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

Biofuels
Cassava
Dairy
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
Sorghum
Sugarcane
Vegetables

S&T Organisations / Web resources

Experts launch tool for identifying major rice weeds of Africa

A new interactive tool for identifying nearly 200 different weed species of lowland rice in East and West Africa was recently unveiled at the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice). The tool is built on a comprehensive knowledge base that can be accessed online (http://www.afroweeds.org/idao/) and offline on laptops and CD-ROMs or as an app on smartphones and tablet computers.http://www.africarice.org/warda/newsrel-afroweed-oct12.asp

21/11/2012

African Agricultural Technology Foundation: Raising the Productivity of Rice in Africa

Rice Knowledge Management Portal

Better rice for higher incomes: Enhancing rural livelihoods through improving post-harvest handling and rice quality in Ghana

This Research into Use website describes how a set of practical post-harvest technologies has helped the government of Ghana to improve the quality of locally grown rice, reducing imports by 30%. Functional links and communication channels between providers and users of improved rice post-production technologies have been initiated and promoted in West Africa. The new partners from Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin and Togo found the outputs relevant to their countries. Promotional strategies to introduce suitable technologies and practical solutions for the improvement of locally parboiled rice have been refined and developed, thereby aiming to increase the income of stakeholders in the production chain and improve product quality and safety.Although the use of this knowledge initially focused on the townships where it was developed, training manuals summarizing the fully tested and validated practices are now available. Agricultural extension agents are using the training manuals to transfer the knowledge to more farmers and processors. It could benefit an estimated 400,000 small-scale farmers and 125,000 women parboilers in Ghana alone.

20/11/2012

Coalition for African Rice Development

IRRI – Our Science – Adding Value

IRRI develops ways to add economic, nutritional, and environmental value to rice by reducing postharvest losses, improving grain quality of new rice varieties, improving value-chain linkages, and investigating uses of husks and straw to produce bioenergy, cut carbon emissions, and increase carbon sequestration. Present postharvest losses in the developing world can be between 15 and 25%. In addition, poor quality can cause financial loss in the market of 10–20%. IRRI works to improve the postharvest value chain, as well as identifying and verifying the effectiveness of postharvest technologies with end-users. Each year, hundreds of millions of tons of rice straw and husks are produced and are commonly disposed of by burning, thus emitting greenhouse gases. IRRI is determining the variability and digestibility of straws as livestock feed to provide local business opportunities for extra income.In addition, IRRI is developing practical ways to generate and use biochar, which is derived from rice residues, to reduce carbon emissions and improve soil fertility. Demand for specialty rice products is increasing globally. Supplying rice varieties for these high-value markets will increase economic benefits to farmers and nutritional benefits to consumers. The site includes a Rice Breeding Course which introduces rice breeding including important scientific approaches such as breeding for tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. It explains participatory varietal selection and breeding, which aim to ensure maximum relevance to improving the rice value chain and adoption by farmers. It also advises on how to evaluate quality.

20/11/2012

RIICE

Improving the Ofada Rice Value Chain

The Global Rice Science Partnership

The Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP) provides a single strategic plan and unique new partnership platform for impact-oriented rice research for development. It is designed to more effectively solve development challenges. GRiSP streamlines current rice research for development activities of the CGIAR and aligns them with more than 900 rice research and development partners worldwide to: • Increase rice productivity and value for the poor • Foster more sustainable rice-based production • Help rice farmers adapt to climate change• Improve the efficiency and equity of the rice sector

20/11/2012

IRAD CIDA AfricaRice

Climate Resilient Rice Commercialization Sector Development Programme

This Asian Development Bank Climate Resilient Rice Commercialization Sector Development programme is proposed to support and accelerate the efficient and effective implementation of the Strategy on Agriculture and Water (SAW) and the "Policy on the Promotion of Paddy Production and Rice Export" (the Rice Policy). It will address food security and rice commercialization by prioritizing: (i) strengthening the rice value chain; (ii) improving the legal and regulatory framework in agricultural land management; (iii) improving access to credit by paddy producers and rice millers/exporters; and (iv) enhancing paddy production and productivity through improved irrigation water use efficiency, establishment of paddy post-harvesting facilities, and paddy crop insurance pilots.

20/11/2012

SRI International Network and Resources Center (SRI-Rice)

Rice value chain development 2005-2011: IPMS experiences in Fogera pilot learning Woredas

This slideshow by D. Hoekstra, from the CIDA Stakeholders’ Workshop, ILRI, Addis Ababa, 2 May 2012, outlines 6 years of project work on the rice value chain in Ethiopia.

20/11/2012