Is the European FP 7 programme a good model for Africa?

Click to Play

Interview with Dr. Kevin Urama African Technology Policy Studies (ATPS Kenya) at the NEPAD Tertiary Institutions Dialogue FARA Secretariat 28 - 30 July 2009, Accra, Ghana.

He thinks that the modus operandus of the European Framework Programme is very useful because it is trying to forge partnerships and collaborations both between disciplines and across cultures and countries. Currently ATPS is working on a Manifesto for Science and Technology involving Indian, European and African partners.

Work packages allow African institutes to take the lead and in this they can set their own research priorities. The multilateral research platform is a guarantee for quality control. Such types of collaboration should happen more in Africa. He gives as an example the banana tissue culture which was developed in Kenya but now involves researchers from Cameroon, Nigeria and other places. The requirement of involving policy makers, researchers, the producers and the civil society allows for innovation to develop and forces researchers to think critically about their research.

He answers following questions:

Will newcomers like Japan, China and Brazil foster Africa-Africa collaboration ? |ATPS is currently developing a Donor Watch initiative

Will we have one day an African Union FP7 type of programme?

EC and FIDA's support to Farmers' Organisations in Africa

Click to Play

Interview with Manuel ANCILLOTTI Programme Manager Centralised Operations for the ACP countries European Commission EuropeAid Co-operation Office at the Start Up Workshop Support to Farmers' Organisations in Africa 17-18-19 June 2009 Johannesburg South-Africa. Manuel explains where the funding for this programme comes from and what this programme hope to achieve.

Related:

The next SACAU Policy Conference will be held on 29-30 March 2010 in Gauteng, South Africa. This year, the theme of the Conference will be around land issues in southern Africa as they impact on farming enterprises and the agricultural sector in general, as decided by SACAU’s last AGM.

Findings of the Feasibility study for AfricaConnect FEAST

A new FEAST PROJECT brochure - A feasibility study on the interconnection of African research and education networks to each other and to global research and education resources via GÉANT - giving an overview of the results and outlook from the project has been published. The brochure provides a summary of the highlights.

The FEAST project was a one-year feasibility study to prepare a roadmap for the AfricaConnect Initiative, one of the nineteen projects of the EU-Africa Partnership for Science, Information Society and Space. FEAST explored the options of deploying sustainable and extensible regional backbone networks in Africa, exclusively dedicated to research and education, to connect National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) to each other, and to global research and education resources via the GÉANT backbone network.

The FEAST partners announced the publication of the ROADMAP of the work to be carried out and the issues to be dealt with in establishing a sub-Saharan regional research and education network (REN) between the NRENs of the countries identified to be in a position to participate in such a regional network.

An updated readiness table has been prepared since the publication of the roadmap.

The countries identified to be in a position to participate in such a regional network are Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

Related:
12 – 13 November 2009 Kampala, Uganda Opening New Frontiers for Research and Education Networking in Africa
Blogpost of FARA West and Central African Research Education Networks

Digital World Forum on Accessible and Inclusive ICT

Digital world Forum (DWF) organised a closing event on 30th September 2009. Digital World Forum' was a FP7 European project focusing on the use of ICT to leverage economic development in Africa and Latin America.


Providing minimal services (health, agriculture, education, business, government, etc.) to rural communities and under-privileged populations is of major importance to improve people lives, and to sustain development. Using ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) would be the easiest and possibly only way to develop and deploy those services. At this event, the keynote speakers underlined the potential of one or more of the above mentioned low-cost technologies in development, and the need for future funding and research. One focus point of the DWF was the Mobile Web for Social Development Roadmap (see MW4D wiki). Its the most recent and last document for the partnership and was prepared under the leadership of France Telecom’s Orange Labs.
     

Evaluating and controlling the risk of African swine fever in the EU

African swine fever (ASF) in EU member states is currently confined to Italy (Sardinia). It was recently introduced to Caucasian regions and is highly prevalent in sub-Saharan African countries. In both the EC and Africa changes in the epidemiology of the disease have recently been observed, related to newly emerging strains of ASFV, emphasising the serious threat this disease represents to the growing pig farming sector in Africa and Europe.

ASF was recorded for the first time in Ghana in September 1999. The outbreaks occurred in Greater Accra Region and parts of the Volta Region.

