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Annual Report 2009

Strengthening Capacity for Rural Innovation

Building skills, changing outlooks

ICRA Central Office and Anglophone ProgrammeLawickse Allee 11, PO Box 88

6700 AB WageningenThe Netherlands

Tel: +31 (0) 317 422938; fax: +31 (0) 317 427046; email: [email protected] Website: www.icra-edu.org

Francophone ProgrammeAgropolis International

Avenue Agropolis34394 Montpellier CX05

FranceTel: +33 (0) 467 047527; fax: +33 (0) 467 047526; email: [email protected]

ICRA Regional Representative Southern AfricaARC-Technology Transfer Department

PO Box 8783Pretoria 0001South Africa

Tel: +27 (0) 12 427 9919; fax: +27 (0) 12 430 5814; email: [email protected]

ICRA Regional Representative Latin AmericaFUNDACITE-Lara

Capanaparo 215, FUNDALARABarquisimeto, Lara

Venezuela Tel: +58 412 510 7097(cell); email: [email protected]

International Centre for development oriented Research in Agriculture

Annual Report 2009

Strengthening Capacity for Rural Innovation

Building skills, changing outlooks

Contents

Foreword iii

Acronyms and abbreviations vi

PART 1 – HIGHLIGHTS AND LESSONS LEARNED 1 Summary of achievements 3

Capacity strengthening programmes in West Africa 17

Design and management of innovation-oriented learning programmes 20

PIAL: linking learning to rural development in Cuba 23

Managers matter: the senior managers’ exchange tour 24

Addressing innovation challenges: South Africa leads the way 27

PART 2 – WHAT ARE ICRA AND ARD? 29

Introducing ICRA 31

ICRA’s ARD 31

ARD means thinking and behaving differently 32

ICRA’s partnership strategy 34

National and regional ARD learning partnerships 34

ICRA’s comparative advantages 35

PART 3 – ORGANISATION AND FINANCES 39 Governance and management 41

Trustees and personnel 42

Income and allocation 44

Financial statements 49

Projects 50

ANNEX 1 – PARTNERSHIPS IN ACTION 51 Benin 53

Burkina Faso 57

Ethiopia 60

Ghana 61

Kenya 64

Mali 67

Nigeria 69

Senegal 71

South Africa 72

Uganda 80

The SUCAPRI Project (Kenya, Uganda) 81

Latin America 83

ANNEX 2 – PARTICIPANTS OF PROGRAMMES AND SUB-REGIONAL MEETINGS ORGANISED BY ICRA IN 2009 89

Senior Manager’s Exchange Tour 91

Design and Management of Innovation-oriented Learning Programmes

in Wageningen and Montpellier 92

Preparatory sub-regional meetings 94

ANNEX 3 – PUBLICATIONS, PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS 97 Publications and papers 99

ICRA-related publications 100

Presentations 100

Presentations by ILAPIR 101

Presentations by ILAPIR associates 104

iii

Foreword

ICRA – the International Centre for development oriented Research

in Agriculture – has a track record of nearly three decades of

strengthening the capacity of inter-organisational and interdisciplinary teams to

put their collective knowledge to work for agricultural and rural innovation that

reduces poverty and promotes sustainable resource use. Its work has always

been inspired by the conviction that development and innovation can only

come from people and organisations empowered to address their collective

challenges – at global, national, sectoral and local level – by working together

and sharing their knowledge to achieve solutions that thereby become their

own.

From this perspective, development is not a matter of simply transferring

technologies, organisational or institutional models from one context to another

and training people to produce specific things in specific ways. It is about

strengthening the capacity of people and organisations to integrate these

elements in new ways that work in their specific context, and to proactively

adapt what they produce and how they do this to rapidly changing challenges.

Learning and learning to learn from each other are therefore essential for

development and for overcoming the current exclusion of a large majority of

the world population from the power to participate and make a difference.

These and similar ideas are embodied in the notion of ‘innovation systems’

that has gained prominence in recent years and is now, for example, guiding

the policies of the World Bank, the European Initiative for Agricultural Research

for Development (EIARD), the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA)

and the European Forum on Agricultural Research for Development (EFARD).

Innovation is now seen as a social learning and change process based on

knowledge sharing among the stakeholders involved in enhancing food

security, competitive market access, ecosystem resilience, and so on.

Many countries are trying to change the ways in which they generate

knowledge for rural development and how they transfer technology. Where

these currently resemble a knowledge pipeline with clear separation of roles

between the generation, transfer and use of knowledge and technologies,

the envisaged new arrangements resemble dynamic networks in which new

iv

knowledge emerges from sharing and joint experimentation. Experience shows

that these networks do not emerge spontaneously, however, even where there are

strong market incentives for collaboration. Insights into the conditions that help

such networks emerge are scarce, but do suggest that brokers play an important

role.

Over the past five years, as part of its ‘Move South’, ICRA has engaged

as a neutral broker in building innovation networks, both at national and at

local or sectoral levels in a dozen countries, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. The

national level networks form around a joint interest to enhance the relevance of

higher education and research to rural innovation, which demands changes in

knowledge, skills, behaviours and attitudes of both people and organisations.

These networks often also include policy makers, farmers’ organisations and

private sector associations. The local or sectoral networks emerge when these

national organisations participate in rural innovation with stakeholders at the

community, ecosystem or value chain level and in learning to make more effective

use of each others’ knowledge and other competencies. Together with its national

partners in these ‘ARD-learning partnerships’, ICRA has gained considerable

experience in designing, facilitating and coaching such on-the-job participatory

learning processes, referred to as ‘ARD learning cycles’. ICRA uses the acronym

ARD to refer to collective innovation and as a synonym to FARA’s IAR4D

(Integrated Agricultural Research for Development).

This Annual Report summarises what ICRA has done and has learned together

with its partners, in 2009. This year, ICRA started an ambitious initiative to further

diversify its highly-professional training, coaching and advisory services, mainly

in order to better serve its ARD-learning partnerships. As part of this, ICRA

designed and organised a Senior Managers’ Exchange and Study Tour to expose

managers to innovation in the Netherlands and to promote organisational change

in support of ARD. ICRA also started a new international course on the Design

and Management of Innovation-oriented Learning programmes, both in the

Netherlands (Wageningen) and in France (Montpellier). The latter course targets

talented professionals involved in facilitating interactive learning to trigger and

out-scale pro-poor rural and agricultural innovation. To improve efficiency and

accessibility, ICRA also decided to organise the ‘conventional’ ARD-learning

programme mainly in the South, in collaboration with ICRA partners and alumni.

Occasionally, the course will still be given in Wageningen and in Montpellier, but

once every two years and specifically targeting an audience outside the realm of

v

existing partnerships. The increase of tailor-made capacity strengthening activity

in the South combined with shorter high-leverage visits and training sessions in

Europe is a natural consequence of ICRA’s strategic move South.

In conclusion, ICRA remains highly committed to its original cause, i.e. to

promote interactive learning in support of innovation systems that contribute

to a fairer and better world. It is doing so, increasingly within the South, in

collaboration with its partners and through a growing network of alumni.

Bernard Hubert Jon Daane

Chair Board of Trustees Director

vi

Acronyms and abbreviations

ACP African, Caribbean and Pacific Adaf-Gallé Association pour le Développement des Activités de

Production et de Formation AgriBEE Agricultural Black Economic Empowerment AgriSETA Agricultural Sector Education Authority ANAFE African Network for Agriculture, Agroforestry and Natural

Resources Education APPRI Apprentissage, Production et Partage d’Innovations ARC Agricultural Research Council ARD Agricultural Research for Development ASARECA Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in

East and Central Africa ATTA Agricultural Technology Transfer Academy BIRD Bureau of Integrated Rural Development BSS Business Support Services CAADP Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development

Programme CANR College of Agriculture and Natural Resources CASE Competitive Agricultural Systems and Enterprises CATALIST Catalyzing Acceleration of Agricultural Intensification for

Stability and Sustainability CGIAR Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research CIAT Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical CIDA Canadian International Development Agency CINSA Collective Innovation Network for Southern Africa CLIA Centro Local de Innovación Agrícola CORAF Conseil Ouest et Centre Africain pour la Recherche et le

Développement Agricoles CNIEP Conseiller National aux Initiatives Economiques

Paysannes CP Comité de Pilotage DFID Department for International Development DM-IoL Design and Management of Innovation-oriented Learning

programmes EC European Commission EIARD European Initiative for Agricultural Research for

Development ENDA ENvironnement et Développement Afrique

vii

ENRC Equipe Nationale de Renforcement des Capacités EPAC Ecole Polytechnique d’Abomey Calavi EPMR External Programme and Management Review EU European Union FAAP Framework for Africa Agricultural Productivity FANRPAN Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis

Network FARA Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa FEPAB Fédération des Professionnels Agricoles du Burkina FSA Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques FUNDACITE Fundación para el Desarrollo de la Ciencia y Tecnología GUCID Gestión Universitaria del Conocimiento y la Innovación

para el Desarrollo HARENA HArmonisation des Recherches et Etudes Novatrices

pour les Actions de développement de Madagascar IAR4D Integrated Agricultural Research for Development ICRA International Centre for development oriented Research

in Agriculture IER Institut d’Economie Rurale IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development IFDC International Center for Soil Fertility and Agricultural

Development IHC In House Committee ILAPIR Iniciativa Latino Americana de Procesos de Innovación ILRI International Livestock Research Institute INCA Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Agrícolas INIA Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agrícola INRAB Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du Bénin INRM Integrated Natural Resources Management ISE Institut des Sciences de l’Environnement JKUAT Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology JOLISAA Joint Learning on Innovation Systems in African Agriculture KAPP Kenya Agricultural Productivity Programme KENFAP Kenya National Federation of Agricultural Producers KIT Royal Tropical Institute KNUST Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology KKM PLS Kano-Katsina-Maradi Pilot Learning Site LNV Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality MAAP Ministère de l’Alimentation, de l’Agriculture et de la

Pêche MAE Ministère des affaires étrangères et européennes MAEP Ministère de l’Agriculture, de l’Elevage et de la Pêche

viii

MAK Makerere University MDG Millennium Development Goals MoARD Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development MUCG Methodist University College of Ghana M&E Monitoring and Evaluation NAADS National Agricultural Advisory Services NARDTT National ARD Task Team NARO National Agricultural Research Organisation NARS National Agricultural Research System NCST National Capacity Strengthening Team NDA National Department of Agriculture NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development NGO Non-Governmental Organisation NIP National Innovation Platform NPT Netherlands Programme for the Institutional Strengthening

of Post-secondary Education and Training Capacity NRM Natural Resources Management NUFFIC Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in

Higher Education PAEPARD Platform for African-European Partnership on ARD PCT Programme Coordination Team PDA Provincial Department of Agriculture PIAL Programa para Fortalecer la Innovación Agropecuaria

Local P-IAR4D Platform for Integrated Agricultural Research for

Development PIR Procesos de Innovación Rural PNISA Plateforme Nationale pour l’Innovation dans le Secteur

Agricole PROLINNOVA Promoting Local Innovation RAP Realizing the Agricultural Potential of inland valleys RCPB Réseau des Caisses Populaires du Burkina ROPPA Réseau des Organisations Paysannes et des Producteurs

Agricoles de l’Afrique de l’Ouest RUFORUM Regional Universities Forum for capacity building in

agriculture R&D Research and Development SDC Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SRL Sustainable Rural Livelihoods SSA-CP Sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Programme SUCAPRI Strengthening of University CApacity for Promoting,

facilitating and teaching Rural Innovations processes

ix

TBI Tropenbos International UAC Université d’Abomey Calavi UDS University of Development Studies UNU-MERIT United Nations University – Maastricht Economic and

social Research and training centre on Innovation and Technology

UO Université de Ouagadougou UPCB Union des Producteurs du Centre Bénin USE Union pour la Solidarité et l’Entraide WB World Bank WI Wageningen International WU Wageningen University WUR Wageningen University and Research Centre ZARDI Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute 1000s+ IFDC’s From Thousands to Millions project

Part 1

HIGHLIGHTS AND LESSONS LEARNED

3


Summary of achievements

ICRA aims to support leadership and to develop critical mass in facilitating

innovation. It therefore works with numerous partners in countries of the South to

strengthen interactive learning, involving research, higher education and rural and

agricultural stakeholders.

Over recent years, ICRA has moved its centre of gravity South through the

national and regional multi-stakeholder partnerships in which it is involved. A

significant part of the activities took place in partner countries in 2009. Several

in-country ARD (Agricultural Research for Development) learning cycles were

facilitated or co-facilitated with southern partners (see Part 2). Whereas exposure

to the North is still seen as an effective way to stimulate interaction between

southern and northern researchers and development professionals and to

promote ‘out of the box’ thinking (like in the Senior Manager’s Exchange and

Study Tour, see below), the emphasis has irrevocably shifted towards learning in

action in the South. ICRA’s work in the South is also gradually evolving and more

explicitly intends to contribute directly to rural and agricultural innovation and to

the empowerment of rural populations.

As a European instrument, ICRA aims to provide leadership in developing an informed and coordinated European approach to ARD capacity building; an

approach that gives more weight to the strengthening of innovation systems

and organisational capacity in the South, rather than the current emphasis on

individual degree training.

ICRA’s capacity strengthening programme impacts upon the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs), in particular MDGs 1 (eradicate extreme poverty),

3 (gender equality), 7 (environmental sustainability) and 8 (global partnership for

development). ICRA contributes directly to MDG 8 by promoting collaborative

learning and action at local, national and regional levels.

Major achievements in 2009, presented along the lines of the six generic

outcomes of ICRA’s partnership programmes (see Part 2), were:

1) Development of a shared vision on rural innovation and agreement on the

contours of an enabling environment, with key actors at national and regional

level:

� PNISA (Plateforme Nationale pour l’Innovation dans le Secteur Agricole),

a national level innovation platform in Benin, which has been supported

4

1 HIGHLIGHTS AND LESSONS LEARNED

by ICRA from its inception in 2005, is proceeding towards a formal

status. PNISA has gained recognition in Benin as a significant alliance of

stakeholders from private and public spheres that coordinates ARD capacity

building and promotes its use in Benin. ICRA alumni play an important role

in the coordination and evolution of PNISA.

� In Kenya, ICRA supported and co-facilitated a series of meetings

to transform the informal task force on ARD into a more formal and

permanent arrangement. The initiative, led by eight national level member

organisations, is tentatively labelled as the Platform for Integrated

Agricultural Research for Development (P-IAR4D).

� A programme coordination team was established in Uganda, under the

leadership of the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO),

to revitalise the ARD partnership. The team, which now also includes a

representative of the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS),

received support from ICRA to review and document changes within zonal

agricultural research and development institutes (ZARDIs), resulting from

previous ARD capacity strengthening, as well as to finalise a national plan

to mainstream ARD into partner organisations.

� Members of the National Capacity Strengthening Teams (NCST) of Benin,

Burkina Faso and Mali, who participated in ICRA’s Francophone ARD

learning programmes in 2006–2007 and 2008, frequently represent and

advise the members of the national steering committees of the ‘From

Thousands to Millions’ (1000s+) project, coordinated by the International

Center for Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development (IFDC). This project

aims to improve the livelihoods of 1 million smallholder farmers in West

Africa (see below, “Tailor-made capacity strengthening programmes in

action in West Africa”). The steering committees play an important role in

identifying and selecting business ideas for rural and agricultural innovation

and provide a concrete example of a vibrant multi-stakeholder innovation

platform at national level.

� ICRA finalized, with participation from the Royal Tropical Institute of

Amsterdam (The Netherlands), a ‘White Paper’ on Integrated Agricultural

Research for Development (IAR4D), commissioned by the Forum for

Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA). FARA will use the document as

a state-of-the-art paper, and to stimulate discussion between African

researchers and research organisations on the role of research in

1

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agricultural and rural innovation. The final paper, which has gone through

a series of peer reviews, will be published before the end of 2009.

� The National Research Foundation in South Africa has offered to house the

(new) National ARD Task Team (NARDTT), probably within the realms of its

new Directorate for Applied Research and Innovation. The NARDTT was

established under the ‘Institutionalizing ARD in South African Agricultural

R&D & Tertiary Education System’ project, which is coming to an end in

2010. The new NARDTT will re-focus on knowledge sharing and policy

advocacy for ARD, and is tentatively labelled as the Collective Innovation

Network for Southern Africa (CINSA).

2) Strengthening of capacities of (teams) of ARD learning facilitators:

� ICRA organised three subregional meetings, in Benin, Cuba and South

Africa, conducted in French, Spanish and English, respectively, to further

develop the contents of its new professional capacity strengthening

course, known as Design and Management of Innovation-oriented

Learning Programmes (DM-IoL, see below). The subregional meetings were

Participants of the sub-regional workshop for ARD learning facilitators in Pretoria, South Africa, April 2009

11

6

successful in bringing together 45 ICRA alumni and (potential) partners for

ARD and innovation-oriented learning programmes, and in defining a range

of learning needs.

� Thereafter, ICRA successfully organised its new course (DM-IoL) for

19 Anglophone participants in Wageningen (The Netherlands, 7–25

September), and for 17 Francophone participants in Montpellier (France,

21 September–9 October). The programme was developed specifically for

facilitators to enhance their skills in the design and delivery of on the job

action-research and interactive learning programmes. The majority of the

participants had already been exposed to ICRA’s regular – introductory

– ARD learning programme. All participants will take up new and greater

responsibilities in facilitating learning in complex, dynamic and often highly

competitive multi-stakeholder environments (e.g. 11 participants were

sponsored by IFDC/ 1000s+ and will be deployed as agribusiness coaches

in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Togo). Detailed action plans

and follow-up coaching activities were initiated during the course and

further developed and fine-tuned immediately after (see also the Chapter

on “Designing and managing innovation-oriented learning programmes”

in Part 1).

� IFDC/ 1000s+ implemented, in collaboration with ICRA staff, a Training-of-

Trainers in Sogakope (Ghana, 17– 28 August) for 35 participants from seven

West African countries on the CASE (Competitive Agricultural Systems and

Enterprises) approach. The participants, all staff of producer organisations

and local and national level training organisations and NGOs, will add to

the critical mass of CASE trainers available (and needed) in the mandate

countries of the 1000s+ project, coordinated by IFDC.

3) Designing and/or delivering of tailored in-country ARD learning programmes

together with national (teams of) facilitators:

� NCST members in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mali have been

involved in IFDC’s 1000s+ project training programme for business support

service providers involved in agribusiness cluster formation and value

chain development. The training programme was based on capacity

strengthening needs assessment workshops held in all the four countries

(in 2009 in Burkina Faso and 2008 in the other countries). The learning

facilitators received substantial coaching from ICRA staff throughout 2009.

1 HIGHLIGHTS AND LESSONS LEARNED IN 2008

7

� ICRA facilitated, within the framework of IFDC/ 1000s+, training for about

30 members of national level producer organisations from seven West

African countries. The training was provided upon request from the West

African network of producer organisations (ROPPA), and financed by

the Dutch agri-agency Agriterra. The programme was held in February,

in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The programme highlighted the CASE

approach, and was targeted specifically to the needs of the CNIEPs

(Conseiller National aux Initiatives Economiques Paysannes). These CNIEPs

work in tandem with the cluster advisors of IFDC/ 1000s+, with a specific

responsibility to contribute to farmer empowerment and professionalisation,

and strengthening of farmer–market linkages.

� ICRA facilitated a tailor-made programme for IAR4D facilitators in Nigeria,

involving 25–30 participants. The participants were all facilitators of sub-

national level innovation platforms (Maize–Legume, Rice, Vegetables,

and Livestock), initiated by the Sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Programme

(SSA-CP), and coordinated by FARA. In this Niger/ Nigeria pilot learning

site, ICRA is partnered with IFDC and the International Livestock Research

Institute (ILRI). Two workshops were organised to strengthen the capacities

of researchers and other facilitators in each innovation platform to

implement action research to improve productivity and build competitive

agro-food supply chains jointly with key stakeholders (i.e. smallholder

farmers, traders, processors).

