The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), in partnership with CORAF, CCARDESA, RUFORUM, JRC-ISPRA, AE-TPP, and IFAD, co-organized a pivotal session on “Catalyzing Agroecological Transitions in the Tropics in the Context of Climate Change” at the maiden Tropical Summit. This event brought together leading voices in agroecology, including the FARA Board Chair, Ms. Bongiwe Njobe, and FARA’s Executive Director, Dr. Aggrey Agumya, along with other notable participants.
In his welcome remarks, Dr. Aggrey Agumya emphasised the urgency of advancing agroecological practices, noting that while agroecology holds significant potential, it lacks substantial representation in the new Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) strategy. “The scientific community must work harder, faster, and louder to champion agroecological transitions,” Dr. Agumya urged.
Dr. Guy Faure of the European Commission’s International Partnerships (EC/INTPA) echoed this sentiment in his opening address, highlighting robust evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of agroecology. He outlined the European Commission’s commitment to three regional multi-actor networks across Eastern, Western, and Southern Africa. These networks aim to bolster agroecological practices by providing evidence-based technologies, building capacity, and driving policy advocacy.
The hybrid session featured presentations from two distinguished researchers: Professor Rachel Wynberg and Dr. Marc Corbeels, both experts in agroecology. Professor Wynberg discussed the importance of supporting agroecology in tropical regions, touching on research, policy, and practical applications. Dr. Corbeels followed with a presentation on agroecology as a vital approach to enhancing climate resilience, exploring policy and institutional support mechanisms essential for scaling agroecological practices.
The presenters defined key components of agroecology, underscoring its potential to address pressing societal challenges. They also highlighted the main barriers to economic and policy support, sharing insights based on their extensive work in various African contexts.
Interactive discussions and a lively question-and-answer session followed the presentations, with both in-person and online participants. Key questions emerged, including “Can we scale agroecology?” and “What is the return on investment for agroecology?” These questions underscored the audience’s keen interest in understanding both the scalability and economic viability of agroecological practices in Africa and beyond.
The session at the Tropical Summit spotlighted agroecology’s role in climate resilience and sustainable agriculture, paving the way for a deeper commitment from the global community toward supporting agroecological transitions in the tropics.
A Postharvest Technology Specialist, Department of Crop Science, University of Ghana, Dr. Gloria Essilfie, has rallied support of the private sector to partner academia in implementing research findings. This she said is critical to national development as many valuable research outcomes which could propel national development remain untapped.
Dr. Essilfie who is Project Lead, “Enhancing the production and consumption of African indigenous fruits and vegetables (AIFVs) to improve diets in Ghana and Mali, was speaking to GBCNEWS, during a recently held validation workshop and policy dialogue on enhancing consumption of indigenous fruits and vegetables to improve diets in Accra.
Postharvest Technology Specialist, Department of Crop Science, University of Ghana, Dr. Gloria Essilfie
With funding from the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture, the University of Ghana is collaborating with the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa, FARA, to implement various activities and engagements to promote the production and consumption of indigenous vegetables and fruits in Ghana and Mali. The goal is to improve the nutritional status of Ghanaians and Malians by encouraging the use and consumption of local fruits and vegetables.
Dr. Essilfie, said under the project some nutritious products are being developed which would require such critical collaboration to promote acceptance and consumption for the general well-being of citizens.
“Research is doing its bit, we hope that there’ll be the buy in of the private sector so that they would also promote these commodities so that we can consume them”
She hinted that the project would produce a food composition table, detailing the nutritional value of different fruits and vegetables to promote their consumption among the population in the project countries.
“We are all saying it’s nutritious, but how nutritious? So we will have the data to show to people that it’s nutritious. Then when it comes to policy, we can actually show them that this is the data”
Dr. Essilfie, also mentioned that under the project grants will be offered to youth and women led enterprises to expand their businesses. She explained that, “We’ll put an advert out for these enterprises mainly for women and the youth who would apply. If their business plan is good enough around these indigenous crops, we support them with 10, 000 dollars to help set up their business, but they have to already be in the business of producing something so that when they apply and get the money they just continue with what they are doing and work to promote the consumption of these indigenous crops”
The three year project she added will also train farmers to empower them to improve their livelihoods.
