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A selection of S&T organisations in Africa.

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A selection of international S&T organizations.

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A selection of S&T organisations in the Caribbean.

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A selection of S&T organisations in the Pacific.

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ACP S&T dialogue

Demanding Innovation
Researchers in ACP countries are facing a growing range of challenges. They are required to respond effectively to the demands of policy makers, private sector investors and donor agencies, farmers and other stakeholders in the agri-food chain. They are being asked to deliver research outputs that will improve agricultural productivity, food quality and food safety, in order to increase their countries competitiveness in global markets, and contribute to food security, poverty alleviation and sustainable development. At the same time, researchers must be socially and ethically responsible and contribute to the advancement of science and technology. As the demands for accountability increase and the levels of funding diminish, researchers need to prioritize and strategize their responses.

Differentiated S&T strategies for improving productivity of ACP farming systems
ACP farming systems are very diverse and the scientific community must be able to provide adequate responses to meet the varied needs of small subsistence farmers who make up the majority of the ACP farming community while simultaneously addressing the needs of the medium to large-scale farming enterprises to compete on price, quality, responsiveness to changing consumer demands and reliability in supply in all markets. Therein lies the challenge as there is no one-size fits all approach that will enable researchers to respond to the needs of small scale farmers who are primarily concerned with sustainable livelihoods or medium to large-scale farms who wish to remain competitive and take advantage of any opportunities despite deteriorating environmental conditions and trade and economic restrictions. Within the last few years, the ACP region has seen a resurgence of emphasis on family farms which are being valued not only for their contribution to maintaining social order but to environmental sustainability. This dossier provides guidance and lessons learned on the need for the ACP region to apply a differentiated strategic approach for using science to enhance the performance of ACP agricultural sector.

Early dialogues on S&T policy
Some of the most relevant briefs, notes and documents related to the pre-2007 ACP Agricultural S&T policy discussions.
EU S&T dialogue
Ethics
Financing ARD
Foresighting
ICKM / MIS / ICT

ICT for transforming research for agricultural and rural development
...
Innovation systems
Intellectual property
Measuring the impact of agricultural research
Participatory R&D
Tertiary agricultural education

PhD scholarships -- Agricultural Transformation by Innovation (AgTraIn) programme

Author:

Date: 13/07/2012

Introduction:

Application deadline: 1st November 2012.

Opening for fully financed PhD scholarships in the Agricultural Transformation by Innovation (AgTraIn) programme. You find more information at www.agtrain.eu.

The programme is directed towards the development countries context, but students can come from everywhere. You find a list of this year’s project themes at http://www.agtrain.eu/Research_Topics/2012_Research_Topics.aspx

Pay particular attention to project proposal # 7: Smallholders’ business innovation, which aims to develop innovative approaches for farmer to obtain market access. Key words are: Market access, business model, entrepreneurship, innovation, social organisation, soft operation research, qualitative research.

Contact person info: http://www.life.ku.dk/English/Service/Directory/Personvisning.aspx?personid=914

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