The assessment of West Africa's public spending on agriculture

11-14 September , 2013. Monrovia, Liberia.Two hundred delegates including the Nigerian agriculture Minister and Liberian President met to discuss West Africa's record of implementing the 2003 'Maputo Declaration' which recognised the critical role of agriculture in equitable development and committed to allocating at least ten per cent of Government budgets to the sector.

The meeting was organised by ROPPA - West Africa's largest farmer advocacy organization and is attended by representatives from governments, civil society and donors.

Related:

15-17 September , 2013. Monrovia, Liberia.The regional consultation CSM in Africa.

Objectives:

• Discussion, analysis and evaluation, including continental and regional organizations of small producers and NGO networks in Africa, results and challenges of the Civil Society Mechanism in the Committee of World Food Security. 
• A better understanding of civil society and social movements about the issues the region faces in agricultural investments in order to better be prepared for the consultation on the IAR principles in 2013; 
• Analysis of the draft principles for responsible agricultural investment; 
• A document, drawn from the participating organizations, containing their contributions to the draft principles for responsible agricultural investment, distributed

UNIDO partners with German VDMA to support agribusiness

12 September 2013. VIENNA. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and and countries with economies in transition, and help them increase value addition.

A partnership agreement was signed in Vienna by LI Yong, the Director General of UNIDO, and Richard Clemens, Managing Director of the Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association and the Process Plant and Equipment Association within the German Engineering Federation (VDMA).They will work together to build the capacity of agribusiness value chains in developing countries

The partnership between UNIDO and VDMA will focus on developing and extending the skill-base necessary for the provision, acquisition and effective deployment of technology and methodology in agribusiness value chains, with particular emphasis on the establishment of operational and capacity-building maintenance centres of excellence in Africa.

VDMA Managing Director Richard Clemens

Such centres in selected locations in Africa will assist in developing a culture of maintenance as a strategic prerequisite to industrialization and the enabling of agricultural value chains. They will also provide maintenance services for key categories of equipment used in agribusiness, including from production to processing, transportation, warehousing, energy and irrigation. They will operate as trade schools to train and certify people in the relevant technical skills and in maintenance management.

"Without technology it will not be possible to supply the increasing population with food and drink. This holds in particular true for Africa. The contribution of VDMA to this partnership is providing technology and state-of-the-art know-how of the machinery manufacturers in order to support the centres of excellence for education, maintenance and repair of equipment," 

"Our aim is to establish a widely recognized training in line with the current technical practice. The leadership of German machinery manufacturers in technology and service will ensure the high quality level of this centre of excellence."  

The German Engineering Federation (VDMA) started looking into prospective locations for the centres of excellence for maintenance and repairing of equipment in Africa, and has sent VDMA officials to Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya. In June 2013, a group of senior managers from 18 German manufacturing firms went on a mission to Kenya.

VDMA represents over 3,100 mainly small and medium-sized enterprises in the engineering industry, and is the largest engineering industry network in Europe.

11th Conference of the Aquaculture Association of Southern Africa Aquaculture 2013

9 to 13 September 2013 – Stellenbosch. 11th Conference of the Aquaculture Association of Southern Africa Aquaculture 2013: Fish Farm to Plate. 

See: CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

The Bunda College of Malawi is having following presentations (PAEPARD supported consortium)

• An overview of Aquaculture in Malawi - KAUNDA, Emmanuel, Bunda College, Malawi
• Factors that influence performance of community fish farmer organizations. Experiences of CARP in Dowa and  Mchinji districts in Central Malawi - NJERA, Dalon, NEPAD Regional Fish Node
• Effect of photoperiod on hatching success of Oreochromis karongae (Pisces: Cichlidae) in a recirculating hatchery - VALETA, Joshua (Mr), Bunda College, Malawi
• Combined effect of selected technologies on growth and survival of improved strain of Oreochromis shiranus in earthen ponds of Dowa District - LONGWE, Priscilla, NEPAD Regional Fish Node
• Comparative analysis of the growth of improved (F5)and local strain of Oreochromis shiranus subjected to different management practices - SALIMA, Chimwemwe (Ms) NEPAD Regional Fish Node
• Effect of application of organic and inorganic fertilisers on the growth of juvenile Oreochromis shiranus reared in concrete tanks - MATSIMBE, Msekiwa, NEPAD Regional Fish Node

Livestock & Fish agrifood chain toolkit conference

9 to 11 September 2013. Kampala (Uganda). Livestock & Fish agrifood chain toolkit conference.

The AgriFood chain toolkit of the CGIAR Research program on Policies, institutions and markets was launched in January 2013. This online platform on agrifood value chains is designed to help overcome the information gaps between researchers analyzing value chains and practitioners developing value chains. Both often lack access to the latest information

(Photocredit: ILRI/Megapix)

and tools on value chains. There is still need for greater rigour in analysis and better peer feedback. Finally, tool designers need to engage purposefully with tool users.

