EU-ACP Proposal Writing Training Course with focus on neglected and underutilized species of plants

When: August 29th – September 2nd, 2011
Where: Lilongwe, Malawi
Deadline: June 3rd, 2011
For whom: Prospective applicants for IFS Research Grants from: Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Kenya & Uganda

The International Foundation for Science (IFS), Bioversity International, RUFORUM, and the University of Malawi – Bunda College, will conduct a Proposal Writing Training Course with focus on neglected and underutilized species of plants (NUS) in Lilongwe, Malawi, between August 29th and September 2nd, 2011. Young scientists (prospective applicants for IFS Research Grants) from Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Kenya and Uganda are hereby invited to submit a Research Note and apply for participation in this training course.

Read the detailed document, including information on the priority research themes and species for NUS research and the application form, on the IFS website.

Facilitate access, usage and exploitation of digital educational content related to Organic Agriculture

26 April 2010. Montpellier. Nikos Palavitsinis (GRNET) explained at the IAALD XIIIth World Congress, organized by Agropolis International on 26-29 April 2010, Montpellier, France
how Organis Edunet is trying to open access to multilingual, high quality content on organic agriculture and agroecology. 


Organic.Edunet aims to facilitate access, usage and exploitation of digital educational content related to Organic Agriculture (OA) and Agroecology. It deployed a multilingual online federation of learning repositories, populated with quality content from various content producers. In addition, it deployed a multilingual online environment (the Organic.Edunet Web portal) that facilitates end-users’ search, retrieval, access and use of the content in the learning repositories.

The project studies educational scenarios that introduced the use of the Organic.Edunet portal and content to support teaching of topics related to OA and Agroecology in two cases of formal educational systems, i.e., high-schools and agricultural universities. Furthermore, it evaluated project results in the context of pilot demonstrators in pilot educational institutions, as well as through open validation events where external interested stakeholders have been invited.

Organic.Edunet focused on achieving interoperability between the digital collections of OA and Agroecology content that producers in various EU countries have developed, as well as facilitating publication, access, and use of this content in multilingual learning contexts through a single European reference point. In this way, digital content that can be used to educate European Youth about the benefits of OA and Agroecology, will become easily accessible, usable and exploitable.


Background:
Funded by the European Commission: eContentplus Programme

• started in October 2007
• duration 36 months
• co-funded by EC
• Overall budget: 4.800.000 euros

Partners:

Greece

• Greek Research & Technology Network S.A. (GRNET) - Project Coordinator
• Agricultural University of Athens (AUA)
• Ellinogermaniki Agogi Scholi Panagea-Savva S.A. (EA)

Spain

• Universidad de Alcalá (UAH)

Sweden

• Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)

Norway

• Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB)

Austria

• Bundesministerium für Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur (BM: UKK)
• Bundesgymnasium and Bundesrealgymnasium Schwechat (BGS)
• Bundesministerium für Land- und Forstwirtschaft, Umwelt und Wasserwirtschaft (BMLFUW)

Estonia

• OU Miksike (Miksike)
• Estonian University of Life Sciences (EULS)

United Kingdom

• University of Nottingham (Intute)

Hungary

• Budapesti Corvinus Egyetem (BCE)
• Magyar Ökológiai Gazdálkodásért Egyesület (MOGERT)

Romania

• Universitatea de Stiinte Agronomice si Medicina Veterinara Bucuresti (USAMVB-FA)

Germany

• University Duisburg-Essen (UDE)

International

• World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)
• United Nations University - Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS)
• Mongolian Organic Farmers Association - MOFA
• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Knowledge Exchange & Capacity Building Division
• AgNIC, USDA / National Agricultural Library
• Digital Green, Microsoft Research India

Why should public funded research invest more in innovative approaches: statement by Emile Frison (Bioverstiy International)

During the The 17th Brussels Development Briefing on Biodiversity and Rural Development in ACP countries (10th March 2010), Dr Emile Frison, Director General, Bioversity International, Italy, made a presentation on the key relationship between biodiversity and agriculture.

In this video clip he makes a strong statement on why public funded research should invest more in innovative approaches? 


Biodiversity should be used as an entry point to more diversified systems that can provide:

• better livelihoods
• better nutrition
• more sustainability
• more resilience and stability 

We have to look at alternative sources of supply and where international investments can be most productive. The private sector is investing just in maize research one and a half billion dollars per year [1,5 billion USD / year). The amount of public funded research is even not a third of this figure. We must also look at other emerging countries like China, Brazil, India, and the role that they play and try to complement that: specifically addressing the needs of poor farmers in Africa who are dependent on a broad range of diverse species. And that is receiving far too little attention.

Radio programme on African Indigenous vegetables

Africa has hundreds of indigenous vegetables, which have been grown, gathered and eaten for centuries. But in the past half century 'exotic' imports have started to displace them; the likes of cabbage, kale and carrots were associated with being more developed, and cosmopolitan, while the traditional foods became food for the poor.

