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Africa
A selection of S&T organisations in Africa.

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International
A selection of international S&T organizations.

The Caribbean
A selection of S&T organisations in the Caribbean.

The Pacific
A selection of S&T organisations in the Pacific.

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
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Innovation systems
Intellectual property
Measuring the impact of agricultural research
Participatory R&D
Tertiary agricultural education

Biofuels
Cassava
Fisheries
Fruits
Herbs and medicinal plants
Livestock

Enhancing competitiveness in the ACP poultry value chain
The poultry value chain in Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) countries involves both large-scale integrated enterprises and small-scale production systems. The former have benefited from capital investments, access to information and scientific research, whereas the latter remain isolated despite their significance. Family poultry comprises approximately 80% of the world's total poultry stock and plays a key role in many households in ACP countries for food and nutrition security, livelihoods and conservation of indigenous breeds. An analysis of the family poultry value chain, including its poor productivity and low financial and technical inputs, shows that it contrasts markedly with conditions in large-scale commercial poultry enterprises. Governments and researchers would be well advised to thoroughly review the family poultry value chains to identify priorities for science and innovation that can contribute to improved efficiency for the provision of eggs, live birds, fresh-chilled, frozen and other value-added poultry products. This summary is provided by CABI and CTA, July 2012.
Other commodities

Bananas
The ACP Group of States need to adjust the approach to agricultural production, marketing and distribution to be able to compete in national, regional and international markets. Traditional commodities such as banana are no longer assured of guaranteed prices and ready access to international markets. How then should the ACP region respond? Commodities, traditionally considered as food security crops are now being looked at in a different light. Can scientists assist the countries in making informed decisions to improve efficiency, cost effectiveness, quality and competitiveness?

Coffee
The ACP Group of States need to adjust the approach to agricultural production, marketing and distribution to be able to compete in national, regional and international markets. Traditional commodities such as coffee are no longer assured of guaranteed prices and ready access to international markets. How then should the ACP region respond? Commodities, traditionally considered as food security crops are now being looked at in a different light. Can scientists assist the countries in making informed decisions to improve efficiency, cost effectiveness, quality and competitiveness?
Rice value chain
Sugarcane
Vegetables

Agroforestry

The concept of agroforestry encompasses trees and shrubs combined in one way or another with crops and/or livestock. The basis of these systems is to allow the tree and the shrub to play their full roles in the protection and regeneration of the environment. Pushed into the limelight by the global challenge of climate change – which is increasingly being linked to the loss of forests – or by more specific issues of managing wood resources, agroforestry constitutes, without doubt, a part of the solution for a better integration of mankind and his activities with the natural environment. Research in agroforestry is distributed amongst several actors (universities, national and international research and development centres). Agroforestry is now included in several major debates on the future of the planet’s resources. The scientific community should seize this opportunity to advance agroforestry’s potential for contributing solutions for viable plant and animal production systems especially in the context of climate change, for the fight against poverty, for food security, for economic, social and political stability, and for a greener agriculture. Moreover, it is essential that this widely dispersed scientific community finds methods of disseminating its findings to users to increase understanding of agroforestry’s importance for sustainable agricultural and rural development. (This folder was prepared by CABI and CIRAD in collaboration with CTA. Editor in chief, Judith Francis, CTA, 2010).

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Integrated natural resource management in the highlands of eastern Africa: From concept to practice

German, L. et al. International Development Research Center (IDRC), Earthscan, 2012.This book documents a decade of research, methodological innovation, and lessons learned in an eco-regional research-for-development program operating in the eastern African highlands, the African Highlands Initiative (AHI). It summarizes the experiences of farmers, research and development workers, policy and decision-makers who have interacted within an innovation system with the common goal of implementing an integrated approach to natural resource management (NRM) in the humid highlands. This book demonstrates the crucial importance of 'approach' in shaping the outcomes of research and development, and distils lessons learned on what works, where and why. It is enriched with examples and case studies from five benchmark sites in Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, whose variability provides the reader with an in-depth knowledge of the complexities of integrated NRM in agro-ecosystems that play an important role in the rural economy of the region. 01/05/2012
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Reviving agricultural and forestry research in DR Congo