� The South African Agricultural Research Council (ARC) trained over 20 ARD

facilitators through its in-service ARD learning programme, developed with

ICRA. The participants were mainly staff located within the ARC itself, the

University of Limpopo, the Provincial Department of Agriculture (PDA) of

Limpopo and Venda University.

� ICRA co-facilitated two workshops in Uganda to initiate an ARD learning

cycle with teams from innovation platforms established under the SSA-CP of

FARA, and a team of local stakeholders involved in livestock production and

marketing in Kiruhara District.

� ICRA co-facilitated a six-week capacity strengthening programme in

Havana, Cuba, as a follow-up to an earlier programme in Venezuela in

2008, and upon request from the Programa para fortalecer la Innovación

Agropecuaria Local (PIAL). Twenty-one Cuban professionals, all supported

by PIAL and involved in ARD learning at the community level, participated.

8


4) Coaching and mentoring of (teams) of ARD practitioners involved in rural and

agricultural innovation:

� NCST members from Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mali have integrated

(elements of) ARD principles into their organisations, strengthening

organisational capacities to interact with grassroots actors, both within

and beyond the realm of the 1000s+ project, and to provide more tailored

services (e.g., microfinance for agricultural production). NCST members also

facilitated, within the framework of 1000s+, a series of planning workshops

at local levels to develop agribusiness cluster formation action plans. They

also directly contributed to cluster formation and value chain development

through facilitation of action research (on technology issues, but also

on institutional arrangements, i.e. to strengthen coordination in clusters

and along specific value chains), and through networking and brokering

services. IFDC/ 1000s+ is supporting over 200 agribusiness clusters in West

Africa, involving a wide range of commodities.

� ICRA provided, in collaboration with Wageningen International (WI),

support to the ‘Realizing the Agricultural Potential of inland valleys’ (RAP)

project, initiated and coordinated by the AfricaRice Center (AfricaRice).

ICRA co-facilitated the launching workshops in Cotonou (Benin) and

Sikasso (Mali), in March 2009, and coordinated the establishment of local-

level multi-stakeholder platforms in Mali that are responsible for design

and implementation of research activities jointly with researchers on three

themes: ‘agronomy/ productivity’, ‘resource management’ and ‘value chain

development’. ICRA and WI staff provided on-the-job training and coaching

to the four ICRA alumni and NCST members, who were contracted to kick-

start the action research and interactive learning organised through the

multi-stakeholder platforms in the two countries.

� ARD field studies, and action-research programmes, implemented by

several institutes affiliated to the NARDTT, established in South Africa, and

in particular in the Limpopo province, have been integrated in community

outreach programmes. In collaboration with the Limpopo provincial hub of

organisations and individuals engaged in ARD, PROLINNOVA (Promoting

Local INNOVAtion) has been instrumental in following-up on several of

these field studies.

� PIAL is supporting a series of local innovation platforms (CLIAs) that bring

grassroots research, higher education and development organisations

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together. Over 40 professionals participated in ICRA’s ARD training

programmes in Venezuela (2008) and Cuba (2009). Follow-up is provided

by ICRA. At the end of 2009, a workshop was facilitated by ICRA in

Havana, Cuba, to reflect on the lessons learned and to design follow-up

strategies.

� ICRA and IFDC/ 1000s+ staff jointly facilitated a reflection workshop

for the CATALIST project, a large regional development programme

coordinated by IFDC and active in Rwanda, Burundi, Dem. Rep. of Congo,

and Uganda. The backstopping centred on the strategic orientation

of CATALIST’s market development division, and more specifically, on

the capacities needed for, and on the approach itself, to boost the

development of grassroots-based (and owned) agribusiness clusters.

5) Introducing ARD learning in academic programmes, and linking education

to Research and Development (R&D) (see box):

� ICRA supported the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR)

at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST),

Ghana, in agreeing on a roadmap for the institutional set-up to coordinate

and execute the second phase of a project to mainstream an Integrated

Natural Resource Management (INRM) approach. The project, implemented

through a partnership agreement between CANR/ KNUST and a Dutch

consortium led by Tropenbos International (TBI), experienced quite some

delay in 2009. Institutionalising INRM is a complex challenge, and hinges,

among other things, on the buy-in from higher management levels, a culture

of commitment to trans- and inter-disciplinary research, and the effective

engagement of rural stakeholders. ICRA facilitated several reflection

sessions, involving university staff at all levels and several representatives of

rural stakeholder organisations, which have led to the joint formulation of,

and agreement on, a work plan for 2010.

� With the support of ICRA staff, ICRA alumni from the University of

Development Studies (UDS, Ghana) and the Methodist University College of

Ghana (MUCG) are embarking on a process to incorporate elements of ARD

learning and of value chain development and agribusiness cluster formation

into their curricula.

� ICRA has been involved in the formulation and implementation of a

pilot for AGRINOVIA, a programme on rural innovation and partnerships

10


Introducing ARD learning in academic programmes

Through a number of activities and projects, ICRA is helping to introduce ARD

learning in academic programmes, and link education to R&D. One example is

the EDULINK supported project on “Strengthening University Capacity for Rural

Innovation Processes”, under the leadership of Makerere University in Uganda. The

purpose of this project is to strengthen the capacity of five universities in Kenya and

Uganda to participate in decentralised national agricultural research systems (NARS),

and to prepare professionals with the competencies needed to promote agricultural

and rural innovation processes.

In 2009, ICRA supported ‘learning cycles’ in both Uganda and Kenya. In Kenya,

the ‘university based learning learning cycle’ is aimed at creating a core group

of practitioners in each of the four partner universities. In Uganda, the ‘multi-

stakeholder learning cycle’ helped strengthen the establishment of the innovation

platforms created by the FARA SSA-CP, as well as identify areas where the teaching

programmes of Makerere University can better prepare future professionals to

facilitate and manage such innovation plaforms.

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intended for both students and development practitioners, led by the

University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. AGRINOVIA wants to evolve

into an international MSc programme. The pilot programme combined

classroom training and field work and tried in particular to bring the

divergent competencies and ideas of students and development

practitioners together. Several organisations have worked together on

this initiative, including IFAD, and universities in Belgium, France, Italy

and Switzerland. The pilot programme was formulated at a workshop in

May and implemented in October–December 2009. ICRA’s contribution

specifically focused on partnership development.

� In South Africa, the universities of Venda, Limpopo and Fort Hare have

successfully integrated elements of ARD learning in existing curricula, with

assistance from ICRA staff. The In House Committees (IHC), established

by NARDTT to guide organisational change from within the universities,

are making use of a curriculum auditing process developed with the

ARC, to assess and improve ARD integration in university curricula. ICRA

staff are backstopping the universities with the design and delivery of

ARD learning programmes that inspire students and equip them with the

knowledge, skills and the capacity to effectively engage with rural actors

and other stakeholders in processes of change.

� Within the framework of the European Union – African, Caribbean

and Pacific (EU–ACP) EDULINK, ICRA co-facilitated the Strengthening

of University CApacity for Promoting, facilitating and teaching Rural

Innovations processes (SUCAPRI) project, two workshops as part of the

university-based learning cycle intended to form core IAR4D teaching,

and research groups at four Kenyan Universities. Twenty-one teaching staff

from Egerton University, Kenyatta University, Jomo Kenyatta University of

Agriculture and Technology, and the University of Nairobi, participated.

6) Promoting exchange of experience and learning from others at national and

international levels.

� In collaboration with ICRA and with funding from the Netherlands

Organisation for International Cooperation in Higher Education (NUFFIC),

the NARDTT in South Africa organised a regional symposium to present

and discuss the results and lessons learned of more than 10 years

of collaborative activity in support of ARD. The symposium entitled

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“Enabling collective innovation in agrarian research and development

– lessons learned from the last decade” was held in the Agricultural

Research Council Convention Centre, from 27 to 30 October. Several

examples of co-innovation through joint learning and action in South

Africa were showcased. The ARD resource book, developed with

significant support from ICRA, was formally launched at this symposium

as well.

� ILAPIR (Iniciativa Latino Americana de Procesos de Innovación Rural),

the Latin American ARD, initiative, published its first newsletter in

November 2009. ILAPIR, established by ICRA staff and alumni in 2004,

is demonstrating leadership in exchanging experiences and lessons

learned with regards to ARD. ILAPIR has been invited to workshops and

seminars in Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela to share information, identify

opportunities for, and kick-start ARD learning cycles. In Cuba ILAPIR has

also been instrumental in informing policy-makers and senior managers

in higher education on ARD mainstreaming through GUCID (Gestión

Universitaria del Conocimiento y la Innovación para el Desarollo), a

nationwide programme that aims to strengthen the capacities of the new

Municipal University Centres to support local innovation.

� ICRA and the Institut des Sciences de l’Environnement (ISE) facilitated a

workshop to share experiences and finalise the documentation on two

ARD learning cycles, one in the Matam Region and one on the Thiès

Plateau in Senegal.

� Having participated in the formulation of the Action Fiche for EC-support

to the Platform for African-European Partnership on Agricultural Research

for Development-Phase II (PAEPARD II) in 2008, ICRA played an active

role in the formulation of the proposal for this intercontinental multi-

stakeholder action this year, and joined the implementing consortium

led by FARA. In this process, ICRA extensively shared its experience of

multi-stakeholder capacity strengthening with European and African

partners, and particularly with FARA and the Regional Universities Forum

for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), with which ICRA is co-

leading the Work Package on capacity building.

� The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) invited ICRA

to its headquarters in Bern to capitalise on the experience that ICRA had

accumulated over 27 years of Swiss core funding and to present ICRA’s

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Senior managers’ exchange tour in the Netherlands

In 2009, ICRA organised, for the first time in its existence, an exchange tour

specifically designed for senior managers of research and higher education

institutions. The participants arrived in the Netherlands in June, and followed

an intensive programme of interactive workshops, seminars and field visits.

The major aim of the programme was to jointly explore leadership issues and

organisational change strategies to achieve joint learning and interaction

amongst and between researchers, to improve knowledge management, and

to strengthen dialogue with and relevance of research for rural stakeholders.

Through this programme and its follow-up in 2010 and beyond, ICRA hopes

to stimulate leadership and manager’s buy-in to support alternative multi-

stakeholder approaches to rural development.

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views on ‘the challenges that international development is facing in its

work on innovation systems and rural advisory services in the current

context’. This exchange and reflection session was attended by 15 SDC

staff from various regional development desks and identified potential

opportunities for collaboration with the West Africa desk and regional

offices.

� Having identified ICRA as a non-CGIAR (Consulative Group on

International Agricultural Research) organisation that could offer an

interesting case for more harmonised European donor support, the

European Initiative for Agricultural Research for Development (EIARD)

invited ICRA to present its work on innovation systems and ways in

which this contributes to EIARD’s policy objectives at their European

Consultative Group meeting.

� The African Network for Agriculture, Agroforestry and Natural Resources

Education (ANAFE) invited ICRA to share its work and experience at

the Regional West and Central African workshop for leaders of ANAFE

member institutions and partners on ‘Enhancing the involvement of

tertiary agricultural education institutions into CAADP: strategising

through ANAFE’.

ICRA reformulated its vision (see Part 2) and ambitions for the future as a

response to the independent External Programme and Management Review

(EPMR), which was held in 2008. The resulting document, entitled “Realising

ICRA’s full potential in building innovation systems: ICRA’s vision for the future”,

developed through extensive consultation with the Board, management,

staff, donors and partners in Europe and the South, is available from the ICRA

Secretariat. For a summary of the arguments involved, and the major lines of

action, see the box below.

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Realising ICRA’s full potential in building innovation systems The ‘new’ vision for ICRA (see Part 2) follows from an in-depth external review of ICRA carried out in 2008. The

review recognised ICRA’s impressive achievements and value, but at the same time called for urgent changes

to enable it to take advantage of its evolving context and to fulfil its full potential to strengthen pro-poor

innovation capacity in the South. The vision will serve as the main strategic guideline for ICRA’s Board of Trustees

and management. It also presents ICRA’s view of the way ahead to its many European and southern partners in

research and development, education, policy-making, the private sector, farmer organisations, non-governmental

organisations (NGOs), and funding agencies, as well as ICRA’s alumni.

ICRA’s view of the way ahead, though inspired by recent trends and evolutions that have put innovation systems

approaches in the rural areas at the top of the development agenda, has not dramatically changed: the need for

effective ARD is as great as ever. However, there seems to be much more consensus on and urgency for a reversal

in thinking about innovation systems at global, national and local levels, involving both European and southern

organisations.

The 2008 ‘food price crises’ abruptly ended a period of neglect of the agricultural sector’s primary role in ensuring

food security, reducing poverty and environmental degradation, and generating a surplus to fuel overall economic

growth. Even if the crisis seems to have faded away and recently been overshadowed by the credit crunch, the

consensus view is that food availability will tighten in the near to mid-term under the combined effects of increased

demand for high-energy and protein foods, fossil fuel uncertainties, climate shocks, diversion of land and water to

bio-fuels and deteriorating natural resource quality and availability. It is clear that the goals of poverty alleviation,

food security, social stability, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and sustainable agro-ecologies cannot be

reached unless the speed and effectiveness of rural and agricultural innovation are hugely increased.

This calls for new ways of generating and exchanging knowledge, bringing users and producers of knowledge

together as ‘co-innovators’, and for a renewed commitment to a more integrated and effective ARD.

In Africa, continental policy guidelines, such as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development’s (NEPAD)

Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) and the corresponding Framework for Africa

Agricultural Productivity (FAAP), in which FARA plays a leading role, explicitly call for making a paradigm shift away

from a technology package approach to a truly integrated agricultural research for development approach. The

idea being to ensure that researchers (national and international) work together with smallholders, pastoralists,

extension agencies, the private sector, government and NGOs to have impact on the ground. These policy

guidelines also recognise the need to strengthen corresponding capacities in people and organisations in Africa.

At European Union (EU) level, the modes of collaboration with the South are changing in line with the principles

of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness – ownership, alignment and harmonisation – and with the EU Code

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of Conduct on Division of Labour in Development Policy. Important aspects of this changing context include the

future of European support to agricultural research in general and to ARD capacity development in particular.

At policy level, the new EIARD strategy acknowledges that the impact of agricultural research on development is

limited by the weakness of research institutes in many countries; the shortage of researchers, in particular in most

of sub-Saharan Africa; insufficient liaison between agricultural research and broader rural development efforts: the

lack of involvement of the users of research results in the definition, implementation and monitoring of research;

and fragmentation and duplication of effort that results from a lack of coordination between the ARD investments

of European member states and the European Commission (EC). The EIARD strategy explicitly recognises capacity

development, innovation systems approaches and stronger European collaboration as priorities for responding to

the current challenges in the South. Consequently, it mentions ICRA as a potential collaborative instrument that

could be supported by European member states and the EC.

In 2009, ICRA started a series of initiatives to strengthen its position, both within the European landscape – as

a centre of excellence in the area of rural and agricultural innovation and, in particular, the strengthening of

individual, organisational and institutional capacities to foster pro-poor innovation – and in the South, through its

ARD partnerships and ICRA alumni network. These initiatives comprise:

1. The re-structuring of ICRA – as an employing organisation – to strengthen its ability to attract new staff, in

particular from and in the South. ICRA is also broadening the composition of its Board of Trustees in order

to benefit from double guidance from both Europe and the South.

2. A re-positioning of ICRA in Europe, as a unique institute to source European ARD expertise and to promote

cross pollination between the different ARD traditions of European donor countries, and between higher

education and R&D institutes involved in rural and agricultural innovation.

3. The expansion of ICRA’s position and network in the South, through investment in its alumni network

of effective change agents. ICRA will also, in close collaboration with its southern partners, invest in its

capacity to design and deliver tailor-made in-country capacity strengthening courses and programmes that

address the individual, organisational and institutional dimensions of ARD more effectively.

4. A stronger emphasis on documenting lessons learned. ICRA has, for instance, started to intensify its efforts

to collaborate with European and southern institutes to jointly tender for action research projects, to

deepen understanding of ARD and facilitate capacity building for pro-poor rural innovation systems.

5. The development of a communication strategy to improve ICRA’s visibility. While this has not been given

much attention in the past years, international visibility for ICRA, and in particular of its ARD partnerships

and grassroots activity, needs to be raised to inspire alumni and partner organisations in Europe and the

South, and to attract donors to consolidate successes and to achieve the goal of sustained growth of

ARD.

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Capacity strengthening programmes in West Africa

In 2006, ICRA started supporting IFDC’s ‘From Thousands to Millions’ (1000s+)

project, funded by the Netherlands, which aims at up-scaling agribusiness cluster

formation and value chain development in seven West African countries (Benin,

Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Togo). The project mobilises business

ideas proposed by rural actors at the grassroots (farmers, small and medium

enterprises) and provides small grants for them to access business support

services (BSS) including, for instance, strengthening of producer groups, collective

marketing, and financial intermediation.

ICRA’s support specifically aims at strengthening the capacities of a core team of

learning facilitators (the National Capacity Strengthening Team, NCST), composed

of members from various organisations. Since 2006 the NCSTs of Benin, Burkina

Faso, Ghana, and Mali have participated in ICRA’s Francophone and Anglophone

capacity strengthening programmes for ARD. The agribusiness environment

of 1000s+ was explicitly incorporated into ICRA’s ARD learning programme, as

exemplified, for instance, by the choice of the European case studies (agribusiness,

industry, clusters), and the inclusion of a specific module on value chain analysis

and development. Obviously, grassroots agribusiness development re-appeared in

the field work carried out in the home countries as well.

As part of the ICRA programme, the NCSTs gained substantial experience in

facilitating inter-organisational collaboration in competitive playing fields. The

teams were also involved in the development of strategic partnerships to establish

agribusiness clusters and value chain linkages on commodities like rice (Benin),

sesame (Burkina Faso), pepper and meat from small ruminants (Ghana), and tiger

nut (Mali).

Upon completion of the field assignments the NCST members were sub-

contracted by IFDC/ 1000s+ to assist the national steering committees with

the appraisal and selection of business ideas. NCST members have also been

instrumental in facilitating workshops to transform the business ideas into

consistent action plans for agri-business cluster formation and value chain

development.

With backstopping from ICRA, all of the NCSTs organised national-level

workshops to identify capacity strengthening needs of the business support

services (BSS) and producer organisations (POs) involved in 1000s+. Specific

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attention was given to the strengthening the capacities of BSS to perform as

‘catalysts’ for agribusiness cluster formation and in fostering competitive strategies

involving multiple stakeholders. These workshops have led to the development

of action plans for capacity strengthening of the BSS. In the case of Benin and

Mali, selected members of the NCSTs have already been actively involved in the

implementation of these capacity strengthening plans.

With a view to further developing the capacities of targeted NCST members to

provide coaching and mentoring services to BSS (as agribusiness coaches) and to

leverage the work of IFDC’s cluster advisors, IFDC and ICRA invited them to ICRA’s

new professional capacity building programme, the DM-IoL, in Wageningen and

Montpellier (see next section). Members of the NCSTs of Benin (3), Burkina Faso (3),

Ghana (2) and Mali (3) attended this three week programme. Two participants from

Niger and Togo participated as well.

The participation of these ‘agribusiness coaches’ in the DM-IoL tied perfectly

with a new proposal for ICRA’s support to IFDC/1000s+, as formulated after an internal mid-term review, in which the following four lines of action were proposed:

1) Support a Training of Trainers programme run by IFDC to increase capacity

for introducing and presenting CASE (‘Competitive Agricultural Systems and

Enterprise’, a grassroots approach to agribusiness development, developed

by IFDC) to a wide audience in West Africa, and to facilitate action-planning

workshops at sub-national levels.

2) Support the establishment and strengthening of agribusiness development

coaches (NCST members and other capable individuals) able to provide

mentoring/coaching to BSSs involved in 1000s+.

3) Provide follow-up backstopping to NCST members – in particular oriented

towards organisational strengthening (i.e. of their own organisations).

4) Support the establishment and functioning of national-level steering

committees in all target countries (i.e. including Niger, Nigeria and Togo).

