Mbog, Ms. Sylvie Christel Presidente du Conseil d'Administration, ODECO (Organisme de Developpement d'Etudes de Formation et de Conseils) Yaounde, Cameroon
The FARA Secretariat is hosting the second Executive Board meeting for 2007 from 28th to 30th October 2007 at the FARA Conference Hall.
Reading Day: 28th October 2007 for all the Board members. Sub-Committee Meetings – 29th October 2007. Board Meeting – 30th October 2007.
Ralph Von Kaufmann does a presentation of the SCARDA programme during the discussions of the Programme Sub-committee.
Victor Keraro is making a presentation at the Finance and Audit sub-committee meeting assited by Mark Etsibah, Ama Amoah, Johnson Ukpong and Loy Nankya.
This report celebrates the partnerships through which demand-driven research is conducted to mold discoveries made in the laboratory and the field into international public goods. These public goods are the tools with which regional, national and local organizations — as well as individual farm families — help to foster economic growth and build more sustainable livelihoods for all.
Millions of people worldwide benefit directly from CGIAR innovations and interventions, while thousands have a hand in producing the international public goods from which these benefits derive. But the process begins with the contributions of the few, the 64 Members of the CGIAR.
The Intergovernmental Plenary of the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology will take Place 14-19 January 2008 in Nairobi, Kenya
The International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) is an intergovernmental process, with a multi-stakeholder Bureau, under the co-sponsorship of the FAO, GEF, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, the World Bank and WHO with the aim of evaluating the relevance, quality and effectiveness of agricultural knowledge, science, and technology (AKST); and effectiveness of public and private sector policies as well as institutional arrangements in relation to AKST.
The IAASTD is composed of one Global Assessment and five Sub-global Assessments, which will use the same basic framework as the Global Assessment, i.e., the impacts of AKST on hunger, poverty, nutrition, human health, and environmental and social sustainability in relation to both the past and the future. The Global and Sub-global assessments will be peer-reviewed by governments and experts, and approved by the Panel of participating governments.
The five Sub-global Assessments: - Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) - Regional Institute: ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas)- East and South Asia and the Pacific (ESAP) - Regional Institute: World Fish Center- Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) - Regional Institute: IICA (Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture)- North America and Europe (NAE)- Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)- Regional Institute: ACTS (African Centre for Technology Studies)
will be undertaken at the regional, national or local scales and will complement the Global Assessment by examining its context-specific aspects.
Speaking at the second Brussels Briefing on ‘Advancing African agriculture‘, Martin Bwalya of NEPAD stressed the role of agriculture in terms of the wider sustainable development agenda, poverty alleviation and reaching the MDGs.
In his view, what it is new at this stage in Africa is the political will and commitment to enhance the role of agriculture, with a real shift of mindset in terms of ownership of agricultural policies.
These new elements are clearly characterized by the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), which is far more than just a tool for resource mobilisation: CAADP is about partnership, collaboration, institutional reform, and internalization and local ownership at all level.
Daniel Annerose et Emile Sène décrivent un système d’information sur les marchés agricoles « Xam Marsé » et expliquent comment un simple téléphone portable a changé la vie d’un agriculteur sénégalais.
« Xam Marsé », ou « Connaître et maîtriser le marché », est le nom wolof du système d’information sur les marchés agricoles développé et géré depuis 2001 par Manobi, en collaboration avec la société Sonatel. Grâce à Xam Marsé, les agriculteurs, les commerçants, les hôteliers ou les ménagères peuvent recevoir sur leur téléphone portable par messages SMS ou sur Internet, des informations en temps réel sur les prix et les niveaux de disponibilité des fruits, des légumes, des viandes et des volailles, sur les marchés du Sénégal.
Economist Eleni Gabre-Madhin outlines her ambitious vision to found the first commodities market in Ethiopia. Her plan would create wealth, minimize risk for farmers and turn the world's largest recipient of food aid into a regional food basket. "There is no place in the world and no time in history that small farmers have had to bear the burden of risk that African farmers bear today," she says. "But I'm not here to lament or wring my hands. I'm here to tell you that change is in the air." (Recorded June 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania. Duration: 20:46.)
