Despite the gains made towards achieving Agricultural Transformational development in Ghana, significant challenges remain in ensuring that the newly promoted Akosombo Integration Agenda to deliver sustainable services continues well into the future.
A recent scan on knowledge management in the Ghana agricultural sector reveals that Ghana’s agriculture sector was not knowledge-driven, and there was generally a lack of a learning culture. Investment in documentation, research, and information management is still low, though digitalisation is ongoing. To address this, the various institutions and stakeholders from across Africa who converged at the maiden KM4AgD Conference were mandated through the CAADP framework to adopt the new KM4AgD Agenda for Africa. This agenda is one way to achieve the Malabo goals, UN agenda 2063 and SDGs.
The Continental Data Capture Strategy2021 (CDCs) developed by FARA in collaboration with experts and representatives of the CAADP-XP4 partners has established the significance of the Learning Alliance Approach in influencing learning and adaptive capacity in Africa’s agricultural sector. The strategy aims to ensure that the Ghana agrarian sector has become vibrant in experience sharing, documentation and dissemination. It recommends institutionalising a guiding model for a more systematic building up and deploying knowledge for policy, programming, and practice.
The CAADP-XP4 institutional Partnerships Development on Knowledge Management and Sector Learning for Africa seek to ensure solutions are informed by evidence for achieving sustainable agricultural transformation services. It also aims to contribute to the African agriculture sector KM Strategy and strengthen sector learning at the regional level, including Ghana. Through the Knowledge Management conference in Accra 2021, there have been mapping of demand and needs for knowledge management and sector learning in the programme countries. The enthusiasm to mainstream the KM4AgD at the country level and the deployment of country KM4AgD plans and policies has become imperative.
It is worth noting that the key challenges as identified by a study on Ghana’s sector in 2021 persist. These challenges include: (1) how district learning can be up-scaled and linked to the national sector level; (2) how the learning lessons can more effectively influence sector policies and programming; and (3) how the initiative and sector learning more broadly can become financially sustainable. The recent 3 Ghanaian KM4AgD Certified Champions on the CAADP-XP4 partnership are ready to support the Ghana learning initiative to develop a plan for any organisation to address the above challenges, among others.
A team of 3 certified young Ghanaian KM4AgD experts (Paul Atsu of Footprints Bridge International, Zainab Abdulai, an Agricultural Extensionist Officer at MOFA, and Marilyn Yeboah, a researcher at CSIR-STEPRI ) have stepped forward to help tackle these challenges. These young KM champions, also members of the Africa Chapter of the Young Professionals for Agricultural Research for Development (YPARD), were certified through the KM4AgD Challenge organised by FARA and partners in 2021. The team has begun developing a national knowledge management work plan to address the challenges mentioned, including improving areas in extension service and research that are quite active in sharing knowledge but less organised in other learning cycle components. The team recognises the need for a learning framework to be institutionalised to improve sector learning. The starting point shall be adopting the KM4AgD agenda by various sectors and institutions.
Doubler la productivité agricole est essentiel pour atteindre l’objectif du PDDAA consistant à éliminer la faim, à réduire de manière significative la pauvreté, à créer la richesse et des emplois et à améliorer la gestion des ressources naturelles du continent. La gestion des connaissances a été citée parmi les puissants leviers pour la réalisation des objectifs de la Déclaration de Malabo. Cela a abouti à l’élaboration d’une stratégie continentale de gestion des connaissances y compris le FARADataInformS comme observatoire de l’agriculture africaine.
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Doubling the agricultural productivity target is fundamental to the CAADP’s goals of eliminating hunger, substantial reduction on poverty, creation of wealth and jobs and improved management of the continent’s natural resources. Knowledge Management was highlighted as one of the key drivers to the achievement of the Malabo targets. This led to the development of a continental knowledge management strategy including the FARADataInformS as an observatory for Africa Agriculture.
Provision of various training programmes to FARA Staff
Name of Project:
CAADP-XP4
Procurement Ref:
FARA/TrainProGs/RFPs/2022/01
Date:
Friday, 9th February 2022
Submission Deadline
Friday, 18th February 2022
TORs for Training Programmes
The human resources of FARA comprise the primary asset the organization relies upon to perform its mandate. The management of these resources and specifically the attraction, retention, motivation, and maximization of the productivity of high calibre employees is a critical function of the Secretariat. Therefore, a core objective of the Secretariat’s Human Resource Management function is to enhance the skills and capabilities of the personnel to ensure delivery through the provision of various training programmes for its staff.
The central objective of this activity is to conduct various training programmes for FARA secretariat staff in Leadership & Management; Advanced Microsoft Excel and Word, Internet Security; Partnership Management and Negotiation Skills; and Corporate Communication and Media Engagement.
