Public-private partnership experienced by PAEPARD

22 October 2018.
Public-private partnership experienced by PAEPARD
AUTHORS: Alfred S., Muchiri S. and Kahane R. 9 pages

The Platform for Africa-Europe Partnership on Agricultural Research for Development (PAEPARD), designed a multi-stakeholder partnership approach to overcome existing shortcomings in agricultural research for development (ARD). Through a variety of brokerage mechanisms, PAEPARD has supported the formation of consortia made up of multi-stakeholder partners from the public and private sectors, which are intended to address priority research issues and respond to user needs.

PAEPARD played a key role in brokering the PPP that made up consortia, in particular, the Platform helped attract private sector small and mediumsized enterprises (SME) to partner with consortia, and trained a group of facilitators to strengthen partnership formation and management.

Initially, PAEPARD experienced challenges in involving the private sector in its multi-stakeholder consortia. A major constraint to the participation of SME stems from their reluctance to engage with NGO or government-driven research activities due to their limited experience and mistrust of working with such organizations. The challenges of working with smallholders in outgrower schemes also limits the private sector’s interest in submitting proposals for multi-stakeholder partnerships, which require significant time and resource commitments (human and financial).

To mobilize private sector partners PAEPARD sought to create better understanding of the winwin outcomes for all partners, the constraints that private sector partners operate under (e.g. time  and resources), and the required incentives for private sector participation (e.g. ownership of the research product).

During its second phase, PAEPARD increased the participation of private sector partners, including farmer organizations, in its multi-stakeholder consortia, through its users-led process (ULP), competitive research fund (CRF) and incentive fund (IF) mechanisms. Each of these mechanisms were funded by PAEPARD, providing the necessary financial incentive for private sector involvement in consortia.

Examples

Ghana citrus consortium

The Ghana citrus consortium brought together a range of stakeholders to address the high level of fruit losses due to the presence of the angular leaf spot disease (Pseudocercospora leaf and fruit spot) and fruit flies in the regions where citrus fruits are produced. One of the key partners in this consortium is the Citrus Growers and Marketing Association of Ghana (CIGMAG), which has over 3,000 members whose income depends on citrus fruit farming. Two private sector fruit processing companies were involved in the Ghana citrus consortium, which aimed to address citrus fruit damage as a result of pests and diseases. Pinora Ltd and Fruitland Ghana Ltd.

Nigeria cassava consortium

Two influential farmers’ groups (Unit Six Multipurpose Cooperative and Imo State Cassava Growers Association) joined the consortium to collaborate in the production and use of cassava as a raw material for poultry feed.

Burkina Faso Trichoderma consortium

With Téga Wendé on board, the consortium activities have seen a significant expansion in the production and use of organic matter by local farmers. In fact, the Téga Wendé group has almost doubled its compost production from 45 tons in 2014 to nearly 76 tons in the first half of 2017. The revenue generated by the sale of the compost has increased four-fold over this period to €2,763 in the first half of 2017. In addition, the study tours of Téga Wendé have made it possible to replicate the processing structure used by the group to establish 12 new rural composting units in Burkina Faso.

GIE BIOPROTECT, a (joint venture) private sector company based in Burkina Faso that specializes in the supply of organic farm inputs, as well as training and advice on organic farming and good agricultural practices, is a leading partner in the Burkina Faso consortium focused on promoting the use of Trichoderma enriched compost.

East Africa livestock feed consortium

EAFF established the Kenyan Aflatoxin Innovation Platform (KAIP). KAIP provided further support to elaborate and present several project proposals to create awareness among farmers of aflatoxin control mechanisms.

Malawi and Zambia groundnut consortium

Smallholder farmers, drawn from the National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi (NASFAM) and Eastern Province Farmers’ Cooperatives membership base, were at the heart of the project. Farmers participated at two levels, either as lead farmers who took part in the participatory research, or farmers who received targeted extension services for improved aflatoxin mitigation practices through publications, radio broadcasts and face-to-face demonstrations.

Burundi potato consortium

The consortium placed farmers at the center of activities, building strong relationships with producer cooperatives for the rapid dissemination and adoption of the locally adapted seeds.

Benin soybean consortium

Engagement with the women processors in the consortium has enabled researchers to demystify and simplify scientific information so that it is user friendly and meets the women’s needs. In 2016, the consortium also partnered with the African Agribusiness Incubation Network to set up a private sector organization, the Benin Agribusiness Incubation Hub (BAIH), to help turn research outputs into viable agribusinesses.