OVERVIEW OF AFAAS AND KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
Transcript of OVERVIEW OF AFAAS AND KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
African Forum for Agricultural
Advisory Services
Presentation to AEAS stakeholders- Liberia
Silim Mohammed Nahdy (PhD)
&
Max olupot
3 July 2014- Monrovia
www.afaas-africa.org
OVERVIEW OF AFAAS AND KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
Setting the context
• Nwaze, 2013, …“But we must recognize that technology
is only a tool. It is not an end in itself. As a scientist, I
understand the excitement of new discoveries. But as a
development practitioner I have seen the miracles that
take place when we give farmers the tools to enhance
existing – and sometimes quite traditional technologies.”
• The need for Extension and Advisory Services to
bridge the missing link, albeit being constrained!!!
Widening
scope of
AEAS
Targeting
poverty
and gender
Environment
al
degradation
and climate
change
Market
Orientation
?!
Appropriate Policies
and institutional
arrangements
Appropriate
methods,
approaches and
tools (e.g ICT)
Supporting
pluralism
and
Partnership
AEAS Demands- Pillars
PRODUCT INNOVATION PROCESS INNOVATION
Technology transfer, especially for the staple food crops
Training farmers how to intensify & diversify their farming systems
Training farmers how to
organize into producer and
self-help groups
Training farmers how to use sustainable NRM practices
Improving Rural LivelihoodsMaintaining National Food Security
PRODUCT INNOVATION
PROCESS INNOVATION
AIS- Comprehensive Agricultural Extension System
Why AFAAS?
• Support sharing of experiences, information and
knowledge on AEAS
• Support to the country AEAS to ensure that FAAP
principles are applied within the CAADP process
• Mobilize a pool of experts from within Africa and
strengthen their capacity to respond to the specific
demand of AEAS at different levels
• Backstop country-level AEAS to organize themselves to
focus on AEAS issues
• Advocacy and lobbying - policy, investment etc
• Represent AEAS at continental and international fora
…AUC, GCARD, FARA
AFAAS VISION AND MISSION
• Vision: AAS that effectively & efficiently contribute to
sustained productivity, profitability & growth of African
agriculture for poverty reduction
• Mission: Promote lesson learning & add value to
initiatives in AAS thru sharing of information & increased
professional interaction
5. A continental African
Organisation that can sustainably
support national
1. AAS are integral part
of CAADP
2. Information and knowledge management
system
3. Country level multi-
stakeholder fora
4. Partnerships between AASP
and other relevant partners
Results/Outputs
AAS providers have sufficient capacity to effectively support value
chain actors towards increasing agricultural productivity and food security in a sustainable manner
Purpose/Outcome
Enhanced utilization of improved knowledge and technologies by agricultural value chain actors for improving productivity oriented towards
their individual and national development objectives
Goal
AFAAS engagement in CAADP agenda
Engagement in Science Agenda for African Agriculture;
Capacity Strengthening in AEAS
Guidelines for integrating AEAS in CAADP
Supporting national AEAS Systems
Pool of experts
Knowledge Management Three Symposia organised ( 2004, 2016 & 2011);
One Africa Agricultural Extension Week in 2013 in
Botswana; Second planed for 2014 in Addis Ababa in
partnership with AUC and MoARD Ethiopia;
A website & a virtual social networking platform;
A conceptual framework for lesson learning developed;
A guide for Piloting Market Oriented AEAS;
Study on targeting Women Advisory Service Providers &
Capacity Development Programmes;
Study on how issues of Climate Change are being addressed in
AEAS
Country Fora
Guidelines on how to engage with AAS Stakeholder in a country to bring about the emergence of CF that are aligned with CAADP
AFAAS membership 40 African Countries by 2013 - General Assembly
Country Fora established in a number of countries e.g., Benin, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda etc
Six countries in the process of developing their own Strategic and operational Plans aligned with that of AFAAS
Linkages with other ARD actors at national level
Research Systems
and Institutions
Farmer
Organisation
Agricultural
Training
Institutions
Agri-businessFinancial
Services
Social ServicesPublic sector at
all levels
Building Strong Partnerships
AEAS
Who are the AFAAS Strategic partners?