This request for proposals aims at engaging consulting firms and individuals to carry out the following functions:
No
Training Programme
Expected Commencement Date
Duration of Assignment
1
Training of FARA Staff on Advanced Microsoft Excel and Word
End of February 2022
10 man-days
2
Training of FARA Staff on Internet Security
Second week of March 2022
3 man-days
3
Training of Staff in Leadership & Management
Second week in June 2022
5 man-days
4
Training of FARA Staff on Partnership Management and Negotiation Skills
Second week in August 2022
5 man-days
5
Training of FARA Staff on Corporate Communication and Media Engagement
Second week in October 2022
5 man-days
The detailed terms of references are in the link below:
The Executive Director of FARA invites interested firms/individuals to submit proposals in carrying out these assignments.
Interested Firms/individuals shall provide information on their qualifications and experience demonstrating their ability to provide the services (proposed methodologies, supporting documentation, reference for similar services, experience in comparable assignments, availability, and CVs of qualified staff, etc). Interested Firms/individuals should provide a detailed financial proposal with budget lines and resources for activities to be performed.
The anticipated periods of performance for these assignments are indicated in the table above.
The firms/Individuals shall be selected based on procedures defined in the Procurement Guidelines of FARA and the requirements stated in the respective TORs. Proposals will be evaluated and contract awarded to the most respective firm or individual per training programme.
Interested firms or Individuals may obtain further information from the HR and Administration Manager, Ms Ama Pokuah Asenso [[email protected]], and copy the Procurement Expert, Callistus Achaab [[email protected]], during the following hours: 9h00 to 15h00 GMT.
Proposals should be submitted electronically to [[email protected]] and addressed to Dr. Yemi Akinbamijo, Executive Director of FARA, No 9 Flower Avenue, New Achimota, Mile 7, Accra, Ghana, no later than Friday, 18th February 2022, at 16h00 GMT. Tel: +233 302 772823/744888
FARA Affirmative Action Statement on Recruitment: there is no discrimination based on gender race, religion, ethnic orientation, disability, or health status.
Applying agricultural interventions and rural development strategies: Sustainable and bio-diverse agro-ecosystems for smallholder resilience.
April 4-9, 2022, Nairobi, Kenya
BACKGROUND
The Right Livelihood College (RLC) is a global education and research initiative of universities and the Right Livelihood Award, also known as the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’ (www.rlc-blog.org). Together with ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’ awarded individuals and organizations, the RLC promotes transdisciplinary education and research on sustainable development and social justice world-wide.
The workshop is organized as part of the project “RLC Platform for Young East African Scientists – Improving the Productivity and Resilience of Smallholder Farming” which is jointly conducted by the RLC Campus Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Ger-many, the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’ awarded organization Biovision Africa Trust, Nairobi, Kenya, the RLC Campus Lund, Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS), Lund University, Sweden, among other partners. The project is kindly supported by the Volkswagen Foundation.
THE WORKSHOP
Smallholder farming constitutes the backbone of livelihoods and economies in East Africa. About 75% of all people in East Africa depend on smallholder farming. Beyond its economic relevance, smallholder farming provides socio-cultural foundations of rural-life, identities and living spaces, and contributes to social resilience and stability. However, the presence and future of smallholder farming is challenged by constaints to which research and practice have to provide answers.
The five-day RLC physical workshop in Nairobi aims to create an innovative transdicisplinary research-practice platform on the future of East African smallholder agriculture, based on knowledge, expertise and networks of ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’ – awarded individuals and organ-isations and the global RLC network. Together, they will work on – and for – the future of East African smallholder agriculture.
To do so, the workshop will link traditional conference activities with moderated peer‐to‐peer dis-cussions in addition to on‐the‐job training‐excursions led by experienced practitioners. The par-ticipants will get opportunities to present their current PhD research projects.
The workshop objectives are:
– To establish an expert network on smallholder agriculture in East Africa. supported by
– To generate expertise and exchange knowledge to improve the productivity and resilience of smallholder farming in East Africa.
– To educate and train future key decision makers and ‘agents of change’ towards sustain-able development and social justice.
Who can apply?
PhD students from East Africa that are currently completing their PhD at an East African university. Their PhD research work should be related to smallholder farming in East Africa, for example to questions of productivity and resilience, agricultural interventions and rural develop-ment strategies, market changes, governance, land tenure or soil fertility. Preferably in the middle/ end of their studies. Fluent English is mandatory. Women applications are particularly welcome.
How to apply?
Your application in English must be done via the following link:
The deadline is March 6, 2022. Invited participants will be informed until March 11, 2022.
The scholarships will cover all costs for international and national travel, hotel accommodation, catering, and working materials. The workshop will be embedded in a variety of social and cultural side-events.
For questions regarding the workshop, please contact Arthur Guischet: [email protected]
