Platform for African – European Partnership in Agricultural Research for Development

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Innovative tools to reduce the overall cost to serve small agri businesses

22 February 2024. Small tickets, big returns: Innovative tools to reduce the overall cost to serve small agri businesses


Smaller enterprises in the agriculture sector have long struggled to access adequate and timely capital for their business activities, despite their critical role in moving food from farm to fork.

The development finance sector has increasingly focused on such enterprises, launching various funds and initiatives to bridge the estimated US$ 74.5 billion annual financing gap they face across Sub-Saharan Africa. While practical experience has advanced significantly in recent years, investors typically shy away from lending to smaller agricultural enterprises because the financial costs and risks often don’t match the financial returns of these investments.

This first session of the SAFIN and USAID’s ‘Backing the Middle’ webinar series explored this notion, looking first at how some investors are using innovative tools to reduce the overall cost to serve small businesses in the sector, and then discussing whether smaller enterprises can cumulatively generate more social returns than larger ones in terms of job creation, resilience and sustainable development.
Is there a path to sustainably support small businesses along their journey to accessing commercial investments with market returns?
  • Moderator: Songbae Lee Agricultural Finance Team Lead, USAID
  • Wouter Vandersypen Executive Director, Kampani
  • Jovitus Rutakinikwa Country Manager, SME Impact Fund (SIF)


Upcoming 


  • The Smallholder and Agri-SME Finance and Investment Network and the Marketlinks initiative of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) are kicking off 2024 with a webinar series that dives deeply into diverse approaches and perspectives from agri-SME finance practitioners, from fund managers and commercial banks in sub-Saharan Africa, to donors backing large-scale agricultural SME funds.
  • Coming Soon: Donors as Investment Catalysts. 
    In March 2024, Session two of SAFIN's ‘Backing the Middle’ series. The next discussion will focus on engaging donors to explore the most effective utilization of concessional capital in agriculture to maximize impact on small agricultural enterprises and the farmers they support. Representatives of donor countries will focus on the central questions—where is concessional capital best utilized? What are the best approaches to attract private financiers without disrupting existing agri-SME finance markets?
    STAY TUNED HERE >
  • The third and final session of this series in April 2024 will highlight the use of financial incentives like guarantees and first loss facilities to encourage local financial institutions to lend to agripreneurs. Seasoned experts from the field to discuss when, how and how long incentives can be used to bridge the agri-SME finance gap in sub-Saharan Africa.
at No comments:
Labels: ,

Recordings February 2024 - CHRONOLOGICAL

  • Organised by the City University of London
  • This webinar focused on insights from the IFPRI report: The Political Economy of Food System Transformation: Pathways to Progress in a Polarized World 
5 February 2024. A Hybrid High-Level Public Panel Discussion on the Future of the Malabo Declaration Beyond 2025 – What next? Recorded
  • Organised by PARI- Program of Accompanying Research for Agricultural Innovation
6 February 2024 Hybrid Event, From Commitments to Impact: Analyzing the Global Commitments Toward Promoting Food Security and Healthy Diets by IFPRI Recorded


7 February 2024. Research Lessons to Inform Future CAP Reform Recorded AUDIO
  • The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) plays a crucial role in aiming to transition to and maintain sustainable practices while addressing biodiversity loss and the challenges of climate change.

7 February 2024. New short film-Seeds of Profit (video)
  • Best Documentary released in 2019 a the film Seeds of Profit: Why Fruits and Vegetables Are the New Gold. It is since 7 February avaialble on YouTube.
8 February 2024. Building startup ecosystems to leverage the private and public sector for the transformation of our food system – A guidebook Recorded
12 - 14 February 2024. Science Transforming Food Systems for a Better Future Recorded
  • The Agricultural Research Council (ARC) in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development (DALRRD) of South Africa hosted their first-ever joint annual conference.
  • Related: Focus on: Prof Umezuruike Linus Opara (video)

14 - 15 February 2024. Africa Tech Summit Nairobi (video)


  • Organised by the Joint Programming Initiative on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change (FACCE-JPI), together with Healthy Diet, Healthy Life, (HDHL)
15 - 16 February 2024. Multilateral dialogue on principles and values for international cooperation in research & innovation  (video)

15 February 2024. Regional Webinar on Leadership and Capacity Building in Food Science and Technology in Africa Recorded
  • The Association of African Universities (AAU) and the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST). Theme: Promoting collaboration and partnership for research development among academic leaders in Food Science and Technology

21 February 2024. Food Systems as a Solution to the Climate Agenda Recorded
  • Co-sponsored by the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute, this Grand Rounds lecture featured Dr. Jess Fanzo.
21 February2024. The Potential of African regional markets: Successes from SMEs and Smallholders Recording forthcoming

21 - 22 February 2024. “It's Bean Too Hot: The Reality of Coffee Farming in the Era of Climate Change” Movie trailer

