This is the Opening Remarks by Dr. Yemi Akinbamijo, Executive Director, FARA at the West Africa Technology Fair
On the theme Mainstreaming Technology for Agricultural Development
Held at the King Fahd Hotel, Dakar, October 25-29
Our Executive Director, Dr. Yemi Akinbamijo (IR) delivering his presentation at the West Africa Agricultural Technology Fair.
Protocols
Thank you for inviting FARA to this epoch-making event, where, perhaps for the first time, a composite of stakeholders across the board is brought together to engage, share ideas, exchange knowledge, and possibly forge new partnerships to mainstream technology for agricultural development.
The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and its sister organizations -ASARECA, CORAF, CCARDESA & NASRO, have been at the forefront in creating innovation ecosystems for confronting the challenges faced by last-mile users of technology within the Agricultural Innovation System (AIS).
As the TAAT-CDTO Enabler Compact, FARA has, over the last years, been focusing on (i) the development of the capacity of local facilitators to manage Innovation Platforms, (ii) supporting the development of outreach materials for technology scaling (iii) the development of Agripreneurship and enhanced Commercialization in the Value chains, and (iv) strengthening the capacity of Youth and Women to capture insights and share experiences of implementing TAAT.
Through this four-thronged approach, the CDTO has provided a strong foundation for collaboration with the commodity compacts, allowing for the design, development, and packaging of outreach materials to support scaling of the TAAT technologies at the local level.
In the wake of the covid pandemic, ICT created the opportunity to reach a more significant number of individuals. The compact has also leveraged other programs, including CAADXP4, to bring new knowledge and skills to the TAAT community, using such tools as foresight, information management, and application of Instructional Design in developing materials on technologies to scale.
To date, CDTO has reached over 3 million beneficiaries through the packaging of 69 technologies, publication of 43 videos, production of 9 press releases, publication of 21 articles on webpages on Capacity Development, Gender, Youth, Agribusiness, Knowledge Management, and Outreach: broadcast 12 radio and 6 Television programs and distribution of 701 Leaflets & Exercise Books.
The CDTO publications have been downloaded 83,603 times with a hit of 427,354 (www.Library.faraafrica.org)
Finally, and more importantly, 463 Innovation Platforms associated with TAAT have been registered on the FARA IP portal with 747 facilitators registered.
While these numbers appear significant, we recognize that more needs to be done to ensure that appropriate technologies reach the last mile, and that Africa attains the food and nutrition security we all desire.
In this respect, FARA and the SROs remain committed to building on the gains of TAAT I and further implementing new activities that will lead to the much-desired agricultural transformation in TAAT II and beyond.
Marc Ghislain Bappa is a Knowledge Management and Communications Specialist with over six years of work experience with development institutions at national, regional and international levels including the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), the Feed the Future Africa Lead II Program and the Expertise France_Investment Climate Reform Facility. He is currently the Knowledge Management Consultant at the Independent Development Evaluation Department of the African Development Bank Group. He is also a Knowledge Management Champion for AFAAS and is currently participating in the Knowledge Management for Agricultural Development Challenge (KM4AgDChallenge) organized by FARA in collaboration with AFAAS and Sub Regional Organisations, a joint activity under the CAADP XP4 programme. He shares his experience about the KM training:
Briefly what is KM4AgD all about?
MGB: Knowledge Management for Agricultural development (KM4AgD) is all about bringing upfront existing agricultural knowledge (identified, acquired, created, shared, captured and applied) in a holistic, oriented and systematic way, such that its relevance contributes to addressing the needs and achieving the purpose of the end beneficiaries (individual or organization).
What was the objective of the training and what did the training entail?
MGB: The training objectives are three-fold: (i) to build appropriate capacities of the next generation of Knowledge Managers for agricultural development; (ii) set up a knowledge management community of practice for artificial intelligence; and (iii) reinforce knowledge generation mechanisms so to accelerate the achievement of the CAADP Malabo goals by 2025 and the SDGs by 2030.
The training includes educational elements that comprise of collaborative activities such as: training modules of KM professionals and data collection that will serve to identify and register at least 120 key AR4D experts into the CAAPD-XP4 expert Directory portal, as well as the development of outreach knowledge products like scientific articles, briefs, blogposts/articles.
What do the AFAAS KM champions do?
MGB: Primarily, AFAAS Champions are summoned to fully engage in the KM4AgD challenge as this is a great opportunity for them to level up their technical know-how in the field of knowledge management, specific to agriculture development sector.