The proposal specifically addresses the challenges of strengthening the role of

NCST members and their organisations so that they can support the development

of (grassroots) agribusiness within the framework of the1000s+ project, and

building up the critical mass of CASE trainers/ facilitators needed. The proposal

also enables ICRA to provide support to IFDC, until the end of the first phase of the

1000s+ project.

The NCST members are currently re-designing and/or implementing capacity

strengthening programmes for targeted BSSs. In consultation with IFDC, ICRA

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will provide on-the-job training and coaching to the NCSTs for the effective

implementation of these programmes. The capacity building programme is

designed as a series of learning cycles (see Figure 1). As clusters are at different

levels of development, BSSs may move at a different pace.

In Ghana, the programme focuses on the following modules: ‘chain assessment’

(i.e. the mapping of the actors in commodity chains, market and channel analysis

and appraisal of the business environment), ‘building engagement’ (i.e. identifying

‘champions’, strengthening linkages and building trust among chain actors,

developing joint business plans), ‘chain development’ (i.e. process, product, and

chain up-grading), ‘chain monitoring’ (e.g. transaction costs, profitability, and

income stability) and ‘chain learning’ (i.e. learning from the current situation, from

consumers and consumer/ market trends, and from competitors).

In Burkina Faso and Mali, the programme mainly focuses on market and value

chain analysis and then deals with the development of partnerships among

cluster actors, of strategies to access markets and specific market segments. The

programme also includes support to the development of multi-stakeholder action

plans. The NCST members will provide coaching and on-the-job support to BSS.

Figure 1. Example of a sequence of learning cycles designed to support local facilitators involved in the training of business support services

Reflection

Field task Field task

Field reviewField review

ReflectionPreparationPreparation

Workshop (Chain

Mapping)

Workshop (Building

Engagement)

Agribusiness Development – Business Clusters, Value Chains –

BSS

ICRA

National Capacity Strengthening Team (NCST)

Initiative led by ICRA Initiative led by NCST members

led by BSS Joint responsibility NCST members and BSS

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They will be involved in the organisation and facilitation of ‘reflection’ workshops,

bringing together various field experiences to analyse specific field cases, draw

lessons for the future and work out basic process principles and steps to efficiently

catalyse agribusiness cluster development. The NCST members in Burkina Faso

also provide guidance to the (sub-)contracting process.

In Benin and Mali, the capacity strengthening process began with the

implementation of a series of workshops focusing on value chain analysis; these

workshops, designed with backstopping from ICRA, were facilitated by NCST

members in three areas in each country. The next stage will focus on hands-on

coaching of BSS. ‘Reflection–analysis–capitalisation’ workshops have also been

planned, to share experiences between the BSSs involved in facilitating action

research and interactive learning for grassroots agribusiness development.

NCSTs have not been established in Niger or Togo. The participants of the DM-

IoL course will however be assisted to link up with other relevant individuals (and

organisations) to make a start with a NCST. On-the-job training and coaching will be provided to strengthen their capacities as agribusiness development coaches, with particular attention for inter-organisational collaboration and the development of strategic partnerships in agribusiness clusters and along targeted commodity value chains.

Design and management of innovation-oriented learning programmes

ICRA is creating substantial space to practice facilitation of ARD learning. ICRA’s

current Anglophone and Francophone capacity building programmes provide

hands-on knowledge, skills and confidence in ARD, but experience has shown

that additional knowledge and skills are needed for alumni to effectively facilitate

ARD, as well as more general, innovation-oriented learning in multi-stakeholder

settings.

In 2009, ICRA therefore developed a new programme to strengthen the

capacity of the current partnership core teams to design, organise and facilitate

innovation-oriented learning activities in their countries. This programme took

place in three stages:

1) In the first half of 2009, ICRA organised sub-regional workshops with

mainly ICRA alumni in each of its main language areas (Anglophone and

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Francophone Africa, Hispanophone Latin America). These workshops

enabled ICRA to reflect on and capture the partners’ experience with

facilitation of ARD learning, and to identify the competencies needed

to plan, design and manage on-the-job, innovation-oriented learning

programmes.

2) In May, ICRA staff and an invited colleague from one of our partner

organisations reflected on the sub-regional workshop outputs and used

the lessons learned as inputs to plan and design the new capacity building

programme.

3) In September and October, ICRA staff facilitated a three-week capacity

building programme for ARD learning facilitators in Wageningen

(Anglophone) and Montpellier (Francophone) – the previously mentioned

DM-IoL. The programme involved the following stages:

� In the first week, participants analysed the development context

in which their local innovation-oriented learning programmes are

embedded, analysed the need for individual, organisational, and inter-

institutional (system-wide) changes, and identified desired outputs,

outcomes and impacts in the short and longer term.

� In the second week, participants designed experiential, innovation-

oriented learning programmes that integrated knowledge acquisition

Workshop of the Design and Management of Innovation-oriented Learning Programme, Wageningen, September 2009

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with practice of skills and development of attitudes. The Anglophone

programme focussed specifically on developing guidelines to prepare

and design learning frameworks for specific learning activities. The

Francophone programme put more emphasis on the development

of learning objectives, the identification of structure, sequence and

learning steps, formulation of learning activities and selection of

learning materials and tools.

� In the third week, participants on the Anglophone programme practiced

facilitation skills with their colleagues as ‘guinea pigs’ and reviewers

of their performance. They also shared and analysed experiences

on organisational, logistical and planning issues (including budgets)

of innovation-oriented learning programmes. The Francophone

programme focussed on three simulation exercises: the first relating

to the position and role of the facilitators and types of facilitation, the

second specifically to the facilitation of decision-making, and the third

to a multi-stakeholder process and conflict management in natural

resources management. Both programmes ended with participants

initiating an action plan to implement their local learning programmes

back in-country.

The experience of this three-stage process has helped ICRA clarify what it

believes are the key competencies needed to facilitate multi-stakeholder learning

(Figure 2). These include the ability to:

1) Analyse the needs for individual, organisational, and inter-institutional

(system-wide) change

2) Link learning to the development context (embedding within projects,

programmes, etc.)

3) Integrate knowledge acquisition with practice of skills and development of

attitudes

4) Design learning processes and activities for groups of mixed backgrounds,

abilities

5) Support individual and group learning, through processes of reflection

During 2010, ICRA will continue to support the participants as they continue to

practise these competencies and implement their innovation-oriented learning

programmes with local stakeholders. These collaborative experiences will in turn

enable the Centre to continue to develop and improve its own ability to develop

the capacity of its partner organisations to facilitate innovation-oriented learning.

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PIAL: linking learning to rural development in Cuba

ICRA has played an important facilitating role in bringing key actors in Cuba

together in a national stakeholder platform. Through this platform the Instituto

Nacional de Ciencias Agrícolas (INCA), Instituto de Investigaciones Jorge Dimitrov

and the universities of Granma, Las Villas and Pinar del Rio facilitate collective rural

innovation processes. The partners in this platform (in Spanish called Programa

para Fortalecer la Innovación Agropecuaria Local – PIAL) coordinate their activities

to strengthen innovation capacity and learn from each other. The main donors to

PIAL are the SDC, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and

several international NGOs.

Using experience gained from an in-service learning programme in rural

innovation that partners in Cuba and Venezuela facilitated, with technical support

from ICRA, in 2008 in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, PIAL (in conjunction with ICRA)

designed and is implementing its own experiential learning programme in Cuba

to create an enabling environment for collective innovation at grassroots level.

Figure 2. Competencies required for facilitating learning in rural innovation (ARD)

Link learning to knowledge, skills,

attitudes

Design learning process

Competencies to promote ARD

learning

Support learning process

Analyse needs for (more) learning

Link learning to context

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The programme targeted 20 professionals from organisations participating in

local innovation processes promoted by PIAL to enhance their teamwork and

leadership skills to facilitate multi-stakeholder partnerships.

The initial residential phase of six weeks of the learning programme in May

and June 2009 linked the learning process to four local innovation processes,

using these real cases in all the learning modules of the programme and in the

embedded field work, and finished with the development of action plans for four

local CLIAs – local innovation platforms promoted by PIAL. Now, in the follow-up

phase of this learning programme, PIAL has launched a small competitive grants

scheme to support the action plans in the CLIAs.

The experiences in Cuba proved to be a rich source of experience and learning

for ICRA and the main lesson learned is the importance of embedding learning

in the real life context of the participants, providing them with the opportunity

to integrate knowledge acquisition with practice of skills and development of

attitudes that strengthen innovation capacity and enable continuous learning

from each other. As a result, the CLIAs have become the nucleus for local rural

development and innovation in Cuba. PIAL is aiming for a second follow-up

programme (2010–2014) to embed these local activities in an institutional change

process at national level aimed at changing the attitude towards rural innovation

at policy level.

Managers matter: the senior managers’ exchange tourTowards the end of 2008, ICRA invited a group of senior managers from its

partner organisations to the Netherlands to exchange on the role of agricultural

research and higher educational organisations in stimulating innovation. The

first senior managers’ exchange tour took place in June 2009 in Wageningen,

the Netherlands. The participants were selected because of the pivotal role

they play in agricultural research and education, in particular by providing

leadership in shaping the organisational ‘culture’ and through coaching and

mentoring of their staff. All 15 participants came from organisations involved in

nationwide partnerships on rural innovation. Several of their staff members had

received training from ICRA. Some of these ICRA alumni were invited as well to

comment on their experience in promoting ARD from within the organisation.

Representatives of producer organisations also participated. The participants

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came from the five countries in sub-Saharan Africa where ICRA is most active, i.e.

Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda.

The objective of the exchange tour was twofold. First, to bring a senior

manager’s perspective from the South to a debate previously dominated by

northern researchers on the actual (and potential) role of agricultural research

and education in rural innovation. Second, to assess existing and alternative

avenues for capacity strengthening of rural development professionals (i.e.

individuals), ICRA’s core competency, so that it would stimulate organisational

change, improve knowledge management and achieve joint learning amongst

and between rural stakeholders. The programme was spread over four days of

intensive interaction and was organised around three major activities:

1) Meetings with ICRA staff to share experiences and lessons learned and

to discuss pathways for making agricultural research and education more

flexible and responsive to the needs of smallholder farmers and other rural

and agribusiness stakeholders.

2) Presentations and a field trip to the ‘Flevopolder’ to come to grips with

the way the research agenda (generic and applied, private and public) in

Research, education and farmer organisation leaders share experiences of rural innovation in The Netherlands

26


the Netherlands, and more specifically in the potato sector, is set jointly by

producers, consumers, the agro-food industry and policy-makers.

3) A seminar on rural innovation and organisational change with Bram

Huijsman, Director of Wageningen International, and Andre de Waal,

Associate Professor of the Maastricht School of Management (MsM) as

eminent guest speakers.

Progressively ARD became more concrete for the participants and its objective

more or less synonymous with the adage of ‘Science for Impact’. All participants

clearly expressed the need for change. They also underlined their responsibility

in promoting ‘Science for Impact’ and expressed their desire, on behalf of the

national research and educational organisations, to be in the driver’s seat of

change.

Innovation involves new knowledge or new ways of applying existing

knowledge. It is a dynamic, continuous and multi-stakeholder process. It was

acknowledged that knowledge generation and use follow curious non-linear

pathways. Moreover, knowledge is power, and mechanisms for knowledge

sharing and joint learning in the agricultural sector, and in particular in the

agribusiness industry, may need careful design and implementation. Public

agricultural research organisations sometimes lead, but mostly participate in,

knowledge generation. The participants stressed that any pathway to learn and

mainstream ARD would need to consider both individual and organisational

capacities. Eventually, such pathways should also strengthen inter-individual (i.e.

teams) and inter-organisational relationships (e.g., platforms, alliances) to foster

an enabling institutional environment (including policies) for ARD. For a long time

the emphasis has been on the capacity strengthening of individuals – researchers,

lecturers – without adequate consideration of ‘how’ these individuals could bring

about change beyond their own immediate sphere of influence.

Changes of such a magnitude require leadership to guide the necessary

organisational change processes and, for instance, to coach inter-disciplinary,

results-oriented research task forces. This point was repeatedly made by the

participants. Bottom-up individual changes are important, but complementary

investment in managerial capacity and knowledge exchange is crucial too. This

shows that managers need to understand and buy-in to ARD so that they can

develop the framework within which a new blend of researchers and educators

can emerge.

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Addressing innovation challenges: South Africa leads the wayThe South African ARC plays a crucial role in South Africa, and has a nationwide mandate to generate, co-develop and share knowledge – including the knowledge embedded in specific technologies – that helps enhance the natural resource base, sustain a competitive agricultural economy, and ensure high quality and safe food. The ARC has a particular role as a knowledge broker – ensuring an informed South African public and encouraging national growth and development.

ICRA has been developing capacity for ARD with the ARC for over ten years. With support from ICRA, more than a hundred professionals have been trained through in-country ARD learning programmes organised by the ARC. A number of action research projects have been initiated as a result of these training programmes. Now, the ARC is moving on to strengthen its technology transfer division, and to advance innovation through community outreach programmes. Interdisciplinary and inter-organisational teams build engagement among multiple stakeholders, and jointly design action research programmes to foster technology development.

In the past, field projects implemented through the ARC were carried out for various reasons, ranging from purely research purposes (on-farm trials) to testing of research outputs (during prototype stage) and training on the proper use/adoption of a technology. These activities, although well meant, were not designed jointly with the rural stakeholders they targeted, and as a result were received without much engagement. Overall, the projects had limited impact, offered little value to the communities involved, and were frustrating for the implementer/technology inventor.

A change to conducting technology transfer through community projects has been given leadership by the ARC Technology Transfer Director, following ICRA’s senior managers’ exchange and study tour to the Netherlands, which provided a real-life experience of ARD practice. The community strategy has been approved by management and the leadership of ARC. The change will generate:

� Socio-economic benefits to society (e.g. to new or poorly-resourced farming communities) through joint experimentation and learning, with a focus on stakeholder influence on identifying potentially relevant technologies (R&D output) for adoption, combined with community-based capacity building and adequate tracking of impact (social and economic).

28

1

� Income for the ARC through accessing local funds for development of

communities.

Expected outcomes of ARC’s community projects are:

� Increased engagement between the various actors, as ARC engagement

with community projects should stimulate people to engage with each

other, in testing, adopting and re-designing ARC technologies; it should

also stimulate institution building and networking building social capital

through agricultural action.

� Empowerment of agricultural actors and confidence building, through co-

innovation.

� Enhanced incomes for communities, through gains in knowledge, skills,

attitudes and (social, commercial) networks.

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Part 2

WHAT ARE ICRA AND ARD?

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Introducing ICRAThe International Centre for development oriented Research in Agriculture

(ICRA) was founded in 1981 by European members of the Consultative Group

on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), a consortium of countries, donor

agencies and other organisations committed to ending world hunger, poverty and

environmental decline.

ICRA is supported by the governments of France, the Netherlands, Switzerland

and the UK. It is governed by an international Board of Trustees. ICRA has offices

in Wageningen (the Netherlands) and Montpellier (France), but works mainly

through strategic partnerships and networks in the North and South. Permanent

regional representatives are currently based in southern Africa and Latin America,

while resources are being sought to base others in eastern and West Africa.

Since 2006, ICRA has been listed as a centre of excellence on the additional

knowledge centres list managed by NUFFIC. This list was created to provide

knowledge centres conducting professional non-degree programmes with a status

similar to regular degree awarding higher education institutes.

ICRA’s ARDSuccessful innovation requires continuous mutual adjustment of technology,

policy and institutional environments, credit support, markets, and competencies

ICRA’s vision is to be a centre of excellence that supports the building of effective pro-poor rural

and agricultural innovation systems, and that is jointly owned and governed by the agricultural

research for development stakeholder communities in Europe and the South, especially in sub-

Saharan Africa.

ICRA’s mission is to strengthen the capacities of people and organisations involved in

development, research and education, to jointly realise knowledge-based rural and agricultural

innovation in support of the Millennium Development Goals, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

ICRA’s goal is to help end poverty and hunger and to promote sustainable resource use, by

supporting balanced partnerships between stakeholders in pro-poor innovation from Europe and

the South.

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2 WHAT ARE ICRA AND ARD?

and objectives of key actors – both people and organisations. The knowledge

needed for this continuous adjustment arises from interactive learning among

R&D organisations, producers and their organisations, policy makers, financial

organisations, agro-industries, retailers and consumers, and others. This

collaboration and interactive learning is not easy, because the actors hold different

world views and have different ideas of what is desirable. In addition, once they

are agreed on common objectives, they need to dovetail their actions to improve

policies, institutions, markets and technologies, and to empower key actors. Many

approaches have been developed to facilitate this collective action, which ICRA

refers to as ARD (see box).

Although these approaches and principles have been established for some time

and applied successfully in specific cases, they have seldom been mainstreamed

to establish effective innovation systems. An important reason for this is that the

people and organisations involved are not sufficiently equipped for interactive

learning. New professional competencies and (inter-)organisational capabilities are

therefore needed.

Collective approaches to rural innovation (and organisations promoting them)�� ARD�(ICRA)

�� IAR4D�(FARA)

�� Territorial�and�Enterprise�Development�(Enabling�Rural�Development)�(CIAT)

�� Integrated�Natural�Resources�Management�(CGIAR)�

�� Sustainable�Rural�Livelihoods�(DFID)

�� Competitive�Agricultural�Systems�and�Enterprises�(IFDC)

�� Client�Oriented�Research�Management�Approach�(KIT)�

�� Innovation�systems�approach�(UNU-MERIT)

ARD means thinking and behaving differentlyTo ICRA, the most important defining aspect of ARD is the application of the four

principles (see box). ARD is not a methodology or stepwise set of guidelines that

can be followed in all circumstances. Neither is it a question of simply gaining

knowledge of the underlying concepts or even skills in suitable methods. Rather, it

requires a change in mentality: a different way of looking at the world; of thinking

and analysing; of interacting with others.

2

33


These paradigm shifts include:

� A shift from seeing knowledge generation as a final objective, to seeing it

as a means to achieve change; from research to innovation; from a focus on

technology to a focus on people

� A shift from mainly reductionist understanding of the parts to systemic

understanding of the relationships between the parts

� A shift from mainly ‘hard systems analysis’ (improving the mechanics of the

system) to inclusion of ‘soft systems analysis’ (negotiating the meaning of

the system and desirable transformations)

� A shift from seeing participation as a matter of consulting beneficiaries to

one of facilitating interactive learning between stakeholders, resulting in

joint analysis, planning, and hence collective action

� A shift from working individually to working with others, in ever-changing ad

hoc teams and partnerships

� A shift from teaching to learning; from being taught to learning how to

learn; from individual learning to social learning

� A shift in the culture of R&D organisations from an exclusive focus on

individual merit and competition to one that also favours collaboration and

teamwork, both within and between organisations

� A shift from agricultural research systems to agricultural innovation systems.

These new ways of thinking, new attitudes and new forms of collaboration

between organisations cannot be achieved by conventional knowledge transfer

or management courses. They require ‘learning by doing’ in the real world by

addressing complex development challenges with the key stakeholders and

learning from each other. They mean developing an ability to reflect collectively

Common principles of ARD:1. ARDintegratestheperspectives,knowledgeandactionsofdifferentstakeholdersarounda

commontheme

2. ARDintegratesthelearningthatstakeholdersachievethroughworkingtogether

3. ARDintegratesanalysis,actionandchangeacrossthedifferent(environmental,social,

economic)dimensionsofdevelopment

4. ARDintegratesanalysis,actionandchangeatdifferentlevelsofspatialandsocial

organisation.

34


on experience and draw lessons, and an openness to question the assumptions

that have underpinned one’s actions or career to date. They also require

uncomfortable confrontations: both with oneself and with others. Such shifts affect

the essence of the current paradigms that underpin the way in which universities

educate students and in which professional organisations are organised and

managed. Such changes require continued and long-term effort.

ICRA’s partnership strategyICRA’s strategy is to promote these paradigm shifts and collective innovation

by enhancing the capacities of key actors – both people and organisations – to

learn from each other, and exchange and integrate their knowledge.

