By: Ibenu Sharon (AFAAS), Bridget Kakuwa (CCARDESA), Benjamin Abugri (FARA)
14th August, Kampala – Uganda – With the overarching goal of fostering sustainable agricultural research transformation and rural development across Africa, the importance of strategic alliances and effective resource mobilization cannot be overstated. To this end, the CAADP-XP4 Consortium comprising the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), the African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (AFAAS), the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa ( ASARECA), the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA) and the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF) organized a Comprehensive resource mobilization training in collaboration with the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) and the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) conducted an Intensive Resource Mobilization Training to equip stakeholders with the necessary skills and knowledge.
This training, conducted at the Fairway Hotel Kampala from 9th to 14th August 2023, aimed to address gaps in resource mobilization, crafting robust and sustainable fundraising strategies. Besides theoretical instruction, the training emphasized hands-on practice, targeting a diverse audience from Research and Extension institutions. The initiative focuses on fundamental principles, practical techniques, ethical considerations, and strategic evolution, hoping to revolutionize the way resources are mobilized.
Dr Aggrey Agumya, Executive Director of FARA
Dr. Aggrey Agumya, the Executive Director of FARA, highlighted the timeliness of this initiative, emphasizing the growing financial challenges faced by AR4D research organizations. He spotlighted the shrinking resources and increasing dependencies, urging the need for more innovative funding solutions, especially given the pandemic’s financial impact and changing donor priorities. Dr Agumya further intimated that Funders are showing a preference for interventions that yield tangible results in a short time, which has further put the supra-national AR4D organizations at a disadvantage because their results/outcomes are not readily tangible, and they are medium to long-term. “Under these circumstances, it is essential that these organizations and the national partners they support are compelled to find innovative ways of mobilizing resources and build the required capacities”, emphasized Dr Agumya.
Echoing this sentiment, Mr Max Olupot, the Director of Programmes from AFAAS, recognized Dr. Agumya’s leadership ascent and underscored the urgency of resource mobilization for the consortium’s continuity. He further noted that this period was critical for the CAADPXP4 Consortium as the CAADP-XP4 program is coming to an end and hence need to solicit more funds so that there is continuity and sustainability.
Dr Baisti Podisi, the CAADP-XP4 Coordinator from CCARDESA, indicated that the meeting was a progression of CCARDESA’s existing initiatives. “This meeting will help us build more partnerships, and Agroecology is a niche topic that all of us in the room could ride and benefit from. It is critical as SROs to catalyze our institutions to support our countries’ access to funding. We need to be more innovative in engaging the private partnership.” Re-echoed, Dr Podisi.
Ms Julian Barungi speaking on behalf of the ASARECA Executive Director emphasized their unwavering commitment to the consortium’s partnerships.
The Resource Mobilization training unfolded in two distinct phases, with the virtual Training, spanning five days; this phase deep-dived into resource mobilization, encompassing an array of topics, from fundraising strategies and the moral aspects of resource mobilization to monitoring, evaluation, and best practices.
Participants go through developing a problem tree for their projects during the physical training in Kampala-Uganda
Whereas the practical application and second segment focused on drafting effective proposals. It was tailored to address currently active calls for proposals, leveraging themes from the Horizon Europe Working Programme and the EC-INTPA calls.
This endeavour by the CAADP-XP4 Consortium epitomizes hope for Africa’s sustainable agricultural evolution. It not only arms stakeholders with indispensable skills but also signifies the transformative power of unity and strategic collaborations in reshaping Africa’s agricultural horizon.
In a bid to reinforce the African Union’s comprehensive commitment to agricultural development in Africa, the first-ever meeting since the formation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Communication and Knowledge Management Thematic Working Group took place at the Movenpick Hotel, Nairobi, from 3-4 August.
Some Participants at the AU CAADP KM & Comms Workshop
The main objective of the meeting was to propel the CAADP agenda forward through meticulous communication, advocacy, and knowledge management. The meeting also aimed to assess the strides made, design a concrete work plan, and establish a coordinated mechanism to bolster CAADP and forge a coordination blueprint for the CAADP Communication group following recommendations from Yaounde’s engagement, from 1-5 August 2022.