Secondly, as champions, we are expected to develop independently, concepts for our respective organizational KM Challenge, with guidance by training facilitators and knowledge peers. It is important to also keep in mind that as champions for AFAAS, we are from diverse regions of Africa and to that effect, our concepts should be based on our context and geared towards enhancing the KM system of our respective country fora and building coherence at the continental level.
What did you learn from the training?
This training on the Knowledge Management Essentials was not just an eye-opener on what KM is all about, from theory to practice, but it made me understand that KM is a comprehensive undertaking that encompasses benefits, tools, organization culture, people and process.
Thanks to the trainers/facilitators who gave in their all to provide us with valuable information on this field, we now have the necessary elements to develop concepts for organizational KM. I now realize that Knowledge Management is a continuous learning journey and endeavor that fosters change, and creates value at individual, group and organizational level.
What new insights have you gained about KM?
MGB: “There is no reason to waste time and resource in KM if it does not pursue a clear purpose”. This statement did resonate in me because knowledge is acquired through learning and experience, which upon development, consolidation, retention, you name it, effective decision making can be made, aligned actions can be taken and problems can be solved. Thus, having a clear purpose must be the driving force to engage in KM.
Another insight gained was that nurturing a knowledge culture at organizational level is incremental to meeting the specific objectives of the institution. Culture can only be established if it accommodates the seven knowledge virtues namely; visionary, thoughtful, authentic, empathetic, charismatic, co-creative and trustful.
I was also amazed to see to what extent artificial intelligence (AI) is linked to KM and how they operate together to enhance agriculture research and development during a training session facilitated by Professor Eric Tsui (Hong Kong Polytechnic University) and Professor Kimiz Dalkir (McGill University) on the latter. Both (AI and KM) are already showing the potential to help close the gap in anticipated food needs by providing real-time data through algorithms so to accrue agricultural efficiencies, improve crop productivity & profitability, and reduce food production cost.
Why is knowledge important for agriculture research and development?
MGB: Policies, programmes, processes, and practices need to be tackled in a holistic manner, for a transformative change to be enhanced in agriculture and the sustainability of the sector guaranteed. Integrating the management of knowledge at all levels of agriculture research and development is critical at this point in time because, knowledge is human, knowledge is codified and knowledge is external.
I believe that blending these three facets of knowledge at organizational level, and linking it up with components including IT, HR, Process Management, Strategy, and Controlling, will further boost knowledge generation in agriculture research and development within the organization, who’s sharing and dissemination, shall benefit actors, reduce duplication of effort, enhance capitalization of experiences and peer learning, and uplift the sector.
How will you apply what you have learned from this training?
MGB: From a professional viewpoint, I intend to leverage experience and insights gained from this training to better contribute to the attainment of the relevant KM strategy objectives of the organization I am currently engaged in.
Also, I believe providing support and advisory services to other organizations in need of shaping their KM systems and strategy for organizational development will be another means of putting into practice the newly acquired knowledge, thanks to this traineeship.
Lastly, I intend to further engage in Community of Practice (CoP), other relevant networking platforms, or events that discuss KM, so to share knowledge and capitalize on my KM experiences, as well as learning on KM successes, good KM practices and processes from peers.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was formally established in March 2018 at the 10th Extraordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Assembly in Kigali, Rwanda. It is one of the key priorities of the Africa Agenda 2063 and a major step towards African continental economic integration. It also featured highly in the political declaration of the fifth AU-EU Summit of Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. Recently, remarkable progress has been made. Fifty-four of the 55 AU Member States have now signed the Agreement. The Agreement went into force on May 30 and entered its operational phase on 7th July 2019, following the 33rd Extraordinary Summit of the African Union. As of September 2021, 39 member states have ratified and deposited ratification instruments. Trading under the AfCFTA was launched on 1st January 2021 “based on a single rule-book for trade and investment”.
The AfCFTA aims at providing a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of people and investments. Its goal is to accelerate Intra-Africa trade through better harmonisation and coordination of trade liberalisation. A dramatic boost to economic growth and the attraction of investments from both within Africa and the world are among the expected outcomes. The potential gains from increased regional and economic integration are substantial, as the continent has the lowest percentage of intra-regional trade. Only 15% of exports take place within Africa, compared with 25% in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and over 60% in the EU. In addition, exports are often limited to natural resources with little added value from other sectors of the economies. The EU, with its extensive experience with creating an internal market, has been supporting the Africa Free Trade Area since its inception in 2015 and remains committed to supporting its ratification and implementation process.