This project will provide new tools and strategies to reduce the risk of importation and/or spread of the disease in EU member states. The project will develop and validate a generic risk assessment for the introduction of ASF into EU countries and subsequent control strategies. The project will also develop and validate new antibody and nucleic acid-based diagnostic tools for ASF, including front-line and pen-side tests, which will be supplied to diagnostic facilities in Africa and the Animal Health Laboratories in the EU for the early detection of potential ASFV incursions, in particular by the newly emerging strains.

The new strategies and the tools developed within this project will be transferred to African partners, and other interested countries, and established in these countries through local training/workshops and technology transfer.


This EC-funded project was initiated on January 2008 for 3 years. The EU consortium examines the epidemiology (risk factors), pathogenesis, host viral interactions, vaccine development and novel diagnostic procedures. A total of ten institutes across EU-member states actively participate in this research project, focusing on the development and validation of sensitive diagnostic techniques, including pen-side test.

Sweet Sorghum - An alternative energy crop for biofuel production in semi-arid and temperate regions

The Sweet Fuel partnership comprises 10 partners from research,Academia and industry. Partners are based in Europe, India,Brazil, SOUTH AFRICA and Mexico.

SWEETFUEL aims to breed sweet sorghum varieties better adapted to temperate region and semi arid tropics, for bio-ethanol production. To attain that goal, SWEETFUEL includes a major breeding effort, split into 3 work packages according to target environment and production system:

• WP1 addresses biomass sorghum adaptation to temperate environments,
• WP2 addresses tropical and sub-tropical environments, with a special focus on drought adaptation,
• WP3 addresses tropical and sub-tropical environments, with a special focus on poor soil adaptation.

Breeding support is provided by 2 other WPs:

• WP4 which focuses on the mechanisms involved in sugar accumulation and response to abiotic stress like low temperature and drought. Coupled with molecular studies, this will allow the identification of QTLs or candidate gene sequences for MAS to be used in breeding.

• WP5 which develops cultural and harvest practices and identifies agronomic determinants (cultural calendar, population density, water and nutrient requirements, etc.) to optimize yield and resource use. Particular attention will be paid to the optimization of harvest techniques which represents a major bottleneck of production of ethanol from sweet sorghum, due to the low storability of the harvested material. This WP will also provide a plant model to test genotypes under different management and climatic scenarios (characterization of target populations of environments, TPE) and to determine potential geographic area of cultivation. 

Agenda:Kick off meeting Sweetfuel project The kick off meeting "sweetfuel project" was held at Montpellier (France) on 16 17 & 18 March 2009.
Presentation of SWEETFUEL at EC Workshop Presentation of SWEETFUEL project at the Twinning workshop organized by European Commission in Buenos Aires - Argentina, on 7 and 8th, May 2009
Presentation of SWEETFUEL at EU India Science and Technology Cooperation Days, 4-6 November 2009, New Delhi
Next annual meeting of the General Assembly will be held at EMBRAPA Mayze and Sorghum Centre, Sete Lagoas, MG, Brazil from 19h to 23th of April - 2010

Partners:CIRAD : Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement FRANCE
ICRISAT : International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics INDIA
EMBRAPA Maize and Sorghum : Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria BRAZIL
KWS : KWS SAAT AG GERMANY
IFEU : Institut fuer Energie und Umweltforschung Heidelberg GMBH GERMANY
UNIBO : Alma Mater Studiorum Universita di Bologna ITALY
UNIBO Website
UCSC : Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore ITALY
ARC-GCI : Agricultural Research Council – Grain Crop Institute SOUTH AFRICA
UANL : Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo Leon MEXICO
WIP : WIP Renewable Energies GERMANY

Promoting local fruit trees in the Sahel

November 9-12, 2009. Bamako, Mali. The aim of this workshop was to create awareness among policy makers and organisations involved in development of rural areas, and to contribute to an increased scientific knowledge about the fruit trees.

Despite a recent interest in local fruit trees, their potential is far from fully recognised. Emerging studies indicate that fruit trees play an important role in national economies, and that improved market access and knowledge will be able to increase the proportion. Improved management of the trees can increase the overall yield of the agroforestry parklands that represent the dominating agricultural land use in the Sahel. 


Being largely undomesticated, the possibilities for improved yield and quality through breeding are big, and if efficient distribution mechanisms for tree seed and plants are found, fruit yields can be increased considerably. 


One of the major constraints is the lack of young trees in the current agricultural systems, meaning that fruit trees will disappear in the long run unless management practices change.


