Country Forum Establishment and/or Strengthening

BySamson Eshetu

Program Officer-AFAAS

11 July, 2014Pretoria, South Africa

Introduction

• The African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services(AFAAS) is the umbrella organisation for AEAS in Africa.

• Its objective is to create efficient, effective and synergisticlinkages and partnerships among AEAS of membercountries to improve the delivery of these services tofarmers.

• It operates within the framework of Pillar IV of theComprehensive Africa Agriculture DevelopmentProgramme (CAADP)

• A framework for change of agricultural institutions andservices in Africa is guided by the FAAP principles

AFAAS and the role of CFs

Country Forums• The CFs are building blocks of

AFAAS

• Brings together AEAS actors

• Leads AEAS development at

national level – linking AEAS

stakeholders with CAADP

process

• Exchanges of information

• Shares lessons

• Identifies opportunities for

providing services to each other

• Innovation on AEAS

AFAAS Secretariat – Facilitates alignment with

AFAAS and FAAP

– Links CFs regionally and

continentally for sharing and

learning

– Capacity strengthening

CF Establishment Process

• Expression of interest from key stakeholders in a country

• Sensitisation of stakeholders in the country byAFAAS/CF focal point person

• Assessment of organisational and institutional status ofAEAS stakeholders

• Identification of existing entity for country forum

• 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 nationalstakeholders

• Facilitation of a CF that has a strategic plan to developan operational plan

Expected challenges

• Membership contribution

• Huge number and variety of actors

• How to get everybody represented (inclusive)

• Failures of Past attempts

• Balancing public and private sector actors’ participation

• Host institution

• Resistance from the public sector (neutrality)

Factors for success• Champions who can mobilise stakeholders and resources

• Awareness creation about AFAAS and FAAP principles

• Let stakeholders make their own judgment about the need for CF

• Sustainable financing mechanism

• Pool of experts to support the CF members

• Capacity building of the CF members

• Stakeholders’ ownership of the CF

• Mechanism for information and experience sharing among the members and between countries – communication strategy

Status of CFs in the countries

• CFs launched: Benin, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, SierraLeone, Malawi, and Kenya, Nigeria, Burkina Faso,Mozambique, Ghana, Liberia,

• MoU signed between host, CF and AFAAS: Uganda, SierraLeone, Mozambique, Malawi, Burkina Faso, and Benin

• Operational CFs: Uganda, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Malawi

• CFs who have strategic plan: Sierra Leone, Uganda, andMalawi

• Legal status: Uganda (Company Limited by Guarantee without share capital); Nigeria (Institute); and Ghana (NGO)

The way forward

• Stakeholders sensitization

• Stakeholders analysis

• Launching CF

• Identify host institution

• Develop a strategic plan and plan of action

• Governance of CF

• Institutional development of CF

Thank you for your attention!

For more information contact

Samson Eshetu

Email: seshetu@afaas-Africa.org

Website: www.afaas-Africa.org