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the African Union Commission (AUC) Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment (ARBE) are currently finalizing an assessment of economic effects of the AfCFTA on African countries with a focus on the agri-food system. The study analyses the economy-wide (continental, regional and national) and distributional impacts of policy and/or structural shocks, sectoral transmission of sector-specific policies for sectors and regions. The output of the study includes projections of GDP, employment, bilateral trade, capital flows, household consumption and welfare. The results of the model will be presented to the Policy Organs including the 4th Specialised Technical Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment in December 2021.
Please download the full guidelines for applicants and call for proposal in both English & French:
Proposals developed must be submitted in English. To facilitate the evaluation procedure, proposals developed in French, Portuguese, and Arabic should be translated into English before submission.
FARA and JRC are available for further clarification and can be reached via email at the email listed below. Proposal submission should be done no later than 10th November 2021. Proposals should be submitted to [email protected], [email protected] and, [email protected]
Chair of the CIRAD Scientific Council and Board Chair of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa
By Elisabeth Claverie de Saint Martin
CEO of CIRAD
Africa and France would benefit from working together towards the transition of agri-food systems in the face of the growing challenges of climate change.
The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us of the importance of the work of farmers to human life everywhere in the world. Yet in Europe, fewer and fewer people work in agriculture. On the contrary, in Sub-Saharan Africa almost two thirds of the jobs are directly linked to agriculture. By 2050, 60% of the global workforce will be located in Africa with half of the active population in rural areas. The training of Africa’s next generation therefore seems to be a key issue. But training in what kind of agriculture and in which food production system?
African expertise
Agriculture contributes to the many challenges our planet faces. It produces greenhouse gases, is responsible for deforestation, uses pesticides and fertilizers that cause pollution and biodiversity loss. Processed food has also its flaws: too much sugar, salt and preservatives that could increase the prevalence of obesity and diabetes, two scourges that make populations more susceptible to infectious diseases such as COVID-19.
While European agriculture has gone a long way in simplifying farming systems and habitat artificialization, African agriculture has upheld some traditions and some expertise that could be a source of inspiration for the rest of the world. However, Africa needs to increase crop yields to feed a growing population and provide farmers with a decent living. For our agronomists, this will include the use of fertilizer (nitrogen) even if the quantities required are limited. This is one of the many components and one of the challenges resulting from agro-ecological intensification on the continent.
Innovating and becoming more resilient
It is indeed time to recognize and validate solutions that build on ecological process within agroecological systems. The principle of agroecology is to take ecosystems, in order words, the nature, as models for agriculture. Many scientific and farmer inputs and insights are required to enhance the ecological processes. This will entail research, training, a lot of discussions and sharing to innovate and become more resilient. There is therefore also a need to make financial investments and for researchers, technicians, farmers, the African Union, and the European Union to work together.
We discussed the issue of agroecological transitions with our African partners during the Montpellier Global Days Africa 2021, just before the new Africa-France Summit. During these days dedicated to science, education and innovation and led by the Montpellier University of Excellence, other flagship topics were discussed: sustainability and diversity of food systems, health management – using a One Health approach– cultivated and uncultivated biodiversity; water and inequality in land ownership, attractiveness of rural jobs with the development of digital agriculture as well as the need to properly fund African agricultural research systems. Together, let us invest in research, innovation and training to ensure the transition of our agri-food systems!
Gender integration into National Investment Plans (NAIPs) across Africa is critical to ensure inclusiveness in the implementation of climate change adaptation interventions in agriculture. Most significantly, women’s participation in agriculture is high, and their output feeds most households in Africa, accompanied by gender gaps in access to information, input, education, technologies, and markets. The CSA continental studies that were presented on October 14 and 15, 2021, at the Technical and Policy Dialogue on Climate-Smart Agriculture in Africa revealed that gender issues are grossly underrepresented.
Therefore, efforts towards gender mainstreaming must be responsive to country priorities while facilitating systems that will foresee impact at scale, such as multi-stakeholder initiatives at local, national, and global levels. At the same time, National investment plans should prioritize systemic, integrated action, such as the Agricultural Innovation Systems approach that is being advanced by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA). To be effective, investment plans should be anchored in the science, evidence, and knowledge that has emerged in the CSA studies so far.
