The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), the apex continental technical institution responsible for coordinating and advocating for agricultural research and development initiatives, shared its experiences during a side event at the Africa Union Pavilion during the ongoing Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya. The event focused on the urgent need to accelerate action in promoting soil health as a crucial strategy for addressing climate change adaptation and mitigation.
During his intervention, the acting Director for Research and Innovation and Innovations Systems Specialist at FARA, Prof Oluwole Fatunbi, emphasized the need for relevant stakeholders to take swift action to combat land degradation in Africa. He highlighted that Africa possesses a remarkable asset, which is 60% of the world’s available arable land for food production. This opportunity underscores the significance of safeguarding and optimizing it. He commended the Africa Union for its leadership in the development and implementation of relevant initiatives for the continent, including the Soil Initiative for Africa (SIA), which is a long-term framework aimed at managing African soil health, as well as the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Action Plan (AFSH-AP), designed as a 10-year implementation plan for the SIA.
He further highlighted the four core pillars of the SIA, which include optimizing integrated soil health and water management planning and implementation; strengthening human, institutional, and social capital for research, development, education, extension, and support of sustainable soil management; optimizing data and information for effective planning and monitoring; and ensuring enabling policy, legal, and regulatory frameworks.
Prof Oluwole noted that these pillars align perfectly with the four outcomes outlined in the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Action Plan (AFSH-AP). He suggested the domestication of actions along the existing and well-established CAADP pathways, effective leadership and coordination of efforts to prevent duplication, ensure accountability and reporting on progress, and smart implementation considerations and financing as essential principles for implementing the action.
He intimated that the implementation would involve scaling technologies, enhancing farmers’ capacities, promoting systems innovation, communication, and awareness creation, providing incentives for private sector finance for field-level activities, increasing the focus on soil health from African and development partners and developing targeted financing mechanisms.
During her intervention, the Head of the Rural Economy Division in the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture of the African Union Commission, Dr Edeme Janet, extended an open invitation to all stakeholders to participate in the upcoming Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit scheduled for November 5th – 6th in Nairobi, Kenya. Other notable speakers at the event included Dr. Manyewu Mutamba, the Head of Agriculture at the AUDA-NEPAD, Mr. Stephen Muchiri, CEO of the East Africa Farmers Federation, Per Fredrik Pharo, Director, Department for Climate and Environment, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and others.
PABRA was chosen from a field of 496 nominees from 47 countries by a preeminent panel of judges with experience and leadership in Africa agriculture.
Dar es Salaam, 7th September 2023: The Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) has been honored with the prestigious Africa Food Prize for 2023, recognizing their exceptional leadership in the development of numerous bean varieties that improve farm productivity and profitability, and meet increasing consumer demand. The announcement was made by Africa Food Prize Chairperson, former Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete during the AGRF2023 held in Tanzania. PABRA has demonstrated unwavering dedication and commitment to improving nutrition and food security across the African continent by harnessing the potential of beans, a vital source of plant-based proteins and micronutrients including iron and zinc along with other essential nutrients. PABRA was recognized for their tireless efforts in breeding new varieties and making them accessible to farmers across Africa. Their research and development efforts have generated a multiple positive impact on the lives of countless individuals, particularly in communities facing food insecurity and malnutrition. To-date, PABRA members have released over 650 improved bean varieties of diverse favorable characteristics. These varieties are grown by over 37 million smallholder farmers in Africa and consumed by more than 300 million people in Africa significantly improving nutrition, health, and food security. As a crop typically managed by women, PABRA beans enable more families to eat better and earn cash income. Every year, the Africa Food Prize initiative calls for nomination of outstanding individuals or institutions that are leading the effort to change the reality of farming in Africa.
H.E Jakaya Kikwete, praised PABRA for its outstanding contribution to farm productivity, resilience and competitiveness on the African continent. He stated, “PABRA’s dedication to bean research and development and their remarkable impact on overcoming malnutrition through the development and improved bean varieties and complementary technologies are commendable. Their work aligns perfectly with the goals of the Africa Food Prize, and I am delighted to announce them as the 2023 laureates.”