The objective of the conference is to enable a limited number of researchers and practitioners to review and assess value chain approaches together so that they may be improved for a better fit with local field contexts.

Low Cost On-grid Electrification Technologies

3-4 September 20132. The workshop took place in Arusha and was hosted by the Rural Energy Agency (REA) Tanzania. 

This workshop was organized through the Africa Electrification Initiative (AEI), a collaboration between the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), the Africa Renewable Energy Access Program (AFREA), the EU Energy Initiative Partnership Dialogue Facility, the Forum of African Energy Ministers (FEMA), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the Energizing Development Partnership (EnDev) and the World Bank.

The EUEI PDF and the Africa Electrification Initiative (AEI) are aiming at empowering energy practitioners and decision-makers in Saharan Africa with the knowledge needed to successfully implement low-cost rural electrification. 

Solid biomass is the dominant form of energy in Angola and it is used unsustainably. Traditional, inefficient uses of biomass for cooking should be replaced by viable and cleaner alternatives like liquid and gas biofuels or the new-type efficient wood-burners.

The specific objectives were to:

• Raise awareness about the existence of appropriate low-cost rural electrification technologies.
• Show how and where these technologies have been implemented successfully.
• Build capacity on implementing these technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

More than 50 practitioners from 13 different countries followed the inivtation. Expert presentations and panel discussions on the various low cost technologies provided participants with detailed information on potentials and challenges; targeted case studies were carried out using the information collected by participants from their own countries.

The findings of the workshop will be compiled into a learning handbook and disseminated among participants and various rural electrification authorities, regulators, ministries and utilities in Sub Saharan Africa.

5 September 2013. It was followed by a one day work shop on Mini-Grids Opportunities for Rural Development in Africa. A “Mini-grid” is an isolated, low-voltage distribution grid, providing electricity to a community – typically a village or very small town. It is normally supplied by one source of electricity, e.g. diesel generators, a solar PV installation, a micro-hydro station etc., or a combination of the above.This workshop discussed: 

• experiences on mini-grid technology application in Africa; 
• deployment success factors; 
• recommendations and tools to improve policy and regulatory frameworks; 
• experiences on best practices; and successful project development processes and operation. 

The workshop attracted: decision-makers from public authorities; technical staff and practitioners from public authorities; advisors, regulators, engineers and representatives from standards authorities; private sector project developers; local business associations; civil society; and development partners. 

Re-orient science policy towards locally adapted farmer knowledge

03/09/13 SciDev. Brian Wynne and Georgina Catacora-Vargas. Farming and knowledge monocultures are misconceived.

[extract] How to strengthen sustainable approaches?

The key is a critical analysis of how science is understood, channelled and practised, and how it links with industrialised agri-systems and global markets. Socially and environmentally responsible food production and distribution requires global science policy to be reorientated towards locally adapted farmer knowledge, and essential local and regional networks.

1. As a first step, researchers, funders and policymakers need to identify and then re-evaluate assumptions about science, innovation, and food supply and access. 
2. Second, they need to ask the right questions about sustainable global food security, which is more than a short-term production issue. Instead of asking almost exclusively how to increase short-term yields, we should ask why even existing global production is denied to many needy people, while generating mass obesity and enormous amounts of food waste elsewhere. 
3. Third, they need to support small-scale and low external-input farming — both in terms of food production and research — providing tangible support for grassroots innovation. This will help integrate local practical knowledge systems with innovative scientific research and diverse food networks. 

It is already known that scientific research can be integrated with grounded and farmer-orientated innovation systems. This approach could not only strengthen food security but also promote responsive food-supply networks more connected to real needs. And it could help initiate an authentic, sustainable science for society.

African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF)

4 - 6 September 2013. Maputo, Mozambique. The AGRF 2013 was attended by 250 leaders from 140 organisations, including African Governments, the African Union, African Development Bank, farmers’ associations, agri-business companies, non-Governmental organisations, and research institutes in over 25 countries – stakeholders who share the objective of improving and scaling up the productivity of Africa’s smallholder farmers.

The overall theme for AGRF 2013 was ‘scaling up and financing inclusive agribusiness through transformative public-private partnerships’.

The AGRF had three sub-themes:

• Review of CAADP – key concerns in the next 10 years in relation to public-private partnerships for agriculture development.
• Inclusive business models – what are the scalable models of smallholder inclusion into commercial agricultural value chains or that provide effective market access?
• Innovative financing models – what are the scalable models to stimulate growth and value chain partnership expansion in Africa.