BBC World Service broadcasts today a major three-part series looking at the global fishing industry. Richard BLACK asks:
a) How bad the fisheries' crisis really is, and whether we could face a future without commercial fisheries. b) What would the implications of this be for the ecosystem and communities who rely on fish for food and livelihoods? c) Is fish farming a viable alternative to declining stocks, or are there more sustainable ways to turn the situation around? Listen to One Planet
The Overseas Development Institute (ODI)in London-UK has posted a set of new resources to complement the release of the World Bank's World Development 2008, Agriculture for Development.
Much of ODI's current work on agriculture takes place in association with partners in the Future Agricultures Consortium. Research focuses on the political economy of policy reform, social protection and agriculture, and pathways of commercialisation for small farmers. Hereafter some references linked to agricultural issues in Africa. Opinion papers Funding agriculture: not 'how much?' but 'what for?' (PDF, 146kb) 'Before calling for an increase in the volume of funding to agriculture, we need a better understanding of how resources are being used' ODI Opinions 86 - October 2007
The first Millennium Development Goal, agriculture and climate change (PDF, 70kb) 'Over 60% of people in sub-Saharan Africa are reliant on agriculture for their income. However, the potential impacts of climate change pose two key questions for current agriculture-led strategies to reduce poverty.' ODI ODI Opinion 85 - 19 October 2007
Making contract farming work with co-operatives (PDF, 74kb) A greater focus on strengthening market-orientated producer organisations and dispute-resolution mechanisms between farmers and firms may increase the chances of win-win outcomes from this form of institutional innovation' ODI Opinion 87 - October 2007
Farm Subsidies: a problem for Africa too (PDF, 66kb) 'The level of farm subsidies in rich countries is now a well-recognised barrier to Africa's development. But are Africa's own farm subsidies also a barrier to development?' ODI Opinions 47 - September 2005
Growth in African Agriculture (PDF, 56kb) 'Interest in African agriculture is being rekindled after two decades of relative neglect by both governments and donors - and corresponding slow growth of the sector. For most countries, agriculture has to grow if the economy is to develop, if rural poverty is be alleviated. It is now clear that getting the ‘Washington Consensus' conditions right for business may be necessary, but is certainly not sufficient to get agriculture moving. So what more needs to be done?' ODI Opinions 45 - July 2005
ODI Briefing Papers
Climate change, agricultural policy and poverty reduction – how much do we know? (PDF, 166kb) Projections suggest that, by the end of the 21st century, climate change could have had substantial impact on agricultural production and thence on the scope for reducing poverty. Climate change, agricultural policy and poverty reduction – how much do we know?
The Millennium Villages Project – a new approach to ending rural poverty in Africa? (PDF, 149kb) Proponents of the Millennium Villages Project argue that the complex problems facing rural development in Africa require a ‘big push’ if substantive progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is to be made – and propose the simultaneous introduction of improvements in agriculture, health, transport, energy, technology, telecommunications and internet connectivity, costing US$110 per person per year over 5 years, and funded mainly from aid flows. This paper examines the challenges this initiative faces, and the questions it raises, in its search for ‘quick wins’ to reach the MDGs. Natural Resource Perspective 101 - August 2006
The enabling environment for agricultural technology in Sub-Saharan Africa and the potential role of donors (PDF, 34kb) To improve agricultural technology development in Africa requires strengthening of the enabling environment, including policies, public institutions and regulations. Various types of market failure imply that markets, by themselves, will not elicit the optimum amount of technology for Africa’s farmers. Priorities include more responsive regulations for input supply, support for emerging enterprises, strengthening input marketing, establishing adequate intellectual property protection, and addressing the challenges of biotechnology. Donors can play an important role, but short-term project interventions must give way to longer-term strategies for support to institutions including formal policies and regulations and informal rules and procedures that encourage indigenous organisational innovation. Natural Resource Perspective 84 - April 2003
Dr. Wale Adekunle participated in the Regional Training of Trainers workshop on Agricultural Science, Technology and Innovation (ASTI) systems: 8-12 October, Abia State University, Nigeria, 2007.
The workshop was attended by 18 participants from the West African sub-region. Countries that were represented include: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d’ Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Nigeria, Niger Republic, Sierra Leone, and Togo. The team included key participants drawn from the KKM platform.