At the dialogue, Dr. Podisi, the CAADP XP4 program coordinator at CCARDESA, highlighted that gender disparity and social exclusion continue to hamper development progress. He reported that out of 162 CSA initiatives, 40.3% consciously incorporated gender equality and social inclusivity. Out of 351 CSA initiatives reported in the ASARECA region, only 131 are gender-responsive. Prof. Alessandro Cocchi also alluded that African Extension and Advisory Systems (AEAS) institutions are generally unprepared to mainstream gender equality issues across CSA initiatives. Women are generally underrepresented within the AEAS to champion the cause of gender mainstreaming in the implementation of CSA initiatives.
As we observe the international rural women’s day, we need to interrogate our approaches, attitudes, and perception, especially towards gender equality across CSA initiatives. Rural women are counting on us to intentionally generate and implement solutions that will provide tangible solutions for addressing CSA challenges and making CSA initiatives gender-balanced, transformative, and equitable.
Possible solutions to ensure such plans should not end up on bookshelves but are implemented
Strengthening the capacity of stakeholders in mainstreaming gender and social inclusivity for CSA. I suggest a deeper assessment on the ‘what’ and ‘how’ gender-responsive policies impede the formulation and operationalization of these strategies. In Mozambique, for example, the Climate Change and Gender Action Plan (ccGAP) aims to comprehensively develop and integrate the gender perspective throughout the environmental sector to improve the quality of life for all Mozambicans, particularly for women and local communities.
Secondly, we need to establish a continental mechanism to monitor progress on gender mainstreaming within these CSA initiatives by holding them accountable for gender equality in their leadership, internal workplace policies, and outcome. The tools developed should be able to generate gender-disaggregated data.
Member states governing bodies on environmental issues should commit to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment on CSA outcomes. I also suggest that the National Investment Plans of African countries to be hinged on gender budgeting, women’s leadership, and monitoring of gender outcomes.
Therefore, efforts must be made to ensure gender-sensitive language in the implementation of CSA initiatives. Texts referring to or addressing both women and men must make women and men equally visible. This applies to, amongst others, documents, texts on the internet, advertising for events, folders, posters, and films.
Furthermore, CSA stakeholders must pay attention to a gender-sensitive choice of images when preparing public relations material on Climate-Smart Agriculture. In this International Rural Women’s Day, under the theme “rural women cultivating good food for all,” let us recognize the work of the rural women in contributing to Climate-Smart Agriculture. Let us enhance CSA integrated approaches in the rural areas that provide equal opportunities for all.
CORAF is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Emmanuel Kouopkwa Njukwe as Director of Research and Innovation, effective October 1, 2021.
Dr. Njukwe, a national from Cameroon, brings over two decades of experience in research and development with a focus on scaling out innovations to small-holder farmers.
Dr. Njukwe was, until his nomination working as country representative of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Burundi. A position he has held since 2018.
“I am delighted that Dr. Njukwe will be joining the senior management team of CORAF to sustain the momentum towards boosting prosperity and strengthening food and nutrition security in West and Central Africa,” said Dr. Abdou Tenkouano, Executive Director of CORAF.
“It is no secret that our food system is under considerable stress. The COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, soil degradation, post-harvest losses, inadequate policies, etc., have only made the job of achieving zero hunger by 2030 much harder. We expect that Dr. Njukwe will support us in bring the relevant research and scientific solutions to the end-users to transform our agriculture industry.”
A holder of a Ph.D in agronomy from Kyoto University in Japan, Dr. Njukwe, until recently serving IITA in a dual capacity: coordinator of World Bank-supported projects in Burundi and IITA Burundi country representative. A position that allowed him to coordinate partnerships in the African Great Lakes region with a particular focus on out-scaling technologies and training tools to the end-users.
Dr. Njukwe is fluent in English and French and experienced in project development, management, and evaluation, focusing on participatory germplasm evaluation, including crop and soil management. Dr. Njukwe has received multiple awards and certificates for his contributions to innovative scaling up approaches of innovations. In addition, he has published many articles in recognized scientific journals around the world.
“The opportunity to provide my contributions towards the food and nutrition security of more than 430 million in West and Central Africa was one that I could not turn down. I am really excited by the challenge and look forward to supporting the management of CORAF in the achievements of its strategic priorities,” said Dr. Njukwe.