The overall objective of AGRF 2013 was to provide a forum for key stakeholders to identify the key inclusive business models and innovative financing arrangements which adequately respond to the needs of smallholder producers as the stakeholders who are central to making an African Green Revolution work.

opportunities and propose actions for the development and successful implementation of public-private partnerships which are underpinned by

In attendance were the following PAEPARD partners: FARA, Food Agriculture and Natural Resources

Policy (FANRPAN), NASFAM, SACAU, Technical Centre for 

Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA).

AGRF 2013 Program
AGRF 2013 Participants List (28.08.13)

Press release - AGRF - English

AGRF Closing Statement and Call Action

Related:

The World Food Prize Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation September 5 announced Charity Mutegi, a 38-year-old agricultural scientist from Kenya, is the 2013 winner of the Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application during the African Green Revolution Forum in Maputo, Mozambique. Mutegi will be presented with the award October 16, World Food Day, in Des Moines, Iowa, as part of the 2013 Borlaug Dialogue international symposium.

Mutegi led efforts to develop a biocontrol solution to significantly reduce aflatoxin, a deadly mold that occurs in maize and other grains during production, harvest, storage or processing. The product Mutegi developed, called KE01, is affordable for farmers and environmentally safe, according to the World Food Prize.

Mutegi currently is Kenya country coordinator for the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture's Aflasafe Project and leads a project in Kenya funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a biological long-term solution to managing aflatoxin.

Related:
The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) launched its inaugural report on the state of African agriculture.

• The Africa Agriculture Status Report takes an in-depth look at the staple crop value chain – from classroom to field to market – in 16 countries across the continent. 
• The report brings together data and analysis from over 15 national and international organisations, including ministries of agriculture, the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. 
• It presents data in an accessible and consistent format, creating a benchmark against which to monitor the development of agriculture in Africa.

Executive Summary

Full report

Opinion:
The Guardian 17/09: Jane Karuku is president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa
Africa shouldn't take GM crops lightly, but neither can it ignore their potential. 

Family farmers for sustainable food systems

Family farmers for sustainable food systems: a synthesis of reports by African farmers' regional networks on models of food production, consumption and markets.
June 2013. 43 pages

The African Regional Farmers’ Networks of West, Central and East Africa, ROPPA (Réseau des
organisations paysannes et de producteurs de l’Afrique de l’Ouest), PROPAC (Plateforme Régionale
des Organisations Paysannes d'Afrique Centrale) and EAFF (Eastern Africa Farmers’ Federation)
are actively engaged in the process of determining priorities for agricultural investment.

In 2011, they organised a workshop in Mfou, Cameroon. The results of the Mfou workshop were fed into the Regional Civil Society Consultation for Africa held in Brazzaville, Congo on 21-22 April 2012.

Studies in each region were commissioned by the networks to draw together existing information about the model of food production and consumption and domestic markets that require supporting and protecting, and hence priority for investment by family farmers themselves. This ‘Synthesis Report’ draws on these studies and is intended to strengthen the farmers’ organisations and PAFO in its interface with development partners, governments, regional bodies, including the African Union, and in its advocacy in relevant forums on agricultural investment.

This Synthesis Report is based upon the following reports:

1. Mamadou Goïta, Système de production, de transformation et de commercialisation des produits en Afrique de l’Ouest: une illustration avec le cas du mil dans la région de Sikasso au Mali. ROPPA, 2013.
2. Patrice Abessolo Amougou, Systèmes alimentaire durables dans l’Afrique de l’Ouest, de l’Est et Centrale.PROPAC, 2013.
3. Shem Mecheo, Models of production and consumption and local markets: building on the experiences of African family farmers in their struggles to realize food sovereignty. EAFF, 2013.

The report is supported by the More and Better Network and the Heidehof Foundation.
Download, here, the flyer
FamilyFarmers4SustFoodSystems_europAfrica_EN_web.pdf [1.5MB]

Background:

This report is part of the project “Awareness raising on the relations between European policies and agricultural development in Africa”, co- funded by the European Commission.

EuropAfrica – Towards Food Sovereignty is a campaign that connects African farmers’ platforms and European civil society organisations to reflect and act together on major current issues concerning food and agricultural policies, trade and development cooperation. EuropAfrica aims to raise awareness and advocate on shared issues and to promote sustainable small-scale family farming and local agri-food systems that bring consumers and producers closer together. The campaign supports the realisation of food sovereignty, i.e. the right for people and communities to define their own food and agricultural policies, both in Africa and in Europe, without impeding the food sovereignty of others.

How to take innovations to full scale?

3rd – 5th September 2013. The 19th Nigerian Economic Summit. This year’s Summit presented a unique opportunity for major domestic and global leaders to discuss ongoing reforms in Nigeria’s agricultural sector focused on improvements in infrastructure, agro-industrial zones, financing and enabling policy environment that are critical for the full exploitation of the agricultural value chains, attainment of food security, employment generation and wealth creation.

