Tang and Langton Mukwereza

UNEP Science-Policy Forum

19-20 May 2016. Nairobi, Kenya. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) held its first global Science-Policy Forum in as part of the overall programme of the second session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-2) held on 23-27 May 2016.

1. Session 1: Official opening of Science-Policy Forum
2. Session 2: SCP/Resources + Marine (Parallel tracks)
3. Session 3: Food-Energy-Water Nexus + Natural Capital (Parallel tracks)
4. Session 4: Impact of Extractives Sector + Climate Change, Air Quality, Sand and Dust Storms (Parallel tracks)
5. Session 5: Frontier issues including Environment and Displacement
6. Session 6: SDG's and the multi-level, multi-thematic, multi-sectoral data landscape – panel debate
7. Session 7: Highlights of the GEO-6 Regional Assessments and the Global Gender and Environment Outlook (GGEO)
8. Session 8: The Science-Policy Interface - Going Forward

The forum offered a platform to the science community to engage with policymakers and civil

Abdelkader Bensada, an officer responsible for UNEP’s
work on sustainable pastoralism and rangeland conservation
and UNEP’s focal point for the International Land Coalition,
talks with Fiona Flintan, a rangelands governance scientist
on joint appointment with ILRI and the International Land
Coalition, at the rangelands side event at UNEA-2
(Global Rangelands Initiative)
(photo credit: ILRI/Dorine Odongo).

society stakeholders on the science and knowledge needed to support informed decision-making to deliver on the environmental dimension of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Extracts of the programme

Side event on sustainable pastoralism

• A new resolution on Combating desertification, land degradation and drought and promoting sustainable pastoralism and rangelands was presented and adopted at the second session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-2) held 23–27 May 2016 at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in Nairobi, Kenya.
• At a UNEA-2 side event on sustainable pastoralism, high-level discussions among key players in the livestock sector highlighted pastoralism’s ability to promote healthy ecosystems in the face of climate change, showing that common pastures are potential reservoirs of greenhouse gases.

Launch of the UNEP Frontiers 2016 report 

• Delia Grace, a veterinary epidemiologist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), took part in the forum as a panellist for the launch of the UNEP Frontiers 2016 report on emerging issues of environmental concern.
• Her presentation on zoonotic and emerging infectious diseases focused on the global burden of zoonotic diseases (diseases that can be transmitted between animals and people), the drivers of disease (among them, land use change, environmental degradation and climate change) and how the multidisciplinary One Health approach can be used to support timely response to the threat of zoonotic diseases.

Science Policy Framework Session 3 Track 1 Food-Energy-Water Nexus (Crosscutting SDGs 2, 6 and 7)

L'alliance régionale de la mangue d'Afrique de l'Ouest

3 June 2016. Dakar. L'alliance régionale de la mangue d'Afrique de l'Ouest  (Armao) a été mise sur pied par les acteurs de la chaine de valeur mangue de l'Afrique de l'Ouest. Ces professionnels de la filière mangue ouest africaine prenaient part à la semaine régionale de la mangue organisée par le gouvernement du Sénégal en partenariat avec l'‪USAID‬ à travers le programme Trade Africa.

Dans une déclaration rendue publique, les acteurs de la mangue appellent les pays concernés "à s’approprier l’initiative et à s’engager dans la mise en place et le renforcement des interprofessions" de la filière mangue.

Ils sollicitent également l’accompagnement des Etats, des Institutions régionales et des partenaires techniques et financiers "pour la mise en œuvre effective des missions assignées" à la nouvelle structure.

Le gouvernement du Sénégal, à travers les ministères sénégalais en charge du Commerce et de l’Agriculture, a été chargé de porter le plaidoyer visant à faire la promotion de cette Alliance régionale auprès des autres pays membres de la Communauté économique des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (CEDEAO).