  • This first session of the SAFIN and USAID’s ‘Backing the Middle’ webinar series explored this notion, looking first at how some investors are using innovative tools to reduce the overall cost to serve small businesses in the sector, and then discussing whether smaller enterprises can cumulatively generate more social returns than larger ones in terms of job creation, resilience and sustainable development.
27 February 2024. Policy Fix Series: Taxes on HFSS Food and Beverages Recorded
  • HFSS: high in fat, sugar, and salt, by ATNI
  • With Jessica Fanzo, Professor of Global Food & Agricultural Policy and Ethics, John Hopkins. University
27 + 28 + 29 February 2024 CIRAD Webinars Recorded
  • CIRAD at the 2024 Paris International Agricultural Show
  • 28/02 La Grande Muraille verte face aux défis de la diversité des terroirs sahéliens
28 February 2024 Drivers of Agrifood System Transformation: Lessons from Feed-the-Future Country Studies Recorded
  • In a series of case studies, IFPRI and its research partners have studied the pace and pattern of agricultural transformation within USAID’s Feed-the-Future (FTF) countries. 
  • The studies use a novel indicator of agrifood system incomes and employment and further decompose these across major agricultural value chains. Learn about the top lessons that emerged from their analysis.
28 February 2024 Kosmos Innovation Center programs 5 Videos
  • The centers allow young entrepreneurs to create opportunities for themselves, by fine-tuning their ideas into a business focused on solving key problems in the agricultural sector.
  • Through a mix of training, mentoring, and seed-funding, young graduates in Ghana, Senegal, and Mauritania have the opportunity to bring their business ideas to life through the Senegal Startup Accelerator, AgriTech Challenge and Mauritania Innovation Challenge.
  • 18 teams of Entrepreneurs for Rural Access (ERAs) in Egypt serving as digital extension service providers were able to reach more than 60,000 people in rural communities.
  • Three farmer-to-farmer videos were produced that focus on the core technology and innovative
    solutions, including the raised bed technology, crop rotation, and land consolidation. 
29 February 2024 @9:00am EST) CGIAR Seminar Series, Reforming Agricultural Policies and Farm Support to Advance Sustainable Food System Transformation Recorded
  • with Patrick Ofori, Deputy Director, Head of M&E Division at Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Policy Planning Monitoring & Evaluation Directorate (PPMED) Ghana
29 February 2024. Webinar on Investing in Apple Farming in East Africa & Agro B2B Networking Recorded
  • This webinar organised by the East African Business Council (EABC), in partnership with Tamu Tamu Tanzania (TTT), aimed to empower agri-actors with the necessary knowledge to capitalize on the significant market demand for apples in the region and engage in B2B networking with agri-value chain actors.
  • See also EACB Website Profiling Investment Opportunities in Selected Agricultural Value Chains

at No comments:

Innovative Agriculture for Smallholder Resilience (iNASHR)

The Innovative Agriculture for Smallholder Resilience (iNASHR) project (Egypt) was implemented over 3 years during which there was the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to instability in farm prices and uncertainties in water availability.

Despite this, 18 teams of Entrepreneurs for Rural Access (ERAs) serving as digital extension service providers were able to reach more than 60,000 people in rural communities between 2021 and 2023.
  • Three specially commissioned “farmer-to-farmer” style training videos were produced (see at the bottom of this blog post), 
  • and 60 other relevant Access Agriculture videos were translated into Arabic and shown to farmers. 
  • These active service providers, half of whom are women, used a solar-powered smart projector to reach communities where access to power supply, internet connection and mobile phone signal can be challenging.

Please find hereunder three related videos – Video learning for rural women & youth in Egypt; Youth-led knowledge exchange in rural Egypt; and Closing iNASHR Workshop with Josephine Rodgers, Executive Director of Access Agriculture – which are now on EcoAgtube to learn more about the exciting achievements of this project. The videos are in Arabic with subtitles in English.

 

“We were twenty people attending the video screening on raised beds. This was a new practice to us as we traditionally use furrow irrigation. Only five of us decided to try the new dimensions required from the video. With our improved harvests, the 15 other video show attendees all decided to follow in our footsteps the next year. Now I can proudly say that two years later, half my village irrigates this way now without question.” Mohamed,farmer from Beni Suef, Egypt


“Feed prices are continually increasing and many women in my community stopped raising poultry altogether. The price of chicken is so high now that many families can no longer afford to make their kids egg sandwiches anymore. Then I attended a village video show organized by a local charity where I learned the benefits of Azolla from Indian farmers. We’ve created over 200 ponds in our community and sell our eggs at a lower price than those in the market — so that we can afford to feed our children in our village again. The eggs taste really good too.” Mariam,rural woman from Sharkia, Egypt


Related article


Innovating Digital Extension Delivery Services in Rural Egypt
Supporting the co-construction of knowledge and inclusive growth for marginalized farmers through farmer-to-farmer videos and last-mile delivery

In 2020, Access Agriculture partnered with the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) to facilitate technology dissemination with the Innovative Agriculture for Smallholder Resilience project, which is funded by BMZ and administered by GIZ-FIA, the Fund for International Agricultural Research. SNRD Africa is a network of local and international GIZ professionals working in the rural development sector in Africa.

The project under the leadership of Bezaiet Dessalegn ran in Egypt until the end of 2023 (see Water innovations that work | ICARDA).