The US $100,000 prize celebrates Africans who are taking control of Africa’s agriculture agenda. It puts a spotlight on bold initiatives and technical innovations that can be replicated across the continent to create a new era of food security and economic opportunity for all Africans. In accepting the award, Mr. Jean Claude Rubyogo, Global Bean Program Leader at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and PABRA Director expressed his gratitude and dedication to the cause, saying; “This award is a testament to the hard work and commitment of the entire PABRA team , its members, including all the National Research institutes and their governments, implementing partners, funders and the smallholder farmers we serve.” All nominations are reviewed using the Africa Food Prize criteria that assesses a program’s contribution to poverty reduction and nutrition security as well as improvement of livelihoods through employment and job creation. The selection process also evaluates the potential of program scalability, replication and sustainability. Mr. Rubyogo added that winning the 2023 Africa Food Prize is a significant and historic moment for PABRA which comes after celebrating 25 years of bean research and development last year and launching the bean movement – promoting beans as a super food. PABRA empowers women throughout the bean value chain since they are the majority stakeholders in farming and trading and see this recognition as a win for women in agriculture and sustainable food systems.
About The Africa Food Prize
The Africa Food Prize is the preeminent annual award that recognizes outstanding individuals or institutions that are leading the effort to change the reality of farming in Africa.
The US $100,000 prize celebrates Africans who are taking control of Africa’s agriculture agenda. It puts a spotlight on bold initiatives and technical innovations that can be replicated across the continent to create a new era of food security and economic opportunity for all Africans.
Africa Food Systems Forum is the world’s premier forum on African agriculture and food systems, bringing together stakeholders to take practical action and share lessons that will move African food systems forward.
The Kenya Fish Marketing Authority (KFMA), a budding state agency established in 2016, has intensified efforts to enhance production and consumption of fish and fisheries products in Kenya. Despite the many nutritional benefits of eating fish, the delicacy is still shunned by some consumers. In addition to being rich in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins such as D and B2, fish is also a great source of calcium and phosphorus, iron, zinc, iodine, magnesium, and potassium.
Speaking at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, the KFMA Board Chair, Hon. Martin Ogindo, said that among the strategic targets for the Authority is to expand the contribution of the fish industry to the national economy from the current Kshs. 30 billion to Kshs. 150 billion in the next three years.
Hon. Ogindo and Eng. Onyango learn how the two-screw laboratory food extruder works at JKUAT
This, he explained, would be achieved through abatement of postharvest loss, introduction of new value-added fish products, tightening quality assurance of fish products, and tapping on the research and technical expertise for informed evidence-based decision and policy making.
“People have started liking fish. Even in places where fish was not traditionally consumed, the commodity is becoming quite popular,” Ogindo said.
Hon. Ogindo, who was accompanied to JKUAT by the KFMA CEO, Eng. Samuel Onyango, added that they would be keen to learn about the avenues for transfer of the University’s technologies in the blue economy space, where fishery resources are a major component.
The Principal, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (COANRE), Prof. Daniel Sila, informed the visiting team that JKUAT had honed targeted capabilities in sustainable exploitation of blue economy resources. These strengths encompass various innovations in aquaculture, human capital development, and extensive networks.
Some of the forays of JKUAT in the space include working with stakeholders to boost the economic value of silver cyprinid fish, locally known as omena through promotion of consumption and reduction in postharvest loses.
Prof. Sila (third right), Hon. Ogindo (third left) Eng. Onyango (second left) and Prof. Ojijo (left) with other others after the meeting
Prof. Nelson Ojijo from the Department of Food Science & Technology who is the Principal Investigator in the collaborative research project on omena value chain upgrading, said that omena forms the bulk of fish landings from Lake Victoria and supports over two million livelihoods. The omena value chain upgrading project is a sub-component of the regional project dubbed “Strengthening Agricultural Knowledge & Innovation Ecosystem for Inclusive Rural Transformation & Livelihoods in Eastern Africa (AIRTEA)” funded by the EU and coordinated by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA).
