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14
www.cabi.org KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE NAIROBI, KENYA CABI Africa member country consultation synthesis report 19-20 September 2007

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Page 1: CABI Africa member country consultation - gov.uk...The Africa Member Country Consultation was the first of three such dialogues. The second, for the Asia Pacific region, will be held

www.cabi.org

KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE

NAIROBI, KENYA

CABI Africa member country consultation

synthesis report

19-20 September 2007

Page 2: CABI Africa member country consultation - gov.uk...The Africa Member Country Consultation was the first of three such dialogues. The second, for the Asia Pacific region, will be held

CABI improves

people’s lives

worldwide

by providing

information and

applying scientific

expertise to solve

problems in

agriculture and the

environment

www.cabi.org

KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE

Page 3: CABI Africa member country consultation - gov.uk...The Africa Member Country Consultation was the first of three such dialogues. The second, for the Asia Pacific region, will be held

contents04 Consultation Goals

04 Process

04 Opening Ceremony

05 Member Country Objectives

05 Where we want to go: national priorities and key sub–regional issues among CABI’s Members East Africa West and Central Africa Southern Africa

06 Outcomes: Action Plans and Responsibilities 07 Trade development and markets 08 Institutional capacity strengthening and knowledge management 09 Biofuels and climate change

11 Final Session (with partners)

11 Conclusion

12 Appendices: CABI presentations 12 Appendix 1 Summary presentation: Chief Executive Officer 12 Appendix 2 Where we are: Commodities, Invasive Species, Knowledge for Development

14 Contact CABI

Page 4: CABI Africa member country consultation - gov.uk...The Africa Member Country Consultation was the first of three such dialogues. The second, for the Asia Pacific region, will be held

consultation goalsCABI’s programmes are driven by the needs of our Member Countries. To reinforce this connection, CABI is establishing a series of direct dialogues in each region of operation. These aim to strengthen understanding of CABI’s activities and capabilities in support of international development and to build close engagement with the regional priorities of Member Countries. These priorities will help to shape our strategic programmes and to help establish the particular forms of mutual commitment and financial resourcing required to deliver our mission.

The Africa Member Country Consultation was the first of three such dialogues. The second, for the Asia Pacific region, will be held in Beijing from 29-30 November and the third, for Latin America, is planned for early 2008. The areas of work mutually agreed through these consultations will be developed further and form CABI’s strategic framework for the following 5 years. Member Countries will be asked to formally endorse the framework at the CABI 2009 Review Conference.

processLiaison officers from 11 Member Countries attended (apologies were received from Gambia, Morocco, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and South Africa), together with two potential new members and an ASARECA representative. The meeting itself was a closed business session for Members. However, in the final session the outcomes were presented to a wider audience of partners and stakeholders from Embassies and institutions in Kenya.

Over the two days, the energy and enthusiasm of the Liaison Officers was invaluable in identifying key issues and priorities. As action plans were developed together, a spirit of common ownership and camaraderie emerged, which bodes well for CABI’s future.

opening ceremonyMr Dennis Rangi, CABI Executive Director for International Development, set the context in which CABI operates and elaborated the challenging environment in which we work. He highlighted the need to harness changing technologies in order to respond effectively to market access issues, to build and sustain human capacity, and to empower people.

Mr Rangi received the Guest of Honour, Dr Romano Kiome, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Agriculture, Kenya.

Dr Romano Kiome, in his opening address was highly appreciative of CABI and the leading role we have played in agricultural science over many years as an information and knowledge organisation. He described CABI as a truly exemplary partnership organisation. Over the years, CABI had ‘…transcended boundaries’ and ‘worked tightly with partners…’ Dr Kiome commended CABI’s participatory decision-making approach and felt the model was worth replicating elsewhere. He encouraged CABI to grow more in sharing information and knowledge through building linkages with other organisations and countries.

Dr Trevor Nicholls, CABI Chief Executive Officer, presented an overview of our work and our business basis. Senior staff responsible for the three themes then described our International Development thematic focus: Commodities, Invasive Species and Knowledge for Development (a brief summary of CEO’s presentation is given in Appendix 1 and each thematic focus in Appendix 2).