Three farmer-to-farmer videos were produced that focus on the core technology and innovative solutions, including the raised bed technology, crop rotation, and land consolidation. 
  • The video production relied on the farmer-to-farmer approach which allows farmers to share important knowledge based on their own experience and in their own words. 
  • The farmers not only explain the solutions but also describe the challenges well so that fellow farmers watching the video can adapt the technology to meet their own needs. 
  • The video production also involved desk reviews and research, key interviews with experts, and running small group discussions among extension workers and lead farmers on selected video topics.

Videos developed by the Innovative Agriculture for Smallholder Resilience project: (note the number of views)


extension delivery services
Stronger plants with raised beds
6,985 views (02/03/24)








extension delivery services
Crop rotation with legumes
10,445 views (02/03/24)








Collaborating to manage water
2,740 views (02/03/24)







at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Launch of the African Academy of Science’s Strategic Plan 2023 – 2027

29 February 2023.  Launch of the African Academy of Science’s Strategic Plan 2023 – 2027

With lessons learned and opportunities in science for transforming lives, the AAS Strategic Plan (2023–2027) is anchored on the vision, renewed mission, and core values of AAS. The vision is Transformed lives through science while the renewed mission is to Leverage on Science, Technology, and Innovation for sustainable development. AAS’s values that will guide the Secretariat, the Governing Council, Fellows, and Partners in implementing the mission to attain the vision are integrity, diversity, excellence, empathy, and collaboration through fairness.

The roadmap adopted by AAS in this strategic plan will be based on five focus areas, which are summarised as follows: 1. Policy and governance 2. Natural sciences 3. Environmental and climate change 4. Health and wellbeing 5. Social sciences and humanities.

The launch was preceded by a round table on: AAS and the Advancement of Science in Africa: Policy, Practice and Prospects 
  • Moderator, Prof. Lise Korsten, President, AAS 
  • Prof. Mohamed Belhocine, Commissioner for ESTI, AU – Talk on AE
  • Dr. Lidia Brito, Assistant General Director, UNESCO – Give an overview of UNESCO work in science, and the collaboration opportunities for UNESCO and AAS on advancing Agenda 2063 within the context of the Africa we want. 
  • Dr. Peter Gluckman, President, International Science Council –ISC and AAS partnership towards accelerating science for sustainability in Africa. 
  • Dr. Phil Mphati Mjwara, Director General, Department of Science and Technology, South Africa – Expound on how AAS strategy links with the implementation and operationalisation of WSF 2022 and beyond.

Further Resources 

UNESCO (2023) REVIEW OF THE SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION STRATEGY FOR AFRICA (STISA-2024). FINAL REPORT (Shorter Version) #31 p.

A decade ago, the AU and the African Development Bank, based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, began work on establishing a research and innovation fund. Its scope has since been expanded to include education, and it is now called the African Education, Science, Technology and Innovation Fund. Countries were asked to contribute US$2 million each, which would be matched by the bank from its own sources. Progress has been slow. So far, only Botswana and Ghana have committed funding.


The fund’s overall size has been set at $300 million, but who else will contribute and eligibility criteria for funding applications are yet to be worked out. The fund needs to become a priority, say the authors of a review of AU science policies over the past decade, commissioned by the AU and the UN science agency UNESCO, and published at the end of 2023 (see go.nature.com/3sixqis). Ultimately, that means more heads of government will need to authorize the required finance.
at No comments:
Labels:

Policy Innovations to Create Opportunities for Young People in Africa’s Agrifood Systems

Montpellier Panel (2024)  YOUTH AHEAD: Policy Innovations to Create Opportunities for Young People in Africa’s Agrifood Systems #158 p.


This report reviews the challenges limiting young people’s engagement in agrifood systems and demonstrates opportunities to empower Africa’s youth in agrifood systems.

The report highlights the successful strategies implemented by various countries in Africa and summarizes the key findings of four systematically selected countries: Ghana, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. These countries are at the forefront of empowering youth in their agrifood systems. The report reviews these countries’ policy and institutional innovations as well as their programmatic interventions targeting youth in the transformation of food systems. Their experiences are noteworthy for other African countries.
  • Diversifying education and training programs including skill up for entrepreneurship and employment for young Africans in agriculture and agribusiness; 
  • Addressing trade barriers coupled with technology infrastructure for jobs in a thriving agro-processing sector; 
  • Implementing dedicated processes to include youth in policy- and decision-making empowering youth; and 
  • Simultaneously addressing green growth and employment agendas with youth as investors.

In Ghana, initiatives such as the Youth Employment Agency Bill and the National Youth Policy were
cited as examples of efforts to upskill and support youth to enter the agri-food sector. As part of its plan to industrialize agriculture, increase food security and employment opportunities, and lower poverty rates, the country launched the Youth in Agriculture Programme (YIAP), which deployed youth-focused initiatives to change the negative perception of farmers as uneducated, unskilled laborers with low economic returns. Youth-focused institutions and programs in Uganda, such as the Presidential Zonal Industrial Hubs, the Uganda Industrial Research Institute Innovation Centre, and the Youth Livelihood Programme are providing young people with marketable skills in agri-food processing and product development, ICT, agricultural mechanization, and entrepreneurship. To further support digital transformation, the government launched the Digital Skills Acceleration Program and the Digital Transformation Program, which aim to increase access and usage of ICT by vulnerable groups, including small-scale farmers.