The backbone of ICRA’s strategy is the national (and regional) level ARD

learning partnerships that help ICRA move its centre of gravity South. These

multi-actor partnerships are complex, but ideally perform six functions (shown

in Table 1). ICRA has also identified six desired outcomes from national (and

regional) partnerships (shown in Figure 3). These outcomes correspond roughly

(Ideal) Functions (Generic) Outcomes

1. Achieving agreement between key national stakeholders in rural innovation on a vision, strategies and action plans to strengthen collaboration in ARD learning

National partners develop a collective vision of rural innovation

2. Strengthening the capacity of facilitators from the R&D and education sectors, and their organisations, to design and implement ARD learning cycles

A core group of facilitators designs, implements and evaluates learning programmes for collective innovation

3. Providing tailored ARD learning programmes, through which grassroots ‘innovation teams’ of R&D professionals and other stakeholders learn to develop collective rural innovations

Rural agencies learn to collectively generate innovation through in-service professional development

4. Coaching and mentoring of grassroots ‘innovation teams’ during the innovation process

Stakeholders collaborate to promote innovation and address complex development challenges

5. Introducing rural innovation competencies into academic programmes and linking educational organisations with the R&D sectors

Academic organisations include rural innovation competences in their programmes

6. Promoting exchange of experiences and research on ARD

Partnerships exchange experiences and learn from others at national and international levels

Table 1. Functions and outcomes of ICRA’s ARD partnerships

2

35


to the six functions of an ideal ICRA partnership, while Table 1 shows the

relationship between the functions and outcomes. Monitoring and evaluation

(M&E) of ICRA’s work is based on these desired outcomes.

Partnerships may begin with just one or two of these functions and it may

take time to build them up to include all of the different elements. ICRA is

often brought in through a specific request from one partner organisation to

help solve a problem which relates to one of the functions. Its strategy is to

use these requests as entry points and, through them, to begin building more

comprehensive and effective national partnerships. For example, national

agricultural research organisations may ask ICRA to assist with local capacity

Research Processors, Producer Communities

Policy Service Universities, institutes traders, etc organisations makers providers etc

A core group of facilitators designs, implements and evaluates learning programmes for collective

innovation

Rural agencies learn to collectively generate innovation through in-

service professional development

Partnerships exchange experiences and learn from others at national

and international levels

National partners develop a collective

vision of rural innovation

Stakeholders collaborate to promote innovation and address complex

development challenges

Academic organisations include rural innovation competencies in

their programmes

Improved rural livelihoods Sustainable use of natural resources Competitive agro–product chains

Equitable development

Goal:

Figure 3. Desired outcomes of national ARD learning partnerships

36


strengthening of their research staff. ICRA will encourage them to not only

strengthen the capacity of their staff, but also, and through the same experiential

learning programme, that of all other key stakeholders in the rural innovation

process. ICRA also promotes involvement of higher education organisations in this

local capacity strengthening process.

National and regional ARD learning partnershipsICRA is currently involved to different degrees in national multi-actor

partnerships in 14 countries: eleven in sub-Saharan Africa and three in Latin

America (see Figure 4 and Table 2). It also works with partners in Europe, and

regional and international organisations. In addition to the activities in the

southern partner countries, ICRA operates Anglophone and Francophone

capacity strengthening programmes from Wageningen and Montpellier,

respectively. The ICRA website (www.icra-edu.org) offers a platform for

exchange of experiences and learning materials.

ICRA’s comparative advantagesCompared with other, more conventional, capacity-building and institutional

change organisations, ICRA takes a different approach, with several distinguishing

features:

� An emphasis on working within multi-stakeholder partnerships

� Simultaneously strengthening the capacity of major stakeholders of an

innovation system, helping them to work together better and learn from

each other � Working at different levels within stakeholder groups (policy, managerial,

operational, support); thus not only engaging with multiple stakeholder groups, but also at multiple levels within these

� Promoting institutional change alongside capacity strengthening – changing mindsets, attitudes and behaviour – of individuals and organisations to stimulate concerted action and joint learning

� Building a long-term engagement with stakeholders, rather than providing one-off services in response to demand

� Promoting the role of universities in the development of effective and sustainable innovation systems, and attempting to help narrow the gap between education, research and development.

2

37


Figure 4. ICRA’s ARD learning partnerships

Kenya

MexicoVenezuela

Cuba

Ethiopia

WageningenMontpellier

South Africa

Madagascar

Senegal

Ghana

MaliBurkina Faso

NigeriaBenin

Uganda

ICRA offices in Wageningen (Netherlands) and Montpellier (France) ICRA’s ARD learning partnerships

Table 2. ICRA’s partners

Sub-Saharan Africa

Africa Rice Center (ARC)Association for Strengthening

Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA)

Conseil Ouest et Centre Africain pour la Recherche et le Développement Agricoles (CORAF)

Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA)

Pan African Federation of Farmers’ Organisations

Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM)

BeninFédération des Unions de Producteurs

du Bénin

Institut National de Recherche Agronomique du Bénin

Ministère de l’Agriculture, de l’Elevage et de la Pêche

Organisation Béninoise pour la Promotion de l’Agriculture Biologique

Plateforme Nationale d’Innovation dans le Secteur Agricole

Université d’Abomey-Calavi

Burkina FasoAssociation des grossistes et détaillants

d’intrants agricoles Fédération des Professionnels

Agricoles du Burkina Fédération Nationale des Industries

de l’Agro-Alimentaire et de Transformation du Burkina

Réseau des Caisses Populaires du Burkina

Université de Koudougou

Université de Ouagadougou

EthiopiaAgri Service Ethiopia Amhara Regional Agricultural Research

Institute (ARARI)Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural

Research (EIAR)Haramaya University Mertule Mariam Agricultural Technical

and Vocational Education and Training College

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

GhanaApex Farmers Organization of GhanaGhana Agricultural Business

Information CenterKwame Nkrumah University of Science

and TechnologyMethodist University College Ghana

38

2

Table 2. ICRA’s partners (ctd)

Opportunities Industrialization Centers – Tamale

Savanna Agricultural Research InstituteUniversity for Development Studies

KenyaEgerton UniversityJomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture

and TechnologyKenya Agricultural Research InstituteKenya National Federation of

Agricultural ProducersKenyatta UniversityMinistry of AgricultureMinistry of Livestock and Fisheries

DevelopmentUniversity of Nairobi

MadagascarAide et ActionCentre d’Echange et de

Documentation et d’Information Interinstitutionnelles

FIANTSOProvincial Departments of Agriculture,

Education and YouthRegional Civil Society Platforms of

Fianarantsoa and TuléarUniversité d’AntananarivoUniversité de FianarantsoaUniversité de Tuléar

Mali ADAF-Gallé – CREDO Assemblée Permanente des Chambres

d’Agriculture du MaliAssociation des organisations

professionnelles de producteursAssociation Malienne d’Eveil au

Développement Durable Association pour la Promotion des

Filières AgricolesDirection Nationale de l’AgricultureFédération Nationale des

Transformateurs de produits Agro-alimentaires

Institut d’Economie RuraleInstitut Polytechnique Rurale de

KatibougouONG Solidarité à l’Autopromotion de

la BaseProjet d’Appui à la Commercialisation

des Céréales au MaliUnion Locale de Producteurs de

Céréales et de Karité

SenegalAssociates in Research and Education

for Development Environnement et Développement

Afrique- Groupe Recherche, Action, Formation

Environnement et Développement Afrique – Groupes de Recherche Action et d’Appui aux Initiatives Mutualistes

Institut des Sciences de l’Environnement de l’ Université Cheikh Anta Diop

Union pour la Solidarité et l’Entre Aide

South AfricaAgricultural Research CouncilMadzivhandela Farmer Training

InstituteNational African Farmers UnionNational Department of AgricultureNational Department of Science and

TechnologyPromoting Local Innovation

(PROLINNOVA), The NetherlandsProvincial Departments of Agriculture

of Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape

Tompi-Seleka Farmer Training InstituteUniversity of Fort HareUniversity of the Free StateUniversity of KwaZulu NatalUniversity of LimpopoUniversity of PretoriaUniversity of Venda

UgandaMakerere University National Agricultural Research

Organisation National Agricultural Advisory Services

Latin America

CubaGestión Universitaria del Conocimiento

y la Innovación para el DesarrolloInstituto de Investigaciones Jorge

DimitrovInstituto Nacional de Ciencias AgrícolasPrograma para Fortalecer la Innovación

Agropecuaria Local Universidad Central de Las VillasUniversidad de GranmaUniversidad de Pinar del Río

MexicoColegio de Postgraduados

VenezuelaFundación para el Desarrollo de la

Ciencia y Tecnología del estado LaraInstituto Nacional de Investigaciones

AgrícolasUniversidad Nacional Experimental

Simón Rodríguez

Europe & International

African Highlands Initiative, UgandaAgropolis International, FranceCentre de coopération internationale

en recherche agronomique pour le développement, France

Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT), Colombia

Department for International Development (DFID), UK

ETC International Group, The Netherlands

European Initiative for Agricultural Research for Development, Belgium

International Fertiliser Development Centre, Africa Division

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Italy

International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)

Ministère de l’Alimentation, de l’Agriculture et de la Pêche, France

Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Food Safety, The Netherlands

Ministère des Affaires Étrangères et Européennes, France

Promoting Local Innovation (PROLINNOVA), The Netherlands

Royal Institute of the Tropics (KIT), The Netherlands

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Switzerland

Tropenbos International, The Netherlands

University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Wageningen University and Research Centre

Wageningen International, The Netherlands

Welthungerhilfe, Germany

2

Part 3

ORGANISATION AND FINANCES

41


Governance and managementICRA is an autonomous, non-profit, internationally operating legal entity, registered in

the Netherlands as a foundation under Dutch law. It is governed by an international

Board of Trustees. A Director is responsible for daily management of the organisation.

ICRA’s Central Office and the Anglophone Programme are located in Wageningen,

The Netherlands, while the Francophone Programme is located in Montpellier, France.

Permanent Regional Representatives are based in Southern Africa and Latin America.

ICRA is in the process of converting from a non-employing organisation into a

centre with its own personnel. Currently, its personnel consists of employees seconded

by its donors or employed for ICRA by sister organisations, and of professional

associates on consultancy contracts. ICRA’s Anglophone and Francophone

Programmes are each headed by a Coordinator. The centre’s involvement in each of

the national or regional partnerships is managed by a small team of ICRA personnel,

Figure 5. ICRA’s organisational structure

Francophone Programme

Regional Representative

Partnership team

convenor

Regional Representative

Partnership team

convenor

ICRA Latin America team

ICRA South Africa team

ICRA Uganda team

ICRA Benin team

Board of Trustees

Director

Finance and accounts

DeputyDirector

Country-specific partnership governance bodies (external to ICRA) (National Innovation Platform, National Task Team/ Force, Steering

Committee, …)

etc....

Overlapping teams of ICRA personnel

Anglophone Programme

42

3 ORGANISATION AND FINANCES

Trustees and personnel

Trustees

Dr Christine Akoth Onyango: Senior Lecturer JKUAT, Kenya,

Alumni representative

Dr Pascal Bergeret: Head, Department of Research Education Relations,

Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, France

Dr Bernard Hubert (Chair): President, Agropolis International and

Coordinator French Initiative for International Agricultural Research, France

Dr Bram Huijsman: Director, Wageningen International, The Netherlands

Dr Monty Jones: Executive Director FARA, Ghana

Mr Sander van Opstal: Senior Policy Officer, Ministry of Agriculture,

Nature Management and Food Safety, The Netherlands

Mr Philippe Petithuguenin: Senior Advisor on ARD, and EIARD secretariat,

Biotechnology, Food and Agriculture Directorate, Directorate General for

Research, European Commission, Belgium

Dr Didier Pillot: Representative for European and International affairs

and Agris Mundus coordinator, SupAgro, France

coordinated by a team ‘convenor’ or a Regional Representative. These teams have

overlapping members to promote cross partnership learning. The Anglophone and

Francophone Programme Coordinators, Regional Representatives and team convenors

report to the Deputy Director, who is responsible for internal staff management, M&E

and learning, and reports to the Director.

The management of each of the eleven national partnerships and of the regional

partnership in Latin America is the responsibility of the partners in each country

or region and is external to ICRA. ICRA provides primarily support to national and

regional level partnerships for innovation, but is in some cases also a plain member

of the partnership. Different governance mechanisms are used to manage these

partnerships according to the institutional culture in each country or region.

3

43


ICRA personnel

CENTRAL OFFICE

Dr Jon Daane, Director

Dr Arno Maatman, Deputy Director

Dr Driek Enserink, Senior Officer

Ms Ans Brom, Office Manager

Ms Saskia Vleer, Office Manager

ANGLOPHONE PROGRAMME

Mr Juan Ceballos-Müller, Programme Coordinator

FRANCOPHONE PROGRAMME

Dr Nour-Eddine Sellamna, Programme Coordinator

Ms Françoise de Chevigny, Office Manager

REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVES

Ms Colletah Chitsike, Southern Africa

Dr Leonardo Salazar, Latin America

PARTNERSHIP CONVENORS and PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATES

Ms Marie-Jo Dugué, Benin, Senegal

Dr Richard Hawkins, Uganda, Ethiopia

Dr Toon Defoer, Burkina Faso, Mali

Dr Robert Booth, Kenya

44


Income and allocationICRA’s strategy, launched in 2004, to invest reserves in moving its centre of gravity

South as rapidly as possible, and to work more in partnership with organisations

in the South, has paid off. In some countries new funding was attracted, in

collaboration with partners, specifically to finance the partnership activities. In

other countries, ICRA obtained funding for its role in the partnership from existing

projects or by bidding for service contracts where this offered good potential

to develop a partnership and attract dedicated funding. This has substantially

changed the balance of core and external funding over recent years (Figure 6).

Figure 6. Trend in income and income sources (€ million)

Core funding External income

€ m

illio

n

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.02005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Due to the rapid expansion of external income, the need for use of ICRA’s

reserves was quickly negated, and it was found wiser to adjust expenditure to

actual income. From 2007 onwards this cautious policy was also reflected in the

budgets. As a result, the gap between budgeted and actual expenditure and

income has been narrowing in recent years (Figure 7).

France, The Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom contribute to

ICRA’s core income, through both in kind and cash contributions. External income

in 2009 came mainly from NPT (Netherlands Programme for the Institutional

Strengthening of Post-secondary Education and Training Capacity) projects in South

Africa and Ghana, funded through NUFFIC, an EDULINK project in Kenya/Uganda,

funded by the EU, and service contracts, among others with IFDC/1000s+ (Figure 8).

3

45


Figure 7. Budgeted and actual expenditure and income (€ million)

Figure 8. Sources of income – 2009 (€ million)

Actual expenditure Budgeted expenditure

Actual income Budgeted income

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

2005€

mill

ion

2006 2007 2008 2009

Core funding External income

Interest and miscellaneous

France (MAP, MAE)

Switzerland (SDC)

The Netherlands (LNV)

UK (DFID)

Projects, service contracts

0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6

Expenditure for the partnerships in 2009 has been largely in line with the budget, except for Benin, Ghana, Mali and Eastern Africa (Kenya/Uganda), and for cross-cutting partnership development activities in the South (Figure 9).

In Benin and Mali, the activities had to be adjusted to the pace of the

partners, in particular those related to the formal establishment of the national

innovation platform (PNISA) and the strengthening of education and research

at the Université d’Abomey Calavi (UAC). In Ghana, the CANR/ KNUST staff

46


faced significant difficulties commencing the new NPT project, which aims

to institutionalise ARD principles from within the institute. ICRA staff mainly

contributed through facilitation of awareness raising and planning workshops with

CANR/ KNUST staff and targeted rural stakeholders. However, a new work plan

has been finalised and adopted, and capacity strengthening and mainstreaming

activities are expected to speed up in 2010. In Eastern Africa the activities within

the framework of the SUCAPRI project took off well, but came to a standstill when

Makerere University did not receive the second disbursement of funds. Partnership

development in the South received much attention, among other things through

increased collaboration with FARA, within the PAEPARD framework, and other

funding proposals. Progress was more limited, however, in ICRA’s attempt to

Figure 9. Budget, expenditure and external income per partnership in 2009 (€ thousand)

Budgeted expenditure Actual expenditure Total income

450400350300250200150100500

Partnership development South

Partnership development North

Learning materials and website

Latin America

RAP WARDA (Mali/Benin)

Eastern Africa (Kenya/Uganda)

Uganda

South Africa

Senegal

Kenya

Nigeria

Ethiopia

Mali

Ghana

Madagascar

Burkina Faso

Benin

3

47


formulate new programmes together with, or tender for capacity strengthening

activity within projects coordinated by regional agricultural research organisations

in sub-Saharan Africa (e.g., CORAF and ASARECA).

It is noted that much of the expenditure in the ARD partnerships is covered

through partners, showing a substantial leverage effect of ICRA’s contribution.

Partners often pay directly for most of the costs of tailor-made, in-country

capacity strengthening programmes (e.g. costs of the venue, travel/lodging of

participants). ARD learning cycles are, in many cases, simply part of an ongoing

programme, with dedicated funds available, like in the case of IFDC’s 1000s+

programme. ICRA strives to obtain service contracts to finance its complementary

capacity strengthening services, though it may use part of its institutional funds

to complement such activity. This is being done, in particular, in areas for which it

is difficult to obtain external funds, but which lay the foundations for a solid ARD

partnership (e.g. by establishing multi-stakeholder platforms to identify innovation

challenges and to trigger inter-organisational collaboration). The remainder is

invested in staff and alumni network development, and in achieving a firmer

presence in the South.

The distribution of expenditure over the six desired outcomes from ICRA’s

partnerships (Figure 10) clearly shows the emphasis given to the training of ARD

facilitators, through ICRA’s new course (DM-IoL). This course involved participants

from Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, South

Africa, Togo, Uganda, and Latin America. The participation from Niger and Togo

is captured by the more generic ‘partnership development in the South’ label.

Expenditure in South Africa has been high compared to the other partnerships.

For a very large part, these expenditures fostered the further integration of

ARD modules in university curricula. In Ghana, where ARD mainstreaming within

higher education institutes is also central, these expenditures were much less

than expected, for reasons that were explained above. In-service ARD learning

cycles were important in Latin America, Ghana, Nigeria (SSA-CP) and Eastern

Africa (SUCAPRI project). Mentoring and coaching of field work appears clearly

in the new RAP/AfricaRice project, and in Latin America. As explained above, this

does not mean that ARD learning cycles are not implemented elsewhere. ARD

learning cycles, as in the case of agribusiness cluster formation in West Africa, are

happening throughout Africa. ICRA however is not handling the costs of these

cycles. In the particular case of the 1000s+ project, the facilitators (including the

agribusiness coaches) are also directly sub-contracted by IFDC. ICRA provides

48


Figure 10. Expenditure by partnership and outcome in 2009 (€ thousand)

Training of ARD facilitatorsVision, strategy and plan developmentOverheadChange university programsMentoring mainstreaming of ARDIn-service ARD learning cycles

Admin supportExchange of experience and learning

450400350300250200150100500

Partnership development South

Partnership development North

Learning materials and website

Latin America

RAP WARDA (Mali/Benin)

Eastern Africa (Kenya/Uganda)

Madagascar

Nigeria

Uganda

South Africa

Senegal

Kenya

Ethiopia

Mali

Ghana

Burkina Faso

Benin

backstopping to these learning facilitators (tagged under ‘Training of ARD

facilitators’). Expenditures for ICRA’s successful Senior Managers’ exchange and

study tour, with participation from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and

Uganda, are classified under exchange of experience and learning.

3

49


* Operating expenses for 2008 and 2009 include respectively €135 000 and €120 000 of project income channelled to consortium partners via ICRA and these partners account for it via ICRA.

