African Forum for AgriculturalAdvisory Services

Mr. Martin EwegPresentation

Ministry of Agriculture , Madagascar Country Forum Planning Meeting

Madagascar

22 April 2014 www.afaas-africa.org

African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services

Overview of AFAAS and AAS Country Forum

African Forum for AgriculturalAdvisory Services

Outline• NEPAD- CAADP• Challenges in AAS and role of

AFAAS • AFAAS – Mission and Vision• How AFAAS strives to achieve its

Vision & Mission • Experience • Strategic Plan• Achievements • Country Fora

African Forum for AgriculturalAdvisory Services

Africa’s Development “Most African countries cannot significantly reduce poverty, increase per capita incomes, and transform into modern economies without focusing on agricultural development”

(Diao et al. 2006. The role of development: implications for Sub-Saharan Africa. DSGD Discussion Paper No. 29, IFPRI, Washington).

• NEPAD aims to increase agricultural output by 6% per year by 2015

• CAADP is NEPADs framework for agricultural development  

• CAADP has set out 4 interdependant pillars to promote interventions that best respond to African Development

Pillar IV: Agricultural research and technology Dissemination and Adoption

NEPAD- CAADP

Challenges Facing Agricultural Advisory Services (AAS) in Africa

Inappropriate funding

approaches

Inability to target poverty and

gender

Ineffective demand for AAS

Poor Market Orientation

Farmers who are not empowered

Widening scope of AAS

Inappropriate AAS delivery

approaches

Unsupportive Policies

Environmental degradation and climate change

Low organisational &

Institutional Capacities ?!

• No continent-wide framework for supporting institutional development of AAS

• Lack of mechanisms to develop synergies in AAS between countries

• Information exchange not adequate• Low capacity of AAS to address current

challenges and future opportunities

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?

Some Lessons learned• Extension has been influenced by state’s

main policies• Public extension has suffered from lack of

extension agents at grassroots acting solely on providing or facilitating information / innovation

• Public extension in the ministry is viewed by production-oriented departments as a divided extension system in each organization rather than a unified organization

• Agriculture and public extension has suffered from financial deficiencies.

• Limited linkage of extension, research and other actors of innovation system

AFAAS VISION AND MISSIONAfrican Forum for Agricultural Advisory

Service

• Vision: Agricultural Advisory Services that effectively and efficiently contribute to sustained productivity, profitability and growth of African agriculture for poverty reduction

•  Mission: Promote lesson learning and add value to initiatives in agricultural advisory services through sharing of information and increased professional interaction

AFAAS strives to achieve its Vision & Mission by

• serving as a platform for debate and the exchange of experiences on critical issues affecting AAS;

•  commissioning studies on topical issues in AAS;

•  formulating a data base on best practices;

•  organizing seminars and symposia for the purposes of sharing experiences and lessons;

AFAAS strives to achieve its Vision & Mission by;

• enhancing professional development and growth of AAS providers;

• promoting capacity strengthening;•  influencing policies and programs

favorable to agricultural advisory services;

• lobbying for and coordinating donor efforts and input into agricultural advisory services

 

Sub-Saharan African Network on

Agricultural Advisory Services (SSANAAS),

First networking Symposium and General Assembly

Kampala, 2004 (7 countries)

Second Symposium & General Assembly

Kampala, 2006 (14 countries)

Third Symposium & General Assembly

Accra, 2011 (36 countries)

Strategic Plan

Constitution

African Forum for Agricultural

Advisory Services (AFAAS)

Experience (cont): Sustained Demand

5. A continental African Organisation that can sustainably support

national AAS to continuously enhance their contribution to

national, regional, continental and global

development objectives established

1. AAS are integral part

of CAADP roundtables

and post-compact CAADP

processes

2. Information and knowledge

management system capable of networking

AFAAS stakeholders

and embedding them into global knowledge hubs

developed

3. Country level multi stakeholder fora with capacity to act as a

platform for information and

knowledge sharing amongst actors involved in AAS

established

4. Partnerships between AAS

service providers and other relevant

institutions with similar mandates

and interests established

Results/Outputs

AAS providers have sufficient capacity to effectively support value chain actors towards increasing agricultural productivity and food security in a sustainable manner

Purpose/Outcome

Enhanced utilization of improved knowledge and technologies by agricultural value chain actors for improving productivity oriented towards their individual and national

development objectives

Goal

AFAAS Strategic Plan (2011-2016)

Achievements

1. Engagement with CAADP

• Strategy for AAS engagement in CAADP embedded in the strategic plan for CAADP Pillar IV developed jointly with FARA

• Developed capacity of eight AAS experts who shall backstop the CAADP process from an AAS perspective

• Guidelines for AAS to engage with country CAADP

Achievements (cont:)

2. Information and Knowledge Management• Three Symposia organised;

• A website, and a virtual social networking platform;

• A conceptual framework for lesson learning developed;

• A guide for Piloting Market Oriented AAS;

• Study on targeting Women Advisory Service Providers in Capacity Development Programmes;

• Study on how issues of Climate Change are being addressed in AAS

Achievements (cont:)

3. Country Fora

• Guidelines on how to engage with AAS stakeholder in a country to bring about the emergence of CF that are aligned with CAADP.

• Country Fora established in seven countries (Benin, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda)

• Six countries in the process of developing their own Strategic Plans aligned with that of AFAAS

Achievements (cont.)

4. Partnerships

• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between FARA and AFAAS signed in June 2008

• Partnership with CORAF, ASARECA to be established at sub regional level

• GFRAS – Advocacy and Inter-continental networking

• ICRA – Country Fora• NRI – Climate change• National Systems e.g. NAADS, MoA Malawi;

national AAS capacity strengthening

Research Systems and Institutions

Professional Associations

Agricultural Training

Institutions

Agri-business

Financial Services

Social ServicesPublic sector

AAS Strategic partners ……..

AAS

Farmer Organisation

Who are the Stakeholders in AAS• AAS providers and agencies• Ministries of agriculture (and related ministries)• Farmer organizations and commodity associations• Civil society groups • Private agribusiness firms providing AAS• Agricultural research institutions• Agricultural extension education institutions• End users (farmers, pastoralists, agro-pastoralists and

agribusinesses)• Professional associations• Mass media organizations involved in dissemination of

agricultural information• Microfinance institutions and banks• Development partners• Policy makers 

CF establishment Process The process of engaging with AAS

stakeholders in a country to facilitate the emergence of a CF is expected as follows:

• Interest expressed from AAS stakeholders in the country to engage with AFAAS

• Sensitisation and awareness raising• Assessment of status of organisational and

institutional status of AAS stakeholders

CF establishment Process

• Identification of existing entity for country forum or setting up a new entity if this does not exist

• Facilitation of the process of establishing a country forum

• Facilitation of a CF to develop a strategic plan• Validation of the CF strategic plan with national

stakeholders• Facilitation of a CF that has a strategic plan to

develop an operational plan

• Chairperson • Vice Chairperson • Secretary General • Treasurer / Finance Secretary • Publicity and Mobilization Academia Ministry of Agriculture – Policy development Public extension – directorate of extension Farmer Organisations NGOS Private Sector EX Officio - DPs, etc

Suggested –Interim Steering committee

Champions Supportive environment

Institution (Incubator)

Knowledge Base

Institutions (Brooder)

Independent Organisation

Constituency

Elements for successful CF

For more information contact :

email: secretariat @afaas-africa.org/ molupot@afaas-africa.org

www.afaas-africa.org&

www.g-fras.org