In Zambia, the government set up the Skills Development Levy to mobilize resources that can be invested in youth empowerment, notably in strengthening the infrastructure of technical and vocational training institutions. Through the Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Authority (TEVETA), the TEVET bursary enables vulnerable youth to benefit from skills training, including courses in general agriculture, food and beverage production, automotive mechanics engineering, electrical engineering, and computer studies.

In Zimbabwe, innovation hubs in higher education institutions provide technical and research-based solutions for skills enhancement in the country’s labor force. Introduced under the framework of the country’s Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Policy, these hubs equip students with specific industrial skills to enable them to operate entrepreneurially with the capacity to incubate any businesses they create. Beneficiary sectors include agriculture, energy, and mining.

Extracts


Between 10 and 12 million young people entering the labor market each year (page 5)

Africa’s growing urban population and middle-class demand more varied, nutritious, processed, ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat foods. This increased demand can generate new jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities for young people along African agribusiness value chains. (page 1)

A thriving agro-processing sector, in particular, offers a multitude of benefits. Transforming, preserving, and preparing food for intermediate or final consumption brings together the best of the agricultural, manufacturing, and services sectors. (page 2)

Although Africa’s agricultural exports have increased in recent years, the continent is still a net importer with a food import bill of approximately USD 80 billion annually as compared to USD 61 billion in exports. (page 4) Africa could gain up to USD 1.0 billion annually from higher exports of processed foods, livestock products, coffee, nuts, dried fruits, and other agricultural commodities through meeting international food product safety standards (page 44)


Africa’s combined food and beverage markets will triple in value from USD 313 billion in 2013 
to USD 1.0 trillion by 2030, with consumption in cities driving the demand for more products. Moreover, the share of processed foods is projected to increase five to tenfold between 2010 and 2040, translating to nearly 80 percent of staple food demand. (page 5)

A rise in the numbers of local small and medium-scale enterprises processing staples and other crops has been observed across the continent in recent years. (...). Over the next four years, off-farm agrifood jobs are expected to account for between 18 and 22 percent of new jobs in Tanzania, 18 percent in Nigeria, and 11 percent in Rwanda. The number of food manufacturing jobs in these three countries is expected to grow between 12 and 20 percent. (page 6)

TVET opportunities remain low across the continent. Although African countries are increasingly 
investing in technology and knowledge-intensive technologies, including irrigation technologies, 
farm machinery for processing, and horticulture, there are few targeted strategies or policies in place 
for accompanying skills development. (page 20)
  • In 2015, only 2 percent of African university students studied science, technology, engineering, and math subjects related to agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and veterinary studies, all of which are important for future job opportunities. (page 19)
  • In 2019, about 10 million young people were enrolled in technical and vocational secondary education—on average,  the percentage of youth aged between 15 and 24 years that are enrolled in vocational education is a meager 3 percent.  (page 17)
  • A recent study on skills in mechanization and automation in agro-processing in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa found that only 28 percent of staff in the firms sampled were qualified to work with machinery or with automated systems (page 21)
  • Africa’s universities need to expand their curricula to include programming and algorithm design so that they can become hubs of digital innovation for Africa’s agrifood systems. (page 22)
  • The Teacher Training Program (TTP) is a five-year program that was established by the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) in South Africa in 2003, Cameroun and Rwanda in 2018, and Ghana in 2020 in partnership with the MasterCard Foundation.  (page 24)

Pre-production


The pre-production segment of agrifood value chains offers numerous opportunities for young people to unleash their creative potential, ranging from the design and development of new technologies and innovative tools, including crop breeding and biotechnology, to information-sharing using digital platforms to provide weather forecasts or crop management or animal husbandry advice to farmers. (...) The applicability of what is taught to solve societal problems will increase the interest of youth in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)  subjects. (page 20)

Crop breeding and biotechnology

Skills in this field can be used to develop crop varieties that better meet societal needs—for example, varieties that reduce drudgery in the preparation of foods, provide increased yields, have improved taste or nutritional content, or take less time to mature and require less water. 
  • For example, Prince Matova, a young breeder from the Crop Breeding Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture in Zimbabwe, received an award from the International Atomic Energy Agency and FAO for developing Zimbabwe’s first cowpea variety developed with a nuclear technique. This cowpea variety can be grown in arid and semi-arid regions of Zimbabwe.
  • New cassava varieties that peel and cook easily were reported to reduce drudgery from household chores and crop production in Nigeria.  
  • The CGIAR, in partnership with National Agricultural Research Systems, helps to integrate more youth and women into seed production enterprises through various projects in African countries: ICRISAT supported a seed company called Mbozi Highlands (MHEG) and sustains seed business hubs for groundnut and sorghum in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania (page 28) 
Genetic engineering might include:
  • developing crops that can express toxins similar to organic pesticides in order to control pests, leading to a reduction in costs on labor, pesticides, equipment, and fuel. 
  • developing innovative fertilizer technology to reduce the usage of inorganic fertilizers and improve soil quality. These include cost-effective phytoremediation technologies, which is a plant-based approach to extract and remove elemental pollutants or lower their bioavailability in soil. 
  • enhance nutrient utilization by plants, reduce nutrient runoff, and increase soil organic carbon sequestration, while at the same time increasing agricultural productivity by producing hardier crops that thrive in harsh environments with lower levels of fuel, labor, fertilizer, and water (page 29) 

