From 23-25 November 2005, FARA convened a meeting of key agricultural networks involved in capacity building in Africa. This was done as part of the process of developing the FARA-led programme for Building Africa’s Scientific and Institutional Capacity (BASIC). The goal was to achieve harmony and complementarity among the different capacity building initiatives, projects and networks. The meeting was hosted by ANAFE at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in Nairobi. BASIC is aimed at strengthening Africa’s ability to build capacity with special emphasis on undergraduate programmes in agriculture and natural resources. It is responding to major weaknesses in agricultural education programmes that affect the quality and relevance of agricultural graduates and impede the development of Africa’s predominant industry. BASIC will restore the capacity of African universities in the delivery of high quality and relevant agricultural education that prepares competent graduates for rural development and endogenous scientific and technological innovations. BASIC is a medium-term programme to which various components that address priority needs will be progressively attached. African universities will set the priorities and agenda and as far as possible assist one another. Additional resources for developing teaching and training approaches, methods and tools may be drawn (as needed) from non-African partners in conjunction with ICRA, NATURA and NASULGC among others. Up-to-date and locally relevant course materials will be developed in collaboration with the Training Community of Practice of CGIAR centres and National Agricultural Research Institutes (NARIs). The BASIC initiative is reaching out to the many already existing networks and scientific associations involved in building capacity in agriculture and naturalresources management in Africa. The purpose is to ensure that current experiences are taken into account and used in further development of the BASIC programme, and that the collaborative advantages of the various networks and associations are fully exploited, especially to fill gaps, minimize conflicts, and eliminate unproductive competition and duplications of effort. The main achievements of the meeting are: 1.The thematic and geographic coverage of each network was mapped and made known to peer networks. 2.The objectives, funding mechanisms, modus operandi and strategies of the various networks were shared and opportunities for synergy were identified. 3.Recommendations and action plans were formulated to enable the complementary networks to contribute to and benefit from BASIC. 4.This was the first ever meeting of networks involved in capacity building in agriculture and natural resources in Africa. The participants confirmed that further meetings would result in significant collaborative benefits. They agreed to hold similar conferences annually to enhance sharing of information and experiences, especially on agenda and strategies, and to build upon the achievements of this meeting. The BASIC Interim Implementation Committee (BIIC) attended the meeting and gained a great deal of information and encouragement for advancing BASIC in the wider context of the mandates and products of existing networks and projects. BIIC members informed participants about BASIC and provided guidance on future collaboration with the networks and projects.
Tag: networks
Looking back to look ahead: insight into the effectiveness and efficiency of selected advisory approaches in the dissemination of agricultural technologies indicative of Conservation Agriculture with Trees in Machakos County, Kenya
Sub-Saharan Africa is facing a challenge of low agricultural productivity, which threatens the ability to achieve food security for the continent’s growing population. The low productivity has been attributed to a number of factors including climate variability and low soil fertility. Agricultural practices such as Evergreen Agriculture show promise in improving soil fertility and production in a sustainable way. One form of Evergreen Agriculture is Conservation Agriculture with Trees (CAWT), which combines the principles of Conservation Agriculture with tree-crop intercropping. The promotion of complex agricultural practices such as CAWT requires agricultural advisory approaches that are both effective and efficient. Effective in their ability to increase diversity of crop enterprises, productivity of staple crops and adoption of promoted relevant practices. Advisory approaches are also considered effective if they provide useful information and build social networks in the community. The approaches also need to be efficient, that is, be able to mobilize the community and provide training in a costand- time appropriate fashion.
Asia-pacific agroforestry network: lessons and implications for mountain research and development
Agroforestry systems have evolved over centuries through farmer experimentation and changing conditions. Today, it is a potent tool in conservation and rural development. Networks are about people and institutions. FAO has supported some 135 networks in various fields in the world. Networks show greatest effectiveness in information dissemination. International organizations that support agroforestry and community forestry networks in Asia-Pacific include ICRAF, FTPP, RECOFTC and APAN.
Network analysis of blue carbon governance process in Indonesia
To align with international climate efforts to remain within 1.5 degrees of the earth temperature, Indonesia requires concerted measures from actors to preserve and restore carbon rich ecosystems, especially blue carbon ecosystem. Although studies have suggested the importance of blue carbon ecosystems in contributing to Indonesian climate action, translating science to policy remains a challenge. Mapping actors and the pattern of information exchange related to blue carbon can help identify potential barriers in the blue carbon governance process and policy development. This study uses Social Network Analysis and integrates it with results from in-depth qualitative evaluation of institutional respondents. Data is obtained through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with representatives from a broad range of organizations. It was found that the actor who oversees the fulfilment of the climate commitment, which is the most common objective of the network, is not a central actor. Second, the actors with the highest degree of centrality received little trust from other actors. Third, overall, the network has low quality ties. Each of these hinders knowledge providers’ ability to make an impact on policy development. By critically examining the interactions between actors, this research casts new light on the overlooked problem of the significance of the network in blue carbon governance process.