Financial statements

Assets 2009 2008

Property, plant and equipmentReceivablesLiquid assets

0244

3 031

0 173

3 376

Total assets 3 275 3 549

Liabilities and net assets

Unappropriated unrestricted net assetsAppropriated unrestricted net assets (operating reserves)Permanently restricted net assets (special fund)

1 825998393

1 860984373

Total net assets 3 216 3 217

Current liabilities 59 332

Total liabilities and net assets 3 275 3 549

Statements of revenue and expenses, 2009 and 2008 (€ thousands)

Revenue 2009 2008

Core donor grantsContract incomeInterest and miscellaneous

953579114

814 957113

Total revenue 1 646 1 884

Expenses

Programme related expensesManagement

1 366280

1 441292

Total expenses 1 646 1 733

(Deficit) Surplus 0 151

Expenses by budget category, 2009 and 2008 (€ thousands)

2009 2008

PersonnelTravel and subsistence personnel and BoardTravel and subsistence participantsRent of office space and workshop venuesCapital expensesOperating expenses*

997188190

6125

185

984287204660

192

Total 1 646 1 733

Balance sheets for the years ended 31 December 2009 and 2008 (€ thousands)

50

3

ProjectsProjects implemented directly by ICRA and partners*

Country Project Duration Funding source

South Africa Institutionalising Agricultural Research for Development in Post-Secondary Education and Training: Multi-stakeholder capacity building in service of the 2nd agricultural economy of South Africa

2006–2009 NPT

Latin America (Cuba, Venezuela)

Programa de Aprendizaje y Fortalecimiento de Capacidades para la Gestión de Procesos de Innovación Agropecuaria y Rural

2007–2010 Welthungerhilfe, Germany

Projects in which ICRA is a contractual partner or service provider*

Country Project Duration Funding sourceBenin Appui au Renforcement des Programmes de Formation

et de Recherche en Agriculture à la Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques et à l’Ecole Polytechnique d’Abomey-Calavi

2006–2009 NPT

Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali

From Thousands to Millions: Accelerating Sustainable Agricultural Intensification and Economic Growth in West Africa (1000s+)

2006–2010 International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC)

Benin, Mali Pilot stage of the RAP Project (Realizing Agricultural Potential of inland valley lowlands in sub-Saharan Africa)

2009–2011 Africa Rice Center - Consortium for the Sustainable Development of Inland Valley Agro-ecosystems IVC

Burkina AGRINOVIA, inter-university partnership for strengthening capacities to support innovation

2009/2010 IFAD

Ghana Phase 2: Approaches for mainstreaming INRM into University Curriculum of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)

2008–2012 NPT

Latin America (Cuba)

Programa para Fortalecer la Innovación Agropecuaria Local (PIAL programme)

2007–2010 SDC, CIDA

Senegal Strengthening Capacity for Collaborative Management of Rural Innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Exploring New Tools and Partnerships

2006–2008 (extended to

2009)

IFAD

Uganda Learning Together for Change in Integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D) in Uganda

2004–present

DFID, EC, World Bank

Uganda, Kenya Strengthening University Capacity for Promoting, Facilitating and Teaching Rural Innovation processes (SUCAPRI)

2008–2010 EDULINK ACP-EU

South Africa Development of Learning Materials: ARD resource book 2007–2008 (extended to

2009)

ARC

Nigeria SSA-CP

IAR4D in the Kano-Katsina-Maradi (Nigeria/ Niger) Pilot Learning Site of the Northern Guinea Savanna Task Force/ SSA-CP

2008–2010 FARA (IFDC is leading the Task Force)

South Africa, Kenya, and Benin

Research on ARD and co-innovation through the Joint Learning about Innovation Systems in African Agriculture (JOLISAA) Project

2010–2011 EC (7th Framework Programme of the EU)

* See Table 2 for list of partners

Annex 1

PARTNERSHIPS IN ACTION

53


Benin

Context and evolution of the partnership

Up to 2009, demand for ICRA’s involvement in Benin came from two different

quarters. On the one hand, there was a request from two departments of the

country’s main university (the Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques – FSA – and the

Ecole Polytechnique d’Abomey-Calavi – EPAC) to help develop ARD competency

within these departments and establish a national-level innovation platform that

could act as a broker between the university (and research in general) and (other)

rural stakeholders. ICRA has been able to partner with these departments through

a grant from NUFFIC (NPT-project). On the other hand, ICRA has been actively

involved in an IFDC-coordinated project that aims to promote agribusiness

development from the grassroots (IFDC/ 1000s+).

NPT Project

FSA and EPAC obtained Dutch funding for a four-year project (2006–2010) to

strengthen the development focus of their research and adapt their educational

Sub-regional workshop for ARD learning facilitators, Cotonou, Benin, May 2009

54

ANNEX PARTNERSHIPS IN ACTION

programmes to better meet the dynamic demands of the agricultural sector.

ICRA assists the research component of this project as a member of a Dutch

consortium led by WI. The project offered the opportunity to revamp a

national-level innovation platform, initiated with support of ICRA in 2005 –

but developing a consolidated framework for action had its difficulties. The

platform, known as PNISA, and initially composed mainly of representatives

from university departments, research organisations and NGOs, has successfully

expanded its membership base to producer organisations and representatives

from business associations (see box below). In 2008, PNISA organised a series

of meetings to broaden its membership base and to work on the legal status

of the platform and draft its by-laws. In November 2008, a consultative meeting

was organised, which prepared the constitutive general assembly in December

2008. ICRA acted as a facilitator in the process, as a partner of the various

stakeholders.

IFDC/1000s+

In 2006, IFDC obtained Dutch funding for a regional project that allows for the

scaling up of their CASE approach. This project essentially aims to strengthen

local agribusiness clusters and to enhance market access and competitiveness

of smallholders. ICRA is involved in this IFDC project, “From Thousands to

Millions” [of farmers] – also called the “1000s+” project – in four West African

countries: Benin, Burkina Faso Ghana, and Mali. Another major partner in

this project is Agriterra. ICRA’s role is to strengthen the capacity of an inter-

institutional NCST or Equipe Nationale de Renforcement des Capacités (ENRC)

of six to eight members in each country. These teams learn:

1) To design, organise and implement capacity strengthening services

for multi-actor platforms and/ or business support services involved in

agribusiness cluster formation and value chain development

2) To strengthen the capacities within their own organisations – e.g.

producer organisations, business associations, chambers of agriculture,

NGOs, ministries of agriculture, research and educational institutes – to

engage with multiple stakeholders in promoting rural innovation

3) To develop advocacy/lobbying strategies that create enabling

environments (for agribusiness development and rural innovation).

ICRA signed an interagency agreement with IFDC for three years (2006–2009)

with a budget of €785 000 for the four countries.

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55


Members of PNISA (and the number of people involved from each stakeholder group)

�� Policy�makers�(4)

�� Public�advisory/technical�services�(10)

�� University�(18)

�� National�Platform�of�Producer�Organisations�(PNOPPA)�(15)

�� Other�producer�organisations�non-members�of�PNOPPA�(2)

�� Agri-food�(processing)�companies�and�artisanal�enterprises�(16)

�� NGOs�(11)

�� International�organisations�including�ICRA�(4)

Though the projects are different in scale and scope, ICRA stimulates synergy

between them, as they have overlapping partners and, to a certain degree,

similar objectives. As a result, two staff members from the FSA and EPAC

participated in ICRA’s Francophone ARD learning programme together with the

IFDC-funded members of the NCST. ICRA also engaged the NCST members in

National Capacity Strengthening Team (NCST)�� Mr�Alphonse�AGBAKA,�Ecole�Polytechnique�d’Abomey�Calavi�(EPAC)

�� Mrs�Isabelle�AHOUANDJINOU-MEGBLETO,�Association�Nationale�des�

Semenciers�du�Bénin�(ANASEB)

�� Mr�Mathias�Dotou�AHOUNOU,�Ministère�de�l’Agriculture,�de�l’Elevage�et�

de�la�Pêche�(MAEP)�–�as�from�2008�staff�member�of�IFDC,�from�December�

2009�1000s+�project�coordinator

�� Mr�Jules�B.�BIO�BAGOU,�Union�des�Producteurs�de�Coton�(UPC)�–�Borgou

�� Mr�François�DOSSOUHOUI,�Département�d’Economie,�de�Socio-

Anthropologie�et�de�Communication�pour�le�Développement�(DESACD)/

UAC

�� Mr�Laurent�Camille�GLIN,�Organisation�Béninoise�pour�la�Promotion�de�

l’Agriculture�Biologique�(OBEPAB)�

�� Mr�Houndjinhou�C.�KINHA,�Union�des�Producteurs�de�Coton�(UPC)�–�Zou-

Collines

�� Mrs�Afi�E.�KPOGAN�(IFDC)

56


co-facilitating an ARD learning programme for university staff and students in

Benin.

Achievements in 2009

IFDC/1000s+

In 2009 ICRA concentrated on follow up to the collaboration with IFDC’s 1000s+

project, and in particular the coaching and mentoring of NCST members. After a

capacity building needs assessment workshop, held in October 2008 in Possotomè

with partners of the 1000s+ project (e.g., business support services, and producer

organisations), the NCST developed a proposal to improve agribusiness cluster

formation capacity of business support services, with backstopping from ICRA.

This programme was implemented in 2009 through a series of workshops and

training sessions (e.g. on value chain analysis, multi-stakeholder processes,

negotiation) throughout the country.

Three members of the NCST also contributed to the regional preparatory

workshop for ICRA’s DM-IoL course. The same three members attended the

course in Montpellier, France, from September 21–October 10, to strengthen their

capacities in facilitating interactive learning – with specific emphasis on learning in

competitive playing fields characteristic of agribusiness development.

‘Realizing the potential of inland valleys’ (RAP) Project

In 2008, ICRA was approached by AfricaRice to join a taskforce (also involving WI)

to develop and facilitate an action research programme, which aims to make better

use of the potential of inland valleys in West Africa. RAP, funded by IFAD and the

EC, started in 2009 for an initial period of two years, and targets the inland valleys

in two countries (Benin and Mali) in West Africa. RAP comprises 4 lines of action:

1) Establishment of rural stakeholders’ platforms for interaction with

researchers involved in the three ‘technical’ components mentioned

hereunder;

2) Technological innovation to increase agricultural productivity and improve

post-harvest (processing, storage) management;

3) Natural resource management;

4) Value chain development.

ICRA and WI have led the implementation of the first component. Local level

multi-stakeholder platforms have been established in both Benin and Mali in 2009.

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ICRA alumni from the NCSTs (see the IFDC/1000s+ section above) were selected

to facilitate the platform building process. These ICRA ‘affiliates’ contributed to

the identifying the members for the multi-stakeholder platforms; co-facilitated the

launching workshops; and facilitated the action planning. Currently, the emphasis

has shifted to facilitation of learning and exchange both within the platform and

between the platform members and the researchers (from the national research

organisations, i.e. INRAB in Benin and IER in Mali).

Upcoming research on ARD

ICRA joined a consortium led by CIRAD, and also involving ETC (PROLINNOVA),

the Agricultural Economics Research Institute/WUR (the Netherlands), KARI

(Kenya), University of Pretoria (South Africa) and UAC to tender for the

implementation of a 2.5-year action research programme on ‘Agricultural

Innovation Systems and Traditional Knowledge’ (funded by the EU, FP7-

KBE-2009-3). The proposal, submitted early 2009 and approved mid-2009, will

allow for in-depth research and capacity strengthening activities in three target

countries (Benin, Kenya and South-Africa) and networking with R&D organisations

in Europe and SSA. ICRA will particularly focus on the capacity strengthening of

local level learning facilitators, who in turn will organise sessions with relevant rural

stakeholders to share experiences for selected ‘innovation-cases’, identify lessons

learned, and collect information. A major aim of the proposal is to set an agenda

for future research on innovation systems, and help bridge gaps between local

knowledge and formal research.

Burkina Faso


The Burkina partnership is essentially based on the collaborative framework

between ICRA and IFDC/1000s+ established in 2006, in which ICRA has been

engaged to strengthen capacities of selected rural stakeholders to promote

competitive agri-business clusters at the grassroots level (see also Benin).

Within the framework of 1000s+, an informal network was set up, composed

of a wide diversity of R&D stakeholders, including non-conventional stakeholders

such as credit services and private business organisations. This network selected

58


a steering committee (CP, Comité de Pilotage) for all activities related to the

1000s+ project in Burkina Faso. The CP-1000s+ is chaired by the Fédération

des Professionnels Agricoles du Burkina (FEPAB). Established in 2007, the inter-

institutional NCST completed the Francophone ARD learning programme in

December 2008.

ICRA is also a partner of the University of Ouagadougou, IFAD and universities

in Belgium, France (SupAgro-Montpellier), Italy and Switzerland in a pilot project,

which ultimately aims to develop an international professional master’s degree

programme on rural and agricultural innovation. The pilot project is coordinated

by the University of Ouagadougou and entitled ‘AGRINOVIA’.


1000s+ Project

ICRA supported the NCST in the design and development of a capacity

strengthening needs assessment workshop, organised by the cluster advisor of

the 1000s+ project. The workshop was intended for business support services

and producer organisations involved in agribusiness cluster formation and

value chain development. The workshop provided a very good opportunity

for NCST members to practise and demonstrate facilitation skills in a multi-

stakeholder setting. ICRA supported the day-to-day and general evaluations of

the programme and provided backstopping to the NCST members. The NCST

members quickly learned to adapt the workshop programme to the needs and

National Capacity Strengthening Team (NCST)�� Mr�Stéphane�BAYALA,�previously�Fédération nationale des Industries Agro-

alimentaires et de transformation du Burkina (FIAB),�now�Fédération des

Professionnels Agricoles du Burkina (FEPAB)

�� Mrs�Elisabeth�BASSONO, Fédération des Professionnels Agricoles du Burkina

(FEPAB)

�� Mrs�Haoua�COULIBALY, Réseau des Caisses Populaires du Burkina�(RCPB)�

�� Mr�Alphonse�SANOU, Association des Grossistes et Détaillants d’Intrants Agricoles�

(AGRODIA)

�� Mr�Désiré�YERBANGA,�Fédération des Professionnels Agricoles du Burkina (FEPAB)�

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59


diversity of the participants, and demonstrated ability in managing the dynamics

of the assessment process within the allowed timeframe. The participants stressed

the need for capacity strengthening of business support services, both with

regards to the ‘contents’ and the ‘process’ of agribusiness cluster formation and

value chain development.

The NCST members were regarded as potential facilitators and also as resource

persons for the capacity strengthening programme that would be developed as a

result of the workshop. The participants also stressed that in several cases the so-

called agribusiness clusters are still single-actor driven, and do not yet adequately

involve other relevant stakeholders. The NCST was invited to strengthen

the capacity of selected business support services in particular in the area of

negotiation of multi-stakeholder arrangements, in competitive playing fields, to

help establish effective (and real) partnerships. IFDC is still working on a document

that summarises the main outcomes of the workshop and proposes priority areas

for capacity strengthening. As a result, the NCST has not yet been able to follow-

up on the workshop and implement a capacity strengthening programme for

business support services. However, some NCST members have provided services

to IFDC/1000s+ on an ad-hoc basis. The NCST has also supported the steering

committee in the evaluation of potential agribusiness cluster action plans.

Finally, three of the six NCST members have participated in the sub-regional

workshop organised in May in Cotonou in preparation for the DM-IoL. The same

three members participated in the DM-IoL course in Montpellier in September/

October.

Beyond the 1000s+ project

The NCST has helped FEPAB develop a strategic plan. They gained substantial

experience in developing scenario-based strategic planning with province-level

farmer organisations, using ARD tools.

AGRINOVIA

Invited by IFAD, ICRA has played an active role in initiating what will ultimately

become a Master’s Course in Rural Innovation, to be based in a Francophone

West African university. Institutions involved in the development of the course are

universities and research centres from the region (Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast,

Niger, Senegal, Togo) and Europe (Gembloux, Lausanne, Louvain, Rome, SupAgro

Montpellier, ICRA) and several local actors.

60


In May 2009, ICRA participated in a workshop held in Ouagadougou to develop

a strategic plan for building partnerships, networking and fleshing out a pilot

course to lead up to the Master’s course itself.

ICRA staff also participated in the pilot course by facilitating a session on

partnerships, entitled ‘Creating an enabling environment for innovation’.

Participants came from several countries, mostly Burkina Faso and Niger. Three

European students also participated. Field work was conducted within the

framework of regional projects (e.g. IFAD investment projects) that are willing to

accept and coordinate the participants’ visit. NCST members were invited to assist

with the organisation of the final workshop in December, which drew conclusions

from the pilot phase, and to prepare for the follow-up of this pilot phase.

Ethiopia


A number of ICRA alumni have achieved senior managerial positions in the

Ethiopian agricultural research, development and education system. At their

request, the first tailor-made, in-country ARD training by ICRA was organised

in Ethiopia in 1999. This successful training is also cited within Ethiopia as

motivation for requesting ICRA’s renewed support to the country.

During 2007–2008, ICRA partnered with the Amhara Regional Agricultural

Research Institute, Haramaya University, Bahir Dar University, and Agri Service

Ethiopia to implement a training course for staff of Mertule Mariam Agricultural

Technical Vocational Education and Training College in Amhara Region. This

training course (‘Agricultural Research Development, Implementation and

Extension’) aimed to strengthen staff capacity in participatory needs assessment,

the identification of research and development themes, and the formulation and

implementation of (action) research and agricultural development proposals.

Also during 2007, the current Ethiopian State Minister for Agriculture and

Rural Development (MoARD) – an ICRA alumnus from 1994 – invited ICRA

to assist in supporting reforms underway in Ethiopia aimed at developing a

national agricultural research system (NARS) that responds rapidly to changes in

environment, markets and policies, is more demand-driven, and creates strong

linkages with partners within a broader innovation system. To initiate this process,

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61


ICRA, the MoARD and the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research organised

a brainstorming workshop in February 2008 to assess needs and develop a

strategy for strengthening capacity in ARD.


In 2009, Haramaya University was assigned by MoARD to follow-up the 2008

workshop and, in collaboration with ICRA, developed a concept note that is

currently being discussed with an inter-organisational working group prior to

submission to suitable financing agencies.

Ghana

Context and evolution of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology partnership

In order to effectively address environmental problems in Ghana, the College

of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) of the Kwame Nkrumah University

of Science and Technology (KNUST) identified the need for improved skills and

competences among current and future professionals to deal with complex and

multifaceted environmental issues. In their view, professionals are needed who

are not only specialised in their respective disciplines, but also have a broader

understanding of environmental and development issues and can combine

different perspectives in an INRM approach. KNUST obtained Dutch NPT-funding

for a three-year project (2005–2008) with a budget of €0.6 million.

In 2008, CANR was successful in getting a follow-up NPT project of four

years (2008–2012) with a budget of €1.6 million. Technical assistance is provided

by a Dutch consortium led by Tropenbos International and including ICRA,

Wageningen International and the Dutch network for sustainable development in

higher education, Duurzam Hoger Onderwijs.

The first project, has created capacity at CANR so that it in turn can build

capacity in INRM approaches and use INRM approaches. Emphasis has been

on training of CANR staff in INRM approaches and principles. The capacity

of CANR has also been strengthened so that it can design and deliver INRM

learning programmes for current and future professionals. Through joint

implementation, the focus is on ‘learning by doing’. However, INRM has yet to be

62


fully institutionalised, hence the request for a follow-up project to fully integrate

the INRM approaches and principles into the programmes of the College.

The institutionalisation of INRM approaches at CANR needs strong attention.

At the level of CANR/ KNUST itself, the integration of INRM has profound

implications not only for the management but also for the programmes it offers

and the products. These changes are yet to be fully realized and well internalised,

not only by the staff directly involved but also by the higher management of

KNUST and CANR.

The first project has shown ample evidence of the willingness of CANR staff to

adopt and apply the advocated INRM approach, and tangible outputs (increased

capacity of staff) are visible. However, the activities are still largely regarded

as project activities, and not fully absorbed by the existing CANR/ KNUST

management systems. This process of embedding will be the prime focus of the

follow-up project. A second major focus of the follow-up project will be to involve

external (outside KNUST) stakeholders in strengthening the capacity of CANR to

offer learning programmes based on INRM principles. The underlying principle of

the project is the notion that stakeholders in NRM in the region can enhance their

effectiveness and impact when managing natural resources in a more problem-

oriented and integrated (inter-disciplinary, multi-stakeholder) manner than they

currently do. The assumption made is that this gap in competencies creates a

demand for CANR learning programmes based on INRM principles.