Production


Efforts have been made by some African governments to promote mechanization by providing machinery at subsidized rates to farmers, establishing state-led mechanization hire schemes or tractor assembly plants, and facilitating private service providers through the provision of state-subsidized tractors. (page 30) 

DigiFarm is an integrated mobile-based platform for digital services tailored for smallholder farmers that was launched in 2017 by Safaricom, Kenya’s largest telecommunications provider, with support from  the AgriFin Accelerate program of Mercy Corps. DigiFarm is a free mobile platform that provides  farmers with convenient, one-stop access to quality farm inputs at discounted prices. (page 32) 

Advances in robotics and its application to agriculture are happening fast around the world, and the share of farmers that can already benefit from digital technologies in African agriculture is also growing fast, taking into account that farms ranging from 10 to 20 hectares represent the fastest growing farm segment in some countries in Africa and already account for more than 5 percent of the farm area in several countries. (page 33) 

FarmDrive in Kenya collects and aggregates data from multiple sources to build credit scores for 
farmers so that they can access loans and other financial services. Between 2014 and 2018, FarmDrive distributed over USD 300,000 in loans to Kenyan farmers, 37 percent of whom were youth (page 34) 

Digital agriculture—the application of digital tools along agricultural value chains—empowers young farmers with knowledge, enables the optimization of agricultural productivity, and enhances their access to upstream and downstream markets (page 35) 

Harvest


Food lost immediately after harvest in Africa has been estimated to be between 30 and 40 percent of what African farmers produce (...)  Most small-scale farmers tend to use traditional methods to increase the shelf-life of the crops before storing or transporting them. (...) Most harvest work is manual. Adoption of improved automated harvest technologies would not only reduce losses at harvest, but also increase youth interest in agriculture for income generation, given the reduction in drudgery. (page 37) 
  • For instance, Agroways in Uganda has partnered with 25,000 smallholder farmers and producers to provide storage space in their warehouses that are certified for grain handling and storage 
  • Sesi Technologies (Ghana) offers small-scale farmers a FarmerPack consisting of the GrainMate moisture meter, ZeroFly hermetic bag, grain drying services, grain threshing services, warehousing services, market access via the AgroMarket app, and post-harvest management training.  (page 38) 

Agro processing


The agro-processing sector is labor-intensive and presents high employment generation potential, both in absolute terms and compared to other sectors of manufacturing. Additionally, the different stages 
food undergoes during processing to add value require different expertise and skill sets to manage, 
thus creating new and additional employment opportunities that youth can tap into.  (page 39) 

A major impediment to the growth and productivity of agro-processing enterprises operated by youth is a lack of the necessary skills to profitably manage them. (page 41) With an average of 11 million young people joining the African labor market and only 3.7 million jobs being created annually, the transition to a bioeconomy can play an important role in addressing Africa’s employment gap. (page 42)

Marketing


Examples of digital solutions that enable direct food marketing and trade include:
  • AgroTrade, which links Ghana’s farmers with large buyers and ensures direct trading. 
  • AgroMart, on the other hand, enables young people in Ghana to work as distributors, helping smallholder farmers sell their produce at fair market prices 
  • In Kenya, Farmster is a digital matchmaking platform between smallholder farmers and buyers that works over an SMS chatbot to create market linkages for farmers without internet access
  • In Uganda, TruTrade Africa is a social enterprise that offers smallholder farmers a reliable route to market and fair prices for their produce 
  • Other digital solutions that have provided market access to farmers include Farm Kiosk and Club Tiossane. The latter is an online delivery service in Senegal that provides a market for local food producers by connecting them to hundreds of local businesses. (page 45)
Despite the numerous digital agricultural marketing tools in Africa, the majority offer only a limited range of solutions and lack novelty. (...) ICT capacity can be built through public-private partnership investments targeting youth, such as the establishment of innovation hubs and ICT business incubators and funding competitive grants, innovation prizes, and other incentive programs. (page 46)
  • Agriculture Innovations Hub, founded in 2019 in Ghana, helps to identify challenges in the agriculture industry and develop innovative solutions.
  • Edo Agric Digital Innovation Hub, launched in 2022 in Edo state, Nigeria, is a virtual hub grouping organizations with complementary expertise in agriculture.
  • FAO has supported the establishment of in-country innovation hubs to support farmers and value chain actors that are linked through the Global Network of Digital Agriculture Innovation Hubs. (page 49)

Further Resources 


UNESCO (2023) REVIEW OF THE SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION STRATEGY FOR AFRICA (STISA-2024). FINAL REPORT (Shorter Version) #31 p.