It was the first time it would focus on one sector of the Economy-Agriculture, and hence the theme, "Growing Agriculture as a Business to Diversify Nigeria's Economy."

To survive and thrive as a business in Nigeria, agriculture and farmers need incentives, and lots of them. This was commonly agreed and vigorously canvassed by various speakers at the summit. For example, Dr. Donal Keberuka, President, of Africa Development Bank (ADB), and Jacques Diof, former Director-General of food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) argued that African countries need to support their famers with incentives the same way developed countries support their farmers. "Developed countries provide $1 billion incentive per day to their farmers. It is by supporting agric that we can make it competitive on the world stage", Diouf argued.
 

Background:

The annual Nigerian Economic Summit (NES) is organised in collaboration with the National Planning Commission. The Summit is a major gathering of high-level public and private sector leaders yearly in Abuja, the nation’s capital, for constructive dialogue on Nigeria’s economic management. It brings together chief executives and top-level decision makers from private sector and highest level policy making officials from public sector to discuss how best to grow the economy and to monitor the progress being made. Traditionally, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Vice President, ministers and other top-level government officials participate actively at the NES.

Related:
8 - 9 July, 2013. Abuja, Nigeria. The Rockefeller Foundation gathered leaders in agriculture and in finance in a summit to discuss ways the two sectors could realize the great potential of African agriculture. The deliberations included government ministers of agriculture and of finance, business leaders, NGO heads, experts, farmers and other key players.

Twenty one recommendations, scaling innovations and enabling investments in agriculture to strengthen economic growth and benefit people, including small holder farmers, emerged from four working groups formed at the Summit. They will inform the strategies of the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Foundation also will share them widely to prompt meaningful action by others.

Realizing the Potential of African Agriculture - Remarks by Akinwumi Adesina (Published on 6 Aug 2013)

 

Debate Published on 6 Aug 2013 Moderator: Lanre Akinola -- Editor, Financial Times' "This is Africa" Co-Moderator: Heather Grady, Vice President, Foundation Initiatives, The Rockefeller Foundation Akinwumi Adesina -- Minister of Agriculture & Rural Development, Federal Republic of Nigeria Panelists: Ouro Agadazi -- Minister of Agriculture, Togolese Republic Alexander Chikwanda -- Minister of Finance, Republic of Zambia Mbogo Futakamba -- Deputy Permanent Secretary, Tanzania Ministry of Agriculture Maria Kiwanuka -- Minister of Finance, Republic of Uganda Betty Achan Ogwaro -- Minister of Agriculture & Forestry, Republic of South Sudan Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala -- Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Finance Minister, Federal Republic of Nigeria Oua Saidou -- Minister of Agriculture, Republic of Niger Robert Sichinga -- Minister of Agriculture, Republic of Zambia
Streamed live on 14 Aug 2013

As a follow-up to The Rockefeller Foundation's recent summit in Abuja, Nigeria -- titled "Realizing the Potential of African Agriculture" -- The Rockefeller Foundation gathered experts from across the continent to participate in a Google Hangout. These experts discussed and debated some of the key takeaways and themes that emerged during the summit.

Panelists:

• Bineta Diop -- Founder and President, Femmes Africa Solidarité
• Kola Masha -- Managing Director, Doreo Partners
• Anne Mbaabu -- Director, Market Access Program, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)

Moderator:
Mamadou Biteye - Managing Director, Rockefeller Africa Regional Office

Announcement: EC Consultation on the role of family farming, key challenges and priorities for the future

29 November 2013. Brussels. The Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission is organising a conference on "Family farming: A dialogue towards more sustainable and resilient farming in Europe and the world".

This conference will look at the role of family farming, some of their key challenges, as well as priorities for the future. This is being held in the context of the UN's declaration of 2014 as the International Year of Family Farming.

• The final Conference Programme will be published in September.
• Admission to this conference is by invitation only, but it will be possible to follow the work of the conference via webstreaming
• The outcome of the conference will contribute to the FAO European Regional conference scheduled in 2014 in Bucharest (Romania) as well as other events related to family farming that will be organized in many EU Member States in the course of 2014.

Consultation

Period of consultation: 02/08/2013 – 11/10/2013

This consultation seeks contributions towards the Europeanconference "Family farming: A dialogue towards more sustainable and resilient farming in Europe and the world" scheduled for 29 November 2013.

Denmark Contributes US $1.8 Million to Africa Agriculture Fast Track Fund

3 September 2013. TUNIS, Tunisia. The Government of Denmark has announced a contribution DKK 10 million (approximately US $1.8 million) to the Agriculture Fast Track Fund to Spur Investment in the development of African agriculture infrastructure.