0�

Page 5: CABI Africa member country consultation - gov.uk...The Africa Member Country Consultation was the first of three such dialogues. The second, for the Asia Pacific region, will be held

member country objectivesWhere we want to go: national priorities and key sub-regional issues among CABI’s Members

Three regional breakout groups worked in parallel, detailing priorities and sub-regional needs as below:

East Africamain issues

Create platform for information repository – this could have links to organisations like FARA and could be divided further by sub-regions

Need environmentally sensitive interventions; e.g. better management of pesticides in Ethiopia. Focus could be on biological control and introduction of pest resistant varieties

Increase market opportunities and market intelligence. In order to have an advantage along market chains, we need to develop capacity for policy formulation, for regional integration, etc. especially in areas where CABI works already; e.g. cross-border trade, harmonising phytosanitary issues in regional centres of excellence, safety standards compliance, etc.

Identifying priorities in research and extension in horticulture

Human capacity building in managing diseases such as banana bacterial wilt disease, and in managing coffee quality improvement

West and Central Africamain issues

The seven CORAF priorities already form the common framework for the region (Livestock & Aquaculture; Staple crops; Non staple crops; Policy market & trade; Natural resource management; Capacity Strengthening; Bio technology and bio-safety)

Adoption of available technologies with focus on CABI areas of strength

Emerging issues: 1) Biofuels is a new opportunity but informed input is needed; 2) Climate Change and its implications to cropping systems are now important; 3) Energy and water management are major issues in the region

Spread of diseases is a serious concern; e.g. cocoa (Swollen shoot) and coconut (lethal yellowing disease mycoplasma). We need partners to strengthen capacity; these diseases are endemic and they strike the livelihoods of people who depend on such crops.

Rehabilitation of Natural Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in ‘fragile’ countries: eight countries are concerned in West and Central Africa

Southern Africamain issues

Develop a framework for agricultural information systems for disseminating research and information to smallholders, e.g. farmer field schools, websites, electronic libraries, compendia. Also, information sharing and increased linkages between member focal points, e.g. community websites

Promote local knowledge and innovations, and its replication in other countries, rather than pushing top-down scientific knowledge into developing countries

Expansion of CABI commodity crops to include others, such as cotton

Research and extension of irrigation and water harvesting systems

Value addition – product development and quality assurance for export diversification; standards and measures

Invasive (noxious weeds) management – water hyacinth, Lantana camara – need to broaden this list

Climate change emerged as a major issue cutting across various areas

0�

Page 6: CABI Africa member country consultation - gov.uk...The Africa Member Country Consultation was the first of three such dialogues. The second, for the Asia Pacific region, will be held

outcomes: action plans and responsibilitiesThe national and regional needs and priorities identified above by the Liaison Officers were clustered thematically into those areas in which CABI has relevant expertise, skills and comparative advantage. Through this process, three priority areas of activity of relevance across Africa were agreed:

i. Trade development and markets (good agricultural practices for market access)

Information access/market intelligence

Standards/compliance – SPS, Global GAP, industry codes

Quality and quality assurance

ii. Institutional capacity strengthening and knowledge management

Create a platform/framework to bring actors together to develop ownership

Conservation, management and dissemination of institutional knowledge

Strengthening organizational/institutional capacity for more effective research uptake

Strengthening capacity in fragile states

Monitoring and evaluation

iii. Biofuels and Climate Change

biofuels:

Informed situation analysis for policy options around crop by-products, high dry matter crop development (cassava) and alternative biofuel crops for semi-arid zones (Jatropha)

Exploration of sustainability of biofuels, and impact on food security or poverty

climate change:

Development of farmer-centred early-warning systems and decision models for dealing with the implications of climate change, with invasive species and with water utilization

Each of the three areas were further addressed by a working group, to identify key areas of potential activity. In addition an action plan was developed identifying the steps to be taken, the roles of different players, and possible partner and funding organizations.