In 2009, ICRA staff provided input to the process of establishing the project organs

(working groups with activity sub-groups and coordination committee), including

selection of external stakeholder representatives to these organs. This input was

Partners involved in the NPT project at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)

�� College�of�Agriculture�and�Natural�Resources�(CANR)

�� Tropenbos�International�(TBI)

�� Wageningen�International�(WI)

�� Duurzam�Hoger�Onderwijs�(DHO)

�� ICRA

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not part of ICRA’s initial workplan for 2009 but necessary to help get the project up

and running.

Most other planned ICRA activities for 2009 have not been carried out yet due

to the fact that these organs are not yet completely operational. However, with

support of ICRA, a reflection process is in place, and this year ICRA suggested

that CANR and consortium staff start the reflection process in reverse (instead of

looking backwards to better plan forwards, do it the other way around), starting

with the proposed/ planned activities for 2010 (looking forward first) and discussing

what has been learned from the 2009 activities (looking backwards), specifically in

view of the fact that many activities could not be carried out in 2009 and needed to

be postponed. This reverse process worked quite well and a revised workplan 2010

is now available.

Context and evolution of the IFDC partnership

ICRA also became involved in Ghana through its role in the multi-country project

‘From Thousands to Millions’ (1000s+) with IFDC, mentioned in the report on Benin,

Burkina Faso and Mali. Whereas in Benin, ICRA was able to promote synergy between

this IFDC-project and another NPT project in which it is involved there, a similar

National Capacity Strengthening Team (NCST) – members�� Mr�Amadu�ALHASSAN,�previously�Opportunities�Industrialization�Centers-

Tamale,�now�IFDC�focal�person�of�the�Ghana�School�Feeding�Programme�

in�the�North

�� Mr�Joseph�BAPULE,�SEEDPAG,�member�of�Apex�Farmers�Organisation�

of�Ghana�(APFOG),�and�Deputy�Director�Millennium�Challenge�Account,�

Northern�Region,�run�by�IFDC�and�Savanna�Agricultural�Research�Institute�

(SARI)

�� Mr�Gabriel�MILLS,�Ghana�Agricultural�Association’s�Business�Information�

Centre�GAABIC,�coordinating�IFDC/1000+�M&E�activities�for�agribusiness�

clusters

�� Mr�Joseph�NKETIAH,�Methodist�University�College�Ghana�(MUCG)

�� Dr�Richard�YEBOAH,�University�of�Development�Studies�(UDS)

64


opportunity has not yet occurred in Ghana and these constitute separate activities

and partnerships, one focusing on value chains and the other on natural resource

management.

An inter-institutional NCST of initially six members (now five members) is – with

the support of ICRA – strengthening its capacity to design, organise and implement

capacity building services for multi-actor processes in grassroots business clusters

aimed at developing the integrative competencies needed to apply, mainstream and

out-scale the CASE approach in Ghana within the IFDC/1000+ initiative.

After initial training during 2007 in the ICRA Anglophone Capacity Building

Programme, in 2008 the NCST and its members played an important role in the

formation of agribusiness clusters and development of value chains in Ghana.


In 2009, based on identified capacity building needs of both NCST and BSS

involved in agribusiness cluster formation, ICRA supported the NCST in putting

together a capacity building programme to strengthen the capacity of the BSS sub-

contracted by 1000s+, to perform a catalyst function in value chain development and

agribusiness cluster formation.

Two NCST members participated in the new ICRA course on DM-IoL programmes

and, with their newly acquired knowledge and skills, the NCST is improving the

design and delivery of the capacity building programme for the BSS.

Also with support from ICRA, the NCST members are raising support

(‘buy-in’) of the CASE approach in their own organisations to create a critical mass of

professionals able to support the out-scaling of the CASE approach. And the NCST

members from higher education institutions (UDS and MUCG) are currently analysing

how to incorporate ‘value chain development’ and ‘design and management of

innovation oriented learning’ into their curricula.

Kenya


The IAR4D initiative in Kenya, which began in 2004, came at a time when the

country launched its 10-year Strategy for Revitalising Agriculture (2004–2014),

as well as the Kenya Agricultural Productivity Project (KAPP). Both of these put

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emphasis on coordinated pluralism in research and development and on moving

towards a national agricultural research system, a reformed national agricultural

extension system, and farmer empowerment. These new orientations called

for new competencies of both the member organisations of this system, their

personnel and farmers, farmer organisations and other private partners in the

agricultural sector to improve collaboration and interactive learning.

The IAR4D Initiative in Kenya is a multi-institutional effort now comprising

of nine institutions (see box). The Initiative recognises the need for a holistic

approach, integrating a wide range of stakeholders and disciplines in order to

enhance its contribution to the national goals of food security, poverty reduction

and sustainable natural resource management. Varying capacities and experiences

in IAR4D exist in different institutes and organisations, but what was lacking was a

mechanism to link them up and expand and fully use available knowledge bases.

It builds upon a long history of engagements between ICRA and Kenya, during

which many Kenyans were trained at ICRA and a number of ICRA field projects

were conducted in Kenya.

An Initiative Task Force, comprising of representatives of each of the member

organisations has been established. It facilitates inter-institutional collaboration

and the establishment and implementation of a national IAR4D plan. The Task

Force established a core team of IAR4D facilitators and advocates to help

them achieve their objectives. Members of the core team participated in ICRA’s

ARD learning programmes in 2005 and 2006 (13 persons in total), and have

also established a Pilot Learning Site at Katulani in Kitui District focussing on

Members of the Kenya IAR4D partnership �� Kenya�Agricultural�Research�Institute�(KARI)

�� Ministry�of�Agriculture

�� Ministry�of�Livestock�and�Fisheries�Development

�� University�of�Nairobi

�� Egerton�University

�� Kenyatta�University

�� Jomo�Kenyatta�University�of�Agriculture�and�Technology

�� Kenya�National�Federation�of�Agricultural�Producers�(KENFAP)

�� ICRA

66


the improvement of dryland agriculture through improved water harvesting

technology.

Throughout 2009 Kenya continued to suffer from political leadership problems,

illustrating that there was still a long way to go to fully recover from the aftermath

of the 2008 post-election violence and social unrest. This resulted in many

trickle down effects, including some student unrest, which negatively impacted

on society as a whole and the operation of some member organisations of the

IAR4D partnership. These politically based difficulties were further exacerbated

by a severe drought giving rise to yet further stresses on the agricultural sector

and efforts towards rural development and poverty alleviation.


Within the IAR4D partnership initiative, emphasis throughout 2009 continued to

be placed on the processes of transforming the informal Task Force and Core

Team which has coordinated and implemented the initiative activities since 2004

into a more formal and permanent arrangement. To guide these processes, the

Task Force and Core Team agreed, at a number of meetings held over the year,

that any new structure should:

1) Accommodate all eight existing national member organisations and also

allow for expansion and the engagement with additional stakeholder

organisations, particularly with representatives of the private sector and

civil society (including NGOs).

2) Allow for and accommodate both corporate and individual membership.

3) Build upon and make full use of the advances made, lessons learnt and

outputs produced during the initial informal phase of the partnership

initiative, particularly those related to the Katulani IAR4D pilot learning

site, and the ones that resulted in the draft national IAR4D plan and in the

design of learning programmes and needed learning materials.

Task Force and Core Team members finally agreed to explore further the

potential of transforming the current informal arrangements into an Association.

Several member organisations have experience with housing associations

within their organisations and KENFAP in particular has broad experience

with establishing multi-partner organisations. Because the two Ministries,

as government bodies, are not allowed to be formal/official members of a

nongovernmental organisation/ association, alternative types of affiliation

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67


arrangements are now being explored. The proposed name of the Association

is ‘Platform for Integrated Agricultural Research for Development’ (P-IAR4D). A

website for the Association has also been established (www.iar4d-kenya.org) and

is managed from Kenyatta University.

Other activities planned for the final quarter of the year include an evaluation

of Katulani as an IAR4D national pilot learning site, and a workshop to follow-up

on the need for development of learning materials. The evaluation of the Katulani

collaborative initiative as a national pilot learning site is planned to involve

both grassroot stakeholders at the site location and a workshop for the national

organisations involved. The follow-up workshop on development of learning

materials will train the persons nominated for the development of particular

learning resources on how to use the Kenya IAR4D website, preparation of

materials, editing, and management of the learning resources portal.

Additionally, Kenya opted to participate fully in the two new programmes

offered by ICRA in 2009: the exchange tour on ARD/IAR4D for senior managers

(four participants), and the workshops related to the DM-IoL course (five

participants at the regional preparatory meeting in South Africa, and five, of

which four had also participated in the South Africa workshop – at the DM-IoL

capacity strengthening programme. Participation in these two programmes

has strengthened both individual and organisational commitment to the IAR4D

partnership initiative.

Mali


Interest in ARD capacity strengthening and support from ICRA was first expressed

in 2005 and resulted in the formation of an informal National Innovation Platform

(NIP). Members of the NIP share a common interest in ARD for value chain

development and come from government ministries, research, education, farmer

organisations, NGOs and the private sector. In addition, in 2006, ICRA also

became involved in Mali through its role in IFDC’s 1000s+ project.

With the involvement of ICRA in 1000s+, a link was established between the NIP

and the management of the IFDC project. The NIP has supported IFDC in setting

up a farmer-led committee, called the comité de pilotage 1000s+ (CP-1000s+),

68


that plays a key role in the governance of the IFDC project in Mali. It is composed

of six member institutions of the NIP, and headed by a national level association

of farmer organisations (AOPP). A group of six persons was selected to form the

NCST, who participated in the Francophone ARD learning programme of 2006/07.

In order to strengthen this team, four additional NCST members were selected

who participated in the ICRA 2008 Francophone programme. The full NCST

participated in a capacity strengthening needs assessment workshop, held in

2008, for providers of BSS who are involved in agribusiness cluster formation and/

or value chain development. This workshop was facilitated by ICRA.

National Capacity Strengthening Team (NCST)�� Mr�Joseph�DIARRA,�Association Malienne d’Eveil au Développement Durable (AMEDD)

�� Mrs�Aoua�DICKO, Solidarité pour l’Autopromotion à la Base�(SABA)

�� Mr�Dramane�KEITA,�Union locale des Producteurs de Céréales de Dioïla

�� Mrs�Fatoumata�KEITA,�IFDC

�� Mr�Bernard�KONE,�Association des Organisations Professionnelles Paysannes�(AOPP)

�� Mr�Amidou�SANGARE,�Direction Nationale de l’Agriculture�(DNA)

�� Mr�Abdoulaye�SIDIBE, Institut Polytechnique Rural de Katibougou

�� Mr�Mady�SIDIBE,�Association des Organisations Professionnelles Paysannes (AOPP)

�� Mrs�Mama�Anna�TRAORE,�Association pour le développement des activités de

production et de formation – Galle (ADAF-Gallé)

�� Mr�N’Golo�S.�TRAORE,�Assemblée Permanente des Chambres d’Agriculture du Mali

(APCAM)

National Innovation Platform (NIP) members�� Association�pour�le�Développement�des�Activités�de�production�et�de�

Formation-Galle�(ADAF-Galle)

�� Association�des�Organisations�Professionelles�Paysannes (AOPP)

�� Assemblée�Permanente�des�Chambres�d’Agriculture�du�Mali�(APCAM)

�� Coordination�Nationale�des�Organisations�Paysannes (CNOP)

�� Institut�Polytechnique�Rural�de�Katibougou

�� Ministère�de�l’Agriculture

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Three members of the NCST have been actively involved in the implementation

of a 1000s+ training programme for business support service providers in Mali,

as a follow-up to the capacity strengthening needs assessment workshop. The

three NCST members were selected by the cluster advisor (IFDC staff) on the basis

of their availability and also because their employing organisations are directly

involved in the 1000s+ project as business support services. The NCST members

have successfully prepared and conducted three workshops: on systems analysis,

stakeholder identification and analysis, and value chain analysis. ICRA has coached

the NCST members to prepare and implement the workshops, and supported the

day-to-day and general evaluations of the programme. ICRA staff also provided

feedback on the NCST members’ facilitation skills.

The same three NCST members have been involved in ICRA’s new product,

the DM-IoL. They first participated in a sub-regional workshop, held in Cotonou

in May, to identify major learning needs in preparation for the programme.

Thereafter, the same three members also participated in the DM-IoL programme

in Montpellier in September/October.

The RAP Project

(See under Benin)

Nigeria


In 2006, IFDC won a bid to lead an IAR4D project in the Kano-Katsina-Maradi Pilot

Learning Site (KKM PLS) of the SSA-CP, implemented by FARA. The KKM PLS is

one of three pilot learning sites for the SSA-CP in sub-Saharan Africa. ICRA is a full

member in the task force for this project and pilot learning team, together with

ILRI, and several organisations from both Niger and Nigeria, including universities,

agricultural R&D and producer organisations.

The SSA-CP aims to establish the feasibility of IAR4D in Africa, to characterise

it, and derive principles for its implementation. The project in the KKM-PLS is

working through four innovation platforms (maize–cowpea, rice, vegetables, and

livestock) established within the framework of the project.

70


The implementation of the project was substantially delayed,due, among other

reasons to a decision of the Science Council of the CGIAR to build in an element

of ‘proof of concept’ into all the winning proposals after these had been selected

on the basis of a competitive call. This insistence on proof of concept required a

considerable reformulation of the proposals and renegotiation with non-research

partners interested in results rather than the proof of concept. The KKM-PLS has

three major aims in terms of outputs:

1) To develop models for implementing IAR4D, within the specific context of

the Northern Guinea Savanna

2) To trigger innovation in both cropping and livestock systems, following

IAR4D principles.

3) To evaluate the impact of IAR4D on the development process, in

comparison with more conventional approaches to agricultural research and

development.

After the substantial revisions of the initial proposal, ICRA and IFDC agreed

on a series of capacity strengthening activities, to be implemented in-country (in

Nigeria), and specifically targeted to the facilitators of the innovation platforms,

who are mainly university lecturers, researchers and extension staff.

ICRA implemented a workshop on participatory value chain analysis and

market linkages for a group of 35 participants, in Zaria in Northern Nigeria, as a

start to this capacity strengthening programme. Unfortunately the target areas

(villages) and communities for action research had already been selected, based

mainly upon criteria related to the ‘proof of concept’ challenge (‘virgin’ villages)

and logistic arguments, and much less on a line of reasoning that would allow

for grassroots agribusiness development (e.g. communities with a history of

innovation, potential competitive edge to produce for certain markets).


ICRA has designed and implemented two follow-up workshops for – more or

less – the same group of facilitators of the four innovation platforms. The first

workshop, held in Zaria (Nigeria) for a period of 14 days, concentrated on IAR4D

principles and the design of ARD learning cycles. The second workshop took

place in Kaduna (Nigeria) and was entirely devoted to team-building. Although

late in the process, with the action research programme already well underway,

IFDC and the innovation platform members were all keen to acknowledge that the

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lack of teamwork skills was severely limiting the innovativeness and impact of the

whole exercise.

The evaluations of the programme so far demonstrate that the participants

are appreciating the effort of ICRA and IFDC, and that they are learning a lot.

However, it is also quite clear that the incentive structure to really work and learn

together as a team and between organisations is not in place, and that, under the

present circumstances, the participants – facilitators – are having major difficulties

really engaging differently with rural stakeholders in a process of co-innovation.

ICRA has started, in collaboration with IFDC, a reflection process to analyse the

capacity strengthening and the action research programme, and identify the major

bottlenecks that need to be addressed in order to give IAR4D a ‘real’ chance. The

third workshop that ICRA is supposed to facilitate (in 2010) will concentrate on

this reflection process, and will also strengthen the capacities of the facilitators

to guide reflection sessions in the field, together with rural stakeholders, and to

document learning (and change).

Senegal


In Senegal, ICRA ensured the international coordination of a small two-year

IFAD technical assistance grant with a budget of US$200 000 formally granted to

CIAT. This project, which ended in December 2008, aimed “to make an impact

on poverty reduction through strengthening the capacities of research and

development professionals and organisations from Senegal for the collaborative

management of innovation.”

This was to be achieved through the development and testing of a learning

cycle that combined field projects on a development challenge with face-to-

face workshops (modules, reflection) and elearning. The teams of participants

were composed of stakeholders involved in ongoing rural innovation processes

in the Matam Region and the Thiès Plateau, linked to IFAD investment projects.

ICRA’s main partners in this project have been ISE (Institut des Sciences de

l’Environnement) of the University Cheikh Anta Diop and two NGOs: Environnement

et Développement Afrique and Union pour la Solidarité et l’Entraide. These

and other R&D institutions at national level (such as the Institut Sénégalais de

72


Recherches Agricoles) and Innovations Environnement Développement Afrique

were involved in a steering committee (comité d’Orientation). ICRA supported

the process (learning needs assessment, learning cycle concept, approach to

experiential learning, reporting, etc.), partly from a distance.


The field activities of the project ended in late 2008 with two workshops, one

in Matam and the other in Thiès. These workshops were facilitated by the

Senegalese partners of the project without direct intervention from ICRA.

Given the delay in implementation of planned activities, several end-of-project

activities were postponed to 2009: reporting for year two was achieved in January,

with the involvement of ICRA. A capitalisation workshop was held in Dakar in

February, prepared and facilitated by ICRA and ISE: it brought together all of the

Senegalese partners in the project (coordinators of learning cycles, implementing

NGOs, representatives of stakeholders from Thiès, and staff of the IFAD project in

Matam). The editing of training and learning materials is still to be achieved.

Finally, two Senegalese partners participated in the DM-IoL preparatory

workshop in Cotonou in May.

South Africa


South African government policy aims to redress the inequalities of the apartheid

era in the agricultural sector by developing small-scale agriculture through land

reform and agricultural black economic empowerment (AgriBEE) schemes. This

demands a paradigm shift in agricultural education and R&D organisations. These

have not been set up to serve this new clientele and lack insight into the livelihood

systems and motivations of the target populations. Poor social organisation

of target populations has limited their inclusion in policy making and design

of interventions. Weak linkages between policy makers, policy implementing

agencies – Land Bank and National and Provincial Departments of Agriculture

(NDA and PDAs) – R&D and education organisations have hampered the creation

and provision of coherent support services and effective policy making and

implementation.

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ICRA’s partnership with South African organisations aims to contribute to

overcoming these limitations by promoting ARD learning within the framework of

the AgriBEE programme.

Collaboration started in 1995 with the capacity strengthening of R&D staff

in ICRA’s Anglophone programme. From 1999, more South African R&D staff

participated in this programme. Several ARD field studies were supported,

through ICRA and its alumni, leading to stronger collaboration between the

Agricultural Research Council (ARC) and their main clients, the PDAs. To further

this collaboration, the ARC created the Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (SRL)

Division in 2003, which then initiated an informal National ARD Task Team

(NARDTT, see box) to serve as an inter-institutional discussion forum and planning

mechanism. One of the functions of the SRL Division was to offer in-service ARD

learning programmes for ARC and PDA staff. For this purpose, the SRL Division

South African university staff engaged in community outreach projects

74


set up the Agricultural Technology Transfer Academy (ATTA), in 2004, managed

by an ICRA alumnus, and contracted ICRA to enhance ATTA’s capacity to facilitate

ARD learning. ICRA trained ATTA staff together with a team of university staff to

support ATTA in facilitating ARD learning. ICRA also provided technical support to

the design and delivery of three in-service ARD learning programmes.

The in-service ARD learning programmes were highly appreciated and useful

to meet the capacity strengthening needs of targeted R&D personnel. But they

also raised awareness that the institutionalisation of ARD learning in South Africa

required more than the establishment of a small training unit within the ARC.

The ARC and the NARDTT also realised that universities needed to develop their

capacity to equip future professionals with adequate competencies for ARD.

In 2005, the ARC obtained support from NUFFIC for an NPT project entitled

“Institutionalizing ARD in the South African Agricultural R&D and tertiary

education system” (2006–2009). The project was given a budget of €1.55 million to:

1) Support the NARDTT and link with other R&D stakeholders

2) Strengthen capacities of teaching staff of member universities of the

NARDTT, and to

3) Enable these universities to facilitate ARD learning and integrate this

into their academic programmes.