“After we’ve done the value chain where we have interacted with them, we now go back and say, we are training based on what we found in the value chain. We are training you on what you don’t have so that you will be able to use that to improve your own livelihood”
Executive Director, Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa, FARA, Dr. Aggrey Agumya, stated that investing in indigenous fruits and vegetables will strengthen the resilience of the country’s food system.
Executive Director, Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa, FARA, Dr. Aggrey Agumya
“Indigenous, fruits and vegetables are also essential in strengthening the resilience of our food systems. They are important as potential opportunities for generating revenue for especially for our farmers”
He said the African Union Commission and the African Union Development Agency, which are the top political organs on the continent are crafting the next phase of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Program, which will guide agricultural development on the continent. The framework which he said will be implemented from 2026, will strongly feature indigenous fruits and vegetables.
“Resilience is a big part of the coming agenda and recommendations have been crafted calling for the integration of indigenous food systems and knowledge into national and regional food and nutritional security plans and resilience plans.”
Dr. Agumya, also emphasized the need for stronger collaboration between research, academia, particularly at country level, for maximum benefits.
The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) is the apex continental organization responsible for coordinating and advocating for agricultural research for development. FARA serves as the technical arm of the African Union Commission on matters concerning agriculture science, technology and innovation.
The University of Ghana (UG) in partnership with the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and its Partners, working under the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture project – “Enhancing the production and consumption of African indigenous fruits and vegetables to improve nutrition in Ghana and Mali” are advocating for the consumption of indigenous crops with particular reference to fruits and vegetables.
Indigenous fruits and vegetables which are grown locally usually on a small scale, are known to have high nutritive value, are often resistant to diseases and tolerant to environmental stresses. However, they have not been mainstreamed in the staple diets due to the fact that consumers complain about their unavailability in large quantities, poor postharvest management as well as the lack of awareness of their nutritional quality.
Stakeholders met in the University of Ghana to validate findings from the analysis of the value chain of the four indigenous fruits and vegetables (namely turkey berries, cocoyam leaves, garden eggs and okra) and engage in meaningful discussions to formulate actionable policy recommendations that will support the integration of these indigenous fruits and vegetables into the diets of Ghanaians.
The well patronized workshop brought together representatives from the Project Consortium Partners, various sector Ministries, Private Sector, Regulatory agencies, Civil Society Organizations, the Media, and farmer groups among others.
In his opening remarks, the Executive Director of FARA, Dr Aggrey Agumya stated that “It is important to recognize the strategic significance of the event, in that, Indigenous fruits and vegetables not only improve diets, they are also essential in strengthening the resilience of food systems. They also provide opportunities for smallholder framers to generate income”
Executive Director of FARA, Dr Aggrey Agumya
He mentioned that the African Union Commission and AUDA are coordinating the crafting of the agenda for the next phase of CAADP, wherein indigenous vegetables feature strongly in this agenda within the nutrition agenda and the resilience agenda. Recommendations have been crafted calling for the integration of indigenous food systems and knowledge into national and regional food and nutrition security plans and in resilience plans.
He expressed concern that scientists in the tertiary education institutions are spread very thin across the growing number of colleges and universities. The very rapid growth in student enrollment in most colleges and universities has meant that faculty are fully programmed with teaching responsibilities. With few research facilities, little budget, and little time available for academic staff to allocate to research activities, the scale and scope of agricultural research at the colleges and universities is quite limited.
He underscored the need for stronger collaboration between research, extension and education actors at country level. He said ‘this need is demonstrated by these numbers: It is estimated by IFPRI that 80% of funding for agricultural research goes to the NAROs (and 20% to the universities), facilities, infrastructure; while 80% of the Africa’s agricultural scientists qualified to do serious research are located at colleges and universities.
The Consultant, Eric Worlanyo Deffor, sharing highlights of his findings, noted that although the four crops studied have immense potential, they are confronted with some challenges.
He indicated that “The project is basically looking at the value chain for indigenous crops, looking at okra, kontomire, garden eggs, and turkey berry, from the production right up to the marketing and consumption. From the highlights, there is potential for growing these crops, but for now farmers still have lots of challenges. Challenges related to access to finance and inputs.”