"Cette décision part du principe de l’importance que revêt la filière mangue de l’Afrique de l’Ouest dans la diversification, la création de richesses, la contribution à la sécurité alimentaire et au développement économique et sociale. Le potentiel "insuffisamment exploité" de la mangue dans l’espace ouest-africain, ainsi que "le faible niveau de structuration des acteurs de la chaîne de valeur dans la sous-région", ont poussé les pays à s’organiser pour exporter la mangue pendant toute l’année. Il y a nécessité, pour les acteurs, d’adopter et de veiller au respect des politiques et de normes favorables à la fluidité du commerce interrégional des produits de la mangue en Afrique de l’Ouest. Malick Diop.directeur de l’Agence sénégalaise pour la promotion des exportations (ASEPEX)

Related:
31 mai - 3 juin 2016. Dakar. "Le délicieux trésor d’Afrique de l’Ouest’’. C’est le thème qui a servi de
base à la journée de réflexion tenue ce mardi 31 mai à Dakar par les Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest pour engager les acteurs du Burkina Faso, du Ghana, de la Gambie, de la Guinée Bissau, du Mali, de la Cote d’Ivoire et du Sénégal intervenant à différents maillons de la chaine de valeur à s’accorder sur les bases d’une Alliance Régionale Mangue.

Les drapeaux des pays engagés dans l'Alliance Mangue (Armao)

La semaine de la mangue était articulée autour de 3 journées thématiques organisées selon les maillons de la chaine de valeur Production-Transformation et Commercialisation.

Voir agenda: Exposition Semaine regionale de la Mangue du 31 Mai au 02 Juin 2016

Mardi 31 Mars 2016 : ouverture au grand public :

• Expositions PME et Institutionnelle
• Dégustation et ateliers culinaires
• Projection de vidéo sur la mangue
• Espace de démonstration

Mercredi 01 Juin 2016 : Partage thématique

• Présentation de la filière mangue au Sénégal Acteurs et opportunités, PACMS
• Mise en place d'une plantation de mangue, ANIDA
• Approche de la DPV dans la promotion de la filière mangue
• Les normes sénégalaises en vigueur tout le long de la filière mangue, ASN

Jeudi 02 Juin 2016 : Partage thématique

• Les différents produits de transformation de la mangue, ITA
• Amélioration de la valorisation de la mangue en produits frais prêt à l’emploi, Dr Kassé
• Les opportunités offertes à l’exportation à la filière mangue, ASEPEX.

Published on 3 Jun 2016. 

La filière mangue est un secteur porteur dont les potentialités ne sont plus à démontrer. Son développement entre bien dans les priorités de la majorité des États de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, à travers la politique agricole commune dénommée ECOWAP et la mise en œuvre d’autres projets. Les pertes post récoltes peuvent atteindre entre 40% et 50% du volume de production. 

Par ailleurs, la transformation qui est le maillon faible permet, à peine, de valoriser 1% de la production de mangue. Dans ce contexte, nous pouvons admettre que les Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest nourrissent et portent l’ambition légitime d’améliorer la compétitivité de la chaine de valeur, en s’inspirant d’autres dynamiques sous régionales réussies, en vue d’établir une véritable alliance ou partenariat autour de la mangue dans la région ouest africaine. 

2nd generation of National Agricultural Investment Plans

30 May - 2 June 2016. Abidjan. ECOWAS, in partnership with the African Union and NEPAD 2nd generation of National Agricultural Investment Plans (NAIP) and Regional Agricultural Investment Programme (RAIP) drafting process.
Agency organized a regional workshop for launching the

The Abidjan workshop is a fundamental stage in launching the 2nd generation NAIPs and RAIP drafting process as part of the Zero Hunger by 2025 objective. Given the various processes currently underway (SDGs, Malabo, COP 21, AGIR, etc.), this ECOWAS-led process is intended as a framework that facilitates the integration of all these converging initiatives, both at national and regional level, so as to simplify its governance and thereby improve its efficiency.

This regional workshop brought together representatives from the fifteen Member States of ECOWAS (5 representatives per country).

The Tanga Dairy Platform and the sustainability of multi-stakeholder platforms

3 June 2016. The Tanga Dairy Platform, created in 2008, is an informal forum of different stakeholders involved in the dairy industry of Tanzania’s Northeastern Tanga region. The platform’s objective is to exchange knowledge and develop joint actions to common problems.