Two international reports which were recently or just released made some comments on the New Rice for Africa (NERICA):
The Least Developed Countries Report 2007: Knowledge, Technology Learning and Innovation for Development July 2007, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
The New Rice for Africa (NERICA), a primarily upland rice, could be developed if rice research programmes were strengthened in West Africa and East and Southern Africa. These programmes could develop second-generation upland NERICA, which would be resistant to pests and diseases, as well as lowland NERICA. (UNCTAD : 102)
Recent experience in Sub-Saharan Africa offers more promise. After a late start, improved varieties are finally making an impact on some food staples: Rice. The New Rice for Africa—combining the high-yielding potential of Asian rice with the resistance of African rice to weeds, pests, diseases, and water stress—was released to farmers in 1996. Increasing yields under low input conditions, it is cultivated on about 200,000 hectares in Africa. Yet adoption is still modest because of insufficient dissemination, training, and extension. (World Bank : 224)
Boipelo Freude and Jean-Claude Legoupil have participated from 7 to 13 October in a mission to define a 5-year "Going to Scale in Burkina Faso” project with the main focus on capacity building and the empowerment of farmers and entrepreneurs to promote sustainable diversification and intensification of crop-livestock production systems in conservation agriculture.
Cotton field
The situation is now changing considerably in the moist savanna ecology of Burkina Faso as technologies and new agricultural practices have been developed and tested. New technologies are now ready to be disseminated. Based on similar technologies and practices, 20 millions hectares of land in the savanna ecology in Brazil have been sustainably intensified and diversified. New horizons are opening up for agricultural intensification in the moist savanna ecologies of Burkina Faso. There is no doubt that the introduction of these technologies and practices is of enormous potential to rebuild and enhance soil fertility and land productivity.
Crop rotation Mais - Cow Pea
The project will also promote on-farm farmer-participatory discovery and adaptation of
promising pipeline technologies which will feed into farmers. The proposed project will fully embrace the Framework African Agricultural Productivity principles and guidelines for improving institutional arrangements for implementing Pillar IV of the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP). It also responds to the call for agricultural adaptation to climate change, which will be increasingly essential for smallholder livelihoods in the savanna ecologies of Burkina Faso.
"Decouvrir ce pour quoi nous sommes temporairement sur cette terre..."
"To discover why we are here on earth..."
AggreyAGUMYA "It is good to be rich, but even better to be wise"
Mary GBOLIE "Don't let your environment get inside of you. You should influence it, not let it influence you"
Francois STEPMAN
"The older you get, the better you know what you don't need"
Mark ESTIBAH "Life without Jesus is meaningless"
Ekon ADDISON "Where you are going is great that it is worth enduring some rough patches along the way"
Jean Claude LEGOUPIL "Vision without action is only hallucination"
Diana ZIEKAH
"Personne ne se suffit a soi-meme, on a toujours besoin des autres" "One can not suffice to oneself, you always need others"
Francisca FORSON "Never rush to conclude, because when you take time to dissect an ant you discover its entrails"
Hylante TABIOU-MALKAYE
"Computer never lies"
Musah ZAKARIA
"Things will never be again the same after"
Vesta Akosua Adutwumwaa NUNOO "I believe love and care, are the most important things as a family"
Patience SACKEY "Always strive towards perfection in whatever you do"
Aimee NYADANU "La charitee bien ordonnee commence par soi-meme" "Well-thought charity starts with onseself"
Daina ANYONI ASSIEDOU "Si tu veux savoir qui je suis, si tu veux que je t'enseigne ce que je sais, cesse momentanement d'etre ce que tu es, et oublie ce que tu sais" "If you want to know who I'm, if you want me to teach you what I know, forget for a moment who you are and what you know"
Dorcas AMOAH "Learn from other people's mistakes, you won't live long enough to make them all"
Yaa Owusu BENNOAH "As much depends on you, be at peace with all man"
Boipelo MAGETSE FREUDE "Africa is in need of change. Now is the time to act"
Eugenie NJANDA ADOKOU
"Alone we go quickly, but together we go far"
Evado MENSAH
"L'important ce n'est pas de tomber, mais de savoir se relever" "Not falling is important, but how to stand up"
Loy NANKYA
"Work as hard as it takes to achieve your goals, but don't forget to take time off to refresh"
Joyce AMOO NORMAN "The way one manages his money, tells a lot about his personality"
Ama Pokuah AMOAH
"No one person can achieve more than could be achieved in a team"
Victor KERARO "Life is ever dynamic and we need dynamic and strategic ideas to address the challenges that come along"
World Food Day is celebrated on 16 October with the aim of preventing children around the world from going hungry. Every year, more than 150 countries join in to make a stand against child hunger.