Eric Worlanyo Deffor
He added, “The whole agenda is also to make sure that we can promote turkey berries, especially as an export commodity within Ghana, because of the health values that are associated with it.”
Speaking to some of the recommendations, Mr. Deffor, said, “We want to look at how we can modernize our transport system to be able to convey our vegetables from the farm gate to the farms so that we still keep them intact and also maintain safety along the value
The Project lead, Dr. Gloria L. Essilfie who is a Postharvest and Food Safety Specialist at the Department of Crop Science, University of Ghana, said the project “Enhancing the production and consumption of African Indigenous fruits and vegetables to improve diets in Ghana and Mali” covers five areas, including identification and characterisation of selected indigenous fruits and vegetables, conducting value chain analysis of the selected indigenous crops, as well as improving postharvest handling and preservation of indigenous fruits and vegetables.
Project lead, Dr. Gloria L. Essilfie
Other areas are the establishment of an Incubator for enterprises involved in or would be involved in the selected indigenous fruit and vegetables and finally, the dissemination of processes, technologies, and methods for prolonging the shelf-life of selected indigenous fruits and vegetables and creating awareness of the importance of indigenous fruits and vegetables.
This she noted will go a long way to influencing policy to enhance the production and consumption of the fruit and vegetables to improve diets.
Dr. Essilfie explained that the value chain component of the project will provide a better understanding of the vegetable and fruit value chain for large-scale production.
According to her, “They are nutritious, but you know, some are volunteer crops and thus are not produced intentionally, making them unavailable in large quantities. So, we are conducting this value chain analysis to really understand the whole value chain, provide a better understanding of the different nodes of the value chain, leverage points in terms of investment and entrepreneurship opportunities, and policy, legal and governance frameworks affecting the trade of indigenous produce markets.”
She called for concerted efforts in creating awareness on the benefits of Indigenous vegetables and fruits.
The Director of the Food Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Prof. Charles Tortoe, who delivered the keynote address during the policy dialogue on the theme “The Role of Indigenous Fruits and Vegetables in Enhancing Ghana’s Food System” indicated that indigenous vegetables and fruits have immense potential yet untapped, adding that linkages in the value chain must be enhanced for maximum benefit.
“We can also look at them in the sense of superfoods. That means they have this quality of nutrition of which we can tap in and make good use in terms of our nutrition needs as a country and even beyond our jurisdiction. There are some that come with very interesting antioxidants and anti-inflammatory as well as anti-carbohydrate properties.”
Executive Director- Food Research Institute of CSRI Prof. Charles Tortoe
He said it is unfortunate that deforestation, bush burning, and illegal mining are contributing to the extinction of most Indigenous crops.
“A lot of these indigenous crops, which I’m sure when you were a kid you were familiar with, go back to your community and you can’t find them again. These are the challenges we are facing with illegal logging, deforestation, and bushfires, especially the dry season, is also another challenge.”
Prof. Tortoe said data on the nutritional value of these indigenous crops could significantly improve its acceptance and called for investment in the sector. Prof. Tortoe encouraged the public to integrate indigenous fruits and vegetables into their eating habits.
“We need to integrate our indigenous crops into our food system so we can gain from it. We do agree that the indigenous crops in Ghana hold immense potential to enhance our food system, to promote our health and to support sustainable agriculture” He said investing in effective harvesting and storage technologies would also go a long way in addressing some of the challenges that confront the sector.
There was a panel discussion where discussants advocated deliberate plans and strategies that would help promote indigenous vegetables and fruits. Some recommendations were generated to be translated into policies.