According to the authors of this article, it is now a sustainable example of a commodity association addressing the joint problems of the region’s dairy industry. The platform has achieved a common understanding among chain actors on dairy price structure; it has successfully lobbied policy makers to reduce value-added tax on dairy inputs and products, and to remove limitations on urban dairy farming in Tanga city.

Download the open access article:
Cadilhon, J.J., Ngoc Diep Pham and Maass, B.L. 2016. The Tanga Dairy Platform: Fostering innovations for more efficient dairy chain coordination in Tanzania. International Journal on Food System Dynamics 7(2):81-91.

An associated teaching case can also be downloaded for people interested in the sustainability of such

multi-stakeholder platforms.

Related:

• Paul, B.K., Maass, B.L., Wassena, F., Omore, A.O. and Bwana, G. 2015. Dairy development in Tanzania with local innovation platforms: When and how can they be useful? ILRI Research Brief 54. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. http://hdl.handle.net/10568/68575
• Omore, A.O., Bwana, G. and Ballantyne, P.G. 2015. Transforming smallholder dairy value chains in Tanzania through innovation and market linkages. ILRI Policy Brief 19. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. 

Overview and Future Prospects of Aflatoxin Research at ICRISAT

26 September 2014

Abstract :
Aflatoxin contamination of food crops is one of the most agriculturally important problems in the world. Perhaps, this is one of the most focused research areas of several advanced research institutions, CGIAR centers and NARS of several countries. Public health implications due to aflatoxins, the secondary metabolites produced by toxigenic molds Aspergillus flavus, is a global concern. Keeping in view of its growing threat and health hazards on humans and animals, ICRISAT has always been in the forefront in contributing to mitigate this menace especially in groundnut and made a remarkable progress. For over three and half decades, ICRISAT’s aflatoxin research is spear-headed by a number of excellent scientists based in Asia and SSA.

Dr. Waliyar delivered a seminar on “Overview and future prospects of aflatoxin research at ICRISAT” highlighting his research outputs, salient findings and management strategies in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. The 2nd part of his presentation focused on the new opportunities, looking ahead he introduced and discussed the outline of a new concept note that was prepared in collaboration of several scientists.

@ 31:00 Dr. Waliyar discusses the use of bio control agents of which trichoderma. In this research trichoderma was initially used for composting but in the process it was discovered that it has an anti fungal activity. "Hopefully someone will pick this up"

@ 51:26 - 58:00 Dr. Waliyar discusses the use of Aflasafe. "It is an expensive technology for rich people." "A different strain has to be developed for each country which takes 4 years."

Related: 

CGIAR scientists develop working groups to coordinate mycotoxin research.

On 9-11 October 2013, participants from five CGIAR centres met at Naivasha in Kenya to share about their current activities related to mycotoxin research and to plan for how these different activities might contribute to the next phase of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) mycotoxin research portfolio.

Innovation systems research: where we came from and where we could go

Published on 19 May 2016. Hyderabad, India. Presentation by Dr Andy Hall Project leader-Food Systems Innovation Agriculture Flagship Commonwealth Scientific Industrial and Research- -Organization (CSIRO) AUSTRALIA

Agricultural innovation systems (AIS) is a global perspective accidently invented by ICRISAT nearly 20 years ago. At that time ICRISAT along with the rest of the CGIAR was struggling with the question of how to improve the impact of its research. Partnership with the private sector as a way of achieving impact was a highly controversial idea. The failure of impact assessment research to make a difference and help set priorities could only be discussed in hushed whispers.

AIS thinking explained why partnership was critical for innovation. It explained why we needed to shift from measuring impact to learning how to achieve it. And it explained why (institutional) innovations in the innovation process were a critical part of an organization’s, a sector’s and a country’s capacity to innovate. Unsurprisingly it took many years before these ideas started to become main streamed and uncontroversial, but in the process many misunderstanding and confusion have crept in. 

The promise remains that AIS can 

1. be used operationally to help navigate and progress the process of innovation in different contexts and 
2. it can help frame a missing learning and research enquiry on how innovation and impact at scale really happens. 