Since 1981 World Food Day has been a story of concern and action at all levels in communities around the world. For 62 years the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN has been at work wherever its skills have been needed, and for 27 years the citizens of the world have been joining forces with FAO through the annual worldwide observance on October 16th to focus on FAO’s efforts and to add their own impact in a thousand ways.
On World Food Day, there are more than 850 million chronically hungry people worldwide, nearly 90 percent of whom are women and children. And the sad reality is that it is about to get worse.
World population is growing, and it is growing fastest in the least developing countries. Between now and 2050, the world's population is expected to grow from its current 6.7 billion to 9.1 billion people. About one billion of those will be born in Africa, a continent under the scourge of more frequent and more severe droughts and floods, and the threat of even more severe weather from climate change.
Meanwhile, the prices of wheat, maize, sorghum and other food commodities is soaring - making food less affordable for the world's most vulnerable and raising WFP's food costs by over 50 percent in the last 5 years alone.
These demographic trends, food price increases, changing climate and a 30 percent decline in food aid in the past decade combined could deliver a perfect storm of rising hunger. But on the other hand, over the past 150 years, farmers in many nations have broken the cycle of abject hunger and poverty. Hunger must be tackled at its root, replicating these successes where possible...
World Food Day at FAO Headquarters – Rome, Italy October 16 in FAO Plenary Hall Theme: The Right to Food – Make It Happen! The presidents of the Federal Republic of Germany and the United Republic of Tanzania will keynote the observance.
World Food Day at the United Nations – New York October 18 at the UN Eleanor Roosevelt Monologue on “The First Human Right” Launch of the Year of the Potato
World Food Prize Award Ceremony and Symposium October 16-19 – Des Moines, Iowa Biofuels and Biofood – Global Challenges will be the topic of lectures and panels. Dr. Philip E. Nelson, Purdue University Researcher, will be presented the 2007 Prize. The Iowa Hunger Summit will precede the Symposium.
Dr Kyetere (FARA Chair) is to participate at the next CTA Brussels Briefing on EC Communication on Advancing African Agriculture- Brussels 17th October 2007
And finally:
The theme of the World Bank's World Development Report (WDR) 2008 is Agriculture for Development. The World Development Report 2008 can already be downloaded in a near-final version, but the final report will be embargoed until 16:00 GMT (12:00 US Eastern Time), Friday, October 19.
During two days, 11th and 12th October 2007, a writeshop was externally facilitated by the Institute of Development Studies at FARA.
The workshop is a continuation of the discussions held at a Dakar workshop in early September 2007.
The purpose is to have a continent-wide knowledge sharing network on climate change adaptation to be developed and led by a Core Group (CG) of institutions, which include those representing Africa’s regions and language groups and the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), whose involvement provides a transitional support and management function for the initial phases of network building.
The CG, in partnership with other organisations, will also deliver a series of capacity-building processes on adaptation research communications targeted at research partners supported by the Climate Change Adaptation in Africa (CCAA) programme. The ultimate objective is to share knowledge, secure learning and build capacities to facilitate adaptation to climate change among Africa’s most vulnerable people.
This three year project, informed by a community of practice model, will blend the development of a web and print-based knowledge sharing platform with face-to-face network meetings, with capacity development of the core group and with a set of events designed to build research communication capacity among CCAA research partners. By first improving the competences of the core group, by engaging with Africa’s existing networks and by targeting improved knowledge sharing and research communication among CCAA research projects, the project will influence and engage other boundary partners, particularly ‘at-risk’ groups and policy-makers.
The two interpreters Victor IMBOUA-NIAVA and Dr Steve SYME commented that even they found the discussions during the write shop interesting . . .
IDS Climate Change and Disasters Knowledge Networks and Information Services
Together with the IDS Information Department, the CCD Group supports a large and diverse international community through a variety of knowledge services and networks for knowledge sharing on vulnerability and adaptation.