A decade ago, the AU and the African Development Bank, based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, began work on establishing a research and innovation fund. Its scope has since been expanded to include education, and it is now called the African Education, Science, Technology and Innovation Fund. Countries were asked to contribute US$2 million each, which would be matched by the bank from its own sources. Progress has been slow. So far, only Botswana and Ghana have committed funding. 

The fund’s overall size has been set at $300 million, but who else will contribute and eligibility criteria for funding applications are yet to be worked out. The fund needs to become a priority, say the authors of a review of AU science policies over the past decade, commissioned by the AU and the UN science agency UNESCO, and published at the end of 2023 (see go.nature.com/3sixqis). Ultimately, that means more heads of government will need to authorize the required finance.

AU (2019) African Plan of Action for Youth Empowerment (2019-2023)

Developed in 2019, the African Plan of Action for Youth Empowerment (APAYE) is a five-year framework for implementing the AU African Youth  Charter. APAYE provides an overarching guide for implementing youth empowerment programs and policies in Africa. It offers guidance for AU member states to incorporate youth agribusiness considerations and programming into their National Agriculture Investment Plans and youth employment and entrepreneurship development 
strategies.


This initiative aims to harness Africa’s youth as key contributors to the continent’s development and create economic opportunities for young people in strategic sectors, including agrifood industries. Energize Africa consists of public sector, private sector, and blended finance components designed to catalyze innovation and investment. These are to empower youth to play an active role in shaping the continent’s future. 


AU (2019) Plan of Action for the African Decade for Technical, Professional, Entrepreneurial Training and Youth Employment (2019-2028) # 68p.

This TVET Blueprint, the “Plan of Action for 2019-2028 African Decade for Technical, Professional and Entrepreneurial Training and Youth Employment” articulates strategic actions under nine focus areas that will guide and influence reforms and development of TVET in Africa, as well as addressing the inherent sector challenges and meeting existing and future labour market demands over the next 10 years (2019 to 2028). 

AU (2019) Continental Strategy for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET): To Foster Youth Employment # 40 p.

The strategy argues that the development of higher level skills is necessary for the adaptation of technology and innovation, transformation of national production systems, and industrialization of the economy. Accordingly, TVET policies and strategies should focus on the development of skills from the basic level to the higher education level.


at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Cultivating change with agroecology and organic agriculture in the tropics

FIBL (2024) Cultivating change with agroecology and organic agriculture in the tropics #48 p.

This policy dossier aims to present decision and policymakers and experts in the context of international cooperation with scientific evidence on how Agroecology/Organic approaches can contribute to a beneficial transformation of production systems in the Tropics.

Agroecology and organ agriculture present promising alternatives to the current food system, supported by a growing body of evidence. Despite the potential of AE/O, their full benefits cannot be realised in most countries due to political and institutional barriers and lock-ins, including incentives and funding that favour “business as usual” food systems. Overcoming present and future challenges will require educated and empowered stakeholders to support AE/O agriculture in their fields.


This book offers a comprehensive review of recent developments in global organic agriculture. It presents detailed statistics on organic farming that relate to area under organic management, land use and crops, the number of farms and other operator types, retail sales and international trade data.

The book includes contributions from representatives of the organic sector from around the world about the global market for organic food, organic imports, regulations and policies. It offers insights into current and emerging trends in organic agriculture in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America, and Oceania and reports on several countries.

Related: 


29 February 2024. Knowledge Hub for Organic Agriculture and Agroecology in Eastern Africa (KHEA) PELUM Kenya webinar

1 March 2024 Knowledge Hub for Organic Agriculture and Agroecology in Eastern Africa (KHEA) PELUM Uganda webinar (Meeting ID: 820 6081 4339 / Passcode: 405737).

29/02 Soil is a Womb by Mr Samuel Nderitu - Grow Biointensive Agriculture Center of Kenya

Related: 


at No comments:
Labels:

Reforming Agricultural Policies and Farm Support to Advance Sustainable Food System Transformation

29 February 2024 CGIAR Seminar Series, Reforming Agricultural Policies and Farm Support to Advance Sustainable Food System Transformation

The seminar highlighted key IFPRI findings on the potential to repurpose existing agriculture policies and public support to accelerate the transformation of food systems to become more inclusive, resilient, sustainable, and healthy. Developing appropriate incentives to encourage producers to adopt technological innovations and sustainable practices, and consumers to make healthy and sustainable food choices, will help deliver desired food system outcomes, but doing so will require bold action through both international coordination and national-level policy reform.

The fourth seminar of the CGIAR Policy Seminar Series on Strengthening Food Systems will present available evidence on promising technological innovations from CGIAR and elsewhere, identify associated tradeoffs, and examine how policies can shape greater uptake of such innovations. It will highlight global initiatives seeking to advance agricultural policy reform and assess the evidence base behind these initiatives, as well as examining country-level attempts at reform and the obstacles these reforms can face in both the global North and global South.