The following tables summarize the findings:

0�

Page 7: CABI Africa member country consultation - gov.uk...The Africa Member Country Consultation was the first of three such dialogues. The second, for the Asia Pacific region, will be held

707

Them

e: G

ood

agric

ultu

ral p

ract

ices

for m

arke

t acc

ess

(this

may

nee

d re

finin

g as

it d

evel

ops

furth

er)

Sco

pe

(nee

ds,

act

ivit

ies)

Ste

ps

(res

po

nsi

bili

ties

)P

laye

rs (

CA

BI,

LO

S, M

C I

nst

itu

tio

ns)

Par

tner

ship

s &

do

no

rs

nfor

mat

ion

acce

ss/m

arke

t int

ellig

ence

Sta

ndar

ds:

SP

S, G

loba

l GA

P, in

dust

ry c

odes

, id

entif

ying

sta

ndar

ds &

sta

ndar

ds

com

plia

nce

Qua

lity

and

qual

ity a

ssur

ance

Oth

er g

ener

ic a

ctiv

ities

Cap

acity

stre

ngth

enin

g (c

apac

ity

build

ing)

Tool

s an

d de

cisi

on m

akin

g su

ppor

t sy

stem

s

Info

rmat

ion

syst

ems

and

serv

ices

Har

mon

izat

ion

• • • • • • • •

Con

cept

/pro

gram

me

deve

lopm

ent +

w

rite-

up

Pro

mot

ion

– in

cept

ion/

pla

nnin

g w

orks

hops

in s

ub-r

egio

ns (f

or L

Os

and

fund

ing

part

ners

) and

late

r reg

iona

l

Inte

r-lin

kage

s

Brie

fing

ExC

o

Fund

rais

ing

join

tly w

ith L

Os

• • • • •

CA

BI-

Coo

rdin

atio

n by

GD

s/R

D

LOs

& C

AB

I res

pons

ible

for m

ost

of th

e pl

anni

ng, o

rgan

izat

ion

and

impl

emen

tatio

n

Nat

iona

l Min

istri

es

Trad

e, F

inan

ce, A

gric

ultu

re,

Env

ironm

ent

• •

Glo

bal,

Reg

iona

l and

sub

-reg

iona

l bod

ies

Inte

rgov

ernm

enta

l org

aniz

atio

ns (A

U,

NE

PAD

)

Glo

bal o

rgan

izat

ions

(IP

PC

, WTO

, OIE

)

Trad

e bl

ocs

(CO

ME

SA

, EA

C, S

AD

C,

EC

OW

AS)

Sub

-reg

iona

l res

earc

h or

gani

zatio

ns

(AS

AR

EC

A, C

OR

AF,

FA

NR

)

Maj

or c

omm

odity

bod

ies

(ICO

, oth

ers

targ

etin

g sp

ecifi

c co

mm

oditi

es)

Priv

ate

sect

or

SP

S F

ocal

poi

nts

Don

ors

AfD

B

STD

F of

WTO

EU

Priv

ate

sect

or

Min

istri

es o

f Fin

ance

(Co-

finan

ce)

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Info

rmat

ion

gene

ratio

n/ s

harin

g

Con

cept

/Pro

gram

me

deve

lopm

ent –

to

ensu

re o

wne

rshi

p

Loca

l pro

mot

ion

with

CA

BI f

undi

ng

Loca

l coo

rdin

atio

n

Loca

l fun

drai

sing

• • • • •

Con

tribu

te to

pro

gram

me

deve

lopm

ent

trad

e d

evel

op

men

t an

d m

arke

ts

Page 8: CABI Africa member country consultation - gov.uk...The Africa Member Country Consultation was the first of three such dialogues. The second, for the Asia Pacific region, will be held

0�

Them

e: M

akin

g re

sear

ch m

ore

effe

ctiv

e in

con

tribu

ting

to in

tend

ed o

utco

mes

(ens

urin

g kn

owle

dge,

tech

nolo

gy g

ener

atio

n &

app

licat

ion)

Sco

pe

(nee

ds,

act

ivit

ies)

Ste

ps

(res

po

nsi

bili

ties

)P

laye

rs (

CA

BI,

LO

S, M

C I

nst

itu

tio

ns)

Par

tner

ship

s &

do

no

rs

Cre

ate

an (i

nnov

atio

n) p

latfo

rm /

fram

ewor

k to

br

ing

acto

rs to

geth

er to

dev

elop

ow

ners

hip

Inst

itutio

nal a

naly

sis

/ nee

ds

asse

ssm

ent

Ski

lls in

par

tner

ship

Ski

lls in

rese

arch

into

use

Way

s of

doi

ng th

ings

with

in a

n or

gani

zatio

n (m

anag

emen

t, in

cent

ives

et

c.)