Linking Climate Adaptation (LCA) Project A project investigating the most appropriate frameworks for linking locally determined climate change adaptation upwards to national and international policy. At the centre of the project is the LCA Network, a web and email-based network for all those with an interest in climate adaptation in developing countries to share their relevant experiences and knowledge. The network provides an online discussion space for close to 700 members and has covered discussion topics such as Preparation and Implementation of NAPAs, Climate Change and Disasters and Future Adaptation Policies. It has also coordinated a set of case studies and convened a workshop of African researchers to generate and link research ideas. LCA Project: http://www.ids.ac.uk/ids/pvty/ClimateChange/adaptationlca.html LCA Network: http://www.linkingclimateadaptation.org/
Community Based Adaptation Exchange(CBA-X) An online resource initiated by the International Institute for Environment and Development and hosted by IDS to support the exchange of up-to-date information on community based climate adaptation, including definitions, case studies and tools for implementation. The resource is hosted by through ELDIS and the LCA website. CBA-X: http://www.cba-exchange.org/
The SPIDER Network (Science and Policy Interfaces for Disaster Risk Reduction) A network established to re-evaluate the role of science in disaster management. Through a series of meetings and activities six UK-based academic departments from different universities and disciplinary traditions have been exploring the interface between more community centred approaches to DRR and the ways in which traditional hazard-related scientific knowledge is generated. The meetings are generating conference reports documenting the discussions and emerging research questions. The network intends to publish a series of working papers and annotated bibliographies of interdisciplinary DRR related research. SPIDER Network: http://www.spidernetwork.org/index.htm
Poverty and Adaptation Seminar Series Network (PASSNET) This seminar series on pro-poor climate adaptation seeks to develop co-operative partnerships between researchers and development specialists to explore the theoretical and policy challenges related to making climate adaptation work for the poor. By hosting meetings in the UK, Africa and in the wings of the UN Climate Conference, the research network will engage and involve policy-makers, academics, practitioners, and members of industry, while retaining a core community of researchers.
Other Relevant IDS Knowledge Services:
Ø ELDIS Climate Change Adaptation Resource Guide ELDIS provides an online gateway to thousands of documents, resource guides, country profiles covering all aspects of development, policy, practice and research. Eldis climate change adaptation guide provides a summary of current thinking on climate adaptation issues with access to relevant and up to date resources and publications for researchers, practitioners, and policy formers. http://www.eldis.org/climate/index.htm
Ø Climate Change on ID21 An online database communicating UK-sourced international development research for policymakers and practitioners worldwide including the latest in climate change and development research. http://www.id21.org/zinter/id21zinter.exe?a=l&w=a3
Ø Livelihoods Connect An online database for information resources related to sustainable livelihoods. www.livelihoods.org/
Ø Siyanda (Gender and CC) An online database of gender and development materials from across the world including tools, case studies, policy papers and research to support practitioners in implementing gender programmes and in mainstreaming gender equality concerns. The site includes resources on Gender and Climate Change. http://www.siyanda.org/http://www.siyanda.org/archive/july06_siyanda.htm
Wednesday, 10 October 2007
World Food day 16th October 2007
The theme for this year’s World Food Day on 16th October is the Right to Food. During this week the World Bank will also be publishing its World Development Report 2008that focuses this year on Agriculture.
The UK Food Group will be marking World Food Day with a series of member-led seminars, briefings, publication launches and debates. These will describe how food providers should be integrated into decision making processes and could be better supported in order to realise the Right to Food and food sovereignty. This will help to ensure food for the hungry and poor consumers, to secure the livelihoods of small-scale food providers and to sustain local environments, enabling adaptation to climate change.
The UK Food Group is the principal civil society network of organisations concerned with global food and farming issues. It provides a forum for debate on topical issues, conducts research and provides information to members, the public and decision makers. It serves as the BOND working group on these issues and is the UK focal point for relevant regional and international networks and organisations. http://www.ukfg.org.uk/
Defending Farmers and the Right to Food is organised by Practical Action, Concern UK, Progressio, and Send a Cow. Tuesday 16 October 2007, 10am - 5.30pm NCVO, Regent's Wharf, 8 All Saints Street, London N1 9RL
The Global Campaign Against Poverty (GCAP) event follows the next day with 24 hours of action against poverty ‘Stand up Speak out!’ Before the end of the year there will also be the conclusion of the European Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations and the publication, later, of the final report of the World Bank’s International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development.