Through the project, JKUAT and partners (Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, JKUAT Enterprises Ltd, and Beach Management Units at Dunga, Kisumu County, and Marenga, Busia County) have deployed hybrid (solar and biomass) greenhouse fish drying units at Dunga Beach in Kisumu County and Marenga Omena Beach in Busia County, which are the two project sites. The hybrid unit can dry omena in just three hours leading to significant reduction in postharvest loses.
“Fish is a highly perishable product and fisherfolk can lose up to 50% of landed catch depending on the weather and storage conditions,” Prof. Ojijo noted adding that only 30% of the harvested omena is used for food as the rest is either wasted or utilised to produce animal feeds.
The KFMA officials noted that a partnership with JKUAT would enable the Authority to realize its objectives, which include reducing post-harvest loses from the current average of 30% to below 10%.
Eng. Samuel Onyango noted that fish production in Kenya stood at 163,702 tons in 2021. He added that the sector is currently facing a number of challenges including low adoption of technology, uneven distribution of gains, lack of value-addition technologies and poor state of beach access roads
The per capita fish consumption in Kenya is relatively low and currently stands at 4.5 kg/person/year compared to Africa’s average of 10 kg/person/year. The global average consumption is 20 kg/person/year. The value-added omena-based products currently being developed by Prof. Ojijo and his team under the EU-funded project will go a long way in promoting fish consumption throughout the country.
Kenya currently has 445 documented fish landing points presenting a huge potential for integrated product visioning and value addition.
The meeting between the JKUAT and KFMA teams identified key areas for potential collaborative efforts between the two institutions.
Accra, Ghana – The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) ex-Pillar IV( CAADPXP4) partners, in collaboration with the Strengthening agricultural knowledge and the innovation ecosystem for inclusive rural transformation and livelihoods in Eastern Africa (AIRTEA) Consortium led by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), have commenced the Agribusiness Learning Alliances (ABLA) Proof of Concept Workshop in Accra, Ghana today.
The two-day workshop brought together key stakeholders and experts to review and articulate the ABLA concept, develop a methodology for establishing the ABLA proof of concept, and explore its potential to enhance economic value derived from innovation platforms.
In his opening remarks, the executive Director of FARA, Dr Aggrey Agumya expressed his delight to see all partners reconnecting for this important concept. He emphasized that this engagements will lead to the formulation of approaches for enhancing outcomes and impact of research and innovation.
He added that “We have a unique opportunity to make history by definitively formulating and framing the methodology for testing a concept that will revolutionize IPs and ultimately the livelihoods of farmers and other value chain actors, especially women and youth.
This innovative approach seeks to strengthen the business dimension of Innovation Platforms, ultimately improving the economic value derived from these platforms.
African agriculture has long grappled with challenges such as low technology adoption, limited resources, and insufficient institutional collaboration. To address these issues, Innovation Platforms (IPs) were established, aiming to foster collaboration between research, producers, the private sector, extension services, and policy. However, these platforms have not fully realized their potential for economic efficiency and increased profitability for farm enterprises.
This collaborative effort between CAADP-XP4 and AIRTEA Consortium led by FARA marks a significant step towards revolutionizing African agriculture, promoting economic growth, and enhancing the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.
International Expert, Consultancy for Resource Mobilization Support Services for the Common African Agro-Parks (CAAPs) Programme
Name of Project:
FARA/CAAPs
Procurement Ref:
FARA/CAAPs/CS/Res.Mob/IC/2023/01
Date:
Tuesday, August 29, 2023
The Common African Agro-Parks Programme (CAAPs) was initiated in 2019 as one of the concrete initiatives of the Comprehensive African Agricultural Programme (CAADP) to be implemented within the framework of the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063 for achieving the CAADP Malabo commitments, especially the one on “tripling Intra-African trade for agricultural commodities and services.