The project is jointly managed by the ARC and ICRA. ICRA leads a

consortium that involves WI and WU. The project also supports an ICRA

Members of the National ARD Task Team (NARDTT)�� Agricultural�Research�Council�(Secretariat)

�� University�of�Fort�Hare

�� University�of�the�Free�State�

�� University�of�KwaZulu-Natal�

�� University�of�the�Limpopo

�� University�of�Venda�

�� National�Department�of�Agriculture

�� National�Department�of�Science�and�Technology

�� National�African�Farmers�Union

�� 5�Provincial�Departments�of�Agriculture

ANNEX

75


Regional Representative for southern Africa with offices provided by the ARC.

The NPT project has, among other things, supported:

� Senior staff of organisations involved in the NARDTT to participate

in short courses at WI and in the ICRA Anglophone ARD learning

programmes (2006, 2007, 2008). As a result, there is an inter-institutional

pool of over 20 ARD facilitators available, largely concentrated in the

universities of Limpopo and Venda, and PDA Limpopo.

� The NARDTT to finalise a strategic plan (ratified in 2007), and to forge

collaboration between universities, PDAs and ARC at provincial levels,

in particular in Limpopo province. The NARDTT also supported the

establishment of In House Committees (IHCs) to spearhead change

from within the universities.

� ARD awareness creation workshops involving staff of all the NARDTT

member organisations, as well as other targeted R&D staff, and policy

makers.

� Five South Africans to start a development-oriented (ARD) MSc at WU,

and one to complete an MA at Van Hall Larenstein (Wageningen, the

Sub-regional workshop for ARD learning facilitators in South Africa, April 2009

76


Netherlands). All six followed previous training in ICRA’s ARD learning

programme and four of them do their MSc research on topics resulting

from their ICRA fieldwork.

� The development of ARD modules and courses at the universities

of Limpopo, Venda, Fort Hare and KwaZulu Natal, which have been

followed by hundreds of students. The IHCs have also implemented,

with backstopping from ARC (ATTA) a comprehensive audit of curricula,

to appraise courses, methods of teaching and stakeholder interaction.

� The ARC to obtain accreditation for their in-service ARD learning course

from the Agricultural Sector Education Authority (AgriSETA) (submitted,

but the decision is still pending).

� The editing of an ARD resource book, commissioned by the ARC.

Partly as a result of the in-service ARD learning programmes, networks for

action research and knowledge sharing have been established, in particular

in the Limpopo province, and to a lesser extent in the Eastern and Northern

Cape.

Sub-regional workshop for ARD learning facilitators, South Africa, April 2009

ANNEX

77


Some results of the internal evaluation of the NPT project“The project has largely achieved all activities as planned. The results of the linkage strategy,

capacity development strategy and the curriculum development strategy have equally been

achieved, as measured by the output indicators […]. The outcome of the project will depend on

the implementation and use of ARD-infused modules in agricultural courses at universities and

short courses for in-service training by ARC. This in turn depends on capacity development of

ARD facilitators, which can only take place through strong links between the different partners.

The project was successful in establishing sufficient links to allow a well implemented capacity

development strategy, achieving all its expected outputs, but the curriculum development strategy,

although strongly underway in both ARC and at least three universities is not yet turning out large

numbers of ARD trained graduates, hence no direct outcome yet. This can be expected at the

earliest towards the end of 2010 (in University of Venda in particular).”

The authors (W. Heemskerk from KIT and J. Njuki from ILRI) signalled a few shortcomings as well, in

particular in the linkage strategy: “The project was efficient (also due to additional ICRA and ARC

contributions) in its capacity development strategy, performed well in the curriculum development

strategy in three universities, but performed relatively poorly (but just enough not to derail the other

two strategies) in its linkage strategy.”

From the point of view of the evaluators, the NARDTT has been strong enough to forge the

relationships between the members necessary to implement the capacity strengthening and

curriculum development activities of the project, but weak in facilitating community outreach

programs (i.e. beyond the Limpopo area) and in the mainstreaming of ARD (and ARD awareness)

beyond its own network. The NARDTT has not been able to foster linkages with, for example, the

National Agricultural Research Forum and Departments of Education and Science and Technology,

and did not succeed in broadening the membership base (only NAFU joined recently, which was

rightfully considered an important success). The challenge for the coming years lies, according to

the authors, in the scaling-up and out of ARD principles. This involves organisational and inter-

institutional change in support of ARD, enabling ARD-minded individuals and alumni to engage

in rural community development programs beyond a ‘field research project’; it also implies a

rethinking of the composition and role of the NARDTT; a rethinking that seems to be already taking

place. In recent discussions, for instance, the establishment of a collective innovation network for

Southern Africa (CINSA), with knowledge sharing and policy advocacy functions, was proposed –

as a follow-up to the NARDTT. The National Research Foundation has offered to house the (new)

NARDTT. To be continued!

78



NPT project

A seminar was organised in Wageningen, the Netherlands, linking students

and their supervisors from South Africa and WU. South African professors

were also exposed to the Academic Consultancy Training organised as a

curriculum element for MSc students at WU. Three of the six MSc students

have now started their field research in South Africa. Preparatory and follow-up

workshops were held in South Africa to monitor and provide feedback on the

students’ work.

An in-service ARD facilitation course was organised by the ARC for 17

staff members. The participants will receive further on-the-job training and

coaching to make them (accredited, see above) trainers for R&D professionals

and representatives of farmer groups in the agricultural sector.

The ARC developed a community project strategy, based on ARD principles,

to upscale the use of its technologies. ICRA provided backstopping to

the development of this strategy. The strategy will be spearheaded by the

Technology Transfer Division of the ARC. The technology transfer component

of research has been given a predominant place in the ‘new’ ARC, which

underwent a thorough re-structuring process to strengthen dissemination of

research results, stakeholder interaction and general outreach. In this process,

the SRL Division and ATTA were dissolved.

An ‘ARD Resource Book’, based on the experiences with ARD learning in

South Africa, was edited with substantial backstopping and input from ICRA.

The ARD Resource Book (Hawkins, 2009, see Annex 3) was launched at the

NARDTT Symposium (see below) and is currently being distributed.

In October, the NARDTT successfully organised a Regional Symposium

“Enabling Collective Innovation in Agrarian Research Development and

Education – Lessons from the Last Decade”, with over 50 participants,

including some selected R&D staff from neighbouring countries. ICRA

presented a key note address, and the symposium provided ample opportunity

to share experiences and lessons learned from R&D, action research and

ARD learning. The presentations also revealed of a wide variety of cases of

co-innovation in South Africa. However, many of the actors and organisations

involved in these processes have done so with limited exchange and there

ANNEX

79


seems to be an important opportunity to go beyond the ‘islands of success’,

and to develop a much broader alliance for interactive learning, involving

actors from different regions, sectors, and with different mandates and

backgrounds.

All the reports on ARD field projects were reprinted and distributed to

educational and R&D institutions; the ARD website hosted by the ARC was also

finalised (visit www.arc.agric.za, and follow the link to ARD).

The NARDTT, on behalf of ARC and ICRA, commissioned an internal

evaluation of the NPT project. This evaluation was done in November 2009.

The report is quite positive and mentions several important and strategic

achievements, triggered through the NPT project, and under the leadership of

the ARC, ICRA and through the NARDTT. See the box above for a summary of

the authors’ findings with regards to the efficiency of the project, as related to its

three major strategic intervention areas.

Beyond NPT

� The NARDTT, in collaboration with ICRA, prepared and selected the

participants in ICRA’s sub-regional workshop, organised in Pretoria.

This workshop was held to develop the contents of ICRA’s new course

(DM-IoL). Four South Africans participated in ICRA’s DM-IoL course in

Wageningen.

� Two managers from South Africa (ARC and Fort Hare) participated in the

Senior Managers’ study and exchange tour, organised by ICRA.

� ARC and ICRA signed a new MoU and a service contract for 2010. ARC

and ICRA will also join forces to tender for a new NUFFIC (Netherlands

Initiative for Capacity Building in Higher Education) project, as follow up

to the NPT.

� Lupane State University in Zimbabwe signed an Memorandum of

Understanding with ICRA to trigger the implementation of ARD field

projects and to embed ARD in the curriculum.

� PANOS Southern Africa, an association of African journalists, signed a

contract with ICRA to produce three case studies on ARD learning ‘at

work’.

80


Uganda


In 2004, ICRA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the NARO and

Makerere University (MAK) to build capacity in IAR4D.

NARO, MAK and ICRA, along with the African Highlands Initiative,

implemented the first IAR4D learning cycle in 2004–2005. This programme

included all the researchers of the ZARDIs, together with other staff from MAK,

NARO and organisations collaborating with the ZARDIs. This learning cycle

accompanied significant organisational changes within NARO during 2005–2007,

and was followed by two years of occasional visits to ZARDIs by national IAR4D

facilitators (‘mentoring’). This ZARDI experience with IAR4D is currently being

documented.

The impact of this ZARDI learning cycle has been significant. Citing the

training, NARO recently recognised the need to adopt the IAR4D approach as

a key paradigm shift in order to justify investment on science and technology

development in its Ten-Year Strategic Plan (2008–2018). The challenge is now how

to institutionalise this approach, and strengthen capacity of key stakeholders in

key innovation platforms at national and zonal level.


In 2009, the partnership was renewed with the formation of the IAR4D Programme

Coordination Team (PCT), under the leadership of the NARO Director of Research

Coordination. A representative of the NAADS also joined this team. A national

IAR4D plan, developed during 2009, is currently being integrated within the next

phase of World Bank support to NARO/NAADS (2010–2015), and will provide

direction to the work of the PCT as well as a basis for a renewed Memorandum of

Understanding between the partner organisations.

Also in 2009, the PCT was further strengthened by participation of five

representatives (from NARO, NAADS and MAK) on the ICRA programme for

“Design and Management of Innovation-oriented Learning Programmes”, held

in Wageningen in September (with a preparatory 3-day workshop in Pretoria in

April). As follow-up to this programme, the team has given immediate priority to

capacity strengthening activities in the Mbarara Zone needed in order to establish

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three functioning, multi-stakeholder innovation platforms on livestock production.

These platforms will then provide the experience necessary to launch a wider

programme of scaling up of IAR4D approaches in Uganda.

The SUCAPRI Project (Kenya, Uganda)


Within the scope of the Uganda and Kenya partnerships, ICRA assisted MAK and

four Kenyan Universities (Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology,

Nairobi University, Kenyatta University and Egerton University) to obtain

approximately €500 000 of financing from EDULINK (EU-ACP Secretariat).

The resulting project on “Strengthening of University Capacity for Promoting,

Facilitating and Teaching Rural Innovation Processes” (SUCAPRI), provides

€136 000 for ICRA’s services, and assumes a further €25 000 of in-kind input from

ICRA over 3 years (January 2008–January 2011).

Participants of the SUCAPRI workshop April 2009, Uganda

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The project consists of six main activities that approximately correspond to

ICRA’s six outcomes of national ARD learning partnerships:

1) Planning and project management

2) A ‘university-based learning cycle’ to create core teams of staff competent

in facilitating the development of rural innovation skills in the four Kenyan

universities

3) ‘Multi-stakeholder learning cycles’ to develop innovation systems skills in

university staff and practising agricultural R&D professionals in Uganda and

Kenya

4) Improvement and development of curricula and management/incentive

procedures

5) Development of learning resources for facilitation processes and rural

innovation

6) An international workshop on “Capacity Strengthening in Rural Innovation”.


Following a slow start in the early months of the project (Jan–Mar) 2008, progress

was then substantial during the remainder of 2008 and the beginning of 2009.

A project steering committee was established with representation from the

five universities, ICRA, research (Kenya Agricultural Research Institute), advisory

services (NAADS), and farmers’ organisations (Kenya Federation of Agricultural

Producers).

The ‘university-based learning cycle’ was initiated, with teams from all four

Kenyan universities and facilitation input from MAK, and the second of four

planned workshops was held in February 2009. The ‘multi-stakeholder learning

cycle’ in Uganda was initiated with two workshops in Kabale and Mbarara (in

April and July 2009, respectively), with teams from the two Ugandan innovation

platforms established under the SSA-CP of FARA, and a third team from local

stakeholders involved in livestock production and marketing in Kiruhura District.

However, problems with the second disbursement of funds from EDULINK

to MAK effectively halted project activities in Kenya after February 2009, and in

Uganda after July. At the time of writing (December 2009), funds had still not

been received by the project coordination unit (MAK). These delays will require

substantial re-planning and readjustment of project activities in 2010.

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Latin America


In Latin America, ICRA’s concept of ARD is adapted to regional perspectives and

referred to as PIR – procesos de innovación rural. With some ups and downs,

ICRA has maintained a small presence in the region for the last 12 years, which

nonetheless has had a significant influence in specific countries. ICRA’s activities

in the region started with a series of four annual ARD learning programmes in

Spanish. These were offered in partnership with the Colegio de Postgraduados

of Mexico, the Latin American farming systems research network and the

Mexican Ministry of Rural Development, which paid for most of the costs. The

current PIR Initiative was launched in late-2004 when ICRA appointed a Regional

Representative. The active members of the initiative are Cuba, Mexico and

Venezuela.

Sub-regional workshop for ARD learning facilitators, Havana, Cuba, April 2009

84


The PIR Initiative aims to link and scale up various successful local initiatives,

launched by ICRA’s institutional partners and alumni, at both the national and the

regional levels, in order to promote mainstreaming of the principles of ARD into

R&D and education organisations.

The first years of the Initiative focussed on raising broader awareness of ARD

and its advantages among R&D and education organisations, their decision

makers and staff. This was mainly achieved through national and regional

workshops linking people and organisations both horizontally (at the level of

local innovation partnerships) and vertically (between local, national and regional

levels). Many of these workshops have catalysed joint activities to incorporate

ARD principles into higher education programmes. Emphasis has been placed on

expanding and consolidating a regional team and national teams of professionals

who can facilitate ARD learning processes. Cross participation of these teams in

each others’ activities has facilitated exchange and mutual learning and promoted

the feeling of being part of a regional programme. The initiative has also actively

sought for external funds.

The three active countries in the PIR Initiative show important progress in

embedding ARD in their institutional practices. They have accessed both internal

Sub-regional workshop for ARD learning facilitators, Cuba, April 2009

ANNEX

85


and external sources of funding. The Colegio de Postgraduados of Mexico

created a funding window that offers seed money to formulate ARD proposals for

which external donor funding can be sought for implementation. Several partners

have secured funds to ensure the continuity of the initiative. These include the

Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agrícola and the Fundación para el Desarrollo

de la Ciencia y Tecnologiá del estado Lara (FUNDACITE-Lara) in Venezuela

(respectively the national agricultural research institute and a regional foundation

for the promotion of science and technology), and the innovative PIAL programme

in Cuba. The University of Granma organised a “Congress on Sustainable Human

Local Development” with a strong ARD component. Also in Cuba, four ARD field

projects were funded by the government and international donors. Negotiations

are underway with Alternativa Bolivariana para América Latina y El Caribe, a

Venezuelan programme that finances development activities with allied countries.

ARD capabilities at different institutions have been strengthened by

implementing a variety of workshops for mixed groups of university professors,

researchers, extension staff and decision makers. In Venezuela, the collaborative

implementation of a six-week ARD learning programme in 2008 was a milestone

in stimulating exchange of experiences between R&D professionals from

Venezuela and Cuba, and exploring pathways to strengthen capabilities further.

In Cuba, after four workshops on curriculum development, the Universities of

Granma and Villa Clara decided to introduce ARD principles and tools in courses

of the agronomy curriculum, at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

The research institutes Jorge Dimitrov of Granma in Cuba and the Colegio de

Postgraduados of Puebla in Mexico have started PIR Diplomados.


The Latin American PIR Initiative (ILAPIR) continued to strengthen professional

capabilities in the facilitation of collaborative action learning aimed at triggering

sustainable rural innovation. ICRA’s institutional partners have contributed

significantly to capacity strengthening programmes on ARD theory and practice,

involving many new professionals.

The collaborative implementation of a six-week ARD learning programme in

Havana, Cuba built upon the work done in Venezuela in 2008. The programme

was designed to strengthen the capacities of 21 Cuban R&D professionals so

that they could address concrete innovation challenges, all linked to the CLIAs of

86


the PIAL Programme. The innovation themes were selected and formulated in a

preparatory workshop, in which all the facilitators also participated. The team of

facilitators was formed by Venezuelans, Cubans (among whom one producer), a

Mexican and one European facilitator from ICRA. Most of them are members of

the PIR Regional Team.

In Cuba, the consolidation of ARD orientation is under way with the

incorporation and acknowledgment of complementarities with new partners

such as the GUCID programme, one of the three Programas Ramales (transversal

programmes) of the Ministry of Higher Education, which opens important

doors for ARD to become fully integrated at the national level through the new

Municipal University Centres, under the umbrella of GUCID. ILAPIR participated

in a general meeting of GUCID at the beginning of the year and coordinated a

workshop to reflect and draw lessons from the GUCID programme.

Cubans, Mexicans and Venezuelans, all professionals associated to ILAPIR,

participated in a workshop on ARD facilitation held in Havana in order to define

capacity strengthening needs for ICRA’s new programme: DM-IoL.

Another workshop was held in Bayamo to discuss and collect the basic

materials for a new PIR book.

ILAPIR also participated in the second “Congress on Local Human

Development” held at the University of Granma in Bayamo, and in a seminar

on sustainable agriculture held by Indio Hatuey Experimental Station in the City

of Varadero. ILAPIR organised a symposium on rural innovation processes as a

side event to the “IVth International Conference on Agriculture and Livestock

Development” (22–24 April) at the Central University Marta Abreu of Las Villas,

Cuba. One hundred and fifty Cubans and over forty people from outside Cuba

participated.

In Venezuela, the PIR initiative furthered collaboration with networking

organisations like FUNDACITE-Lara, which proposed starting a programme over

the next three to four years to strengthen capabilities of Redes Socialistas de

Innovación Productiva at Lara State and to develop a strategy to scale up ARD

work to the national level.

A workshop to strengthen ARD capabilities at the INIA Research Centre of the

Anzoátegui State in Venezuela was held and follow-up activities initiated. A PIR

forum for sharing experiences and learning in Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela was

held in Barquisimeto. These two last activities were financed by FUNDACITE-

Anzoátegui and FUNDACITE-Lara, respectively.

ANNEX

87


A high-level managers meeting, with participants from Cuba and Venezuela,

was held at La Alianza, a model peasant cooperative. The meeting identified

possibilities for further collective collaboration to strengthen ARD and ARD

capabilities, and to improve interaction between the local, national and regional

levels.

In Mexico, to share the work developed elsewhere in Latin America, a

PIR conference cycle involving various universities and research centres was

organised. A PIR workshop to create awareness among partners of the Colegio

de Postgraduados was also held in Puebla. The Colegio made a proposal to start

a PIR capacity strengthening programme within the framework of its new linkage

programme at the national level.

Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela continue to increase their share of the financial

contribution to all ARD activities in Latin America.

Expressions of interest in ARD continue to come in from different Latin

American countries such as Argentina, Brazil and Ecuador.