The announcement was made on Wednesday, August 28, 2013 in Copenhagen by Denmark’s Development Cooperation Minister, Christian Friis Bach, during the visit to the country by the President of the African Development Bank Group Donald Kaberuka.

The Agriculture Fast Track Fund (AFT) is a US $26.8-million first-of-its-kind fund set up to spur greater private investment in agriculture infrastructure projects in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Backgound:

The Danish Government’s support complements contributions from Agricultural Fast Track founding donors including USAID, which has committed $15 million, and the Government of Sweden, which has pledged $10 million. The fund is managed by the African Development Bank.

The Agricultural Fast Track (AFT) provides grant funding for the initial project development costs of a broad range of agriculture infrastructure projects spanning the entire value chain – from production to market.The AFT is intervening in countries that are members of the New Alliance for Food Security and nutrition, which aims to strengthen the links from farmers to markets to tables. The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition was launched by President Obama at last year’s G8 summit and primarily includes six member countries: Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique, and Tanzania. The New Alliance matches market-oriented regulatory reforms in these six countries with $3.7 billion in commitments from the private sector in agriculture.

China-Africa Cooperation in Agriculture and Food Security

Updated: 2013-08-29. In recent years, Chinese enterprises have invested in Africa in such fields as breeding improved seeds, planting grain and cash crops, and processing agricultural products. From 2009 to 2012, China's direct investment in African agriculture grew from US$30 million to US$82.47 million, a 175% increase. Investment by Chinese enterprises in African agriculture has increased grain supplies in the countries concerned and enhanced the comprehensive agricultural productivity of those countries. In Mozambique, for example, 300 hectares of experimental paddy fields supported by Chinese investment yielded 9-10 tons per hectare for three successive years. With the help of Chinese rice experts, local farmers see their paddy fields yield five tons per hectare, two tons more than previous yields. In Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia, Chinese enterprises and the China-Africa Development Fund jointly invested in a cotton planting and processing project modeled on having enterprises work with farming households. The project was able to involve tens of thousands of local growers, effectively enhancing local capabilities in cotton processing.

Chinese enterprises have also worked to improve local farmland, water conservancy and conditions for agricultural production. Currently, the biggest agricultural project in Rwanda is a farmland improvement project supported by investment from the African Development Bank and contracted to Chinese enterprises. When completed, the project will effectively control major rivers and improve the utilization of water resources in Rwanda.

The Chinese government has tried to enhance Africa's self-reliance capacity to develop its agriculture by providing assistance in the construction of demonstration centers of agricultural technology, and sending senior agricultural experts and technicians to teach the locals managerial experience and practical techniques in agricultural production. Since 2006, China has helped set up 15 agricultural demonstration centers in Rwanda, the Republic of Congo, Mozambique and some other countries, and is planning to establish another seven. At the same time, China has sent technical groups and several hundred technicians to Africa to provide policy consulting, teach practical techniques and train local staff. With China's aid in a project to breed high-yield and high-quality crop varieties, Chad sees its yields grow by over 25% on over 500 hectares planted with improved varieties, and several thousand farmers trained.

FANRPAN 2013 Annual High-level Food Security Multi-Stakeholder Policy Dialogue

2-5 September 2013. Maseru, Lesotho. The Food Agriculture Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) is holding its 2013 Annual High-level Food Security Multi-Stakeholder Policy Dialogue. THEME: CLIMATE SMART AGRICULTURE.

Prior to the Policy Dialogue, FANRPAN is convening a two day training workshop for youth on the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and Agriculture Value Chains. The training workshop is aimed at enhancing the youths' knowledge on how agriculture policies are made, agriculture value chain management and approaches as well as the role of youth in the CAADP agenda.

More than 200 delegates are attending this meeting, including senior officials of national governments, representatives of regional economic organizations such as SADC and COMESA, NEPAD, donor organizations, network partners, FANRPAN Board members and country nodes representing farmers’ organizations, agri-business, development partner agencies and parliamentarians.

Click here to see the programme

Related:
Southern African Agriculture and Climate Change 

(IFPRI, September 2013, 327 pages)

A new book as the result of a collaboration between, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the CGIAR research program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), FANRPAN, and scientists from each of the countries offers an analysis of the impact of climate change on the area's agriculture, including full-color maps illustrating a variety of scenarios for eight of the region's countries : Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Through the use of hundreds of scenario maps, models, figures, and detailed analysis, the editors and contributors of Southern African Agriculture and Climate Changepresent plausible future scenarios that combine economic and biophysical characteristics to explore the possible consequences for agriculture, food security, and resources management to 2050. They also offer recommendations to national governments and regional economic agencies already dealing with the vulnerabilities of climate change and deviations in environment.