The desired outcomes of this coordination meeting were manifold, from highlighting the progress made in communication, knowledge management and advocacy at all levels to defining coordination tools for the CAADP Communication group. This will help improve awareness of the CAADP Malabo declaration, and support the implementation of the CAADP Business Plan 2022-2025 and the Jointly developed CAADP work plan.
Ms Panduleni Elago – Senior CAADP Advisor – African Union Commission
The meeting was officially opened by Ms Panduleni Elago, the CAADP Advisor, who emphasized the African Union’s anticipation towards the thematic working group to expedite the AU agenda. “The AU looks forward to the Key Performance Indicators that will emerge from this group that will address the knowledge and information gap in the Biannual Review Process,”.
Ms Peace Mutuwa the Communication and Knowledge Management expert, echoing the sentiments of the African Union Commission (AUC), emphasized how pivotal this group would be in propelling the AU’s goals forward. “As we commence this mammoth task, we need to develop Terms of Reference (TORs) that will govern our modus operandi. We should also not forget the critical role of the media in disseminating information to the communities on the CAADP process.
A palpable sense of duty settled in the room as the discussions pivoted to the 4th Biannual Review (4BR) of the CAADP. Two decades after the inception of Malabo, a gap remains; farmers are still in the dark about its potential. The need of the hour is curating content specifically tailored for small-scale farmers, ensuring it’s digestible and beneficial.
The African Union envisions this esteemed assembly to be the foundation of a robust CAADP Communication strategy. Policy LINK, a global Feed the Future program to advance leadership and collaboration for better policy systems implemented by DAI and working with the AUC, voiced the importance of technical and financial backing. They stressed, “It’s time we lay down tangible recommendations, lighting our path forward.”
CCARDESA, through its Information, Communication, and Knowledge Management Officer, Mrs Bridget Kakuwa-Kasongamulilo, joined the chorus, recognizing the CAADP as Africa’s agricultural cornerstone, she urged the assembly to prioritize the seven commitments, though it demands perseverance.
Mr Benjamin Abugri, FARA’s Knowledge Management and Communication Cluster Lead, urged the Working Group to be forward-thinking in using existing knowledge services and tools such as the FARA Africa Community (Dgroups) to discuss BR processes as they also act as interactive tools that allow information exchange and knowledge co-creation.
The meeting’s purpose shone clear: addressing the gaping communication void, ensuring synchronization with technical processes, advocating for CAADP, and strategizing its communication. The dialogue flowed, touching upon the support communications provided to the Biannual Review reporting and the Malabo. The ensemble also considered the potential of leveraging annual events like the CAADP Meetings, the AASW, the KM4AgD Conference, the Fertiliser Summit, and others, ensuring these platforms spread the right message.
Delving deep into recommendations from the Critical BR Analysis Report, the group proposed developing a protocol for the Biannual Review mechanism and a review of the toolkit for communication and knowledge management.
In attendance were participants from AUC, AUDA-NEPAD, AU-IASPC, RECs, Policy Link, FAO, ILRI, TASAI, CCARDESA, FARA, AU-IBAR, and other esteemed organizations. With two days of productive discourse, this meeting in Nairobi, from 3-4 August 2023, was not just a gathering, but a revolution in the making.
The leadership of FARA and CCARDESA led by Ms Bongiwe Njobe, a FARA Board member, Dr Yemi Akinbamijo (FARA Executive Director), Prof. Cliff Dlamini (Executive Director of CCARDESA), in the company of Mr Simon Mukeze (CCARDESA Finance Manager), held a meeting with Honorable Jabulani Mabuza, Minister of Agriculture, Kingdom of Eswatini on the state of preparedness of the Eighth African Agribusiness and Science Week (AASW8) which has been planned to take place in Durban during the week of June 5, 2023.
The AASW is the foremost continental platform of all African stakeholders involved in agriculture and agribusiness research and innovation. The forum assembles over 1,500 stakeholders to take stock of progress on research and innovation, share information, network, create business alliances, and map out priorities for joint action. The 8th edition of the AASW will be held in Durban, South Africa, from June 5 to 8, 2023. It will focus on a topical issue on the Continent, including strengthening linkages between agribusiness and science and innovation to improve its productivity and competitiveness in the agro-industry.