Like all promises, there is work to do to keep that promise. So why not do it at ICRISAT where it all started? 

Related:
12 - 16 May 2016. Hack4Farming was an exciting event and part of ICRISAT’s digital agricultu
re initiative to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, supported by Microsoft, aWhere, USA and T-Hub. Digital technology can accelerate the pace of developing and delivering sustainable and equitable solutions to smallholder farmers and in so doing enable us to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals before 2030. This includes narrowing the knowledge gap between researchers and farmers; providing timely and targeted information to farmers to manage weather and market variability and integrating farmers into profitable markets.

Over 100 data analysts, hardware buffs and software developers came together with agriculture domain experts at a two-day hackathon, titled Hack4Farming, to explore digital solutions to address agricultural development issues in India.

Hack4Farming focused on weather and systems modeling, and their potential impacts on the Indian agriculture sector. Teams explored how to leverage new modeling techniques (from ICRISAT), weather data (from aWhere, USA) and Intelligent Cloud (from Microsoft) to address the information gaps, and benefit the agriculture stakeholders including seed producers, service providers and farmers across India.

Stemming Aflatoxin pre- and post-harvest waste in the groundnut value chain (GnVC) in Malawi and Zambia

19 May 2015. Video release of FANRPAN. Funded by the Platform for African-European Partnership in Agriculture and Rural Development (PAEPARD) through the competitive research fund. The project was launched in October 2014 and spans to December 2017.

Project Objectives
The goal of this project is to reduce pre- and post-harvest losses by focusing on reducing Aflatoxin in the GnVC for improved food and nutrition security of smallholder farmers by addressing main constraining factors of technology dissemination and adoption, knowledge and information sharing, and policies.

Specific Project Objectives:

• To conduct research and identify, further validate and disseminate successful Aflatoxin contamination reduction practices and technologies adapted to specific socio-economic and socio-cultural contexts within the GnVC that is benefitting smallholder farmers in the focal countries.
• To reach scale and sustainability in the adoption of good Aflatoxin contamination reduction practices and technologies through innovative approaches in farmer-led Rural Advisory Services (RAS), capacity-building and effective knowledge management.
• To address policy constraints related to Aflatoxin contamination reduction issues through increased awareness of policy makers and through fostering of effective mechanisms for learning and sharing of experiences of Aflatoxin contamination reduction.

Project Implementation partners

• National Smallholder Farmers' Association of Malawi (NASFAM) - Country-Malawi 
• Eastern Province Farmers' Cooperatives (EPFC) Limited Country- Zambia 
• Food Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)- Country-South Africa 
• Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich Country- UK 
• Department of Agricultural Research Services (DARS) - Country- Malawi 
• Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI) - Country-Zambia

Poster

Policy brief

Stemming Aflatoxin in the Groundnut Chain in Sub-Saharan Africa 1 April 2016
This policy brief has been specifically prepared to highlight the importance of aflatoxins on human health and trade in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It contextualizes, (i) the preharvest and post-harvest factors that influence the proliferation of molds and aflatoxin contamination in groundnuts in the SSA region, (ii) discusses feasible prevention and management strategies and (iii) presents recommendations .

Food Systems for a Sustainable Future

31 May - 3 June 2016. Norway. The 8th Trondheim Biodiversity Conference aims to bring together decision-makers and experts from around the globe to discuss interrelationships between the agriculture and biodiversity sectors and how their policies can address shared problems and provide shared solutions for the achievement of mutually supportive and sustainable outcomes.

The Conference is hosted by the Norwegian Government in partnership with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Bank.

• Input-intensive crop monocultures and industrial-scale feedlots must be consigned to the past in order to put global food systems onto sustainable footing, according to the world’s foremost experts on food security, agro-ecosystems and nutrition.
• The solution is to diversify agriculture and reorient it around ecological practices, whether the starting point is highly-industrialized agriculture or subsistence farming in the world’s poorest countries.