Welcome and Opening Remarks
  • Moderator Charlotte Hebebrand, Director of Communications and Public Affairs, IFPRI
  • Johan Swinnen, Managing Director, Systems Transformation, CGIAR; Director General, IFPRI
  • Jan Brix, Senior Policy Officer, Division of Agriculture and Rural Development, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)

Science for Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems

Panel 1: Global Initiatives for Agricultural Policy Reform
  • Bruno Brasil, Director of Sustainable Production and Irrigation, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil
  • Debbie Palmer, Director for Energy, Climate and Environment, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)
  • Sergiy Zorya, Lead Agriculture Economist and Global Lead for Policies and Public Expenditures, Agricultural and Food Global Practice, The World Bank

Panel 2: Regional and National Policy Reform Experiences
  • Alan Mathews, Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Economics, Trinity College, Dublin
  • Shenggen Fan, Chair Professor, College of Economics and Management at China Agricultural University, CGIAR System Board member
  • Patrick Ofori, Deputy Director, Head of M&E Division at Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Policy Planning Monitoring & Evaluation Directorate (PPMED) Ghana

at No comments:
Labels: , , ,

CGIAR Seed Equal Webinar Series

29 February 2024 CGIAR Seed Equal Webinar Series
  • Michael Keller, Secretary General of the International Seed Federation (ISF) gave a presentation on approaches, principles, and coordination mechanisms ISF has used to foster collaborations in building synergies in the seed sector to achieve impact and improvement in seed system delivery.
  • This is based on ISF’s experiences focusing on seed resilience in supporting seed systems development through these collaborations.
Speakers:
  • Michael Keller, Secretary General of the International Seed Federation (ISF)
  • Khaoula Belhaj, International Seed Federation (ISF)
  • Szonja Csogo, International Seed Federation (ISF)
  • Moderator Chris Ojiwo
Michael referred to LIMAGRAIN, an agricultural cooperative and an international seed group owned by French farmers.

Eugene Muller, Managing Director at Limagrain Zaad South Africa, explains how Limagrain wants to make an impact on the agricultural industry through sustainability and a competitive product offering. Limagrain Zaad is focused on providing a competitive seed basket to customers in South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia, Mauritius and Madagascar. They strive to make a difference on farms and promote sustainability.




at No comments:
Labels: ,

Investing in Apple Farming in East Africa & Agro B2B Networking

29 February 2024. Webinar on Investing in Apple Farming in East Africa & Agro B2B Networking

This webinar organised by the East African Business Council (EABC), in partnership with Tamu Tamu Tanzania (TTT), aimed to empower agri-actors with the necessary knowledge to capitalize on the significant market demand for apples in the region and engage in B2B networking with agri-value chain actors. 
  • The EAC region currently imports an estimated $400-500 million worth of fresh apples annually, which are utilized in various processed products such as juice, alcoholic beverages, and snacks. 
  • The webinar allowed to explore the cultivation of apple tree varieties that demonstrate resilience to the East African climate and can produce over 100,000 well-tended matured apples in just one acre.

Tamu Tamu Tanzania (TTT) (HeadquartersIfunda, Iringa) is the first commercial apple farm and apple tree nursery in East Africa. 
  • Its core business is growing apples, as well as producing and selling well-adapted, disease-resistant young apple trees which can thrive in cool, tropical conditions. 
  • Its vision is to create a prosperous apple industry in East Africa, and to generate life-changing income improvement for thousands of farming families. 
  • Its mission is to revolutionise tropical apple growing in Africa. 
  • Its goal is to provide every farmer in the cooler tropics with the opportunity to develop an apple production based revenue stream that permanently enhances their livelihood.

    • "𝟏𝟎 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝟓𝟎 varieties made it through a 𝟔-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐑&𝐃 phase"

Engage in B2B networking with agri-value chain actors. 

Website Profiling Investment Opportunities in Selected Agricultural Value Chains Focusing on Edible
Oil, Wheat Grain, Fertilizers, Tubers and Leguminous Plants.
  • Companies and agri-value chain players interested in engaging in B2B are invited to register and profile their products and services in the East Africa Agro Investment Profiles & Directory. Visit: https://agro.smesoko.com
  • EABC, in partnership with the GIZ Business Scout Fund Project, is implementing a project titled ‘Enhancing Competitiveness of the Agri-food Industry and Mitigating the Impact of Global Crises to Enhance Food Security in the EAC region.’ 
  • Under this project, EABC has undertaken a study to profile investment opportunities in selected agricultural value chains, focusing on edible oil, wheat grain, fertilizers, tubers, and leguminous plants. Informed by this study, EABCdeveloped a website to publish investment opportunities/profiles in selected agricultural value chains and incorporate a business directory and B2B functionalities.
Contact: 

Otim Brian Joseph
Whatsapp: +256772212211
at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Drivers of Agrifood System Transformation: Lessons from Feed-the-Future Country Studies

28 February 2024 Drivers of Agrifood System Transformation: Lessons from Feed-the-Future Country Studies

In a series of case studies, IFPRI and its research partners have studied the pace and pattern of agricultural transformation within USAID’s Feed-the-Future (FTF) countries. The studies use a novel indicator of agrifood system incomes and employment and further decompose these across major agricultural value chains. Learn about the top lessons that emerged from their analysis.