The meeting secured the commitment of the Honourable Minister of Agriculture of Eswatini, the vivid engagement of the agriculture private sector practitioners, and the science community of Eswatini towards the Durban meeting. The Minister expressed his appreciation and optimism that the AASW will help strengthen and stimulate engagements of relevant stakeholders for accelerating the continent’s agricultural productivity, particularly for the Kingdom of Eswatini.
From left: Dr Yemi Akinbamijo, Hon Jabulani Mabuza, Ms Bongiwe Njobe, Mr Simon Mukeze & Prof. Cliff Dlamini
The meeting also created opportunities for greater collaboration between the stakeholders of the Kingdom of Eswatini and Agriculture Research for Development (ARD) institutions. Both parties expressed optimism that this collaboration would positively change the efforts to strengthen research, business, and policy linkages and achieve better outcomes for Africa’s agricultural sector.
The Board of Directors of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa, during its 31st Ordinary session held March 1-3 at the Lancaster Hotel Accra, Ghana, performed one of the key statutory functions of the Board in conducting the successful appointment process of the next Executive Director of FARA.
The process was flagged off by the constitution of the Recruitment Advisory Committee (RAC) and endorsed by the Board of Directors at its 29th Ordinary Session with the competitive recruitment of a Search Firm that has meticulously facilitated the recruitment process. At the close of its 31st Session, the Board is happy to announce the appointment of Dr Aggrey AGUMYA as the next Executive Director of FARA pending ratification by the General Assembly in June 2023.
Dr Aggrey Agumya, Executive Director Designate, FARA
Aggrey Agumya, a Ugandan national, will become the third Executive Director and Head of Mission of FARA coming after Monty P Jones and Yemi Akinbamijo. An alumnus of the University of Melbourne, Aggrey holds a doctorate degree in Geo-Information Sciences. He comes to this exciting position at such a momentous period in the evolution of FARA. Dr Agumya has been a part of the FARA story for the last 17 years when he joined the Secretariat as a Programme Officer of the sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Programme (SSA-CP), a well-recognized continental Flagship programme of FARA. Thereafter, he served in key programme and leadership positions in FARA, including as Technical Advisor to the two Executive Directors. In 2020, Aggrey was appointed as the Director of Research and Innovation at the Secretariat, where he also serves as the de facto Deputy Executive Director. It is noteworthy that Dr Agumya has been closely associated with most of the significant achievements of FARA, wherein he has served at the Director level for half as long as he has been a staff of FARA. Aggrey comes ready with an intimate understanding of the context, configurations, corporate philosophy and partnerships of the agriculture research and innovation institutions in Africa.
On behalf of the FARA Board of Directors, I am honoured to present Dr Aggrey Agumya as the Executive Director-Designate as we await further details of the imminent leadership transition at the FARA Secretariat. We all wish Aggrey a fruitful tenure as he takes the institution to the next level.
It will be recalled that the incumbent Executive Director – Dr Yemi Akinbamijo, has meritoriously served a two-term tenure since July 2013, and his current tenure will lapse in July 2023.
FARA is the continental apex body for agricultural research and innovation in Africa. Its mission is to contribute to generating high, broad-based and sustainable agricultural growth by catalyzing improvements to the productivity and competitiveness of the sector through increased and effective application of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI). FARA executes its mission by performing the following four functions: (i) advocacy for increased application of STI in agriculture which is a necessary condition for achieving national and continental development goals; (ii) strengthening the human, institutional and systemic capacities for agricultural innovation; (iii) facilitating the exchange of information and knowledge in STI for agriculture; and (iv) facilitating partnerships among research, innovation and agribusiness actors within Africa as well as between Africa and external regional or national entities.
FARA serves as one of the Implementing centres of the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) project supported by the African Development Bank.
The Secretariat further serves as the Coordination Unit of the Strengthening Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Ecosystem for Inclusive Rural Transformation and Livelihoods in Eastern Africa (AIRTEA) Project and many others.