(Photo courtesy of Enoch Achigan Dako, Institut National des Recherches Agricoles du Benin)
So does it matter? Aren't all vegetables healthy? Sheila Dillon of the BBC looks at a project run by Bioversity International in Kenya to increase the availability and consumption of Africa's indigenous green leafy vegetables. She finds out what role many people believe they can play in solving some of the continent's most pressing problems, including malnutrition and crop failures due to global warming.

Sheila is joined in discussion by Pablo Eyzaguirre, senior scientist at Bioversity International, which is carrying out work in Kenya and around the world promoting biodiversity of agriculture and diet, and Dr Einir M Young, head of sustainable development at the the Welsh Institute for Natural Resources at Bangor University, which is involved in the production of the recently-published African Indigenous Vegetables in Urban Agriculture.

Listen to this Podcast

Call for expressions of interest Agricultural Biodiversity for Africa

August 19, 2009. The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), in partnership with its four sub-Regional Organizations (CORAF/WECARD, ASARECA SADC-FANR, NASRO), and Bioversity International will be organizing a conference on agricultural biodiversity in Africa, back-to-back with the Africa Science Week and FARA General Assembly to be held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on the 19-24th July 2010

The overall goal of the conference is to increase awareness, raise the appeal and generate support for research and development in relation to agricultural biodiversity for development in Africa. The conference will facilitate the sharing of innovative ideas in areas of agricultural biodiversity conservation and use science, research and development in Africa. It will also provide an opportunity to bring the agricultural biodiversity research community together to exchange experiences and lessons learnt, establish linkages and foster post-conference networking.

Download the Conference Concept Note and Draft Programme

Reference:

Platform for Agrobiodiversity Research 19/08 Revealing the Appeal and Potential of Agricultural Biodiversity for Africa: Status, Trends and Outlook for Future” Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 19-24th July 2010

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:

1. 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;
2. 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)

Dr. Charles The
Plant breeder
West Africa centre for Crop improvement WACCI at university of Ghana

Dr Gueye Badara
In Vitro Conservation Propagation Lab Manager
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture- IITA
Ibadan/Nigeria

Dr. Atta – Krah Kwesi
Deputy Director General
Bioversity International
KENYA

Dr. Wale Adekunle
Director NSF 5
FARA
Ghana

Dr. Abebe Demisse
Regional Coordinator
Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa – ASARECA
UGANDA

Learning Agro-biodiversity: Options for Universities in Sub-Saharan Africa

CTA in collaboration with ANAFE, Bioversity International, FAO, EAPGRNet and RUFORUM hosted a regional workshop on “Learning Agro-biodiversity: Options for Universities in Sub-Saharan Africa”, January 21-23, Nairobi, Kenya.

Over 38 senior experts including deans and team leaders from African universities, genetic resource centres and CGIAR centres were represented. In addition to drafting curriculum outlines for various programmes from short courses to PhD level, emphasis was placed on ensuring clarity when defining agro-biodiversity in the African context.

CGIAR / FARA Consultation

Dr Monty Jones - Executive Director FARA - and Dr. Kwesi Atta-Krah - Deputy Director General, Bioversity - adressing the participants. Dr. Adewale Adekunle facilitating the meeting

September 2-4, 2008. A CGIAR / FARA Consultation towards Partnerships and Coordinated Implementation of the Pillar IV of CAADP is held in Accra. The goal is to harmonize CGIAR and FARA research initiatives in Africa, with special emphasis on those involving collective action, with a view to strengthen partnerships and links with the overall CAADP and FAAP agendas of Africa.

This consultation is not intended to cover the overall operation of CGIAR and FARA in the continent. The focus is on collective action initiatives requiring strategic partnerships between the CGIAR and FARA, and which have capacity for contributing towards the CAAPD agenda. Specific research agendas of individual CG centres or bilateral research partnerships between particular Centres and FARA are not necessarily covered in this consultation.

Participants form CGIAR:

Dr. Jojo B. Forson, Regional Director, Sub-Saharan Africa, Bioversity International
Dr. Lawrence Narteh, Coordinator WARDA/Regional Plan WCA


Dr. Ponniah Anandajayase, ILRI







Dr. Paula Bramel, Deputy Director General, Research for Development, IITA

Dr. Boubacar Barry, Senior Researcher (IWMI)

Dr. Ravi Prabhu, Coordinator CGIAR Regional Plan for Collective Action in Eastern & Southern Africa



Dr. Kwesi Atta-Krah, Deputy Director General, Bioversity


Dr. Enrica Porcari, Chief Information OfficerLeader, ICT-KM Program, CGIAR-Bioversity

Dr. Robin Buruchara, Coordinator Pan-African Bean Research Institute (PABRA)
Dr. Simon Heck, Senior Policy Adviser, WorldFish Center


Dr. Ola Smith, ICRISAT


Dr. Cyrus Ndiritus, CPWF