James Thurlow

james

Director of Foresight and Policy Modeling

International Food Policy Research Institute

James Thurlow is the Director of Foresight and Policy Modeling at the International Food Policy Research Institute. He oversees IFPRI’s program on the drivers of inclusive and sustainable development, including the links between climate change, natural resources, and food security.

As countries develop, their agrifood systems transform, with more incomes and job creation generated beyond the farm. Eventually, downstream agrifood systems sectors, like food processing and services, become even more important than primary agriculture itself. This transformation process is strongly associated with broader economic development.

In a series of case studies, IFPRI and its research partners have studied the pace and pattern of agricultural transformation within USAID’s Feed-the-Future (FTF) countries. The studies use a novel indicator of agrifood system incomes and employment and further decompose these across major agricultural value chains.

Four lessons emerge from the analysis: First, off-farm growth is successfully driving agricultural transformation in most FTF countries. Second, agricultural exports are highly concentrated within a narrow set of value chains, and this limits their ability to drive broad-based growth. Third, value chains that supply domestic markets have dominated the transformation process. Finally, promoting import-substituting value chains could drive even faster transformation in the FTF countries. The country studies highlight the importance of focusing on broader agrifood system development rather than agriculture alone and emphasize the importance of domestic market opportunities for future agrifood system transformation.


Related Resources



at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Kosmos Innovation Center

Kosmos Innovation Center programs are structured to allow young entrepreneurs to create opportunities for themselves, by fine-tuning their ideas into a business focused on solving key problems in the agricultural sector.

Through a mix of training, mentoring, and seed-funding, young graduates in Ghana, Senegal, and Mauritania have the opportunity to bring their business ideas to life through the Senegal Startup Accelerator, AgriTech Challenge and Mauritania Innovation Challenge.

Kosmos Innovation Center in Ghana

The Kosmos Innovation Center (KIC) invests in young entrepreneurs and small businesses who have
big ideas and want to see their country grow. The KIC was established in Ghana in 2016 with programs focused on inspiring and empowering young entrepreneurs to drive change in their own country. 

Since its inception, the KIC has focused on innovation in agriculture – the country’s most important sector and largest employer. More than 600 aspiring entrepreneurs have participated in KIC Ghana programs, resulting in the creation of more than a dozen promising start-ups that have gone on to secure seed funding, additional business training, and capital investment.

In 2021, Kosmos Energy re-established KIC Ghana as an independent non-profit organization so it could take advantage of new funding sources that would enable the program to grow. As part of a new multi-year partnership, the Mastercard Foundation agreed to invest approximately US$16 million over four years in KIC Ghana programming. With this new financial support, KIC Ghana aims to expand operations and offer more training to a greater number of young entrepreneurs in every region of the country.

In 2022 KIC and Mastercard Foundation have selected 15 startup businesses as winners of this year’s KIC AgriTech Challenge Classic

Awunpara Ghana


Kigo Ghana

Kigo Ghana provides groundnut uprooting machines to reduce the labor-intensive effort in groundnut production at an affordable cost. It thus also prevents aflatoxin contamination.


Farm Asyst Ghana

Farmasyst Agritechnologies has developed mobile and web applications that facilitate monitoring services for the required support schemes available for smallholder farmers. There is an early disease and pest detection component of the application.



Kosmos Innovation Center in Senegal

The Kosmos Innovation Center (KIC) invests in young entrepreneurs and small businesses who have big ideas and want to see their country grow. 

In partnership with Reach for Change (an international non-profit founded in Sweden) with a history of success in Senegal, the Kosmos Innovation Center is helping young Senegalese entrepreneurs develop innovative solutions to challenges facing the agricultural sector:  Program to strengthen social entrepreneurship with a particular emphasis on adaptation and mitigation of the effects of climate change

The Senegal Start-Up Accelerator provides entrepreneurs who have innovative ideas for the agricultural sector with the skills they need to turn their ideas into reality. Five entrepreneurs have been selected to take part in the accelerator. Over the course of six months they will receive intensive support to develop their solutions for implementation. Six months later, the aim is to launch five new businesses with the potential to transform the agricultural industry in Senegal.


Over 30 young entrepreneurs were selected to participate in the inaugural Mauritania Innovation Challenge. The business development program provides early-stage startups with the opportunity to develop the confidence and skills they need in order to succeed. Aimed at young entrepreneurs and small business leaders, the challenge takes participants on a proven eight-step journey to develop a market-ready product or service, with a final competition for seed-funding at the end. Alongside the seed-funding provided by Kosmos Energy to the winning businesses in the 2018/2019 Mauritania Innovation Challenge, program participants have been able to leverage additional funding from external funders.

DAI, an international development company, helps the Kosmos Innovation Center to design and implement programs that advance locally led, market-driven solutions to some of the country’s key challenges. It provides capacity building support, investment due diligence, and ongoing technical assistance to the team.


19 December 2023. AGRICTECH CHALLENGE: CLASSIC FINAL PITCH




17 - 18 August 2023. Agricultural Innovation For Africa Conference


 
at No comments:
Labels: , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)