Extract of the programme
SESSION 1 –   OPENING SESSION

• The role of science in meeting the SDGs – Prof. Dr Gebisa Ejeta, 2009 World Food Prize Laureate 

SESSION 3 – IMPERATIVES AND IMPLICATIONS

• Session Chair: Prof. Alfred Oteng-Yeboah, CBD SBSTTA National Focal Point, Ghana
• Key ecosystem services for food and agriculture – the state of knowledge on pollinators, pollination and food production in the world – Dr Joseph ‘Dino’ Martins Visitacao, Nature Kenya
• Ecosystem Services in Smallholder Production Systems in Western Zambia – Dr Natalia Estrada Carmona, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Agricultural biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, Bioversity International

SESSION 4 – POLICIES AND INSTITUTIONS

• The role of institutions in delivering the dual agenda of conservation and food security: the case of Ethiopia - Dr Gemedo Dalle Tussie, Director General, Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute

SESSION 5 – PLANNING FOR A CHANGING CLIMATE

• The role of biodiversity in climatesmart agriculture – Mr Marc Sadler, Global Lead on climatesmart agriculture, World Bank 
• Linkages between trade, climate change, agriculture and biodiversity conservation – Dr Alexander Kasterine, Head of the Trade and Environment Programme, International Trade Centre

SESSION 7 – PRACTICAL EXAMPLES : panel

• Mr Stefan Leiner – Head of the Biodiversity Unit in the European Commission’s Directorate General of Environment 
• Dr Pedro Arraes – President, State of Goias Agency for Agriculture Research and Extension, Brazil 
• Ms Lorin Fries – Associate Director, Food Security and Agriculture Initiatives, World Economic Forum 
• Mr Kit Vaughan – Director, Poverty Environment and Climate Change Network (PECCN), CARE 
• Ms Lim Li Ching – Senior Researcher, Third World Network and Member, International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) 
• Dr Evelyn Nguleka – President, World Farmers Organisation

SESSION 8 – CHANGING PRACTICES

• Addressing food waste – the benefits to biodiversity – Ms Margaux Denis, General Directorate for Food, Ministry of Agriculture, Agrifood and Forestry, France 
• Transformation of food systems – Dr Emile Frison, International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) Member, Former Director General of Bioversity International

SESSION 10 – OUTLOOK 2030

• UNEP’s support to countries to integrate biodiversity and ecosystem services into agricultural planning in the context of the SDGs – Ms Mette Løyche Wilkie, Director, Division of Environmental Policy Implementation, UNEP 
• How UNDP will be supporting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in the context of sustainable agriculture – Ms Midori Paxton, Head: Ecosystems and Biodiversity Global Environmental Finance Unit UNDP
• How FAO will be supporting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda – Mr Michael T. Clark, Senior Coordinator (Governance and Policy), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 
• Communicating complex biodiversity messages (video message) – Mr Erik Solheim, Chair of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and newly elected Executive Director of UNEP 

Related:

2nd June 2016. Launch of the IPES-Food’s first major report: 'From Uniformity to Diversity: A paradigm shift from industrial agriculture to diversified agroecological systems’ and presented by lead author Emile Frison, former Director General of Bioversity International.

Main messages:

• Input-intensive crop monocultures and industrial-scale feedlots must be consigned to the past in order to put global food systems onto sustainable footing, according to the world’s foremost experts on food security, agro-ecosystems and nutrition.
• The solution is to diversify agriculture and reorient it around ecological practices, whether the starting point is highly-industrialized agriculture or subsistence farming in the world’s poorest countries.

The report asks three key questions:

1. What are the outcomes of industrial agriculture / diversified agroecological systems?
2. What is keeping industrial agriculture in place?
3. How can the balance be shifted?

"Some of the key obstacles to change are about who has the power to set the agenda. The way we define food security and the way we measure success in food systems tend to reflect what industrial agriculture is designed to deliver - not what really matters in terms of building sustainable food systems” Emile Frison

“Many of the problems in food systems are linked specifically to the uniformity at the heart of industrial agriculture, and its reliance on

chemical fertilizers and pesticides. It is not a lack of evidence holding back the agroecological alternative. It is the mismatch between its huge potential to improve outcomes across food systems, and its much smaller potential to generate profits for agribusiness firms.” Olivier De Schutter, co-chair of IPES-Food.