Objectives:
The objective of the workshop was to increase rural livelihoods of people in the Sahel through an improved and sustainable use of local fruits trees. This will be achieved through

• Discussions of policy issues related to fruit trees, and through direct exchanges between policy makers and scientists
• Presentations and discussions of research results on fruit trees in the Sahel
• Discussions of dissemination systems and “how to get the knowledge to the farmers”
• Identification of new research topics and actions to improve the use of fruit trees

Partners:

	The Faculty of Life Science Forest & Landscape Denmark. Hørsholm Kongevej 11 DK-2970 Hørsholm Denmark
Forest & Landscape Denmark is a centre for research, education, and extension concerning forest, landscape and planning at the University of Copenhagen. FLD is co-ordinating the project and has inputs to socio-economics and seed distribution systems. Furthermore it is co-ordinating the activities on tree breeding and genetics.
	Centre National de Semences Forestières (CNSF) 01 BP 2682, Ouagadougou 01 Burkina Faso
CNSF is the national tree seed centre of Burkina Faso, and as such plays a leading role in Burkina Faso’s supply with tree seed. However, the institution also has a significant research component, in SAFRUIT, involved in socio-economics and marketing, vegetative propagation, tree breeding and seed supply systems
	Institut de l’Environnement et de Recherche Agricoles (INERA) 03 BP 7047, Ouagadougou 03 Burkina Faso
INERA is Burkina Faso ’s national research institution, responsible for research in agriculture and environmental issues. The institution has a leading role in SAFRUIT, in the studies of tree/crop interactions, and is involved in propagation and tree breeding.
	Institut d’Economie Rurale (IER) BP258 Bamako Mali
IER is the main institution for agricultural research in Mali, and participates in all aspects of SAFRUIT. IER is leading the research on vegetative propagation and conducts studies of socio-economics and marketing, tree/crop interactions, tree breeding and seed distribution systems.
	ICRAF Sahel c/o ICRISAT BP 320, Bamako Mali
ICRAF is the CGIAR organisation responsible for research in agroforestry.ICRAF participates in the tree breeding aspects of SAFRUIT.
	Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du Niger (INRAN) BP429 Niamey Niger
INRAN is conducting research in agriculture and natural resources in Niger . INRAN participates in the research on socio-economics and marketing, tree breeding and seed distribution systems in SAFRUIT.
	International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) BP12404 Niamey Niger
ICRISAT is the CGIAR organisation responsible for crop research in the dry tropics. ICRISATs participation in SAFRUIT is on tree breeding and vegetative propagation. University of Wales, Bangor (UWB),School of the Environment & Natural Resources LL57 2UW, Deniol Road, Bangor Great Britain Wageningen University and Research Centre Agricultural Economics Research Institute (LEI), The Netherlands PO Box 297003, 2502 LS The Hague The Netherlands

Development of Innovative and Healthful Marama Bean Products Targeting Niche Markets

The overall objective of MARAMA II which ended 31/12/2009 was to improve food safety and diversify livelihoods for poor people in Southern Africa through the development of healthful marama bean products. The products will be targeted to niche markets initially in Southern Africa as well as internationally.  


The marama bean is an underutilized legume crop native to the Kalahari Desert and neighbouring sandy regions of Botswana and Namibia and the Transvaal region of South Africa. It forms part of the diet of the indigenous population in these countries.


MARAMA II added valuable information about the potential use of marama beans due to greater knowledge of how to produce marama bean products, factors influencing the shelf life of the products, and the nutritive value and potential antioxidant and anti-carcinogenic activity of marama beans and products. Manuals for production of the marama bean products was part of the outcome.

The project created awareness amongst the stakeholders of: 

• the agricultural value chain of the potential of marama 
• the range of products that could be produced 
• the quality and desirable attributes of the bean and value added products 
• the health effects of consuming the beans and products 
• potential target markets for the bean products

Partners

1. University of Copenhagen, Denmark (Coordinator) 
2. University of Botswana, Botswana
3. University of Pretoria, South Africa
4. University of Namibia, Namibia
5. University of Maribor, Slovenia
6. Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical, Portugal
7. Market Matters Inc., South Africa  

Reference:
University of Copenhagen. Marhama

Towards a Better Understanding and Use of Underutilized Plant and Tree Genetic Resources

9 - 13 November 2009, Bamako, Mali. International Workshop on Statistical and Spatial Analysis of Diversity Data: Towards a Better Understanding and Use of Underutilized Plant and Tree Genetic Resources

The main objective was to strengthen the capacity of young scientists to use statistical, GIS and modelling techniques for analysis of diversity data on underutilized plants and tree genetic resources. Knowledge to analyse plant morphological/ molecular diversity, distribution and relationships with the environment was provided by using modern / state of the art tools.Practical exercises were be a major component of the course.