Decision makers and researchers will find Southern African Agriculture and Climate Change a vital tool for shaping policy and studying the various and likely consequences of climate change.

Full text (PDF 145.8M)

Download by Chapter

• Table of Contents and Front Matter (PDF 376K)
• Overview (PDF 7.3M)
• Methodology (PDF 389K)
• Botswana (PDF 9.8M)
• Lesotho (PDF 13.4M)
• Malawi (PDF 17.8M)
• Mozambique (PDF 16.9M)
• South Africa (PDF 9.4M)
• Swaziland (PDF 31.9M)
• Zambia (PDF 16.7M)
• Zimbabwe (PDF 22.3M)
• Contributors and index (PDF 131K)

Announcement: Agribusiness Education Fair

10-12 October, 2013. Nairobi, Kenya. Agribusiness Fair entitled "Agribusiness Education Fair: Making Tertiary Agricultural Education and Research more Relevant to Business Development in Africa" to be organized by ANAFE with key partners including, FARA, PanAAC, CTA, AABS and ICRAF, at ICRAF headquarters.

The African Network for Agriculture, Agroforestry and Natural Resources Education (ANAFE) as the key partner for the implementation of the FARA led programme called UniBRAIN (Linking Universities with Business and Research in Agricultural Innovations (UniBRAIN), has been undertaking intensive work for the last 3 years on improving training and practice of agribusiness in Africa at tertiary agricultural education level.

The ANAFE work on Agribusiness education has been further enhanced with a substantial financial support received from the Swedish Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) for the ANAFE programme dubbed SASACID (Strengthening Africa’s Strategic Agricultural capacity for Impact on Development). Key milestones in this regard are development of agribusiness curriculum frameworks for certificate, BSC, MSc and PhD degree levels; undertaking of tracer studies for agribusiness graduates and development of a strategy for engaging higher education with the Private Sector.

Objectives:

The above actions have ushered a new era of focused interaction between Tertiary Agricultural Education institutions and the Private Sector. The overarching objective of the Agribusiness Education Fair is to:

• To establish a platform for commercializing prototype technologies developed by universities, research institutions and Private Sector groups;
• To Improve Agribusiness teaching and research through stronger linkages between Training/Research institutions and the Private Sector’.

Profile of Applicants

Applicants need to be from education (all levels), research, development, policy, industry or other private sector organizations/institutions dealing with agribusiness at any stage of the agricultural (in a broad sense to cover natural resources) value chain. See folder.

European Forum on Agricultural Research for Development (EFARD) meeting

The EFARD meeting was chaired by Martin Kropff

rector magnificus Wageningen University

27-28. August 2013. European Commission, DG Research & Innovation, Brussels. European Forum on Agricultural Research for Development (EFARD) meeting.

Some 30 representative of European ARD actors discussed the vision, strategy and way forward for making EFARD a stronger and more effective organization at both the European and international levels to respond to priority agricultural research for development issues within Europe and on other continents.

The outcomes were:

• a consensus on the way forward for growing and strengthening EFARD community over the period 2013 – 2015;
• a revised strategy of EFARD including the EFARD governance
• the endorsement of EFARD’s new management team and mandate

The European ARD participants represented DG RTD/EIARD + DG AGRI + DG DEVCO (Belgium), BFH + YPARD, BFTH (Switzerland), KU (Danmark), ETC Agriculture (the Netherlands), Action Contre la Faim (France),  the European Cocoa Association (Belgium), CIRAD (France), AGREENIUM (France), PAEPARD (Belgium/Ghana), GFAR (Italy), Wageningen (the Netherlands), AGRICORD (Belgium), NRI (UK), EFARD Secretariat/ CTA, (the Netherlands),  ICRA (the Netherlands), SKAN Platform (Portugal), IAO (Italy).

For the first time two participants represented the Diaspora (AAAPD-E, Sweden): Association of African Agricultural Professionals in the Diaspora and the private cacao industry: CAOBISCO (Chocolate, biscuits and confectionery of Europe) and a cacao processor: EUROCOCOA.

DEVCO presentation
Representatives from DG Research and Innovation, DG Development and Cooperation (DEVCO) and DG Agricultural and Rural Development (DGAGRI) attended the meeting. Bernard Rey,
DG DEVCO Deputy Head of the Unit Rural Development, Food Security and Nutrition, explained the new AR4D strategy (2014–0), which is based partly on the EC communications on resilience in 2012 and on nutrition in 2013.

The Food Security Programme will be absorbed into the Global Public Goods and Challenges Programme.