‘This report is on point with its message. Building sustainable food systems needs multiple, diverse pathways. And whether the starting point is highly-industrialised agriculture or subsistence farming in the world’s poorest countries, looking at it from an ecological perspective will help promote solutions that are respectful not only of our environment, but of what we produce, our communities and their livelihoods". Melissa Leach, IDS director

Read the full report
Read the executive summary
Read the key messages, also available in French and Spanish

Related:

4th Africa Business Forum

1 June 2016. Addis Ababa. The Africa Business Forum focuses on offering international companies considerable opportunities to enter and become successful in one of the fastest growing economies in the world in the areas of finance and capital investment; infrastructure, logistics and import/export; power and energy; agriculture, mining and livestock; consumer goods; ICT and many other related Industries.

Extract of the programme:
Business Leaders Panel Session III – Power, Energy, Agriculture, Mining and Livestock opportunities in Africa

B2B discussion Panel: The aim of the panel was to give a detailed insight the issues facing power and energy as it begins to gain a foothold in Africa and the possible solutions that will help that develop into something more substantial. What are the existing and future opportunities in Africa? Keeping up with Africa’s growing energy demand and discuss alternative solutions. Agriculture in Africa has undergone fundamental changes. The aim of this section was to analyze the performance of Africa’s agricultural sector over the past and to compare certain aspects of agriculture in African regions with those in other parts of the world.

• Henok Assefa – Managing Partner, Precise Consult International; USAID Agribusiness Incubator. (Presenter).
• Craig Bridgman – Executive Chairman of East Africa Oil Field Services and Founder of Adamantine Energy (Kenya). (Panelist).
• Hussian Bin Jama Al Ishaqi – Acting CEO, Oman Oil (Panelist).

Related:
The Ethiopia Sustainable Agribusiness Incubator (ESAI), a project of the United States Agency for

International Development (USAID), was established in 2012 under a cooperative agreement between USAID and Precise Consult International and part of the U.S. Government’s Feed the Future Initiative, to transform Ethiopian agriculture sector-by-sector by enhancing the competitiveness of entire value chains.

Through collaboration with USAID, Irish Aid anticipates that the Dairy Innovation Fund will allow Ethiopian farmers and consumers to benefit from the latest techniques and technologies.

Renewable Energy and Climate Change Expert meeting for Central Africa

31 May – 1 June 2016. Libreville, Gabon. IRENA is collaborating with the Economic Commission for Central African States (ECCAS), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and other partners to hold a regional expert meeting on renewable energy and climate change in Central Africa.

The meeting, organised with the support from the Swedish government, forms part of a series of strategic dialogues in Sub-Saharan Africa. The series brings together energy and climate change policy-makers and planners to discuss a coherent and coordinated approach to implementing the renewable energy aspects of the region’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), the emissions reductions linked to the Paris Agreement.

Related:

Presentation of the Renewables 2016 Global Status Report 
by Christine Lins

1-2 June 2016. San Francisco, US. Energy ministers from 23 countries and the European
Commission, representing 75 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and 90 percent of worldwide renewable power investments, convened to encourage a new drive toward clean energy deployment, and further hasten the growing movement away from coal to the increasing use of green power.

Extract of the programme:

• Arthouros Zervos, Chair, Renewable Energy Network for the 21st Century: REN21’s 2016 Renewables Global Status Report
• IRENA Report Launch: The Power to Change: Cost Reduction Potential of Solar and Wind Technologies

What is the CEM?
Begun in 2010, the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) meets annually, bringing global energy ministers together to collaborate on policies and programs promoting the transition to an international clean energy economy. The CEM grew out of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate in July 2009, which agreed to launch a global partnership to drive transformational low-carbon and climate-friendly technologies.

About the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is mandated as the global hub for renewable energy cooperation and information exchange by 143 Members (142 States and the European Union). Roughly 30 additional countries are in the accession process and actively engaged. IRENA promotes the widespread adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy, including bioenergy, geothermal, hydropower, ocean, solar and wind energy in the pursuit of sustainable development, energy access, energy security and low-carbon economic growth and prosperity. 