In partnership with the European Union (EU), FAO is leading efforts to help the Democratic Republic of the Congo breathe new life into agricultural and forestry research. Late 2006 saw the beginning of a major initiative in support of agricultural and forestry research, known by its French acronym as REAFOR, that is now in place with almost € 8 million in funding from the EU. REAFOR is led by FAO, working with specialised partners, including CIFOR, IITA, the National Institute for Agronomic Study and Research (INERA, DRC) and the University of Kisangani (UNIKIS, DRC). In the area of forestry, 13 PhD-students and 35 MSc-students are carrying out research aimed at safeguarding one of the world's most valuable ecosystems, while at the same time improving the livelihoods of the people living in and around the forest, who greatly depend on it for their income and subsistence. 24 students are enrolled in agricultural research projects, 5 PhDs and 19 MScs. Their projects focus on basic Congolese food crops such as cassava and plantain, on how to produce more and better plants, while preserving the environment and the ecosystem. Research stations from the heart of the rainforest to the high hills bordering Uganda or the south-western savannahs, are being rehabilitated and equipped with state of the art material, so that the students have what they need to perform.(Source: FAO, 14 Feb. 2011) 18/03/2011
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MAPFORGEN: An online atlas for the conservation of forest genetic resources

MAPFORGEN (Mapping Forest Genetic Resources) is a project to evaluate the conservation status of 100 socio-economically important woody species (trees, palms, shrubs and bamboos) from different eco-regions of Latin America and the Caribbean. The final product with all the gathered information will be a publicly available on-line Atlas with GIS-based threat, distribution and in situ conservation analyses. Additionally, with the help of experts the main risks faced by the prioritized species will be described and threatened populations and distribution of high-vulnerability areas identified. The information in this Atlas will not only increase the visibility of the conservation status of forest genetic resources native to Latin America and the Caribbean but will be a useful resource to support national and international forest and conservation programmes. It will also be the basis for further studies on the intra-specific level. MAPFORGEN is a joint initiative of Bioversity International and the Centro de Investigación Forestal of the Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (CIFOR-INIA, Spain) in close collaboration with the Latin American Forest Genetic Resources Network (LAFORGEN). 07/06/2011
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Adoption of agro-forestry technologies among small-holder farmers: A case of Zimbabwe

The objectives of the study were to assess and compare the levels of adoption of agro-forestry technologies between trained and untrained farmers, and identify specific factors that affect adoption of technologies. Data from 300 smallholder farmers selected by snowballing from villages where change agents had been trained by the International Center for Research in Agro Forestry was collected using structured questionnaires. The results showed that there was a low level of awareness of agro-forestry technologies among farmers. Formally trained farmers adopted agro-forestry technologies more than informally-trained farmers. Results also showed that the likelihood to adopt live fence was influenced significantly by land ownership, awareness, training, drought, labour and local institutions. Adoption of trees for nutrition was influenced by belonging to a farming group, awareness, training, land size and local institutions. Adoption of improved fallows was influenced by employment status, belonging to farm group, awareness and land size. Factors that influenced adoption of fodder banks were employment status, awareness and training.(Source: C. Parwada, C. T. Gadzirayi, W. T. Muriritirwa and D. Mwenye, Journal of Development and Agricultural Economics. Vol. 2(10), pp.351–358, October 2010) 17/02/2011
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Innovation in input supply systems in smallholder agroforestry: seed sources, supply chains and support systems

J. B. L. Lillesø, L. Graudal, S. Moestrup, E. D. Kjær, R. Kindt, A. Mbora, I. Dawson, J. Muriuki, A. Ræbild and R. Jamnadass; Agroforestry Systems, Springer Netherlands, 2011, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10457-011-9412-5; DOI: 10.1007/s10457-011-9412-5. This paper discusses requirements and possibilities for institutional innovation in developing more efficient delivery systems for tree germplasm as one aspect of improved input supply. It describes a simple model for delivery to farmers that identifies the major types of germplasm sources and discusses how this model can be used to identify relevant interventions to address bottlenecks in current systems. The analysis leads to eight input supply configurations for smallholder agroforestry, typified by three major models. Lessons from the evolution of smallholder crop seed delivery systems can be applied to tree germplasm supply and indicate that a commercial, decentralised model holds most promise for sustainability. However, current emphasis in agroforestry on government and NGO models of delivery hinder the development of this approach. An important implication of this analysis is that current actors in agroforestry input supply systems must redefine their roles in order for effective delivery to take place. 30/08/2011
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