Science and Technology in Society (STS) forum

Dr Monty Jones participated to the Fourth Annual Meeting of the Science and Technology in Society (STS) forum which was held October 7 - 9 , 2007, in the Kyoto International Conference Center (ICC Kyoto), Japan.

The Science and Technology in Society (STS) forum aims to provide a new mechanism for open discussions on an informal basis, and to build a human network that would, in time, resolve the new types of problems stemming from the application of science and technology. The forum community also explores the opportunities arising from science and technology, and addresses how to remove the barriers to using science and technology to solve the problems facing humankind.

Dr Jones addressed the Forum during the Plenary Session: “Development across the World with Sustainability” with a speech on: Global mutual interests in scientific collaboration to achieve sustained equitable development

International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

Around 300 delegates are meeting in Rome (29 October-2 November 2007) for the second session of the Governing Body of the Treaty.

Through the International Treaty, countries have agreed to make their genetic diversity and related information about the crops stored in their gene banks available to all who comply with the standarized benefit-sharing agreements.

IRRI Rice gene bank

The Rome conference will discuss issues relevant for the future of Treaty such as Funding Strategy, Farmers' Rights and the sustainable use of resources.

The Portal of the International Treaty aims at improving access to information, knowledge and training materials. It is a gateway to sound information on the Treaty, its Governing Body and its activities, that provides access to essential documents and information resources.

New dossier from CTA: Food safety

Consumers need to be sure that the food they eat is safe. Stringent standards which generally vary from country to country are increasingly imposed on the international food trade by both public institutions and private corporations. As product and process requirements and supply logistics systems become more demanding, ACP trade in global markets is being impacted. This dossier identifies key challenges and strategies for the ACP community in meeting international quality and food safety requirements.

This dossier was prepared by KIT in collaboration with CTA – September 2007. Read this new dossier

Recent developments in the Sub-Saharan African rice trends

WARDA has just published an overview of recent developments in the Sub-Saharan African rice trends. The central question is:

Do current rice sector trends favour sub-Saharan Africa food security?
Authors: WARDA (African Rice Center) Publisher: Africa Rice Center (WARDA), Benin, 2007

Among the major cereals, rice is the most rapdily growing food source in Africa. However, the self-sufficiency ratio in rice (production over consumption) has been steadily declining since the 1960s, which means the continent is increasingly relying on the international rice market to satisfy its rice consumption needs.

This paper provides a brief overview of the rice sector situation in sub-Saharan Africa. Focusing on recent trends, the report synthesises the sectors development in terms of production, consumption, imports and self-sufficiency. The author argues that the overall characterisation of the rice sector situation in Sub-Saharan Africa is complex due to the diverse status that rice holds for African consumers, the great diversity of ecosystems under which it is grown, the different rice production technologies used and government policies.

Key points include:

• increasing inter-linkages among global agricultural economies and the net importer status of Sub-Saharan Africa have a strong bearing in the rice sector in the region
• current market developments do not bode well for food security in Sub-Saharan Africa
• global rice consumption has been outstripping global rice production since 2002

Full text of document (8 pages)

DFID and sustainable agriculture

The UK Department for International Development (DFID) is developing a new research strategy for the period 2008-2013, in which its budget for research will double. One of the questions concerns information and communication. Basically, what actions should DFID support in the coming years to make sure that the research it supports is accessible and is used.

If you have some concrete ideas that DFID should support, or some existing project that already does this very well and thus should be replicated, contribute your views here (before end November).

The total number of responses to the various surveys has reached more than 700, from all corners of the world. On the web site of the consultation (http://r4dconsult.wordpress.com) some respondents to the question on sustainable agriculture addressed several themes:

• The need to work at grass roots levels; although some contributors suggested that subsistence farmers were often not aware of potential new areas for diversification.
• New technologies and new crop varieties that will lead to sustainability and counter some of the effects of climate change need to be developed.
• The impact of climate change was noted with suggestions of closer monitoring and new crop varieties being the most common responses.
• Many respondents emphasised the need for irrigation systems to combat drought as well as the need for clean water for survival of people and livestock.
• The need for new technologies was raised by a majority of respondents but how these could be harnessed remains elusive.

eAGRICULTURE India 2007

Left to Right: Samir Gupta, Jt MD, Samtech Infonet; Donald Taylor, Chief of
Party, GMED; K. S. Money, Chairman, APEDA; U. K. S. Chauhan, Agricultural
Marketing Advisor; Lamon Rutten, Jt MD, MCX

eAGRICULTURE India 2007 which was held in New Delhi from 31 July - 3 August 2007 aimed to understand the role of ICTs (information and communication technologies) in agricultural development. It featured seven sessions looking at ICTs in relation to agricultural policy, agriculture marketing, education, credit, insurance, extension, and resource management.