• This aims at inclusive and sustainable growth, encompassing social protection, health, education, business environment, sustainable agriculture and energy. 
• In the new financial envelope, there is nothing earmarked specifically for research, which will be part of global public goods. 
• Global calls for proposals may be dropped, because the projects were too scattered and small (€1–2 million, disproportionate with costs of managing the calls), did not build strategically on each other, involved too time-consuming procedures (especially for those who did not win projects) and did not contribute to institutional strengthening. Calls may be replaced by commissioned funding of jointly set-­up programmes: the EC would ask specific institutions to develop proposals. More attention will be given to scaling up outputs of past research and to measuring the impact of the research, although the EC currently is not supporting any research into measuring impact. 

DG DEVCO cannot finance Europe bodies, but a mechanism is being developed to combine funding from DG DEVCO and DG Research and Innovation (which traditionally supports European organisations) to allow this. The IntensAfrica initiative led by CIRAD (France) and WUR (Wageningen University and Research) and involving several European research institutes and universities is seeking this kind of funding for African-­European partnership.

The reformed DG AGRI is fostering innovation through the European Innovation Partnership (EIP), implemented through the Rural Development Policy, and has a budget for international agricultural research for implementing part of Horizon 2020. They are working together with DG Research and Innovation in co‐managing research projects through the Research Executive Agency (REA). DG AGRI is currently doing a public e-­consultation on family farming and is organising a large conference on this topic, to be held on 29 November 2013.

PAEPARD presentation:

Second India-US-Africa triangular agricultural training program launched

30 July 2013. Kolkata, India. The United States and India, launched the second India-US-Africa triangular agricultural training program supported by the US government's global hunger and food security initiative Feed the Future. This partnership aims to improve agricultural productivity and support market institutions in Kenya, Liberia, and Malawi.


United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Food Security Office director Bahiru Duguma kicked off this initiative. Mr Duguma explained that, as part of the broader US-India global partnership, the triangular engagement "will share proven innovations from India's private and public sector to address food insecurity, malnutrition, and poverty in the target African countries."

The program will train 180 agricultural professionals from these three African countries by providing marketing and extension management training at the Chaudhury Charan Singh National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM) in Jaipur and at the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management in Hyderabad. The initiative, led by USAID and NIAM, is part of a three-year training program and one of several activities resulting from the global strategic partnership announced by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barak Obama in 2010.

Related:
October 18, 2013. U.S. Ambassador to India Nancy J. Powell presided over a graduation ceremony at the Chaudhury Charan Singh National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM), marking the completion of the first training program on agricultural marketing management for 30 visiting African agriculture professionals.

Second Sub-Saharan and Argentinean Agriculture Ministers Meeting in Buenos Aires

Sub-Saharan and Argentinean Agriculture Ministers
at their meeting in Buenos Aires.
Photo: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto, Argentina.

20-23 August 2013. Buenos Aires, Argentina. Second Sub-Saharan and Argentinean Agriculture Ministers Meeting in Buenos Aires.

“It is time for Latin America to increase its contribution to African development,” Director-General of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) José Graziano da Silva said at the second Sub-Saharan and Argentinean Agriculture Ministers Meeting in Buenos Aires, which this year focuses on ‘Efficient Agriculture for a Sustainable Agricultural Development.’

Mr. da Silva, who was one of the co-chairs of the meeting, noted that cooperation between Latin America and Africa could be mutually beneficial for the regions as they share similar challenges as well geographic, climate and social characteristics.

He also reiterated FAO’s commitment “to strengthen and channel exchanges between Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa with the aim to adopt, adapt and broaden best practices that promote agricultural development.”

In addition, South-South cooperation could also help make strides in the fight against hunger, Mr. da Silva said, emphasizing that international and multi-stakeholder cooperation will play a crucial role in meeting the Zero Hunger Challenge. He pointed to the High-Level Meeting of African and International Leaders, held in July in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia under the auspices of the African Union, FAO and the Lula Institute. During the meeting, African leaders, together with representatives of international organizations, civil society, the private sector, cooperatives, farmers, youth groups, academia and other partners unanimously adopted a declaration calling to end hunger in Africa by 2025.

Since FAO's South-South Cooperation initiative was established in 1996, over 50 South-South Cooperation agreements have been signed and more than 1 600 developing country experts and technicians have been deployed to support other countries' food security initiatives.

Felix Koskei, Kenya's cabinet secretary for agriculture, livestock and fisheries, who represented the country at the meeting, said Kenya hoped to gain from Argentina's expertise in livestock, especially in fighting cattle diseases.

"Kenya has for many years worked with Argentina in trying to come up with a long-life vaccine for foot-and-mouth disease and we want to work on this even more closely," says Koskei. 

"The available foot-and-mouth vaccine gives protection to an animal for about four months forcing farmers to have to vaccinate their cattle as many as three times a year, but we think with expertise from Argentina's more advanced vaccine-production laboratories we can make good advances," he adds.