Related:

The Renewables 2016 Global Status Report is now available for download. Read the most comprehensive annual overview of the state of renewable energy and find out why renewables are now firmly established as competitive, mainstream sources of energy in many countries around the world.

This year’s edition has detailed data and information on distributed renewables, pivotal for energy access in Africa. The energy efficiency section is also larger than ever. The role of cities, communities and companies in the expanding “100% renewable” movement is documented. This year’s feature looks at renewables in community power.

Use the infographics to spread the word. Check out REN21’s Renewables Interactive Map for country specific data underlying the various trends highlighted in the GSR. There is also a new map dedicated to distributed renewables

GSR Full Report Download (PDF – 25 MB)

Key Findings Download (PDF – 5 MB)

Many countries throughout Africa increased their policy commitments in the power sector during 2015. All renewable power generating technologies except ocean energy are being deployed across the continent, with significant markets on-grid as well as off-grid (for solar PV in particular). In 2015, several countries (including Ethiopia, Guinea and Zambia) brought new hydropower facilities online.106 Morocco was the world’s largest CSP market, South Africa was the first country on the continent to achieve 1 GW of solar PV and helped push the continent’s wind power capacity above the 3 GW mark, and Kenya ranked fourth globally for new geothermal power capacity.107 Across Africa, renewable power projects and technology manufacturing facilities were being planned or were under construction. (page 34)

"In the village of Bancoumanan (Mali), international partners and the local community have collaborated on the installation of a hybrid mini-grid that provides energy for the local population (190 end-users). Local technicians were trained for operation and maintenance tasks, and the system is managed by a local company. Combining solar energy and diesel, the village of Bancoumanan illustrates the flexibility of community-based renewable energy projects".  

"Africa presents specific data challenges, but it is clear that a number of solar PV, wind and geothermal power projects in Egypt, Kenya, Morocco and South Africa created new jobs. IRENA estimates that the continent had more than 60,000 renewable energy jobs (not including large-scale hydropower) in 2015. Close to one-half of these jobs are in South Africa and about one-fourth are in northern Africa". (page 40)

The African Development Bank launched its “New Deal for Energy in Africa”, targeting 75 million off-grid connections by 2025.47 In addition, the Millennium Challenge Corporation agreed to provide a USD 46 million grant for off-grid electrification in Benin.  (...) As part of the Power Africa initiative, the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) also agreed to provide Kenya and Nigeria with more than USD 20 
million in loans to promote solar energy in 90,000 households. (...) In December 2015, an array of new financing and investment initiatives was launched at the COP21 in Paris. For example, the African Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI), which aims to
achieve universal energy access on the continent, plans to install 10 GW of additional renewable energy capacity by 2020, and 300 GW by 2030. France will double investments across Africa in renewable energy projects – ranging from wind farms to

solar power and hydroelectric projects – to USD 2.2 billion between 2016 and 2020.(page 93)

The year 2015 also saw the launch in East Africa of the Powerhive” business model, which combines solar PV arrays, battery storage and smart metering systems with mobile telecommunications and payment applications. M-KOPA uses charging outlets for mobile phones as a key part of its business model in Africa. More than 280,000 homes in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda used M-KOPA’s solar systems with mobile payment and charging configurations during the year. (page 94)

Rwanda approved its new energy policy, which included a target of reaching 22% of its population with Distributed renewable energy (DRE) systems by 2017/2018, thereby increasing its off-grid power generation to 22 MW. Even before this policy was approved, Rwanda had partnered with Mobisol and the EU to provide solar PV systems to 49,000 households and 1,000 schools by 2019, representing a total installed capacity of 7.9 MW. Tanzania announced a target of 1 million solar installations by the end of 2017, which is expected to supply solar electricity to 10% of the nation’s population and to create over 15,000 solar jobs. Ghana launched a PAYG home solar programme in collaboration with Azuri Technology to provide electricity to 100,000 households. Mali is  promoting the sale of 1,500 solar kits with the with the support of local banks, which will offer special loans to users. (page 94)