Transcript Slide 1

FARA-FORAGRO
Promoting Inter-Continental
Cooperation
Monty Jones
Executive Secretary
Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa
African agriculture
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One in three persons is undernourished
One third of children under five in developing countries are
stunted due to inadequate feeding and poor health
Numbers of undernourished children in Africa are
increasing
(%) Children
(106) Children
60
200
180
50
Africa
160
140
40
120
30
Asia
100
80
20
60
Latin
Am erica
40
10
20
0
0
1980
1990
Year
2000
1980
1990
Year
2000
Agriculture: engine of economic growth
Africa is hungry even
though agriculture
accounts for:
 60% of labour
 20% of total merchandise
 17% of GDP
Africa is rich in human &
natural resources but its
agriculture has complex
problems:
 Socially
 Technically
 Environmentally
African Challenges to increase productivity
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Outdated (manual) practices
Highly variable production environment
Large, but poorly understood and
underutilized biological diversity
High levels of biodiversity loss
Inadequate human capacity and
infrastructure
Need to increase food production without further
loss of natural resources including biodiversity
African leadership
The New Partnership for Agricultural
Development (NEPAD) and its
Comprehensive Africa Agricultural
Development Program (CAADP)
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recognize that agriculture and agro-industry is
the engine for African development
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require a major systematic commitment to
science and technology
The Forum for Agricultural
Research in Africa (FARA)
Vision
Call for 6% annual growth rate in agriculture by year 2020
Mission
To enhance and add value to the effectiveness and
efficiency of AR4D systems in Africa in order to
contribute to agricultural development and economic
growth and sustainable use of natural resources
Functions
1.
Sub-regional
agricultural research
organizations
Advocacy and constituency building
ASARECA
2.
3.
Promoting partnerships
Improving exchange of
information
Joint exploration of collaborative
opportunities in partnerships
and information sharing and
exchange
CORAF
SADC/FANR
Functional partnerships
Requirements to achieve inter-continental partnerships
1.
a new innovation systems approach to agricultural
research for development
2.
the human capacity to implement, internalise and
upscale new approaches to researchers, change agents,
processors, marketers, and not least policy makers
3.
immediate applications that can make a difference
and restore credibility in agricultural development
4.
the financial resources that is needed to carry out
required reforms and investments
5. Scientists and Change Agents better able to retrieve
and contribute to global knowledge of agricultural
science & development
New Innovation Systems Approach
Sub Saharan Africa Challenge Program
Building sustainable livelihoods through
integrated agricultural research for development
Principles
Foster synergies among disciplines and institutions
Renewed commitment to change at all levels from
farmers to national and international policy makers
Pilot learning teams
formed to identify
problems
Draws on available knowledge
& best-bet technologies
Interventions driven by
local needs
New Innovation Systems Approach
Sub Saharan Africa Challenge Program
Building sustainable livelihoods through integrated agricultural
research for development
Objectives
 Sustainable management
of natural resources
 Intensification of
smallholder farming
systems
 Development of functional
agricultural markets
 Development of enabling
policies
Supporting pillars
1. Organizational and
Institutional Change
2. Capacity building
3. Information and
Knowledge Management
4. Ongoing monitoring and
evaluation
SSA CP pilot learning sites
Categories
East Africa
West-Central Africa
Southern Africa
Countries
DR Congo,
Rwanda, Uganda
Niger, Nigeria
Zimbabwe,
Mozambique,
Malawi
Area
Lake Kivu
Katsina-Matsina
transect
Northern corridor
2.5 – 6
5 – 10
Parameters
length of growing period
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annual rainfall
1,500 – 2,000
500 – 1,100
700 – 800
relief
mostly mountainous
1,500 – 1,800 masi
Mostly flat, interspersed
with inland valleys
Mountainous to flat
1,000 – 1,500 masi
population density
42 people/km
218 people/km
42 people/km
representative of area
(km2)
1,391,000
513,000
1,391,000
rep of human population
69 millioin
51 million
93 million
Coffee, tea,
pyrethrum,
banana, potato,
sorghum, maize,
rice, beans,
vegetables, agroforestry, livestock
Pearl millet, sorghum,
maize, upland rice and
wheat, groundnut,
cowpea, soybean,
cotton, cassava,
sweet potato, cattle,
sheep, goat, poultry
Maize, sorghum,
beans,
groundnuts,
pigeon pea,
chickpea,
cowpea, cassava,
banana, sweet
potato
Major germplasm
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Building Capacity
BASIC: Building African Scientific and Institutional
Capacity
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Strengthens capacity of African Universities and colleges
to build the required human capacity
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African universities determines the demand and first
assist each other
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Northern universities responds by strengthening
pedagogy
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The research institutions (international and national) will
provide locally relevant research-based teaching
materials
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the African universities will disseminate the outcomes
and products to other African universities
Building African Scientific and Institutional Capacity
African
Pedagogical
development
University
African
University
African
University
ICRA/NATURA/
NASLGUC
ANAFE
FARA
Course
material
CGIAR/ICTG
CGIAR Centre
Immediate applications (DONATA)
DONATA: Dissemination of new agricultural technologies
in Africa
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maximize the potential of research to make a
difference and restore credibility in agricultural
development
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Identify common opportunities and problems in
dissemination of different technologies and lessons
learnt for rapid dissemination
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Initial portfolio of technologies:
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NERICA
Tissue Culture Banana
IR-maize for striga control
improved cassava
natural resource management tools
Financial resources
MAPP: Multi-country Agricultural Productivity
Program
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resources that African agricultural research
systems require to carry out the required
reforms and investments
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IAC report highlights need for increased
investment in agricultural research for Africa’s
development
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Subregional consultations and workshops
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raising awareness, seeking feedback and buy-in
Global knowledge
FARA-RAIS: FARA Regional Agricultural Information
System
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Gowth in available information and improvement in
information infrastructure not used effectively by African
end-users
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Concern shared by stakeholders e.g.NARIs, NARS,
SROs, GFAR, FAO, CABi, CTA, Infosys, TEAL and many
others
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FARA to catalyse providers and transmitters of
information
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Create awareness
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Capacity building
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Enabling integration
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Governance
Main opportunities for cooperation
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Innovative systems approach
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Building capacity
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University linkages
Immediate application of technologies
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Facilitation and mentoring; impact assessment
Technological capacities and dissemination
methodologies (laboratories/training)
Global knowledge sharing
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GFAR’s GLOBAL_Alliance
Regional Agricultural Information Systems
Summary
Enhancing agricultural efficiency in Africa to
contribute to economic growth and
sustainability requires a
positive long-term strategy …
…which could be achieved through
investments in science, higher
education and research
In Africa …
Famine, food insecurity and
malnutrition have many complex
causes…
Defeating them requires
global partnerships
Thank you