Annex 2

PARTICIPANTS OF PROGRAMMES AND SUB-REGIONAL MEETINGS

ORGANISED BY ICRA IN 2009

PARTICIPANTS OF PROGRAMMES AND SUB-REGIONAL MEETINGS ORGANISED BY ICRA IN 2009

91


Senior Managers’ Exchange TourICRA Senior Managers Exchange, 1–5 June 2009, Wageningen, the Netherlands

1 Dr Belaineh Legesse, Zeleke Haramaya University Administration and Development Vice President

Ethiopia

2 Prof. Dr David Millar UDS Pro-Vice Chancellor Ghana

3 Dr Robert C. Abaidoo CANR/KNUST Provost Ghana

4 Dr Sampson Edusah BIRD/CANR/KNUST Project Coordinator Ghana

5 Prof. Esther Murugi Kahangi JKUAT Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research, Production and Extension, and Board member KARI

Kenya

6 Dr Mary Kamau Ministry of Agriculture Director Extension & Training Kenya

7 Dr Sam Mwonga Egerton University Core team member Kenya

8 Mr John Mutunga KENFAP CEO Kenya

9 Ms Anati Canca ARC Executive Director Technology Transfer South Africa

10 Dr Nomakhaya Monde University Fort Hare Head of Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension

South Africa

11 Mr Twesigye Morrison Rwakakamba

Uganda National Farmers Federation FFE

Manager Policy Research and Advocacy

Uganda

12 Dr Emily Kabushenga Twinamasiko

National Agricultural Research Council Secretariat

Director Research Co-ordination Uganda

13 Dr Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza

MAK First Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Affairs)

Uganda

92

ANNEX PARTICIPANTS OF PROGRAMMES AND SUB-REGIONAL MEETINGS ORGANISED BY ICRA IN 2009

Design and Management of Innovation-oriented Learning Programmes in Wageningen and MontpellierDM-IoL for ARD facilitators, 7–25 September 2009, Wageningen, the Netherlands

Names Institute Country ICRA Alumni

1 Mr Joseph Nketiah Methodist University College Ghana Ghana 2007

2 Dr Richard Yeboah University of Development Studies Tamale

Ghana 2007

3 Dr Christine Akoth Onyango Jomo Kenyatta University for Agriculture & Technology

Kenya 2006

4 Mr John Mwaniki Kenyatta University Kenya 2006

5 Mr Peter Mwangi Gitika KENFAP Kenya 2006

6 Dr George Chemining’wa University of Nairobi Kenya 2005

7 Dr Sam Mwonga Egerton University Kenya 2005

8 Ms Losira Nasirumbi NARO, Socio-economist/Researcher Uganda

9 Ms Frances Nakakawa NARO Uganda

10 Dr Charles Muyanja Makerere University Uganda

11 Dr Monica Karuhanga Makerere University Uganda

12 Dr Anthony Mugenyi NAADS Uganda

13 Ms Thembi Ngcobo ARC South Africa 2005

14 Ms Jessica Maimela ARC South Africa IC-SA2005

15 Mr Nelson Raidimi University of Venda South Africa 2006

16 Dr David Norris University of Limpopo South Africa 2008

17 Dr Leonardo Salazar FUNDACITE/ICRA Latin America 1996

18 Mr Francis Pierre INIA Venezuela

19 Dr Humberto Ríos INCA Cuba 2000

ANNEX

93


DM-IoL for ARD facilitators, 21 September–9 October 2009, Montpellier, France

Names Institute CountryICRA Alumni (F = Francophone)

1 Ms Salima Terranti Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique

Algérie 2001F

2 Mr François Dossouhoui FSA – Université d’Abomey Calavi Bénin 2006F

3 Mr Christophe Kinha Union des Producteurs du Centre Bénin

Bénin 2006F

4 Ms Isabelle Megbleto Association Nationale de Semenciers du Bénin

Bénin 2006F

5 Mr Stéphane Bayala FEPAB Burkina Faso 2008F

6 Mr Désiré Yerbanga FEPAB Burkina Faso 2008F

7 Mr Issa Zongo Université de Koudougou Burkina Faso

8 Mr Fidimalala Randriamandimbisoa Fikambanana Andrin’ny Tambazotra sy ny Olom-pirenena (FIANTSO)

Madagascar

9 Ms Amélie Razafindrahasy FIANTSO Madagascar

10 Ms Zaza Audoux Razanatafika FIANTSO Madagascar

11 Ms Aoua Dicko Solidarité à l’Autopromotion de la Base Mali 2008F

12 Mr Dramane Keita Union Locale de Producteurs de Céréales et de Karité

Mali 2008F

13 Ms Mame Anne Traoré ADAF-Gallé Mali 2006F

14 Mr Morou Issaka Action pour la Promotion des Groupements Ruraux

Niger

15 Mr Ali Mossi Centre de Prestations de Services-Mowa Alfaray Huwo

Niger

16 Mr Totétièbe Dametougle Recherche, Appui, Formation aux Initiatives d’Autodéveloppement

Togo

17 Mr Bienvenu Fayikandin Kombate CNIEP Togo

94

ANNEX PARTICIPANTS OF PROGRAMMES AND SUB-REGIONAL MEETINGS ORGANISED BY ICRA IN 2009

Preparatory sub-regional meetingsICRA sub-regional workshop, 28–30 April 2009, Pretoria, South Africa

Name Institute Country ICRA Alumni

1 Dr Christine Akoth Onyango JKUAT Kenya 2006

2 Dr Gitonga M. Nkanata JKUAT Kenya 2006

3 Dr George Chemining’wa University of Nairobi Kenya 2005

4 Dr Samuel Mwonga Egerton University Kenya 2005

5 Mr Peter Mwangi Gitika KENFAP Kenya 2006

6 Ms Imelda Kashaija NARO Uganda 2004

7 Dr Charles Muyanja MAK Uganda 2004/2005

8 Dr Monica Karuhanga MAK Uganda -

9 Dr Chemeda Fininsa Gurmessa Haramaya University Ethiopia 1996

10 Mr Joseph Nketiah MUCG Ghana 2007

11 Mr Chrispen Murungweni Grasslands Research Station Zimbabwe 2004

12 Ms Thembi Ngcobo ARC South Africa 2005

13 Ms Yolisa Pakela Jezile ARC South Africa -

14 Dr Ntsikane Maine Tshwane Municipality South Africa 2006

15 Dr Obi Ajuruchukwu University of Forth Hare South Africa ARD task team

16 Dr Nelson Raidimi University of Venda South Africa 2006

17 Dr David Norris University of Limpopo South Africa 2008

Workshop convenors:

Ms Colletah Chitsike ICRA Zimbabwe

Dr Richard Hawkins ICRA UK

Dr Noureddine Sellamna ICRA France

ANNEX

95


ICRA sub-regional workshop, 14–21 April 2009, Havana, Cuba


1 Mr Wilmer Armas INIA Venezuela 2000

2 Ms Maria Elena Morros INIA Venezuela -

3 Mr Francis Pierre INIA Venezuela -

4 Dr Leonardo Salazar ICRA Venezuela 1996

5 Dr F.C. Agüero Universidad de Cienfuegos Cuba -

6 Ms Yanet Rosabal Universidad de Granma Cuba 2007

7 Dr Rubén Villegas Universidad de Granma Cuba -

8 Ms Idania Pérez Universidad de Granma Cuba -

9 Dr Humberto Rios INCA Cuba 2000

10 Ms Sandra Miranda INCA Cuba -

11 Dr Luis Rodriguez Larramendi Instituto Jorge Dimitrov Cuba Mexico 2000

12 Dr Juan Reta Colegio de Postgraduados Mexico 2006

Workshop convenor:

Mr Juan Ceballos-Müller ICRA

96

ANNEX

ICRA Sub-regional workshop, 11–15 May 2009, Cotonou, Benin


1 Ms Nacima Benterki Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - Algérie

Algeria

2 Mr Ali Daoudi Institut National Agronomique Algeria 2003

3 Ms Salima Terranti Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - Algérie

Algeria 2001

4 Dr Kokou Djagni IFDC/1000s+ Benin

5 Mr François Dossouhoui FSA/UAC Benin NCST 2006–2007

6 Mr Christophe Kinha UPC Benin NCST 2006–2007

7 Ms Isabelle Megbleto ANASEB Benin NCST 2006–2007

8 Mr Stéphane Bayala FEPAP Burkina Faso

9 Dr Asseta Diallo IFDC/1000s+ Burkina Faso NCST 2008

10 Mr Désiré Yerbanga FEPAP Burkina Faso NCST 2008

11 Mr Issa Zongo Université de Koudougou Burkina Faso NCST 2008

12 Ms Bakoly Ranivoharifetra Harmonisation des Recherches et Etudes Novatrices

Madagascar NCST 2006–2007

13 Ms Amélie Razafindrahasy FIANTSO Madagascar

14 Ms Aoua Dicko Solidarité à l’Autopromotion de la Base Mali NCST 2008

15 M Dramane Keita Union des Producteurs Locaux de Céréales et de Karité

Mali NCST 2008

16 Ms Aissatou Nobre IFDC/1000s+ Mali

17 Ms Mame Anna Traoré ADAF-Gallé Mali NCST 2006–2007

18 Dr Assane Goudiaby ISE Senegal

19 Mr Mamadou Ly Associates in Research and Education for Development

Senegal

Workshop convenors

Dr Toon Defoer ICRA France

Dr Marie-Jo Dugué ICRA France

Dr Nour Eddine Sellamna ICRA France

ANNEX

Annex 3

PUBLICATIONS, PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS

99


Publications and papers

Chitsike, C., Ngcobo, T., Obi, A., Dube, S., Norris, D., Raidimi, N. and

Enserink, D. (2009) Aligning teaching and learning to development challenges:

Institutionalization of ARD in Agricultural Schools of five universities. Paper

presented at the Symposium on “Enabling collective innovation in agrarian

research, development and education – lessons from the last decade.” National

Agricultural Research for Development Task Team, Pretoria, 28–29 November 2009.

Daane, J. (2009) Enhancing performance of agricultural innovation systems. Key

Note Paper presented at the Symposium on “Enabling collective innovation in

agrarian research, development and education – lessons from the last decade.”

National Agricultural Research for Development Task Team, Pretoria, 28–29

November 2009.

Daane, J. (2009) Building capacity for agricultural research and innovation. Section

3 of Chapter 8: Food security and sustainable agriculture: Making science work for

innovation. In: Molenaar, H., Box, L. and Engelhard, R. (Eds). Knowledge on the

move. International Development Publications, Leiden.

Daane, J., Francis, J., Oliveros, O. and Bolo, M. (2009) Performance indicators for

agricultural innovation systems in the ACP region. Synthesis Report. International

Expert Consultation Workshop, Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural

Cooperation ACP-EU, Wageningen, 15–17 July 2008.

Hawkins, R., Booth, R., Chitsike, C., Twinamasiko, E., Tenywa, M., Karanja, G.,

Ngcobo, T. and Verschoor, A.J. (2009) Strengthening inter-institutional capacity for

rural innovation: experience from Uganda, Kenya and South Africa. In: Sanginga,

P., Waters-Bayer, A., Kaaria, S., Njuki, J. and C. Wettasinha (Eds.). Innovation Africa:

enriching farmers’ livelihoods. Earthscan. London.

Hawkins, R. (Ed.) (2009) Agricultural Research for Development (ARD).

A resource book. In collaboration with invited members from the National

Agricultural Research for Development Network, ARC-LNR, ICRA and NUFFIC.

NARDTT, South Africa.

100

ANNEXANNEX PUBLICATIONS, PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS

Verschoor, A.J. and Enserink, D. (2009) Experiences in inter-institutional ARC

collaboration: what have we learned? Paper presented at the Symposium on

“Enabling collective innovation in agrarian research, development and education

– lessons from the last decade.” National Agricultural Research for Development

Task Team, Pretoria, 28–29 November 2009.

Verschoor, A.J., Ngcobo, T., Ceballos, J., Hawkins, R., Chitsike, C. and Chaminuka,

P. (2009) Shaping agricultural research for development to Africa’s needs: builiding

South African capacity to innovate. In: Sanginga, P., Waters-Bayer, A., Kaaria, S.,

Njuki, J. and C. Wettasinha (Eds.). Innovation Africa: enriching farmers’ livelihoods.

Earthscan. London.

ICRA-related publications

Orozco, S., Ramírez, B., Ariza, R., Jiménez, L., Estrella, N., Peña, B., Ramos, A.

and Morales, M. (2009) Impacto del conocimiento tecnológico sobre la adopción

de tecnología agrícola en campesinos indígenas de México. Interciencia 34(8):

551–555. Available at: http://www.interciencia.org/v34_08/index.html

Presentations

Daane, J. (2009) Enhancing performance of agricultural innovation systems.

Key Note presentation at the Symposium on “Enabling collective innovation in

agrarian research, development and education – lessons from the last decade.”

National Agricultural Research for Development Task Team, Pretoria, South Africa,

28–29 November 2009.

Daane, J. (2009) Enhancing performance of agricultural innovation systems.

Presented at a network meeting of SDC staff to reflect on the topic “Agricultural

advisory services and innovation”, Bern, Switzerland, 16 November 2009.

Daane, J. (2009) Evolution of ICRA’s approach to capacity strengthening for rural

innovation, ICRA’s impact and lessons learnt: 3 cases. Presented at a network

meeting of SDC staff to reflect on the topic “Agricultural advisory services and

innovation”, Bern, Switzerland, 16 November 2009.

ANNEXANNEX

101


Daane, J. (2009) ICRA: A case for harmonised donor support. Presented at the

European Consultative Group meeting of the European Initiative for Agricultural

Research for Development (EIARD), Eschborn, Germany, 25 November 2009.

Salazar, L., et al. (2009) (Ed.) Boletín de la Iniciativa Latinoamericana de Procesos

de Innovación Rural. Presented at “II Foro PIR: Articulando actores para la

innovación y transformación.” Barquisimeto, Venezuela, November 2009.

Salazar, L. (2009) Procesos de Innovación Rural: la urgencia de la articulación entre

actores. Inaugural Conference. “II Foro PIR: Articulando actores para la innovación

y transformación.” Barquisimeto, Venezuela, November 2009.

Salazar, L. (2009) La Necesidad de Articulación en PIR. “II Simposio Internacional

Extensionismo, Transferencia de Tecnologías, Aspectos Socioeconómicos y

Desarrollo Agrario Sostenible.” Varadero, Cuba, May 2009.

Salazar, L. (2009) La Gestión del conocimiento en PIR. “II Congreso Internacional

de Desarrollo Local.” Universidad de Granma, Bayamo, Cuba, February 2009.

Sellamna, N. (2009) Qu’est ce que l’ICRA ? Renforcer les capacités pour

l’innovation rurale en partenariat. Presented at the Regional West and Central

African workshop for leaders of ANAFE member institutions and partners on

“Enhancing the involvement of tertiary agricultural education institutions into

CAADP: strategising through ANAFE.” Cotonou, Benin, 10 December 2009.

Trujillo, I., Salazar, L., Morros, M., Bravo, C. and Blones, J. (2009) Capacitación

para Procesos de Innovación Rural: propuesta UNESR. Jornadas de Investigación

CDCHT. Caracas, Venezuela, January 2009.

Presentations by ILAPIR

Barranco, L. (2009) El CLIA de Villa Clara: articulando actores para fortalecer

PIR en la Universidad. “II Foro PIR: Articulando actores para la innovación y

transformación.” Barquisimeto, Venezuela, November 2009.

102

ANNEXANNEX PUBLICATIONS, PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS

Blones, J. (2009) Universidad Nacional Experimental Simón Rodríguez: articulando

actores para fortalecer PIR en la Universidad. “II Foro PIR: Articulando actores para

la innovación y transformación.” Barquisimeto, Venezuela, November 2009.

Blones, J., Trujillo, I., Brucato, M. and Rojas, S. (2009) Estudio etnobotánico sobre

el conocimiento tradicional en el uso de plantas medicinales en la población rural

de cocorote, Edo. Miranda, Venezuela. Vth International Congress of Ethnobotany.

Bariloche, Argentina, August 2009.

Blones, J., Trujillo, I., Brucato, M. and Rojas, S. (2009) Obtención de permisos

legales y oficiales de comunidades campesinas y nativas bajo la figura del

consentimiento fundamentado previo. Jornadas de Investigación CDCHT.

Caracas, Venezuela, January 2009.

Dominguez, D. (2009) Articulando actores para fortalecer los Procesos de Innovación rural en comunidades: Redes Socialistas de Innovación Productiva. “II Foro PIR: Articulando actores para la innovación y transformación.” Barquisimeto, Venezuela, November 2009.

García, E., Mendez, J. and Hernández, I. (2009) La Agencia de Desarrollo Rural como Facilitadora del Desarrollo Comunitario en la Región Sureste de Zacatecas (México). “III Congreso Internacional: Perspectivas del Desarrollo Rural Regional”. Oaxaca, México, September 2009.

Huerta, A. (2009) Articulando actores para fortalecer los Procesos de Innovación rural en comunidades: Proceso de articulación de actores en México. “II Foro PIR: Articulando actores para la innovación y transformación.” Barquisimeto, Venezuela November 2009.

Matheus, J. (2009) Plan Estratégico Prospectivo para consolidar la Red Socialista

de Innovación Productiva de Artesanos del Municipio Palavecino del estado

Lara. “II Foro PIR: Articulando actores para la innovación y transformación.”

Barquisimeto, Venezuela, November 2009.

Miranda, S. (2009) La Plataforma del Programa de Innovación Agrícola Local: articulación de actores, saberes y conocimientos en PIR. “II Foro PIR: Articulando actores para la innovación y transformación.” Barquisimeto, Venezuela, November 2009.

ANNEXANNEX

103


Morales, M. (2009) Indicadores No-convencionales en Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación: articulando el discurso y la práctica para la innovación y transformación institucional. “II Foro PIR: Articulando actores para la innovación y transformación.” Barquisimeto, Venezuela, November 2009.

Morros, M.E. (2009) Articulando actores para fortalecer los Procesos de Innovación rural en comunidades: Innovación Participativa. “II Foro PIR: Articulando actores para la innovación y transformación.” Barquisimeto, Venezuela, November 2009.

Perez, I. (2009) El Programa Ramal GUCID: articulando la universidad municipalizada para fortalecer PIR. “II Foro PIR: Articulando actores para la innovación y transformación.” Barquisimeto, Venezuela, November 2009.

Pierre, F. (2009) Una Experiencias de Articulación de Actores Internacionales para Solucionar Problemas Cotidianos de la Agricultura. “II Foro PIR: Articulando actores para la innovación y transformación.” Barquisimeto, Venezuela, November 2009.

Reta, J. (2009) Articulación de PIR en la currícula: formación de capacidades

para facilitar la innovación. “II Foro PIR: Articulando actores para la innovación y

transformación.” Barquisimeto, Venezuela, November 2009.

Rodriguez, L. (2009) Articulando actores para fortalecer los Procesos de Innovación rural en comunidades: CLIA de Granma. “II Foro PIR: Articulando actores para la innovación y transformación.” Barquisimeto, Venezuela, November 2009.

Salinas, B. (2009) La Gestión Institucional de PIR: potencialidades y paradojas

de la articulación organizacional. “II Foro PIR: Articulando actores para la

innovación y transformación.” Barquisimeto, Venezuela, November 2009.

Torrealba, C. (2009) La Institucionalización de una Ética de PIR en la

Organización: articulación de actores para el rescate y reciclaje de valores en lo

cotidiano. “II Foro PIR: Articulando actores para la innovación y transformación.”


104

ANNEXANNEX

Trujillo, I., Blones, J., Brucato, M., Rojas, S., Silva, A., Morales, L., Comunidad de

Cocorote and Comunidad del Valle de Tucutunemo (2009) Desarrollo de bancos

de germoplasma in Vitro con especies de plantas medicinales de uso significativo

en comunidades rurales de Venezuela. Vth International Congress of Ethnobotany.

Bariloche, Argentina, August 2009.

Presentations by ILAPIR associates

Gonzalez, O. (2009) Gestión de PIR: articulación de saberes para la apropiación

de poder. “II Foro PIR: Articulando actores para la innovación y transformación.”


Ojeda, R. (2009) Socialistas de Innovación: articulación institucional para fortalecer

Redes Socialista de Innovación Productiva de Café de Simón Planas, Lara. “II

Foro PIR: Articulando actores para la innovación y transformación.” Barquisimeto,

Venezuela, November 2009.

Vargas, A. (2009) Redes Socialistas de Innovación: articulación institucional para

fortalecer Redes Socialista de Innovación Productiva de Agricultura Urbana en

Lara. “II Foro PIR: Articulando actores para la innovación y transformación.”


ANNEXANNEX

Credits

Writing: ICRAEditing, design and layout: Green Ink Ltd (www.greenink.co.uk)Photographs: ICRAPrinting: Information Press, UK

Annual R

epo

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