Kenya, he said, is also seeking to promote fish farming and better management existing fisheries resources by tapping into Argentina's knowledge and technology.

The Crawford Fund and the Africa Australia Research Forum

25-28 August 2013, Perth Australia. The 2013 Crawford Fund Conference addresses the interaction between mining and agriculture, industries significant to both Australia and African countries, and identifies national and international practices and policies that provide benefits to communities and improve food security.

The 2013 Conference is being held in conjunction with the Africa Australia Research Forum and will precede the successful "Africa Down Under" mining event in Perth..

Agriculture and mining are important industries in many developing countries, as they are in Australia. Each industry can aid national economic growth, a healthy trade surplus and an inflow of investment capital, and can impact beneficially, or otherwise, on the other industry. At the same time, a booming mining industry can have seemingly perverse consequences for other sectors of the economy.

In 2013 the Crawford Fund partnered with the AARF to explore:

• How policy, investment and research and development can be better used to provide pro-poor benefits
• How to ensure positive, sustainable outcomes from mining and agriculture for food security and development  
• How we can use expertise and infrastructure from mining in developing countries to help poor agricultural and rural communities emerge from poverty.

Key Speakers

• The Hon Dr Florence Chenoweth, Africa Prize Winner and Minister for Agriculture in the Republic of Liberia
• Hon Professor Sospeter Muhongo, Minister of Energy and Minerals, Tanzania
• Mr Mario Pezzini, Director, OECD Development Centre
• His Excellency Festus Mogae, former President of Botswana and Chairman of the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa
• Professor Kevin Urama, Executive Director, African Technology Policy Studies Network
• 
  
• Dr Yemi Akinbamijo, Executive Director, Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa
• Dr Gavin Hilson, Chair, Sustainability in Business, Surrey University, UK

You can also download the full program here

Crawford Fund 2013 Conference - Full Program

Background:

Established in June 1987 by the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE), the Crawford Fund was named thus in honour of the late Sir John Crawford and commemorates his outstanding services to international agricultural research.

The Crawford Fund depends on grants and donations from governments, private companies, corporations, charitable trusts and individual Australians. It also welcomes partnerships with agencies and organisations in Australia and overseas.

The Fund promotes and supports international R&D activities in which Australian research organisations and companies are active participants. It supports the work of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), and CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) and other international research centres.

Related: Opinion
Scidev 09/09/2013: Missed opportunities at an Africa-Australia research meeting

First Biennial Rwanda Agricultural Board Conference on Agricultural Research and Extension

At the closing ceremony a traditional ballet 

entertained the crowd with dances

21 - 23 August 2013. Kigali, Rwanda. Confronting challenges of food insecurity and poverty in the era of climate change and variability: a conference of public and private sector organizations sharing agricultural technology development, adoption and delivery pathways. The conference has attracted 300 participants from US, Belgium, the Netherlands, Kenya, Uganda, Ivory Coast, DRC and Rwanda including delegates from National Agricultural Research Systems, universities, regional and international research and development organizations, development partners and the private sector.

The conference sub-themes were as follows:

• Intensification of land use for sustainable crop and livestock production
• Policy and agriculture technology delivery systems
• Biodiversity for food security and poverty reduction coping with climate change and variability in crop and livestock production
• Value addition and market access for economic growth and poverty reduction

One hundred and seventy five papers have been submitted for presentation on a wide range of topics including lessons and challenges on various issues relating to climate change.

Keynote speakers include Tim Searchinger of Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School, RAB Research Director General Dr. Daphrose Gahakwa, Kilimo Trust CEO Professor Nuhu Hatibu, Wageningen University Professor Leo Stroosnijder, Professor Adewale Adekunle (FARA), Professor Kelly Valerie, and Global Environment Facility's Rose Mukankomeje.

Related:

All Africa 22/08. Rwanda Hosts the First Biennial Conference On Agricultural Research to Tackle Population Growth and Climate Change

First Africa Food Security Conference

20 - 21 August 2013. This conference was held around the theme 'Harnessing Ecosystem Based Approaches for Food Security and Adaptation to Climate Change in Africa'. It was convened by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and other UN agencies, governments, research institution, NGOs, scholars, donors, and local governments.

The key objectives of the workshop were:

• Aggregate the lessons shared into common solutions for food security and climate change adaptation across country application, in building the capacity of the practitioners, supporting policy processes at all levels as well as empowering countries in undertaking bigger actions.
• Share information on targeted ecological actions that provide opportunities for addressing perennial food insecurity in Sub Saharan Africa.
• Identify key challenges and bottlenecks hindering the scaling-up of ecosystem-based adaptation practices, and how can they be overcome.