A shortage of water means that Hastings' cattle are dying. With water from a bore hole, he could not only look after his animals, but also diversify into vegetable production.
Fremont and Maureen Mangubi live close to Lake Kariba, and are typical of thousands of small-scale growers who watch helplessly as its water bypasses them and goes to a neighbouring town.
Every morning Bridget Muchimba sets off at 6am to make the first journey of the day to collect her family's water. It is the first of three two-kilometre journeys to the water point each day.
Dr SAKARA-FOSTER is principal advisor Coordination of Technical Collaboration on Agricultural Service Delivery in Africa, Sub programme of FAAP (Framework for African Agricultural Productivity)
Profile of Dr Michael Abu SAKARA-FOSTER
Dr Michael Abu SAKARA–FOSTER worked in technical, scientific and management roles in three international organizations over the last 21 years. Stationed in five countries (Nigeria, Mexico, Zambia, Tanzania and Uganda) on long-term assignments and visited over 28 countries on four continents in relation to Agriculture and Development.
He holds a B. Sc. Soil Science from the University of Reading, United Kingdom; an M. Sc. Applied Plant Sciences at Wye College, University of London, United Kingdom; and a Ph.D. Applied Agricultural Botany at the University of Reading, United Kingdom (with a Thesis work at CIMMYT, Mexico).
Michael is married 23 years to Mary Lily Foster (B.A Economics & MBA) and they have four children; ages 22, 19, 15, 14 years.
What is the Alliance for a GreenRevolution in Africa? The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa is a broad-based partnership dedicated to helping millions lift themselves out of poverty and hunger by dramatically improving the productivity, food security, and livelihoods of small-scale farmers across Africa. Under the chairmanship of former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the Alliance is working side-by-side with farmers to improve food production in ways that promote equity and protect the environment. Our approach is comprehensive—addressing key challenges across the agricultural value chain. More About AGRA »
Dr. KAPRAN witnesses about the outcome of the first field trip of the AGRA-Ghana based team to Kumasi begin of October.
Profile of Dr Issoufu KAPRAN Dr Issoufou Kapran originates from Niger. He is married and the father of 5 daughters. He attended the university Abdou Moumouni of Niamey in Niger and completed his studies at the Purdue University in the USA where he did all his graduate training. His B.S is in general agronomy, his M.S. and Ph.D in plant genetics and breeding.
His professional career was in the national research system of Niger (INRAN), where he was in charge of the sorghum breeding program for 18 years and of the foundation seed unit for 8 years. As team leader he oversaw the release of improved sorghum cultivars including open pollinated varieties 90SN7, SEPON82, SSD35, and NAD-1, the first sorghum hybrid released by a West African NARS.
Over the years he was respectively in charge of the INTSORMIL West Africa program on sorghum and millet, the McKnight foundation project on sorghum adaptation to poor soils, the INTSORMIL and Rockefeller/ONFARM projects on sorghum hybrid seed production at the farmer level, the ICRISAT/CFC project on groundnut seeds, the USAID/USDA gene flow project in sorghum, the IRD/IFB project on characterization of sorghum diversity in Niger. Issoufou Kapran joined the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) in august 2007, as program officer for seed production and dissemination in the Program for Africa’s Seed Systems (PASS). As of September 2007 he moved to Accra where the PASS West Africa team is located.
Dr. MAKINDE gives us an insight in his long experience which has lead him to start working for AGRA and how this is the fulfillment of a childhood's dream.