Infra

stru

ctur

e (la

bs, e

quip

men

t, do

cum

enta

tion)

• • • • •

Nat

iona

l to

Pan

-Afri

can

NA

R(E

)S: R

esea

rch,

ext

ensi

on, N

GO

s U

nive

rsiti

es

Pol

icy

mak

ers

FAR

A/S

RO

Liai

son

offic

ers

CA

BI s

peci

alis

ts a

nd o

ther

s

Con

serv

atio

n, m

anag

emen

t and

dis

sem

inat

ion

of in

stitu

tiona

l kno

wle

dge

Dev

elop

men

t of i

nfor

mat

ion

repo

sito

ry

ICT

infra

stru

ctur

e

Dis

sem

inat

ion

/ Com

mun

icat

ion

/ U

tiliz

atio

n of

repo

sito

ry

Dat

abas

e de

velo

p m

echa

nism

s to

use

th

e da

taba

se c

onte

nt fo

r diff

eren

t end

us

ers

(Far

mer

s, P

olic

y-m

aker

s, M

edia

, In

term

edia

ries)

• • • •

Stre

ngth

enin

g or

gani

zatio

nal /

inst

itutio

nal

capa

city

for m

ore

effe

ctiv

e re

sear

ch in

to u

se

Inst

itutio

nal a

naly

sis

/ nee

ds

asse

ssm

ent

Ski

lls in

par

tner

ship

Ski

lls in

rese

arch

into

use

• • •

Stre

ngth

enin

g ca

paci

ty in

pos

t-co

nflic

t co

untri

es

Infra

stru

ctur

e an

d te

chni

cal b

ack-

stop

ping

Trai

ning

, res

earc

h, a

nd e

xten

sion

• •

inst

itutio

nal c

apac

ity

stre

ngth

enin

g a

nd k

now

led

ge

man

agem

ent

Page 9: CABI Africa member country consultation - gov.uk...The Africa Member Country Consultation was the first of three such dialogues. The second, for the Asia Pacific region, will be held

09

Them

e: B

iofu

els

– In

tegr

atin

g en

ergy

, eco

syst

ems

and

livel

ihoo

ds

Sco

pe

(nee

ds,

act

ivit

ies)

Ste

ps

(res

po

nsi

bili

ties

)P

laye

rs (

CA

BI,

LO

S, M

C I

nst

itu

tio

ns)

Par

tner

ship

s &

do

no

rs

Ene

rgy

crop

s v.

food

sec

urity

Impa

cts

of fu

el c

rops

on

the

envi

ronm

ent

Valu

e an

d su

stai

nabi

lity

of fu

el c

rops

• • •

Pre

-con

cept

pap

er fo

r an

‘um

brel

la’

prog

ram

me

on e

nerg

y, e

cosy

stem

s &

liv

elih

oods

Pan

-Afri

can

conf

eren

ce o

n bi

ofue

ls

– S

RO

s, C

AB

I & L

Os

(Nov

)

Bio

fuel

s an

d en

viro

nmen

t

Ear

ly 2

008

sub

-reg

iona

l con

sulta

tions

on

issu

es a

roun

d ea

ch th

eme;

CA

BI/

SR

O, N

AR

I/LO

s, (C

AB

I CD

F)

• • • •

CA

BI &

LO

s

Min

istri

es: E

nerg

y, A

gric

ultu

re &

E

nvi-r

onm

ent,

Trad

e &

Indu

stry

, S

cien

ce &

Tec

hnol

ogy

CA

BI a

nd w

ider

par

tner

s

NA

RS

IUC

N

• • • • •

Larg

e in

tere

st fr

om;

AS

AR

EC

A &

IUC

N

Mul

tinat

iona

lsS

hell,

BP

etc

.,

Sta

te o

il co

mpa

nies

Loca

l ene

rgy

supp

ly c

ompa

nies

• • • •

Info

rm p

olic

y ar

ound

bio

fuel

opt

ions

:

Cro

p by

-pro

duct

s lik

e ba

gass

e et

c;

Hig

h dr

y m

atte

r cro

p de

velo

pmen

t –

cass

ava

Alte

rnat

ive

bio

fuel

cro

ps fo

r sem

i-arid

zo

nes

– Ja

troph

a

(Cur

rent

situ

atio

ns v

ary

– so

me

coun

tries

are

alre

ady

prom

otin

g Ja

troph

a)

• • • •

Pre

para

tion

of s

ituat

ion

anal

ysis

:

Pub

lishe

d in

form

atio

n

Nat

iona

l inf

orm

atio

n

Unp

ublis

hed

info

rmat

ion

Env

ironm

enta

l inf

orm

atio

n

Con

tribu

tions

from

oth

er p

artn

ers

Feas

ibili

ty a

nd s

usta

inab

ility

of t

echn

olog

ies:

Iden

tify,

dev

elop

& m

onito

r the

po

tent

ial i

mpa

ct o

f exp

ande

d bi

oene

rgy

deve

lopm

ent f

or a

gric

ultu

re,

envi

ronm

ent,

heal

th a

nd tr

ade

Pro

mot

e in

tern

atio

nal r

esea

rch

on

the

soci

al, s

cien

tific,

tech

nolo

gica

l, ec

onom

ic p

olic

ies

and

envi

ronm

enta

l is

sues

gui

ding

bio

ener

gy d

evel

opm

ent

Est

ablis

h in

tern

atio

nally

-agr

eed

stan

dard

s fo

r pro

duct

ion,

con

vers

ion,

us

e an

d tra

de o

f bio

ener

gy s

yste

ms

to p

rote

ct b

oth

soci

ety

and

the

envi

ronm

ent

• • • • • • • •

bio

fuel

s an

d c

limat

e ch

ang

e (1

)

Page 10: CABI Africa member country consultation - gov.uk...The Africa Member Country Consultation was the first of three such dialogues. The second, for the Asia Pacific region, will be held

010

Them

e: A

dapt

atio

n to

Clim

ate

Cha

nge

Sco

pe

(nee

ds,

act

ivit

ies)

Ste

ps

(res

po

nsi

bili

ties

)P

laye

rs (

CA

BI,

LO

S, M

C I

nst

itu

tio

ns)

Par

tner

ship

s &

do

no

rs

Nex

us b

etw

een

clim

ate

chan

ge, l

and

degr

adat

ion,

and

pov

erty

Kno

wle

dge

man

agem

ent i

ssue

s

Cha

lleng

es fo

r pol

icy

and

inst

itutio

nal

chan

ge a

t var

ious

leve

ls:

Cha

lleng

e fo

r agr

icul

tura

l res

earc

h an

d ex

tens

ion

Des

ertifi

catio

n an

d de

sert

mar

gin

initi

ativ

es

Pla

ntin

g tim

es a

re c

hang

ing

Inva

sive

spe

cies

thre

at

Wat

er re

sour

ce: d

omes

tic, i

rrig

atio

n et

c al

so a

big

pro

blem

• • • • • • • •

Situ

atio

n an

alys

is

Dec

isio

n S

uppo

rt S

yste

ms

Dev

elop

ing

& d

eliv

erin

g ea

rly w

arni

ng

syst

em

Dec

isio

n m

akin

g to

ol to

hel

p ta

ke

adva

nce

step

s

Con

nect

ivity

bet

wee

n cl

imat

e ch

ange

&

bio

fuel

s

Ada

ptat

ion

stra

tegi

es –

FFS

type

Ris

k m

anag

emen

t ana

lysi

s of

sce

nario

s pl

anni

ng

Lear

ning

net

wor

ks: c

ombi

ning

in

dige

nous

loca

l kno

wle

dge

with

ex

tern

al k

now

ledg

e fo

r sus

tain

able

m

anag

emen

t of C

limat

e C

hang

e

Wat

er H

arve

stin

g

• • • • • • • •

Rec

omm

enda

tion

for A

ctio

n P

lan

at

vario

us le

vels

:

Reg

iona

l

Nat

iona

l

Loca

l

CA

BI &

LO

s

• • • • •

CG

cen

tres

ICR

ISAT

• •

Ada

ptin

g to

the

impa

ct o

f clim

ate

chan

ge h

as s

imila

r ste

ps/p

artn

ers

to th

ose

outli

ned

for t

he b

iofu

els

them

e. C

AB

I’s m

ain

role

will

be

that

of K

now

ledg

e C

oord

inat

ion.