Partnerships and Collaborations contd...• GFRAS- Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services
• FARA, Multiple with focus on continental ARD agenda
• ASARECA; MoU signed
• CORAF ; Concept being developed
• NRI- Climate change
• CABI- Plantwise ( Plant Clinics) scaling up and out
• Helvetas , FANRPAN, Agridea International – Post Harvest
Management Project for SSA( Mozambique and Benin) – on going
• INNODEV- Knowledge Management component
• COMPACI- capacity development for AAS providers
• KIT- Royal Tropical Institute on MOAAS
• icipe - capacity, scaling out innovations -
Sustainability
• Recognition by AUC
• Integration into national (including donor
funded) programmes
• Maintaining anchorage in to the broader R&D
agenda including S3A
• Support from the national ARD systems
• Catalyse and Facilitate establishment /
Strengthening of CF
AFAAS Thrusts • Championing Knowledge Management in
AEAS in the Continent
• Strengthening Country Fora for national level
engagement
• Partnerships and collaboration with all ARD
actors for scaling up and out innovations
• Capacity Strengthening for AEAS
• Policy and advocacy for AEAS
• Conducting strategic studies
www.afaas-africa.org
AEAS Country Fora Formation Process,
Sustainability and Role of AFAAS Secretariat
Why CF?• Brings together AEAS actors
• Supports/ Leads AEAS development at national
level
• Strong linkages of AEAS stakeholders with
CAADP process
• Exchange of information and Knowledge
• Shares lessons
• Identifies opportunities for providing services to
each other- learning process
• Innovation on AEAS
• Capacity and professionalism
• Identifies areas of joint studies in AEAS
Process of establishment of CF
Approach
• Aligning to FAAP principles
• Analysis on a need for the forum
• Facilitating the identification of
existing structures for networking
• Identifying champions
CF establishment Process.....
• Interest expressed from AEAS
stakeholders in the country to engage
with AFAAS
• Sensitisation and awareness raising
• Assessment of status of organisational
and institutional status of AEAS
CF establishment Process
• Identification of existing entity for
country forum or setting up a new
entity if this does not exist
• Facilitation of the process of
establishing a country forum
• Facilitation of a CF to develop a
strategic and operational plan
FAAP Principles 1. Empowerment of end-users
2. Planned subsidiarity
3. Pluralism in the delivery of AEAS
4. Evidence based approaches to AEAS
5. Integration of AEAS with research, the private sector, training,
capacity building and education programmes
6. Explicit incorporation of sustainability criteria
7. Systematic utilisation of improved management information systems
8. Introduction of cost sharing with end-users
9. Integration of gender considerations at all levels
Legal recognition
The level of legal recognition required
depends on the functions that the CF is
expected to perform
Independent entity
Hosted by a legal organisation
Partnerships and alliances
• For the CF to be effective, it is important
that it is appropriately connected to other
networks and initiatives with overlapping or
side-lined objectives that can strengthen
the national efforts in providing effective
AEAS
Leadership and hosting
• It is important that the entity has a clear
and effective leadership:
– for example as an Executive Committee, and
that this is recognised and accepted among
all the stakeholders in such a way that all
have confidence in the Forum serving their
interest
– Political support
– Strong membership – constituency
Facilitation of the Process
• National workshop for AEAS
stakeholders
• Establishing or launching meeting
• Resource mobilisation
Research Systems
and Institutions
Professional
Associations
Agricultural
Training
Institutions
Agri-business
Financial
Services
Social ServicesPublic sector
AAS stakeholders……..
AEAS
Farmer
Organisation
Establishment Meeting
• scoping meeting/workshop:
– Establish leadership (for example an
Executive Committee), roles and
responsibilities
– Operational guidelines for functions and
communication
– Discuss the establishment of a charter
• Make a plan for the next steps: Strategic
and operational planning
Experience on successful CFs
For more information contact :
email: secretariat @afaas-africa.org/ [email protected]
www.afaas-africa.org
&
www.g-fras.org
Thank you for Listening
http://www.afaas-africa.org
http://networking.afaas-africa.org