Profile of Dr Kehinde MAKINDE
Dr Kehinde Makinde is an Agricultural Economist with over 20 years of progressive experience in national and international agricultural research and development including market-led smallholder agricultural commercialization. His professional background encompasses diverse research-for-development projects, with primary concentration on developing programs that links low-level agricultural production issues to the potentials for market-led agricultural commercialization. At the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dr. Makinde implemented programs that transferred improved agricultural technologies to smallholder farmers in different agroecologies of SubSaharan Africa for close to two decades. In addition, he also has demonstrated ability in coordinating multi-stakeholder USAID initiatives responding to the needs of smallholder farmers, traders and private sector actors. He designed and implemented real time market information system for smallholder farmers alongside linkages to credit, input and output markets in Nigeria. Prior to joining AGRA as Program Officer, AgroDealer Development, Dr. Makinde was the Agricultural marketing specialist and business manager of the southern business promotion office of USAID funded MARKETS project where he facilitated markets for selected agricultural commodities and stimulated production to meet established demands as a strategy to increase rural incomes, sales and jobs in Nigeria. He is a consultant to several international organizations including CIAT, FAO, DFID, CTA, IFDC, Rockefeller Foundation and Winrock International. He has authored several publications in scientific journals, proceedings, book/book chapters, and technical reports.
Dr. TOURE explains what the PAS sub programme (Programme Africain pour le systeme semencier) entails inside the AGRA programme.
1. To create a new generation of experts in seed selection. Lagon university was choosen to train youth at PHD level. A number of training centres in other countries are supported at masters level.
2. Improvement of crops which are essential for nutrition: identify potential experts in selection and cultivate improved varieties.
3. Production of improved seeds: poor peasants get access to seeds available in the public and private sector.
4. Better organisation of imput sellers.
Dr. TOURE is personally motivated by the strong vision of PAS.
Profile of Aboubacar TOURE
Aboubacar TOURE is AGRA Program officer for Crop improvement and variety adoption for West Africa (August 15, 2007). He obtainded his Post-doctorat at the Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas US with a study on la Biotechnologie de sorgho. In the same state he completed successfully in 1992 a PhD. in Plant Breeding at the Texas A&M University USA. Before this he acquired in 1985 a DEA about l'Amélioration et développement des végétaux, at the Université d'Orsay Paris XI France. Aboubacar originates from Mali where he studied at the Institut Polytechnique Rural de Katibougou to become an Ingénieur des Sciences Appliquées spécialité Agriculture. His professional experience can be listed as follows: Sélectionneur principal Sorgho-IER, Chef Programme Sorgho; Coordinateur du Réseau Ouest et Centre Afrique de Recherche sur le Sorgho; Coordinateur du Projet INTSORMIL (International Sorghum and Millet) pour l’Afrique de l’Ouest.
Ethan Zuckerman gave the keynote speech on the final day on 27/09. Ethan is the co-founder of Global Voices, the world’s largest aggregator of media in the South. The Global Voices Forum brings together bloggers from around the globe.
Here are some quotes from that speech:
Checkhttp://euforic.blogspot.com/ for an video interview with Zucherman (who is based in Accra), but also a video with The Ghana Information Network for Knowledge Sharing (GINKS) about the advantages of vlogging (?!) in a country like Ghana (!). Zuckerman on our new interest in old technology: ‘Email preceded the Internet… blogs are ten years old, and Wikis have been around since 1995… If most of this stuff is twenty years old, why are we talking about it now? Because it’s not about the tools, it’s about the people.’ ‘The reason that it matters now is that we are experiencing a seismic shift – it’s about who can be brought together with these tools.’
Zuckerman on mobile phones: ‘When we think about participatory web, it’s not about laptops and high bandwidth… it’s about mobile phones. There are 3 billion handsets worldwide, and its estimated 80-90% of people in the developing world can access a mobile phone if they need to. This is a level of penetration of technology that changes the rules of the game. We need to broaden our thinking beyond the Web.’ ‘For example, Interactive Radio for Justice gives people, particularly women, the opportunity to send questions via SMS to very powerful people. No, it’s not Flickr; no, it doesn’t have tags, but it’s back-and-forth participatory, it’s appropriate to the people it’s trying to reach.’
Zuckerman on Wikipedia: ‘Get smart about Wikipedia. It’s the ninth most popular site in the entire world. This it literally the biggest bang for the buck you can do.’
Zuckerman on why you should blog: ‘Think about who you’re trying to reach and how… if someone just signs a petition and says, “this is important to me”, it’s not enough. We’re looking for participation here… This is the reason to blog: links.Blogs are full of links and Google loves links – the more links you have, the higher up the search engine results you’ll appear. It makes sense to look at this as an eco-system approach. You have to link to figure out how to participate.’