LO

s w

ould

be

resp

onsi

ble

for t

akin

g fo

rwar

d th

e P

re-C

once

pt s

tage

; and

thro

ugh

cons

ulta

tion

to g

et th

e bu

y-in

of a

ll ke

y st

akeh

olde

rs; N

AR

S w

ould

be

resp

onsi

ble

for g

ettin

g G

over

nmen

t app

rova

l

bio

fuel

s an

d c

limat

e ch

ang

e (2

)

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final session (with partners)The final plenary session opened out the discussion to involve local partners, local donors and donors with local offices. It demonstrated how our plans were being shaped to reflect Member Country and regional needs and openly invited partnership from the organizations represented. The meeting also called upon development assistance partners to support these plans as being clearly responsive to national and regional Member Country agendas in Africa.

conclusionThe areas of activity agreed were a clear outcome of an open and transparent partnership. The consultation enabled CABI to identify priority activities in areas of comparative advantage, addressing the needs of Member Countries. CABI and our partners can take these plans forward confidently with a commitment to develop them into practical programmes in each region. As CABI operates on business-like, not-for-profit principles, both our Member Countries and those employed within the organization have specific responsibilities. Liaison Officers and CABI staff now need to work closely together to turn these ideas into fully funded activities. The Liaison Officers should make use of national and regional processes to help obtain development assistance funds and to mobilize and draw upon CABI’s staff and information resources.

Overall, the consensus was that the meeting had been extremely positive and was conducted in an open, frank and participatory manner. Through the processes of the meeting:

We critically examined our strengths and weaknesses as a membership organization and suggested improvements

Our Liaison Officers understood the new directions in CABI and the current thematic focus

We reviewed priority issues in agriculture and rural development for each sub-region

We identified common thematic priorities where CABI has comparative advantage

We developed 3 prioritised areas of activity

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appendices: CABI presentationsAppendix 1 Summary presentation: Chief Executive Officer

Dr Trevor Nicholls, our Chief Executive Officer (CEO), gave an overview of CABI.

CABI was established in 1910 and currently has 45 Member Countries. We work globally with staff based in 16 countries. This consultation is an essential part of forward planning to ensure we stay relevant to our Member Countries. The CEO is delighted to be in charge at a time when CABI is going through an exciting change. The recent re-structuring and ‘right sizing’ of CABI’s operations has helped reduce our debts and achieve financial stability. In 2006, the total value of our projects was £7.3m, £4.9m of which came from donors such as CFC, EU, ADB, UNEP, FAO, DFID, ACIAR and SDC with the balance from local, regional and commercial sources. In the global distribution of our projects, Africa has the most with projects worth £2.5m. CABI is not a donor organisation, and we operate on business-like, not-for-profit principles. We work efficiently in order to fulfil our mission. In this way, we are able to remain financially self-sustaining while delivering benefits to our members through not-for-profit development projects.

This meeting leads towards CABI’s Review Conference, which meets every 3-5 years to determine our general policies and strategies and to review and endorse our work programmes. Between Conferences, authority is delegated to Executive Council (Ex-Co) which meets twice a year and a Governing Board that meets more regularly and guides the management of operational and strategic issues. Liaison Officers have a fundamental role to play in ensuring that Executive Council members (London-based) reflect the needs and priorities of our Member Countries into the governance decisions they make and Liaison Officers are encouraged to build a close relationship with their national representatives in Ex-Co.

Appendix 2 Where we are: Commodities, Invasive Species, Knowledge for Development

CABI, International Development presented the focus of our three themes.

CommoditiesWe work mainly with coffee, cacao, oil palm, bananas, cotton and high value horticultural crops. Globally the demand and prices fluctuate for commodities; the lack of market access, stringent food safety requirements and other concerns such as climate change, all have impact on smallholder commodity producers. Regionally, Africa’s share of the global coffee market has declined from 30% in 1977 to 10% in 2005. The political context has sometimes exacerbated this trend and led to a decrease in research and development; for example, there are now less than 200 coffee scientists in Africa.

CABI has a rich history in environmentally-safe commodity production; our research and development is well known in this area. Currently we have 18 specialists dedicated to commodities, with many others having relevant skills and experience. The benefit of our work and projects is evident; for example, since the launch of a CFC funded project on capacity building in new processing techniques, Ethiopian and Rwandan smallholder coffee farmers have seen an increase in earnings of over 30% in the pilot areas.

Examples of projects we are working on: 1) Improving coffee quality in East and Central Africa through enhanced processing practices; 2) Developing myco-insecticides and Pheromones for Cocoa Mirids; 3) Enhancing the safe, sustainable production of cocoa; and 4) Adapting to demands for reduced pesticide residues.