Conducting Baseline Studies including a Situation Analysis and Scenario Mapping /
Foresight Analysis towards to the development of the IRC Strategy and Operational Plan
Name of Project:
CEA-FIRST
Grant Agreement n°:
Project duration:
101136771
48 months
Procurement Ref:
FARA/CEA-FIRST/CS/IC/2024/01
Issue Date:
Thursday, May 23, 2024
Extended submission Deadline:
Monday, June 24, 2024
1. After half a century of relations between Africa and Europe, the Lisbon 2007 AU-EU Summit consolidated this relationship in a Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES) to represent the overarching long-term framework of cooperation between the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU), associated with an institutional architecture and specific funding for the implementation of its key actions. Since then, cooperation has become increasingly important, ranging from governance to regional integration, from energy to climate change and from migration to science and technology in a rapidly changing political and global contexts. A number of strategic directions have been adopted on both the African and European levels including; adoption of the Agenda 2063, Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) Malabo Agenda, the Africa continental Free trade Area (AfCTA) the EU Global Strategy, EU’s foreign and security policy, the European Green Deal, the Farm-to- Fork strategy etc.
The High-Level Political Dialogue (HLPD) that was put in place to operate between Summits has strengthened the implementation of the JAES and provided the basis for three priority areas in the implementation of the STI component of the JAES, namely, the FNSSA, CCSE, and the Innovation Agenda. The associated Roadmaps of these priority areas have been developed with the changing global contexts.
Under the FNSSA priority area over 500 AU-EU projects have been implemented and define the aspirations of the partnership towards the establishment of a sustainable platform for research and innovation. In September 2022, the International Research Consortium was launched (IRC) in the context of transitions in the agri-food systems, climate change, population trends and related drivers of economic development. The IRC is therefore expected to contribute to an equitable and sustainable research and innovation partnership between Africa and Europe.
The Consortium Europe Africa on Research and Innovation for Food Systems Transformation (CEA-FIRST) consists of 21 partners from Africa and Europe. The CEA-FIRST project will operationalise the AU-EU IRC in line with the FNSSA Roadmap and under the aegis of the AU-EU High-Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD) as the long-term platform on food and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture (FNSSA). The final output of the CEA-FIRST project will be a fully functional IRC, including governance bodies. CEA-FIRST will also support its liaison with the High-Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD).
The development of the IRC Strategy and Operational Plan will be led by FARA and WUR with support from CIRAD, Agrinatura, ARC, ACU and ASARECA. The Foresight for Food (F4F) network was foreseen under the Grant Agreement to undertake Activity 1.2.2 to support the final crafting of the IRC Strategy and Operational Plan.
2. This request for expression of interest aims at engaging a consultant tocarry out the following functions:
a. Preparatory Phase:
The preparatory phase involves understanding IRC goals through desk research, horizon reviews, trend analysis, and interviews, culminating in a Slide Deck summarizing major trends.
b. Stakeholder Consultation:
Live/online interviews will gauge stakeholder agreement with the IRC Strategy and Operational Plan, resulting in an inception report.
c. Identification of Focus Issues:
Workshops and scenario analysis will explore IRC goals, producing a report and Slide Deck on key issues.
d. Scenario Storylines:
Workshops will refine scenario storylines, resulting in a Slide Deck with key scenario logics.
e. Analysis of Implications:
Scenario analysis will strengthen the IRC strategy, producing a report with strategic recommendations.
f. Crafting the Strategy and Operational Plan:
A detailed document and summary report will be developed.
g. Review and Validation:
The plan will be reviewed and validated, with final approval by the IRC Council and GA.
3. The Executive Director of FARA invites interested consultants to express interest in carrying out this assignment.
4. Consultants interested in this call must provide a description of the approach and tools that will be used to do the assignment, the budget (in person-month) for the expert team, the contact details of the consultant (name, email, phone number), a description of the team of experts that will conduct the study including clear roles, experience, and competency, and ensure the bid proposal does not exceed 4,000 words.
5. The anticipated period of performance for this consultancy is 80 man-days spread over three months (July 2024 to September 2024).
6. The individual consultant shall be selected based on procedures defined in the Procurement Guidelines of FARA.
7. Interested consultants may obtain further information from the CEA-FIRST Coordinator, Dr.Irene Annor-Frempong [[email protected]],and copy [[email protected]] and [[email protected]],during the following hours: 9h00 to 16h00 GMT.
Please download the Terms of Reference below, for further information on this opportunity.
8. 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 Monday, June 24, 2024, at 16h00 GMT. Tel: +233 302 772823/744888.
9. FARA Affirmative Action Statement on Recruitment: there is no discrimination based on gender race, religion, ethnic orientation, disability, or health status.