Organisation
1. Laboratory of Tropical and Subtropical Agronomy, and Ethnobotany, Ghent University, Belgium (UGent)
2. Centre for Underutilized Crops, Southampton University, UK (SOTON)
3. Institute for Rural Economy, Mali (IER)
4. Bioversity International, Italy (Bioversity)
5. R&Dproject DADOBAT fundedby the European Commissionunder FP6-INCO-DEV (DADOBAT)

Reference:
The DADOBAT project aims at developing sustainable production systems of baobab and tamarind in three West-African countries based on characterisation, conservation and use of local genetic resources. This is expected to have a positive impact on food security and income generation in the countries involved in the project. Issues of new crop/niche development are addressed through a holistic research approach and multidisciplinary research activities.

Baobab (Adansonia digitata) is a multipurpose, widely-used African tree. Baobab occurs scattered in savannahs, often near dwellings. It has numerous medicinal properties and (non-)food uses. Young leaves, rich in minerals/vitamins, are cooked as spinach and sauces. Fruit pulp is high in Vitamin C, and is dissolved in water or milk and drunk, used as sauce or fermenting agent, etc. Seed kernels are eaten fresh, dry or ground and used in cooking, as thickening/flavouring agent, or roasted. Seeds are also a source of cooking oil. Bark fibre is used for rope, basket nets, fishing lines and weaving.

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica Lam.) is grown for subsistence and some commercial production in Asia and Latin America, however it often occurs wild in the tropics. In Africa unimproved trees are often commercially exploited, but are considered as underutilised crop. Tamarind fruit pulp is the richest known natural source of tartaric acid and is used for flavouring chutneys, sauces and juices. Sweet varieties can also be consumed as table fruit. Its leaves are a source of food and medicine. Tamarind wood is used for timber, tool handles, charcoal and fuel wood. Seed kernel powder, the major industrial product, is an important material used in sizing of textiles and paper.

Pioneering small-scale fish farming in Eastern Africa by establishing rural aquaculture networks

2nd to 4th September 2009, Machakos, Kenya. This international BOMOSA project conference "Pioneering small-scale fish farming in Eastern Africa by establishing rural aquaculture networks". The conference was attended by more than 70 participants drawn from 8 countries. The conference participants included scientists, technologists, aquaculture professionals, representatives of international organizations (FAO) and community leaders.


The conference programme included 38 PowerPoint presentations, video presentations, technology exhibitions, plus excursions to BOMOSA plots and the BOMOSA hub Sagana Fish Farm.


The conference announcement flyer and detailed book of abstracts (including abstracts of all 38 scientific presentations/publications) were widely disseminated and are downloadable from the BOMOSA webpage. 


The conference was attended by mass media representatives and two articles were published in daily newspapers.




Consortium partners:

1. University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences (BOKU), Institute of Hydrobiologie and Aquatic Management, Vienna, Austria Coordinator
2. Austrian Academy of Sciences (OEAW), Institute for Limnology, IPGLOffice, Mondsee, Austria
3. ENKI (Public Benefit Corporation), Trebon, Czech Republic
4. Alma Mater Studiorum, Università di Bologna (UNIBO), Bologna
5. Moi University (MOI), Department of Zoology, Eldoret, Kenya
6. Kenyan Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development (DFK), Sagana Fish Farm, Kenya
7. Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), Sangoro Aquaculture Station, Kenya
8. Egerton University, Egerton, Kenya
9. Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), NFLARR, Sebeta, Ethiopia
10. Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (DFRU), Entebbe, Uganda

References:

• Drexler S.-S., Waidbacher H. (Eds.) BOOK OF ABSTRACTS Sixth Framework Programme Specific targeted research project, 115 pages  (type: PDF, size: 400 kB)
• Guardian Newspaper articles: "Benefits, Risks In Cage Fish Farming" and "Prospects, Challenges Of Cage Fish Culture, By Scientists"
• Article in "BOKU Insight