CAAPs emerged from the major recommendations of the Inaugural CAADP-Biennial Review (BR) Report presented to the 2018 AU Assembly of Heads of States, where recommendations were formulated for the AU Commission to initiate continental actions that shall aim at: i)- boosting regional trade for agricultural commodities by increasing locally processing of key agricultural products and their respective value chains; ii)- promoting and facilitating increased consumption of locally and regionally produced agricultural commodities; iii) -achieving self-sufficiency and lowest possible importation of key agriculture commodities in Africa; and iv)-stimulating local and regional private sector investments in agriculture. The implementation of the CAAPs will help Africa to take over the African Food Import Market of about USD50 billion per annum that is currently outsourced to the rest of the world.
The CAAPs is coordinated by the AU Commission, through the Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment (ARBE); the Economic Development, Trade, Industry and Mining (ETIM) in partnership with the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA); – African Export-Import Bank (Afrexim Bank); and the Forum for Agriculture Research in Africa (FARA).
These core institutions are steering the coordination of the CAAPs through two major organs: the CAAPs Steering Committee (CAAP-SC) and the Technical Coordination Team (the CAAPs-TCT), with the CAAPs-Secretariat hosted at FARA.
The CAAPs was recently adopted as a Flagship Program of the AU Commission by the Extra-Ordinary Session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment (ARDWE) in March 2023. This development will result in AU establishing a robust Secretariat to support the implementation of the program. Additionally, the CAAPs is being piloted in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Scaling out the CAAPs at the continental level based on the lessons learnt in these two countries and supporting the operations of the envisioned CAAPs Secretariat will necessitate resources.
Therefore, the CAAPs-Secretariat requires the support of a Resource Mobilization consultant to support the development of a Resource Mobilization Strategy and Implementation Roadmap for the Programme.
To achieve the foregoing; FARA proposes to engage a suitable consultant to carry out this assignment with the needed professionalism and ethics.
The Resource Mobilization Consultant will review the existing technical study of the financial options available for the implementation of CAAPs and other relevant CAAPs documents and develop a resource mobilization strategy and a joint implementation roadmap for AUC and FARA Secretariat. The Consultant will establish a clear overview of current and potential funding opportunities for CAAPs program to increase the long-term sustainability of the program.
This request for expression of interest aims at engaging a consultant to carry out the following functions:
Consult with the CAAPs team to understand the vision, mission and focus areas of the program;
Review the CAAPs current strategic project documents, technical studies, work plans, project proposals, knowledge management products and current funding models to better understand the needs and help position the program for resource mobilization;
Map the CAAPs products and services to identify funding gaps;
Map potential donors’ strategic areas of interest, priorities as well as funding windows, and explore opportunities for partnerships from emerging donors (both traditional and non-traditional);
Develop a comprehensive resource mobilization strategy that includes an overview of the situation, exploration of future opportunities and strategies, and detailed workflow/roadmap on how the CAAPs will raise funds to support the achievement of its key results;
Provide a detailed synopsis of the proposed options for financing the CAAPs;
Maintain regular contact with CAAPs Coordinator in FARA and other FARA Secretariat staff involved in the CAAPs.
The Executive Director of FARA invites interested consultants to express interest in carrying out this assignment.
Consultants interested in this call must provide an Expression of Interest no longer than 10 pages, outlining proposed methodologies, references related to the execution of similar assignments, experience in similar areas, or evidence of knowledge and a proposed timeline. Brochures, CVs, and other supplementary materials submitted shall not be accounted for as part of the 10-page limit.
The anticipated period of performance for this consultancy is 16 man-days spread over two months (2nd October 2023 to 30th November 2023).
The individual consultant shall be selected based on procedures defined in the Procurement Guidelines of FARA.
Interested consultants may obtain further information from the CAAPs Programme Coordinator,Anselme Vodounhessi[[email protected]], and copy the Procurement Expert, Mr. Callistus Achaab [[email protected]], during the following hours: 9h00 to 16h00 GMT.
Please download the Terms of Reference below, for further information on this opportunity.
Expressions of Interest should be submitted electronically to [[email protected]] and addressed to Dr. Aggrey Agumya, Executive Director of FARA, No 7 Flower Avenue, New Achimota, Mile 7, Accra, Ghana, no later than Tuesday, 12th September 2023, at 14h00 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.
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.