Among the recommendations:

• there needs to be a "bottom-up approach to ICT implementation in agriculture."
• "academic and research data in agriculture – available in the form of journals and research paper needs – needs to be digitalised to facilitate cross-flows of information"
• "using ICTs for timely market and weather information is key to development in the farming sector."
• "ICTs can be used to integrate the small-scale farmers and thereby increasetheir bargaining and negotiation power."
• Cross-pollination of information is required amongst the farmers, the scientists, ICT solution providers, policymakers, and other stakeholders."

To "facilitate" these recommendations, the report concludes that some "basic challenges" need to be overcome: Real time content; Cost of equipment; Non-availability of complementary infrastructure – power, roads, storage, connectivity, etc.; Capacity of grassroots farmers to avail and use the ICT solutions; Access in geographically difficult terrains such as mountains and deserts; and overcoming the initial inertia to adopt the latest technologies.

Symposium--The African Green Revolution Takes Shape

Three years after the United Nations called for a Green Revolution in Africa, a renowned group of speakers will share the promise of fighting hunger in Africa through agricultural productivity. They will cover sustainable agriculture, nutrition, environment, markets and policies in the continent during the symposium, 'The African Green Revolution Takes Shape,' on November 6 in New Orleans,Louisianna . The event is part of the International Annual Meetings of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA).

The International Annual Meetings of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) bring together 3,500+ people from 50+ countries representing academia, government and private industry, including a large contingent of undergraduate and graduate students.

Presentation of the FARA Board members attending the 7 th FARA Board meeting

Jones, Dr. Monty
Executive Director

FARA
Accra, Ghana

Kyetere, Dr. Denis, FARA Chair
Director General, NARO
Entebbe, Uganda

Yo, Dr. Tiemoko

FARA Vice Chair

Director General, CNRA

Abidjan Côte d'Ivoire

Mbog, Ms. Sylvie Christel
Presidente du Conseil d'Administration, ODECO (Organisme de Developpement d'Etudes de Formation et de Conseils)
Yaounde, Cameroon

Gibriel, Prof. Adnan
Head of Department of Agric. Development

General Secretariat of Agricultural, Animal and Marine Wealth

Tripoli, Libya

Muchoki, Ms. Lucy
Executive Director
African Natural Products
Nairobi, Kenya

Chermiti, Dr. Amor

Director General

Institut National de la Recherche Agricole de Tunisie (INRAT)

Ariana, Tunis

Porquet, Dr. Desire
Vice President
ANOPACI
Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

Sereme, Dr. Paco

Executive Secretary

CORAF/WECARD
Dakar, Senegal

Nyirenda, Ms. Margaret,
Director, SADC/FANR
Gaborone, Botswana

Ketema, Dr. Seyfu

Executive Secretary

ASARECA

Entebbe, Uganda

Seck, Dr. Pape

Director General

WARDA

Cotonou, Benin

Observers:


Nielson, Dr. David,
Senior Economist,
World Bank



Mwangi, Ms. Josephine
Principal Agricultural Economist
African Development Bank

Observer who could not attend the 7th FARA Board meeting:

Haile-Gabriel, Abebe, Director, AU/SAFGRAD

Second Executive Board meeting

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.

CGIAR Annual Report 2006 Focus on Partnerships for Effective Research

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.

International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD)

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.

Aligning the CAADP and the ‘triple A’

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.

For additonal video interviews see CTA Brussels briefings

Angel Elias Daka of COMESA on the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP)

IFAD’s Ides de Willebois told participants that increasing the productivity of small holders remains the main challenge.

ODI’s Steve Wiggins argues that the statistics do not necessarily show African agriculture to be in crisis

Representing the European Food security group of Concord, Gerhard Schmalbruch brought the perspectives of European civil society organisations.

Infos sur les prix agricoles par SMS

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.

En savoir plus...

Building an economic market in Ethiopia: Eleni Gabre-Madhin on TED.com

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 programme on Aqua farms

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

Topical issues: Agriculture

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

Narratives of Agricultural Policy in Africa: What Role for Ministries of Agriculture? (PDF, 55kb) Which of the different models for Ministries of Agriculture make sense today.
Future Agricultures Briefing Paper - 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

You can find more on the ODI agriculture thematic page

Agricultural Science, Technology and Innovation (ASTI) Systems Workshop (CTA and Abia State University, Nigeria)

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.

You can read an article about this event in Nigeria on allafrica.com : Innovations as Key to Agric Production

NERICA (New Rice for Africa)

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 World Bank's World Development Report (WDR) 2008
Agriculture for Development
October 2007, World Bank

Quotations:

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)

Harnessing the Agricultural Productivity of the Moist Savannas by dissemination proven technologies and agricultural practices: Going to Scale in Burk

Traditional housing in West Burkina

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.

Farmers Field School

The spirits of FARA (continued)

Dady DEMBY

"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"