New ‘e-agriculture’ platform launched by the United Nations on 1st of October 2007
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has recently launched a new interactive web-based site (http://www.e-agriculture.org/), to initiate the usage of information and communication technology (ICT) in promoting agriculture and rural development.
Wikis: Facilitating CGIAR Teamwork (…) In a bid to prepare the team for any possible changes and to increase access to and visibility of information related to managing the CGVlibrary Project, Luz Marina and her colleagues at IFPRI have established the CGWiki.
Team members can now log on to this collaborative online workspace to participate in programmed activities, suggest new resources, report problems, track solutions and implementations, and stay current on usage statistics.
Previously, team members had expressed frustration over having to search through personal hard drives and e-mail inboxes to retrieve the latest versions of Project documents and found it difficult to keep track of specific activities and the people responsible for working on them. With the wiki, they now have around-the-clock access to the latest Project information via a single website and can easily keep track of the activities of other team members.
The CGWiki works because the team members have agreed to update information related to their own activities. And in the process, they are creating a knowledge base of the entire Project in one place.
Aissetou DRAME YAYE, interim SCARDA Progamme Officer, explains the activities of SCARDA (Strenghtening Capacity for Agricultural Research and Development in Africa). She also answers the question what she learned from FARA as she accepted the post of Executive Secretary at ANAFE (African Network for Agriculture, Agroforestry and Natural Resources Education).
The interview was saved on a Video for ISDN (48 Kbps) file to enable those with a dial up modem (with a relatively low bandwidth) to view the video. But as a consequence there is a loss of quality (the sub titles are not always easy to read, the image is not always clear and also the sound is less). I guess we will have to live with it for the time being.
Portret of Aissetou DRAME YAYE
Born in Mali, Aissètou Dramé Yayé is Senegalese by birth and Nigerian by adoption. She holds a B.S. in Forestry (from the Academia of Agriculture of Krakow in Poland), two Master degrees respectively in Animal Biology (from the Faculty of Science of the University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar, Senegal) and in the Use of New Information and Communication Technologies in Education (Distance learning Master from the University Louis Pasteur of Strasbourg, France), and a PhD in Entomology (obtained at the Zoology Department of the University of Ghana). She worked in forestry development projects in Senegal and in Niger before coming to tertiary education. She started as a training expert in Entomology at the AGRHYMET Center before becoming, since 2000, a lecturer in Forest Management, Agroforestry and Forest Entomology at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University Abdou Moumouni of Niamey in Niger. At the same time, she did several consultation studies for the Economic Community of Africa (on Sustainable development), for Action Aid and ROPPA (on food Security), and for the African Network for Agriculture, Agroforestry and Natural Resources Education (ANAFE) (on the evaluation of tertiary Education in West Africa). She will be joining ANAFE as the Executive Secretary with effect from 1st November 2007 based in Nairobi, Kenya.
Monday, 1 October 2007
Meeting between FARA and the Millennium Village Programme 27/09/07
The Millenium villages in the whole of Africa and in Ghana (village of Bonsaaso):
Context: The Project operates through intervention committees, whose members are elected by communities and coordinated by a unit committee. INTERVENTION COMMITTEES: –Agriculture and Environment & Business Development –Education –Health –Water and sanitation –Infrastructure (Roads, Transport &Energy)
“Integrated rural development approach has the handicap that you get over surveyed because every sector (health, education, nutrition, infrastructure, agriculture, …) want to be captured for its impact”
"Thank you also for the productive working meeting. As discussed during the meeting and now that potential areas have been identified, it would be good to continue working, via email, on defining objectives, mechanisms and next steps."
FARA FARA ED - Dr Jones Sidi Sanyang Wale Adekunle Biopelo Freude François Stepman Aggrey Agumya
OBJECTIVES · Enable the visiting JIRCAS team to learn about FARA (its structure, activities, research priorities/needs) and vice versa. · Identify opportunities for partnership leading to the development of a collaborative project(s) that will add-value to ongoing FARA and JIRCAS projects.
Mbog, Ms. Sylvie Christel
Muchoki, Ms. Lucy
Sereme, Dr. Paco
Nyirenda, Ms. Margaret,
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