Fostering multi-stakeholder partnership engagement for impact on FNSSA: Lessons learnt from PAEPARD

1 June 2021. 13:00-15:00 PM. (Central European Summer Time/Central Africa Time - CEST/CAT) 

Fostering multi-stakeholder partnership engagement for impact on FNSSA: Lessons learnt from PAEPARD (2007-2018). By FARA-EAFF

Organizer: FARA – EAFF (Forum for Agricultural research in Africa/Accra/Ghana) - (East Africa Farmers' Forum)

Description:

This session on stakeholder engagement organized by FARA and EAFF aims at demonstrating the value-added of the AU-EU partnership in FNSSA by focusing on lessons learnt from PAEPARD project. Specifically, the session intends:

• To share lessons learnt (successes and challenges) in building the multi-stakeholder partnership between African and European partners on FNSSA;
• To showcase how PAEPARD has dealt with power relations between farmer organizations (FOs) and researchers to prioritize research in what was called Users' led process (ULP);
• To mobilize African & European ARD stakeholders to support the implementation of AU-EU R&I partnership roadmap on FNSSA and the bi-continental platform.

Speakers:

• Moderator: Monica Namumbya Kapiriri (Freelance Development Consultant). Monica was a key consultant to train Agricultural Innovation Facilitators (AIF) to set up multi stakeholder research consortia which involves the Farmers' organisations and Agri MSMEs (Micro & Small and Medium Enterprises)
• Opening: Aggrey Agumya, Director of Research and Innovation, FARA
  
• Closing: Philippe Petithuguenin (CIRAD) Introduction on the AU-EU Platform on FNSSA (IRC?)
  
• Short presentation on PAEPARD: Jonas Mugabe, Lead Specialist Research, Policy & Investment. Also, Former PAEPARD Project Manager
  

Short video (5') on the improvement of the shelf life of soybean milk by the Association of women of Zogbodomey

Full video'(22'51") on the improvement of the shelf life of soybean milk by the Association of women of Zogbodomey

Recorded interview (4’30 minutes) with H.E. Josefa Sacko, Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, African Union Commission, Utrecht, the Netherlands 1 June 2018) (in French / en français)

Questions asked during the interview:

·        How can research be prioritized based on the needs of the private sector?

·        Could there be a conflict of interest?

·        What type of European expertise would be needed for ago-processing and packaging?

·        What is the problem of food safety in Africa?

·        How serious is the aflatoxin contamination?

Panel Discussion: New research needs of Farmers' organisations and Agri MSMEs (Micro & Small and Medium Enterprises)

• Patrice Sewade: Coordinator of Sojagnon Benin (NGO) promoting soybeans in Benin. (in French / en français )
  
• Stephen Muchiri CEO of Eastern Africa Farmers' Federation (EAFF) 
  

• Francois Stepman: Advisory Services Resilient Agri-Food Systems (ASRAFS).
  
  
  Francois referred among others to :

• Dependence on calls will continue. Genuine FNSSA innovation requires consortia to translate value chain bottle necks in research questions well before a call is launched. (a) Funding is often not available for consortia inception workshops; (b) Donors don't like to invest in unpredictable "innovative" research; (c) Research institutions require, in addition, core funding to finance recurrent expenditure; finance that is almost by definition excluded from EU funding instruments. See: Mackie, J., Engel, P., Bizzotto Molina, P., Deneckere, M., Spierings, E., Tondel, F. (et al.). 2016. Evaluation of EU support to Research and Innovation for development in partner countries (2007-2013). 
• The evaluation in 2016  examined the support the European Commission’s DG for International Cooperation and Development (DEVCO) provided to Research and Innovation (R & I) in partner countries during the last EU budget period (2007-2013).
https://paepard.blogspot.com/2016/05/evaluation-of-eu-support-to-research.html
• A unique approach to uptake of research outcomes is extension videos in African languages https://www.ecoagtube.org/
• We also need far more political economy research to understand how "negative forces" constrain impact, upscaling and OWNERSHIP

Wrap-up of the Panel Discussion:

Translators:

• Mr Victor Imboua-Niava
• Mr Stevy Daic Ndjala Totolo

Technical support:

• Edna Yeboah (FARA)
• Benjamin Abugri  (FARA)
• Christabel Essel (FARA)

Brief history of PAEPARD Dgroups:

2008: Creation of the PAEPARD Dgroup for the African research priority setting discussion for the 1st Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD) which was held in Montpellier from 28 March to 1 April 2010.

2009: Creation of the PAEPARD blog

2018. Integration of the PAEPARD Dgroups and blog in FARA

2020. Since COVID-19: weekly aggregation of (the high number of) FNSSA webinars

Members Dgroup: 11,660 Including, CGIAR subscribers, FAO, IFAD, international donors (AU, EC, AfDB....), bilateral donors (USAID and the majority of European Union donors, ...)

Monthly views PAEPARD blog: on average 30,000 to 40,000 views per month

PAEPARD library: https://library.faraafrica.org/paepard-2/

Achievements, challenges and lessons:  (+ en français)

• Achievements, challenges and lessons of the PAEPARD multi-stakeholder partnerships
• Analyse d’impact de PAEPARD à travers 4études de cas Utilisation de la méthode impress

Thematic briefs:  (+ en français)

1. ARD Partnerships – An Introduction
2. Systems thinking and ARD partnerships
3. Adaptive leadership in ARD
4. Managing power differences in ARD partnerships
5. Gender and youth inclusion in ARD processes
6. Reflection and learning in ARD
7. Knowledge co-creation and management in ARD
8. Scaling in ARD processes

Policy Brief:

• Le rôle des partenariats multipartites entre l'Afrique et l'Europe, illustré par le problème de la contamination par les aflatoxines des denrées alimentaires et des aliments pour animaux
• The role of multi stakeholder partnerships between Africa and Europe, exemplified by the issue of Aflatoxin contamination of food and feed