Opinions from FARA: Agricultural Biodiversity Initiative for Africa (ABIA)

Tuesday 9 June 2009

Agricultural Biodiversity Initiative for Africa (ABIA)

3 - 5 May 2009. FARA Accra. Agricultural Biodiversity Initiative for Africa (ABIA): Stakeholders Consultative Workshop.

The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), the apex agricultural research organization in Africa, in recognition of the need for highly focused advocacy to focus research investment and development on optimizing the conservation and use of Africa’s agricultural biodiversity resources, initiated a programme on agricultural biodiversity in Africa.

FARA, with technical support from Bioversity international, organized a side event during the 2007 Africa Science Week and FARA General Assembly in Johannesburg to discuss the proposed initiative. Participants at the side event recommended that FARA should develop an “Agricultural Biodiversity Initiative for Africa” (ABIA), organize stakeholders’ workshop to discuss and validate a continental framework for ABIA and organize a conference in 2010 on Africa’s agricultural biodiversity.

The purpose of the ABIA Stakeholders’ Consultative Workshop was to discuss and validate a continental framework for ABIA and to further discuss a strategy for enhancing widespread ownership of ABIA in Africa.

The specific objectives of the workshop were:

gain broad consensus among all key actors involved in agricultural biodiversity conservation and use in Africa on the strategic areas for intervention through the FARA-led initiative in agricultural biodiversity;
to examine, amend and adopt a widely shared practical framework for the implementation of ABIA within CAADP and FAAP guidelines.

Workshop participants:

Ms. Thandie Lupupa
Senior Programme Manager
SADC Plant Genetic Resources Centre
ZAMBIA

Mr. Kombate Koffi
Junior Research Scientist
Insitut Togolais de Recherche Agronomique ITRA
Togo

Dr. Raymond Vodouche
Genetic Diversity scientist
Bioversity International
BENIN

Dr. Simon Heck
Senior Policy Adviser
WorldFish
Lusaka-Zambia

Prof. Oyoo Mosi
Lecturer/Associate Professor
University of Nairobi
Department of Animal Production
Kenya

Dr. Okeyo Mwai
Project Leader/Scientist
International Livestock Research Institute ILRI
Kenya

Dr. Marcel Nwalozie
Director of programs
CORAF /WECARD SENEGAL

Dr .Aboagye Lawrence Misa
Deputy director
Council For Scientific and Agricultural Research , Plant Genetic CSIR-PGRRI
GHANA

Dr.Baidu Jojo Forson
Regional Director, Sub-Saharan Africa,
Bioversity International
KENYA

Dr. Hans Adu Dapaah
Director
Crops research Institute in Kumasi
Ghana

Dr. Emmanuel Tambi
Director NSF 3 FARA
Ghana

Dr .Daniel A. Ofori
Principal research Scientist/ICRAF Representative
ICRAF-World Agroforestry Centre and Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG)