Platform for African – European Partnership in Agricultural Research for Development

Monday, May 7, 2012

PAEPARD 2nd European Multi-Stakeholder Consultation

3 and 4 May 2012. Brussels. BTC-CTB center. PAEPARD 2nd European Multi-Stakeholder Consultation

The main objective of this PAEPARD workshop was an exchange between non-research and research stakeholders or "research users" (producer organizations, private sector, NGOs) to explore possibilities of establishing a multi-stakeholder inclusive and balanced in the field of Agricultural Research for Development (ARD), in order to foster a more demand-driven approach in ARD.

In order to reach the objectives and expected results, the workshop was organized around: “how to make researchers and users work together?” by focusing on models of partnerships and funding and support mechanisms.

The workshop was fed by the lessons learned from PAEPARD experience accumulated over the past two years, which were presented and analyzed.

Models of partnerships 
It is possible to distinguish between several types of partnership models by considering the role played by different actors, in particular in terms of their initiative, definition of problems or challenges, implementation, evaluation and a host of other factors. Based on the idea that 'there is no perfect model' the workshop analyzed various existing models in order to ascertain and highlight their relative advantages and risks.


Funding mechanisms and support mechanisms for partnerships 
In light of identified models of partnerships and items to promote benefits or to avoid risks, the workshop aimed to analyze existing funding mechanisms and set recommendations. Further, the workshop addressed some mechanisms to support balance and inclusive partnerships, particularly those set up by PAEPARD.

PAEPARD experiences 
Those questions were introduced by analyzes based on the experience of PAEPARD from several sources:
  1. Case studies conducted by PAEPARD partners 
  2. Representatives of consortia supported by PAEPARD. 
Following persons represented consortia at the PAEPARD 2nd European Multi-Stakeholder Consultation :
  • Adler CORNEL, Federal Research Center for Cultivated Plants, Julius Kuhn Institute, Germany for the consortium of Ghana/Malawi - Improving food security and income for smallholder farmers through improved post harvest technology
  • Joutsjoki VESA, MTT Agrifood Research Finland; for the consortium of Aflatoxin contamination management along the maize value chain in Kenya.
  • Cheikh Oumar Ba, INITIATIVE PROSPECTIVE AGRICOLE ET RURALE (IPAR), Senegal, for the consortium of Un partenariat Europe Afrique pour la création d’un outil de suivi de l’agriculture familiale
  • Vincent ANTONIO, Instituto valenciano de investigaciones agrarias (IVIA), Spain;
  • Control of Angular leaf spot disease of Citrus in Ghana