Within the context of the AfDB-funded Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) and the African Emergency Food Production Facility (AEFPF), FARA has been mandated to serve as the Capacity Development Technology Outreach (CDTO) compact. Under the second phase of TAAT, the CDTO aims to strengthen capacities and facilitate outreach and scaling of nutritious climate-resilient agricultural technologies and good practices, through technical support along targeted TAAT value chains for increased agricultural productivity, access to quality seeds, GAP, household incomes and job creation supporting Regional Member Countries (RMCs). Additionally, the CDTO supports the implementation of the Transition Support Facility (TSF) of the AfDB.
To coordinate the activities driven by FARA in its programmes and projects, the organization is seeking to hire an Expert in Agribusiness.
Reporting to the Senior Technical Cluster Leader/Innovation Systems Specialist, the successful candidate shall inter-alia perform the following roles and responsibilities:
Technical Oversight and Support:
Provide technical oversight and act as a technical resource for integrating gender and social inclusion approaches into all FARA projects.
Provide support and oversight to the development of key project deliverables in addition to ensuring ongoing implementation, incorporating gender-sensitive and transformative approaches in line with FARA policies.
Promote the development and operationalization of the agribusiness, gender, and youth engagement strategy.
2. Identify learning needs and build the capacity of Stakeholders and staff.
Lead research efforts to design innovative, high-quality approaches for gender integration into African agricultural systems.
Analyze the status quo and convert knowledge to solutions to real-life issues on youth, gender, and agribusiness.
Contribute to high-level knowledge products for diverse audiences, including reports, white papers, and other outputs, such as learning briefs and reader-friendly blogs.
Carry out training activities on new models and methods for effective youth engagement in African agriculture.
Develop, promote and train African agricultural stakeholders on innovative agribusiness models to ensure the profitability of farming.
Collaborate with Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) staff to develop learning questions, indicators, and other resources to ensure FARA program evaluation integrates gender and social inclusion
3. New business and projects
Provide technical guidance and support to proposal development in agribusiness, youth, gender, and social inclusion as a subject matter expert.
Review the technical contributions of consultants or take on the role of lead writer, where
Identify and meet with other organizations/donors to discover potential funding or partnership opportunities.
As a cross-cutting function, you will undertake the implementation of agribusiness, youths, gender, and social exclusion functions in all FARA projects, including external partnerships and alliances.
4. External Outreach
Strategically promote FARA’s image as a learning organization with technical strengths in agribusiness, youth, gender equality, women’s economic empowerment, and inclusive agriculture and market systems.
Foster good relationships with industry partners and individuals and participate in international and domestic meetings, workshops, and conferences.
Any other duties as required by the Director of Research and Innovation and Management
Required
A Master’s degree in agriculture, agribusiness, agricultural economics, or a related field is required.
At least eight (8) years of professional work experience in agribusiness development with an emphasis on value chain development, rural finance, and regional/international trade policy.
Solid experience in gender mainstreaming and youth programmes.
Knowledge of supply and value chains of agribusiness within Africa.
Demonstrated practical knowledge of regional agribusiness firms.
Experience working in an International organization or in a not-for-profit agribusiness.
Demonstrated experience with gender mainstreaming in agriculture projects.
Experience leading and building the capacity of teams of agriculture-focused; including remote, field-based personnel. Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including demonstrated ICT skills.
Compensation
FARA offers a competitive salary and benefits in accordance with position and scale.
Location
The position is based at the FARA secretariat in Accra, Ghana.
Applications
Qualified candidates are invited to submit via email a comprehensive Curriculum Vitae together with a cover letter and names/contact details of three referees to Dr Yemi Akinbamijo, Executive Director, FARA, PMB CT 173, Cantonments, Accra, Ghana. Email: [email protected]
Applications will be assessed against the required skills, experience, and aptitudes set out above. Applications will be accepted up to 20th March 2023.
Due to the anticipated high volume of applicants, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
FARA Affirmative Action Statement on Employment: there is no discrimination on the basis of gender, race, religion, ethnic orientation, disability or health status.
NB: Please quote in your application the reference code of the vacancy for which you are applying.