Public Deliverables

• Deliverable 2.2 (Part I): Capacity building, dissemination material and documentation (type: PDF, size: 82 kB)
• Deliverable 2.2 (Part II): Capacity building and dissemination material and documentation (type: PDF, size: 1334 kB)
• Deliverable 2.2 (Part III): Capacity building and dissemination material and documentation (type: PDF, size: 716 kB)
• Deliverable 2.3: Conference proceedings (type: PDF, size: 2548 kB)
• Deliverable 3.3: BOMOSA plots set up and fingerlings delivered (type: PDF, size: 219 kB)
• Deliverable 4.1: Synthesis of baseline environmental data from existing BOMOSA plots (type: PDF, size: 299 kB)
• Deliverable D 4.6: Report on existing aquaculture institutional environment in Eastern Africa IMPROVED VERSION (type: PDF, size: 319 kB)
• Deliverable 4.7: Final report of veterinary and public health aspects (results of surveys and recommendations) (type: PDF, size: 6617 kB)
• Deliverable 4.9: Final RS evaluation method documented in a manual(type: PDF, size: 1739 kB)
• Deliverable 4.10: Recommendations for aquaculture institutional environment in Eastern Africa IMPROVED VERSION (type: PDF, size: 427 kB)
• Deliverable: 5.1: Report on survey of available by-products as feed ingredients for the three countries (type: PDF, size: 548 kB)
• Deliverable 5.3: Optimised prototypes for processing and dispensing the selected feeds (type: PDF, size: 2587 kB)
• Deliverable 6.1:Chapter of “post-harvest processing and preservation” for the final BOMOSA manual as a contribution to task 2.3 (type: PDF, size: 160 kB)
• Deliverable 6.3: Chapter of “best management practices” for the final BOMOSA manual as a contribution to Task 2.3 (type: PDF, size: 696 kB)
• Deliverable 7.3: Reports on social acceptance and ethical issues with case studies at community level (type: PDF, size: 102 kB)

Bomosa Song

• Bomosa Song (type: WMA, size: 5620 kB)
• Lyrics (Swahili, type: PDF, size: 9 kB)
• Lyrics (English translation, type: PDF, size: 10 kB)

Does African agricultural research fit into FP7?

Click to Play

Dr. Habiba Hassan-Wassef (Egypt) sees a misunderstanding in the fact that many researchers in Africa perceive the Frame Work Programme 7 of the European Commission first of all as a source of money forgetting it is about science and knowledge based economy. But few realise what this means. It is about generating new knowledge to serve the bio-economy and not research for research or research for development.

There is a need to look at research with a different perspective which is bringing innovation to European research. Therefore it is important to follow developments at the European and World research front. FP7 is not a lottery. It is important to understand how the evaluators of proposals think. Dr. Hassan-Wassef answers the question of which the biggest difficulties are for African researchers to participate in FP7 research projects.

What is Europe looking for in Africa through FP7-FAFB?

Click to Play

Dr. Habiba Hassan-Wassef has been wondering why Europe has a renewed interest for joint research in the field of agriculture and nutrition in Africa (Framework Programme 7 Theme 2: Food, Agriculture, Fisheries and Bio-technologies).

She takes as example a recent call by the European Commission for proposals from the South-Mediterranean Area about research on African traditional technology about the use of food resources, the management of natural resources, the use of African traditional food processing technologies in order to benefit the European food industry.

She questions the principle of mutual benefit and wants to secure Africa's interest and intellectual property rights. She believes though that FP7 is a genuine change compared to the past. But she fears African scientists do not know all their rights while FP7 provides for it. Collaboration between North African researchers and Sub-Saharan researchers could be improved and accelerated. FARA, NEPAD and the different Sub-regional organisations have a role to play in this.

African participation to the EU Framework Programme 7

Click to Play

Elisabetta Balzi of the European Commission, DG Research Biotechnologies, Agriculture, Food was interviewed during the BIOCIRCLE Meeting Rome , 25-26 May 2009 about African participation to the EU Framework Programme 7. She answers following questions:

1. What is the next call for proposals under the Framework Programme 7 theme 2: Food, Agriculture, Fisheries and Bio technology about?
2. How open is FP 7 towards participation of African scientists?
3. Climate change is part of the upcoming call?
4. FP 7 encourages multi-lateral cooperation?

Background: BIO CIRCLE is a project funded by the European Commission. It aims at increasing the participation of researchers from outside Europe in research projects under the Food, Agriculture, Fisheries and Biotechnology theme (FAFB) of the EU Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) and extend the network to include National Information Points (NIP) for major Third Country partners in two years.

BIO CIRCLE organises trainings on FP7 for researchers outside Europe (in Third Countries); helps Third Countries identify national research topics that are also of interest to the European Union; helps agro-food researchers to network and find new partners! Click here for more information about BIO CIRCLE activities.