Our work in the value chain assists in accessing markets; it supports sustainable commodity production; it helps in responding to new and persistent production constraints; and it enables producers to manage risks while responding efficiently to new opportunities.

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Invasive speciesInvasive species include plants, animals, and micro-organisms that are not native to specific ecosystems and whose introduction threatens biodiversity, food security, health and economic development. Invasive Species are a major cause of loss of biodiversity and agricultural productivity. Africa loses up to 50% of its crops to pests. Risks of IS are intensified with increased trade, travel, and tourism. Complying with the requirements of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement can be very expensive, but is necessary if trade is to drive development.

The challenge is balancing the needs of trade and development with the needs of preserving the environment. Invasive species have an enormous economic impact on agriculture and environment but this often is neglected as a development concern. CABI plays a key role in providing leadership in policy and strategy globally. We are a founding member of the Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP), and we work with the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) providing information and technical assistance to underpin strategy. Recently UNEP awarded CABI the 2007 Partners Award for our work in phasing out the use of Methyl Bromide.

Examples of our work include providing training for COMESA SPS focal points and laboratory experts; working through GEF/UNEP on a large invasive species project in Ghana, Ethiopia, Uganda and Zambia; solving specific invasive problems, particularly through biological control. Other examples of Invasive Species work include the development of Green Muscle, a mycopesticide now available on the market, and community based pest forecasting which has saved farmers time and money.

Knowledge for Development (KFD)Knowledge plays an important role in development, underpinning every aspect of life. CABI is a recognised leader in this domain. Our leading agricultural scientific database has a global reach. It is the basis on which KFD builds.

Knowledge is about agricultural practices, technologies and innovations. It is an essential element in all areas of decision-making, from the poorest rural areas through to researchers and national policy makers. The current global and regional context involves improved and faster decision-making processes to address a rapidly changing environment. New tools, such as the Internet and mobile technology, have radically changed the way information is accessed and used. The digital divide has become the knowledge divide.

CABI’s historic strength is in underpinning skills and expertise in developing and managing global programmes such as the Global Plant Clinic and the Compendia. We also publish research, build capacity through training, and work extensively through networks of partners in international research. Our key strength lies in our approach to managing information electronically. Our success is evident in projects. For example, we have built, maintain and host the database for DFID research; e-governance is about transparency and the database helps make information available. Other examples include COSTECH the Animal Health and Production Compendia in Tanzania; the Good Seed Initiative work in Bangladesh. We make our information resources accessible free of charge to users in developing countries, through our participation in international information networks such as Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA) and The Essential Electronic Agricultural Library (TEEAL).

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contact CABI

europeCABI Head Office Nosworthy Way, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8DE, UK T: +44 (0)1491 832111, E: [email protected]

CABI Europe - UK (Egham) Bakeham Lane, Egham, Surrey, TW20 9TY, UK T: +44 (0)1491 829080

CABI Europe - UK (Ascot) Silwood Park, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berks, SL5 7TA, UK T: +44 (0)1491 829129

CABI Europe - Switzerland Rue des Grillons 1, CH-2800 Delémont, Switzerland T: +41 (0) 32 4214870

asiaCABI South Asia Opposite 1-A, Data Gunj Baksh Road, Satellite Town, PO Box 8, Rawalpindi-Pakistan T: +92 (0) 51 9290132

CABI Southeast and East Asia PO Box 210, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia T: +60 (0) 3 89432921

CABI South Asia - India 2nd Floor, CG Block, NASC Complex, DP Shastri Marg, Opp. Todapur Village, PUSA, New Delhi - 110012, India T: +91 (0) 11 25841906

CABI Southeast and East Asia - China C/o CAAS-CABI Project Office C/o Internal Post Box 56, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 12 Zhongguancun Nandajie, Beijing 100081, China T: +86 (0) 10 62112118

africaCABI Africa ICRAF Complex, United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, PO Box 633-00621, Nairobi, Kenya T: +254 (0) 20 7224450/62

americasCABI Caribbean & Latin America Gordon Street, Curepe, Trinidad and Tobago T: +1 868 6457628

CABI North America 875 Massachusetts Avenue, 7th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA T: +1 617 3954051

www.cabi.org

KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE