Annual Technical & Finance Report 2007
Africa free of hunger, poverty and malnutrition
Africa free of hunger, poverty and malnutrition
Contents Introduction
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Message from the Chairman
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Message from the Chief Executive Officer
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About Africa Harvest
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Technical Program
10
Capacity Building and Technology Deployment
14
Public Acceptance and Communication
20
Regulatory Affairs
24
Finance and Administration
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Financial Report
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Africa Harvest Board of Directors 2007
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Africa free of hunger, poverty and malnutrition
Introduction: Agriculture's role in fighting poverty, hunger and malnutrition gets new global focus The international development community, multilateral and bilateral donors, continue to give renewed attention to agriculture. This is in recognition of two facts: • The disastrous negative consequences of declining donor investments over more than two decades. • Agriculture provides the best opportunity to fight poverty, hunger and malnutrition. Africa Harvest has been working in the entire agricultural value chain: increasing productivity, providing access to resources and services and making markets work for the poor. For example, over the last decade, the Tissue Culture Banana Program has proven, again and again, that well-focused intervention can make a big difference to the poor. Working with diverse partners, and in many projects, Africa Harvest acknowledges the need for intervention at different levels: governance, provision of subsidies, empowerment of women, viewing of agriculture as a business and value-chain analysis to tilt benefits towards farmers.
Africa Harvest CEO Dr Florence Wambugu Sorghum cultures undergoing examination Ms Josephine Kilei, Senior Administrative demonstrates the preparation of banana Assistant at Africa Harvest responding to a at the CSIR laboratories, Pretoria, South cooking products to women in Chura telephone enquiry Africa Village, Kiambu, Kenya 1
Africa free of hunger, poverty and malnutrition
Message from the Chairman Africa Harvest is committed to partnering with national, regional and international organizations in alleviating hunger, poverty and malnutrition in Africa. Our science and technology-based programs and activities aim to increase the productivity and profitability of the agricultural sector while ensuring the sustainability of the farming environment and improving the nutritional health of the consumer. Our tissue culture banana projects address several aspects of small-holder agricultural farming systems. The Africa Biofortified Sorghum project targets the development of new agriculture technologies while the dissemination of information for public awareness and acceptance of biotechnology through the USAID and CropLife projects are part of the strategy to effectively apply science to meet the developmental challenges facing African smallholder farmers. Dr Kanayo Nwanze
The decline in investment in agriculture over the last 20 years peaked in 2006 when development aid for agriculture dropped from 18% of all aid in 1979 to just below 3% in 2006. In 2007, food and commodity prices experienced a major surge. Coupled with an ascending price of crude oil, increasing attention to biofuel production, changing diets in several middle-income countries (particularly India, China and Brazil) and the multiple impacts of extreme climatic conditions were beginning to threaten the livelihoods in rural Africa. By the end of the year, owing to the high price of basic foodstuffs and farm inputs to levels beyond the reach of smallholder, resource-poor families, an additional 20-30 million people were added to an alarming 250 million Africans already in extreme poverty. The 2007 Annual Technical and Finance Report details Africa Harvest's contribution towards resolving these adverse economic, social and environmental factors by providing client farming smallholder communities with solutions through resources, knowledge and networks to adapt to the challenges. I am pleased to highlight the following key achievements during 2007: • Funding for the Dupont Africa Harvest Chura Community TC Banana Project was extended for an additional two years, 2007–2008, to enhance aspects of marketing and distribution chains while supporting valueaddition activities for the banana fruit;
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Africa Harvest: Annual Technical and Financial Report 2007
• Collaboration with the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) on staff training on post-harvest handling and quality enhancement of TC banana was concluded; • A Board Commission review of the Phase-I, TC-Banana project highlighted a Ksh 963 million [US$15 million] additional income to TC banana growers over non-TC banana growers. The review report by Dr. Shabd Acharya & Dr Mary Mackey also showed social and technical improvements in target communities; • Field trials for ABS sorghum were initiated in Puerto Rico with a view to gathering field data for regulatory approval in African countries; • Funding extension of the CropLife project for 2007 was obtained to enhance advocacy for the biosafety legislation in Kenya and Uganda; • Africa Harvest concluded a Partnership Agreement with a Memorandum of Understanding with the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD). This relationship is particularly important, given
Africa Harvest's vision of tangible involvement in different regions of Africa; • South African Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs, Lulu Xingwana, hailed the ABS Project, saying it addressed a major African challenge: health and malnutrition. This recognition was accorded at a meeting of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) held in Johannesburg, South Africa, at which an exhibition on Africa Harvest was a major attraction; • Africa Harvest and Performance Plants Inc. (PPI), a Canadian biotechnology company, signed an agreement on the use of PPI's drought-tolerance technology in Africa. In concluding, I wish to extend my appreciation to the Board of Directors, the Chief Executive Officer, Management Team and Staff of Africa Harvest for their dedication and hard work. We are grateful to our funding partners who continue to believe in us and to invest in our work. Thanks also to our colleagues and partners in many organizations that collaborate with us; your encouragement has been a source of strength.
Message from the Chairman
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Africa free of hunger, poverty and malnutrition
Message from the Chief Executive Officer The power of scientific entrepreneurship became evident as Africa Harvest continued to engage with farmers in 2007. Moving technologies from the labs to commercialization translated into incomes in the pockets of farmers. By the end of the year under review, close to half-a-million small-scale farmers were not only food secure but had economically benefited from Africa Harvest's interventions. Clearly, the institution has achieved a lot over the years since its inception. However, there is need to move to the next level of growth as we harness our gains to better address the needs of the farmers, development partners and other stakeholders. Adapting to a rapidly changing world will enable Africa Harvest to deliver more value than ever to those we serve.
Dr Florence Wambugu
In its effort to accelerate the impact on the ground, Africa Harvest first ensured that smallholders had food to eat and the surplus was sold to bring income to the family unit. Indeed, sustainable rural development involves both food security and income generation for smallholder farmers. We achieved this success as we put more emphasis on the bottom-up approach and the Whole Value Chain Strategy. The three key components of this strategy have been Farmer Empowerment through education and training; Good Agronomy and Input Supplies; and Increasing Farmers’ Access to Markets. The result has been increased output, realized from addressing the perceived needs of farmers; in turn, this results in greater farmer buy-in and even more rapid technology adoption. During the year under review, we witnessed the snow ball effect of more farmers joining our programs, resulting in more development-ready groups. Subsequently, a parallel effect has been an increase in the number of development partners offering value-added services. These include Equity and K-Rep banks, providing access to finance, while Technoserve continued to provide access to markets. Development partners like Honey Care introduced other income-generating activities that continue to empower the smallholder farmer economically. These include bee-keeping, goat keeping, dairy farming and chicken-rearing among others. As a consequence of this growth, Africa Harvest increased its human resource capacity, which grew by over 25% in the year under review.
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Africa Harvest: Annual Technical and Financial Report 2007
As part of the Foundation's forward-thinking strategy, two new thrusts were introduced: first, several initiatives were started by the Technical Program to see how best the TC Banana Project can be expanded into other East African countries. Second, Africa Harvest began to explore how best to leverage the unique relationship it has developed with rural communities; in particular, opportunities in banana value-addition and innovative trading platforms are being explored. Africa Harvest continued to provide leadership in the public debate surrounding biotechnology. The biotech outreach thrust shifted from workshops with the media, scientists and the general public to developing more innovative media platforms targeting key decisionmakers. From a highly visible strategy, Africa Harvest shifted to “enabling” the most credible individuals and organizations to speak for the technology; this meant forging stronger relationships and empowering organizations we work with. During the period under review, Africa Harvest's international partnerships continued to play a vital role in building scientific capacity in Africa. The Africa Biofortified Sorghum (ABS) Project of which Africa Harvest is the project leader reached its “mid-term” milestone at the end of 2007. One of the most significant achievements was the growing of the secondgeneration transgenic sorghum plants the ABS#2 in
Puerto Rico. This variety has leveraged technology for grain improvement and all its approaches have been tested in maize or other cereals. The overall progress made during 2007 would not have been possible without the visionary leadership of Africa Harvest Chairman, Dr. Kanayo Nwanze, and the exemplary Board of Directors. The diversity of the Board has ensured that Africa Harvest is “always on the move” and never basking in our success more than is necessary. The Board continues to remind us of the challenge that confronts Africa: millions of poor, hungry and malnourished Africans waiting for our services. I wish to thank the Senior Management Team and Staff, who have always worked diligently to ensure thousands of farmers benefit from the work we do. Without the “hunger to reach new heights”, the organization would not have achieved what it has. On behalf of the many farmers who have benefited from our work, we wish to thank our development partners: The Government of Kenya, Rockefeller Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, FORD Foundation, DuPont, and Crop life International, among others. We look forward to increasingly fruitful partnerships as we scale up what has worked successfully.
Message from the Chief Executive Officer
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Africa free of hunger, poverty and malnutrition
About Africa Harvest
Both quality and quantity improvement in good crops helps provide a secure base to tackle hunger, poverty and malnutrition. Kanayo Nwanze Vice President International Fund for Agricultural Development
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Africa Harvest: Annual Technical and Financial Report 2007
Vision Africa free of hunger, poverty and malnutrition Mission To use science and technology, especially biotechnology, to help the poor in Africa achieve food security, economic well-being and sustainable rural development The headquarters of the African Harvest Biotech Foundation International (Africa Harvest) is in Nairobi, Kenya. Incorporated in the USA as a non-profit foundation, the organization has regional offices in Washington D.C., USA, and Johannesburg, South Africa. Since its inception in 2002, Africa Harvest has grown to become a leading organization in the promotion of agricultural research and rural agricultural development in Africa. The link between the two activities is critical for the economic and social development of the continent. The bulk of Africa's agriculture is supported by small holder farmers who struggle to produce high-quality agricultural crops due to poor plant varieties, meager agronomic resources and dilapidated infrastructure. Many African agricultural research institutions generate excellent research products that do not reach intended recipients due to limited resources and weak networks with rural communities.
The office complex hosting the new Africa Harvest Nairobi offices on School Lane, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya.
About Africa Harvest
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Africa Harvest bridges the divide between excellent technology (wherever it might exist) and rural communities to bring about agricultural technologybased projects that uplift communities. Africa Harvest has an international and pan-African network of public and private partners. The organization works closely with stakeholders at national and
grassroots levels with organizations representing non-governmental organizations (NGOs), agricultural extension workers, rural communities and farmers. Together with other like-minded organizations, Africa Harvest is developing new ways to generate income and jobs that support sustainable rural livelihoods.
Nutritionally enhanced sorghum undergoing field trials in Puerto Rico, USA.
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Africa Harvest: Annual Technical and Financial Report 2007
Partners Development partners • Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation • CropLife International • DuPont USA • The Rockefeller Foundation (RF) • United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Collaborating partners • AfricaBio • African Biotechnology Stakeholders Forum (ABSF) • Agricultural Research Council (ARC), SA • Council for Science and Industrial Research (CSIR), SA • African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) • Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) • International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) • International Service for Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) • Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) • Kenya Banana Growers Association • National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), Nigeria • New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) • DuPont, through its business Pioneer Hi-Bred • TechnoServe Incorporation (TNS) • University of California, Berkeley • University of Pretoria
About Africa Harvest
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Africa free of hunger, poverty and malnutrition
Technical Program
Agricultural development is an engine of economic growth for low-income countries where most people live in rural communities and farm Kofi Annan Chairman Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa
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Africa Harvest: Annual Technical and Financial Report 2007
Africa Harvest's Technical Program forges new partnerships and strengthens existing ones to assist small-scale farmers and their families lift themselves out of poverty, hunger and malnutrition by increasing the productivity and profitability of their farms. The Program conducts need-driven technical interventions that offer practical solutions to the challenges facing resource-poor smallholder farmers in rural communities throughout Africa. During 2007, the major areas of focus were the project management role within the Africa Biofortified Sorghum (ABS) Project, providing expert support to the TC Banana Project and Virus Indexing Project (being implemented in partnership with the Queensland University of Technology). Africa Biofortified Sorghum (ABS) Project The Africa Biofortified Sorghum (ABS) Project seeks to develop a more nutritious and easily digestible sorghum that contains increased levels of essential amino acids, especially lysine, increased levels of Vitamins A, and more available iron and zinc. During the period under review, the ABS Project reached half of the life of the five-year project period. Overall, the project has had a sterling performance, which includes timely recruitment of key staff, establishment of governance structures and delivery of agreed milestones. The rather rough regulatory and bio-safety terrain in Africa remains the most significant challenge for the project. Capacity building of African scientists continued with training of a sorghum breeder from Agricultural Research Council of South Africa (ARC) and two post-doctoral scientists from South Africa's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the
Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) at the Pioneer Hi-Bred facility in Johnston, Iowa, USA. A fully functional greenhouse was constructed at the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) station in Potchefstroom, following South African government approval and registration. The ARC molecular analytical laboratory was appraised by the Pioneer team and found to be adequate in instrumentation and caliber of expertise to support the breeding work. A literature review of sorghum products and processing methods was concluded. The review highlighted the importance of ensuring that food processing does not erode the nutritional gains, especially starch and protein digestibility. The survey of indigenous sorghum products and processing methods was also completed and documented. The objective of this work was designed to establish a nutritional baseline of different sorghums. The study of 11 sorghum varieties indicates that the content of nutrients such as protein, especially lysine, pro-vitamin A, iron and zinc are lower than in other cereals. These two blocks of work prepared the critical pathway for enhancement of the sustainability and impact of the final ABS products. The Food Consumption Survey was completed in Limpopo Province, a substantial sorghum-producing and consuming area of South Africa. The objective of the study was to determine the level of bio-fortification required to meaningfully improve the nutrient content of sorghum. The study revealed that with the exception of protein, all the nutrients of concern in ABS were deficient in children's diet. Also, it revealed the extent of biofortification necessary to acquire the recommended dietary allowances and recommended nutrient intake of the local population.
Technical program
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During the period under review, all the IP donations to the project were reviewed and found to be compliant. The freedom to operate (FTO) assessment for the project was completed. The FTO report confirms that there are no major obstacles to the freedom to develop and use transgenic sorghum in Africa and the resulting transgenic sorghum has no IP infringements in the 16 African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) countries and 16 Organisation Africaine de la Propriete Intellectuelle (OAPI) countries.
for the permit and a decision had not been made by the end of 2007.
During the year under review, most of the challenges were anticipated through an issues management strategy. These were prevented or had any potential negative effect mitigated. For example, the delay in issuance of the permit for bio-containment greenhouse work with transgenic sorghum ABS#1 in South Africa did not slow or stop the progress of the key product ABS#2. However, the delay affected the backcrossing programme at the ARC. CSIR appealed
Tee Cee Banana Enterprises Ltd (TCBEL) is a farmer-owned banana marketing company that Africa Harvest supports. One of the challenges is efficiently staggering the production of bananas among several of their small holder farmers as well as effectively modeling their production outputs for their wholesale and institutional markets. In 2007, TCBEL was successful in helping reduce post-harvest losses and increasing marketing potential for bananas, thereby creating value for the small holder farmers.
Support to TC Banana Project Africa Harvest's involvement with the TC Banana Project has substantially impacted the lives of farmers. Over 500,000 Kenyan farmers planted TC bananas, an average of about 50,000 farmers a year. Challenges exist where the demand for TC banana plantlets exceeds supply.
ABS-funded greenhouse at the Agricultural Research Council, South Africa.
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Africa Harvest: Annual Technical and Financial Report 2007
The Technical program provided statistical support and information to the Capacity Building and Technology Deployment team leading the farmer extension services with TCBEL. Also, the Program assisted with the production of donor reports for the TC Banana projects in Chura, Maragua and Meru. Support to Virus Indexing Project The goal of the Virus Indexing Project is the establishment of a virus-indexing facility in East Africa laboratories to screen viral diseases in tissue culture banana plantlets before distribution. This would help minimise the spread of viral diseases, therefore increasing yields, improving fruit and raising incomes for the benefit of banana producers and consumers. During the period under review, the Technical program supported the team conducting the banana virus indexing baseline survey by providing them with contacts to agricultural research personnel in the survey regions, logistical support and access to historical data and previous field research results.
A virus indexing system within a TC banana laboratory would help separate virus-infected and mutant plantlets from clean plantlets.
Technical program
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Africa free of hunger, poverty and malnutrition
Capacity Building and Technology Deployment
Without substantial investment in biotechnology to address critical challenges such as drought, Africa will continue to experience food deficits. Prof. Calestous Juma Director of the Science, Technology and Globalization Project
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Africa Harvest: Annual Technical and Financial Report 2007
The Capacity Building and Technology Deployment Program focuses on raising crop yields and income levels of rural farming communities through training and technology dissemination.
The project targeted seven districts in Kenya: Meru South, Meru Central and Embu District in Eastern province, Kirinyaga, Murang'a, Maragua and Thika District in Central Province.
The Program contributes to the Africa Harvest vision of Africa free of hunger, poverty and malnutrition, through increased awareness of the TC banana technology, farmer mobilization, facilitating seedling availability through establishment of satellite nurseries, training farmers on good orchard management, post-harvest handling of bananas and linking farmers with potential markets.
Building on a baseline survey conducted during the first phase in 2006, the project's second phase focused more on creating market-pull and providing incentives for fruit quality control as deliberate strategies to tilt the benefits to farmers. To achieve the project objectives, Africa Harvest developed new and innovative methods of farmers’ mobilisation and production outreach not tried before. Five graduate field officers with agricultural outreach experience were hired. Their experience in French beans and flowers business was leveraged through intensive training on TC Banana operations and outreach. The graduates were also given mobile phones and funded to access Internet services to communicate with supervisors in Africa Harvest's Nairobi office. Each of the field officers got a field motor bike and were assigned to two districts to mobilize and train farmers. They were also introduced to TechnoServe field staff and encouraged to work with them closely.
During the period under review, the Program was involved in the implementation of two projects: The Rockefeller Foundation-funded Banana Value Chain Project and DuPont-funded Chura TC Banana Project. The Rockefeller Foundation-funded TC Banana Project The TC banana project funded by Rockefeller Foundation began its second phase in 2007. The overall goal of the second phase was to 'Tilt the benefits to farmers, of the TC banana technology, by effectively unlocking the maximum benefits from increased efficiency in the banana value chain'. Over two years, the project objectives were to: • More than double the number of TC banana adopters from 2,000 to 5,500 • Ensure focused whole value chain (WVC) capacity building of all farmer groups • Undertake focused research on banana diversity and value addition • Facilitate information access and dissemination to all stakeholders.
The Nairobi office staff focused on more strategic outreach activities such as radio outreach, establishment of distributor TC seedling nurseries with local entrepreneurs in target regions and development of teaching materials. In addition, there were monthly farmer field days, and several farmer to farmer workshops on information sharing where the field officers and the supervisors interacted regularly. The results from the first year of this project (year ending: October 2007) were outstanding. The ratio of farmers trained compared with those actually adopting the technology was increased from the previous 15%
Capacity building and technology deployment
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to over 50%. Of the 6,616 farmers reached, some 3,052 adopted the TC Banana technology. Overall, the project had never achieved such high level of farmer adoption. The success in technology adoption can also be attributed to the market pull provided by TechnoServe, working in partnership with Africa Harvest. Techno Serve's physical buildings or fruit marketing centers in target districts provided a forum where farmers could negotiate better prices than before. During the year under review, the Program also observed a gender shift in farmer group participation; the men-to-women ratio shifted from the usual 50/50 to favour men on a 60/40 ratio, especially in coffee -growing areas. This was because TC banana was generating more income than coffee; apparently,
men shifted from growing coffee to growing TC banana. Africa Harvest implemented the “Farming as a Business” approach, that evaluated the Gross Margin Analysis (GMA) of the various crops they grow against TC banana. The appealing return on investment of TC bananas amplified its attractiveness and increased adoption. The challenge of water access during the dry season continues to affect the project. To address this, TechnoServe started a complementary project on water access where farmers get a loan of about US$1,000 to drill boreholes, lay water pipes or construct water tanks. The loan is being administered by K-Rep Bank. In some areas, poor road access and high costs of agro-inputs such as fertilizer and pesticides remain serious constraints to project expansion.
[L to R] Africa Harvest CEO Dr Florence Wambugu, Rockefeller Foundation Vice President Mr Akinwumi Adesina and former TechnoServe Director Mr Anthony Bugg-Levine
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Africa Harvest: Annual Technical and Financial Report 2007
TCBEL Business development consultant Ms Violet Wainaina and former secretary Ms Josephine Njeri standing outside their office premises
Capacity building and technology deployment
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In future, greater efforts need to be made to bring in agro-dealers networks with a focus on TC banana. Other initiatives will focus on strengthening future sustainability and refining the scaling-out model. TCBEL Farmer-owned banana marketing company Tee Cee Banana Enterprises Ltd (TCBEL) was founded in March 2005 with an operational office situated in Wangige market, Kiambu District near Nairobi. The company is an innovative approach to help Chura village farmers market their bananas. It is modelled after the successful small-scale tea and milk industry in Kenya. TCBEL supports farmers by facilitating their access to planting materials, fertilizer, manure, information and extension services. During the year under review, more collection centers were established to ensure a more efficient fruit collection process from the different villages. This helped TCBEL to meet its contractual obligations with customers throughout the year. TCBEL serves a network of more than 6,000 farmers by buying their banana produce to avoid the inherent exploitation existing in the otherwise unstructured banana market in Kenya. Of the 1 million metric tons of bananas produced in Kenya per year, 100,000 metric tons are consumed in Nairobi alone making it the largest banana market in Kenya. The location of TCBEL in Wangige is therefore not only strategic in relation to the supply of the bananas but also to the market. In 2007, TCBEL continued to place emphasis on farmer satisfaction and value addition. The company ensured that farmers received the necessary extension advice in order to get quality bananas that fetch the farmers' good revenue. Training of Trainers
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Africa Harvest: Annual Technical and Financial Report 2007
(TOTs) in various farmer groups has improved farmers' business relationships with TCBEL. The major challenges are: • Fruit Quality—The quality being produced by farmers is still not satisfactory and this affects the marketability. • Water Availability—Water is a major challenge to farmers and affects the quality and finally the market price. It is not easy to have uniform production in terms of quality and quantity the year round unless there is a reliable source of water. • Cash flows—When farmers are in need of urgent cash, they sell bananas, which may not be ready for harvest, to TCBEL competitors at throw-away prices. Banana Virus Indexing Project Banana is an important crop in the East African countries of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. One of the most critical constraints to banana production is infestation by diseases. Most of the farmers who grow bananas in this region are resource poor and hence cannot afford chemical disease management approaches. Because the banana is a vegetatively propagated crop, there is often a high risk of transmission of diseases through planting material sourced from an infected mother plant. Most TC laboratories in East Africa are able to screen out bacterial, fungal and pest diseases. However, they are currently unable to screen viral diseases as there is no clear methodology (index) of detecting virus RNA sequences within the banana cell genome. These viruses, such as the Banana Streak Virus can cause losses up to 100%, and most of the banana varieties in East Africa are susceptible to these viruses.
The best deterrents would be to index all viruses and screen them in the mother plants before using them for mass propagation of the TC plantlets. For sustainability of such a system, it would be essential that the supply of TC plantlets from TC laboratories be monitored and that virus indexing be integrated into this system. During the year under review, Africa Harvest started putting in place a strategy to establish an effective government-regulated virus indexing system for TC bananas in the East African region. A baseline survey was conducted to provide basic information on essential requirements for the establishment of the virus indexing system. Surveys were conducted in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania during June to August 2007 to, among other things, identify the factors that have inhibited the establishment of plant diagnostic laboratories in East Africa, with emphasis on virus indexing labs. The surveys involved visits and interviews with personnel in the various public and private Tissue Culture (TC) laboratories and nurseries, diagnostic laboratories and relevant regulatory and certification institutions. From the survey, the factors found to inhibit the establishment of plant diagnostics laboratories (with focus on virus indexing) in East Africa were as follows:
• Lack of support by donors, governments and institutions to address issues of viral diseases in bananas. • Immense resource requirement: Developing a virus indexing facility is expensive, and this is mostly due to the high initial capital cost of the equipment, plus the operational cost of the reagents and the manpower requirement. • Lack of coordination among institutions within each of the three countries and absence of a regional mechanism to share information. • Low commercialization of the TC banana plantlets in each of the three countries. Consequently, the sales volume of the TC material is so low that revenue from the sales may not be adequate to justify establishment and to sustain a virus indexing facility. • Lack of policies to support the establishment of government-regulated plant diagnostic laboratories. Awareness creation among stakeholders especially regulatory authorities—on the importance of virus indexing in TC banana production would be critical.
• Inadequate human capacity in plant diagnostics, especially virus indexing. • Nature of viral diseases: Unlike pests and other diseases like the bacterial wilt disease, viral diseases cannot be detected easily. • Lack of public awareness on what viruses are, their symptoms and their importance in banana production.
Capacity building and technology deployment
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Africa free of hunger, poverty and malnutrition
Public Acceptance and Communication
Once consumers recognize that new innovations can enhance their quality of life and once they understand that risks are either minimal or manageable, such [bio]technology eventually could enjoy public acceptance. C S Prakash Director, Center for Plant Biotechnology Research
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Africa Harvest: Annual Technical and Financial Report 2007
The Africa Harvest Communication Program In 2007, the Communication Program started focusing on better communicating how Africa Harvest is perceived by others. To achieve this, each of the Foundation's programs redefined how they contributed to the vision of ‘Africa free of poverty, hunger and malnutrition’. Africa Harvest's External Communication focused on its unique proposition—its ability to ensure that science and technology improve the livelihoods of the neediest grassroot communities. The Foundation is also viewed as a technology champion and the Communication challenge was strengthening these “brand perceptions”. Communication tools previously developed were strengthened and redesigned to ensure that tailored messages reach different (external) target audiences. During the period under review, the quarterly Africa Harvest Newspaper was produced and distributed during each quarter. Further, implementation of an online strategy (web-edition of the newspaper) was implemented to build on an offline (print edition) strategy. The Africa Harvest Website, www.africaharvest.org was redesigned and content strategy strengthened. The main focus was on ensuring that the design was technologically current, professionally designed and ensured ease of use. The ABS Project Website, www.supersorghum.org—the official website for the Africa Biofortified Sorghum (ABS) Project—is managed by the Africa Harvest Communication Program. In 2007, the focus was on realigning the website to the ABS Project imperatives by customizing diverse messages and communicating more frequently to clearly defined target audiences.
Given that Africa Harvest is in the business of disseminating ideas to different stakeholders, 2007 saw the strengthening of Electronic Communication (Audio and Video) as part of Africa Harvest's arsenal of communication. Although the Foundation has, in the past, explored video and audio, these opportunities have not been maximized; in the year under review, a documentary on the need for the Biosafety legislation in Kenya was made and shown on national TV stations and to Members of Parliament. During the year under review, the Communication Program started the implementation of Strategic Internal Communication by developing and maintaining several channels for effective communication. These channels include the internal electronic newsletter, which is an important channel to communicate Africa Harvest's strategic initiatives. Information is sent via an email-blast based on ‘need-to-know’. In terms of the Biotechnology Outreach Strategy, Africa Harvest continued to provide leadership in the public debate surrounding biotechnology. The biotech outreach thrust shifted from workshops with the media, scientists and the general public to developing more innovative media platforms targeted to key decisionmakers. From a highly-visible strategy, Africa Harvest shifted to “enabling” the most credible individuals and organizations to speak for the technology; this meant forging stronger relationships with national agricultural research institutes (NARIs), relevant government ministries and universities. During 2007, the biotech outreach program was implemented through three projects: the Africa Biofortified Sorghum (ABS) Project, the Croplife Outreach Project and the US Agency for International Development, USAID-funded biotech outreach project. The ABS Project has an Africa-wide mandate while the Croplife and USAID Projects focus on Kenya. Public acceptance and communication
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The Communication Program is tasked with the ABS Project's public acceptance and communication (PAC) Strategy. This mandate is interpreted to mean the positive and proactive communication of progress and achievements to different stakeholders. This includes providing communication support during critical stages. This is especially important during applications for laboratory and contained research as well as field releases. The Communication strategy also involves communicating effectively to and with the intended beneficiaries of the project outcomes, with emphasis on the farming community.
Under the ABS Project, the Communication Program held a high-level communication workshop with professionals from each of the partner organizations. The Program also provided leadership in the project's participation at the Bio2Biz and the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa conferences held in Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa. The Program also developed bilingual English and French materials for the ABS Project. In 2007, the Croplife/Africa Harvest Program successfully managed to get the biosafety policy and legislation process restarted. The Biosafety Bill went
Ms Genevieve Davies from Cape Biotech Trust (center), flanked by Africa Harvest employees Mr Isaac Esipisu (left) and Mr Benson Kariuki (right), during the 2007 Bio2Biz Conference.
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Africa Harvest: Annual Technical and Financial Report 2007
as far as the third reading in Kenya's Parliament, but being an election year, Parliament was closed before voting for the Bill could be concluded. Among the successes was the increased and improved debate on the specific subject of policy and legislation as well as increased diversity of biotech voices in Kenya. The Program was also successful in improving collaboration among biotech organizations in Kenya as well as expansion of our stakeholder relations to include churches, universities, farmers and farmerorganizations. A newspaper focusing on the GM legislation was also finalized and distributed to key target audiences. A robust media outreach strategy saw the development of Kenya-specific biotech information, finalization of Kenya media databases and continued one-to-one contact with the media. Overall, the Croplife support and collaboration with partners such as AfricaBio, the Africa Biotechnology Stakeholders Forum (ABSF) and the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA)—has helped our target audiences gain a better understanding of biotechnology. The evidence of this is in the balanced and positive media coverage on biotech and an improvement in the quantity and quality of biotech debates. The USAID-funded project focused on biotech acceptance. In the year under review, various activities were undertaken, designed to strengthen the progress Kenya has made with regard to GM technology. These focused on strengthening the regulatory system and helping sustain progress made towards the development of appropriate policies leading to the GMO Act.
Public acceptance and communication
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Africa free of hunger, poverty and malnutrition
Regulatory Affairs
If governments foil the growth of this [bio]technology, mankind will be denied solutions to a host of problems that plague many nations, particularly in the developing world. Prof. Jennifer Thomson Professor of Microbiology University of Cape Town
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Africa Harvest: Annual Technical and Financial Report 2007
Regulatory Affairs and Biosafety Regulatory Affairs and Biosafety Unit is part of Africa Harvest's Technical Program and was set up in 2005 as part of the thematic areas of the Africa Biofortified Sorghum (ABS) Project. The Unit's initial task was to set up an operational Regulatory Affairs Focal Point, comprising dynamic individuals within the consortium, members with good knowledge in sorghum biology as well as molecular genetics. These individuals were subsequently trained by world-class regulatory consultants in order to gain in-depth knowledge in regulatory affairs, government affairs and regulatory science; the strategy was for them to provide leadership in regulatory and biosafety activities within the institutions who are members of the ABS consortium. The Unit ensures that the regulated activities of the ABS Project conform to the national and international regulations, protocols or laws. It also ensures that ABS materials intended for laboratory, glasshouse or field experiments conform to the regulatory and biosafety requirements of the import country. Thus, the Program is responsible for the development of safety guidelines as well as guiding the development and execution of core package and event package activities, which include toxicity tests, allergenicity tests, bioavailability analysis, digestibility assays, molecular characterization, agronomic, expression and compositional analysis, among others, for promising transgenic events generated by the technology development group. The Unit is also responsible for developing permit application dossiers for importation of transgenic materials, contained glasshouse trials, confined field trials, and large-scale field experimentations and other uses by the product development group. As support to the above-mentioned core activities,
the Unit is responsible for gathering regulatory data requirements, training of the ABS personnel in regulatory and biosafety issues and providing oversight to the other ABS Programs, thereby contributing to the Public Acceptance and Communication (PAC) Strategy. During the 2007 period, the Unit identified one candidate trainee from Kenyatta University in Kenya to undergo training in vector construction and sorghum transformation in Pioneer and as part of capacity building of young African scientists. The trainee joined the ABS team in Pioneer in October 2007. Detailed safety guidelines for handling project materials on transit, in the laboratory, glasshouse and confined fields were developed and a detailed Regulatory Affairs Training Manual for the ABS Project completed. The Unit contributed towards Africa Harvest's establishment of research collaboration and synergies with other institutions. In 2007, the Unit developed a concept note on the potential role of CORAF/WECARD in the ABS project, which was accepted by the CORAF/ WECARD management team. The Unit was also involved in the design and execution of gene flow experiments to answer biosafety questions. Other achievements of the Unit include getting the US field permit and subsequent planting of ABS#1 in the field in Johnston, Iowa; the acquisition of US field permit for planting of ABS#2 in US field environments, and providing technical input to South Africa's Agricultural Research Council (ARC) in upgrading their bio-containment facility to handle GM sorghum.
Regulatory affairs
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Africa free of hunger, poverty and malnutrition
Finance and administration
A much more important challenge... is that of mobilising global science and technology to address the crises of public health, agricultural productivity, environmental degradation and demographic stress confronting these countries. Dr Jeffrey Sachs Director of The Earth Institute
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Africa Harvest: Annual Technical and Financial Report 2007
Finance and Development
Josephine Songa
The Africa Harvest Finance and Business development programme undertook major activities all geared towards contributing to the mission and vision of Africa Harvest.
Dr. Josephine Songa joined Africa Harvest in 2007 as Director, Capacity and Technical Programmes. She holds a PhD in Agricultural Entomology from Kenyatta University, an M.Sc. in Agricultural Entomology from the University of Manitoba, a B.Sc in Agriculture from the University of Nairobi and a diploma in Business Management from the Kenya Institute of Management. Dr. Songa has both international and national experience with different organizations such as Rockefeller Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), her most recent position being at KARI as the coordinator of the KARI Crop Protection Programme. Dr. Songa has written several scientific journals and is a member of various science-based professional associations.
Some of the key highlights include the following: New Staff Hired The primary objective of recruitment for Africa Harvest is to secure the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, without distinction as to race, sex, religion or marital status. In 2007, three new members of staff were recruited—two female and one male. Africa Harvest believes that the diversity of staff groups contributes towards the organization’s intellectual strength and effectiveness. As an international organisation, Africa Harvest endeavors to operate an efficient system for distributing advertisements and position announcements to women and men nationwide. Julia Kagunda Julia Kagunda joined Africa Harvest in 2007 as Senior Communications & Administration Officer. She brought with her a wealth of experience in print media and public relations. Julia also has extensive experience in writing, developing strategic communication plans and tools, fundraising, donor relations and community relations. Julia holds a B.A. in Communication Community Development and M.A. in Communication Print Media and Public Relations, both from Daystar University. Her professional experience is vast and ranges from lecturing at Daystar University, Communications Department to various roles as an influential consultant at the World Bank/Office of the President and Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KESPA).
Gideon Ndichu Gideon Ndichu joined Africa Harvest in 2007 as an accountant. He is a holder of CPA (K) and has enhanced his certificate by attaining a certificate in computer applications. Before joining Africa Harvest he worked at the Safari Park Hotel & Casino. Gideon is currently pursuing Certified Public Secretary (CPS) Section Three and Four. In addition, Africa Harvest strives to offer a working environment that is sensitive to the needs of all employees. All the posts were filled through competitive selection.
Finance and administration
27
Africa Harvest goes through External Review Institutional Review One of the main highlights of the year under review was an Institutional External Review that was carried out in July. As Africa Harvest entered its sixth year, it became evident that the institution had reached its maturity level sooner than anticipated. As a result, the Board of Directors commissioned an external review to provide an independent, forward looking assessment of the progress of Africa Harvest, and to identify strengths, weaknesses and gaps in the organization. It was also critical for the review to be undertaken to provide constructive recommendations to guide the future growth strategy. The review was carried out by independent parties. Some of the conclusions and recommendations that emerged were: • Africa Harvest’s remarkable success in implementing its programs is attributed to strong and passionate leadership, strong and dedicated staff and use of the Whole Value Chain Approach in field projects. • The reviewers recommended the establishment of an endowment fund to support institutional development, to improve the financial situation in tandem with the organizational growth. • Revision of the organizational strategic plan and organizational structure to reflect the growth in the organization. • Diversification of project portfolio and expansion to other countries. The Review was received by the Board of Directors in November and the recommendations are already being implemented.
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Africa Harvest: Annual Technical and Financial Report 2007
AFRICA HARVEST: EMPLOYEE GROWTH
New Partners On Board Innovations for Poverty Action Africa Harvest entered into partnership with Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) through the signing of MoUs. The two organizations share the goal of facilitating water access to smallholder farmers, with the expectation that it will increase agricultural yields and farm income in a sustainable way. The partnership seeks to develop a research project on water access, agricultural profitability and productivity in Kenya, focusing on TC banana growers in select sites. Suitable sites for the project will be not only locations where water access is constrained by geographical and climatic factors, but also sites where effectively overcoming such constraints requires interventions at the household level, such as wells, water pumps or tanks, as opposed to community-level interventions. In order to provide farmers with the tools that would be most effective to overcome their water access constraints, the partnership will first conduct a preliminary assessment of the issues and potential solutions concerning water in the identified sites. The study of the TC banana farmer groups will generate and disseminate rigorous evidence on what works in the field of rural water in developing countries, providing guidance to influence the funding and policy decisions of donors, governments, entrepreneurs and NGOs.
what makes these practices effective, or not, from the perspective of multiple stakeholders. It is anticipated the collaboration will be mutually beneficial to both organizations. CORAF/WECAD The MOU between Africa Harvest and CORAF/ WECARD is a strategic partnership drawn to focus on the ABS Project. The focus of the partnership will be to jointly carry out socio-economic studies to assess nutritional benefits that would arise from ABS products necessary for long-term sustainability of the Project. The collaboration will also engage in advocacy to accelerate development of policy frameworks conducive to the expansion of the ABS Project in West and Central Africa. The partnership will establish linkage with government institutions, other sub-regional organizations and stakeholders for sustainable deployment of ABS seed and products in West and Central Africa. The partnership will work towards the Coordination and Facilitation of Seed Systems Development and Product Deployment of the ABS Phase II Project.
University of Toronto, Ethical, Social, and Cultural (ESC) Program Africa Harvest and the University of Toronto, Ethical, Social, and Cultural (ESC) Program entered into an MoU to undertake a Community Engagement Case Study research project in Kenya. The partnership conducted joint studies that describe community engagement practices associated with the adoption of TC banana project. The study seeks to determine Finance and administration
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Africa free of hunger, poverty and malnutrition
Financial Report
30
Africa Harvest: Annual Technical and Financial Report 2007
The financial report covers the period from January 2007 to December 2007 Funding In 2007, Africa Harvest’s total revenue was US $3.1412 Million. The funding was lower than the amount received in the previous year because of the significant reduction in funds allocation to sub-grant organizations. Most donations were restricted and were received from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations, Rockefeller Foundation, Crop Life, DuPont USAID/KARI and individual donors. Expenditure The organization’s expenses are grouped into four areas, i.e., Programme services (45%), general and administration expense (11%), sub-grant to partners (43%) and fundraising (1%). Most of the funding goes directly towards project implementation (year 2007: 87%, year 2006: 86%) reflecting our commitment to achieving positive impact. We also ensure that the indirect costs received are used towards enhancing good services towards each project. Sub-grants to partner Organizations The organization continued to support the eight ABS consortium partners with a total disbursement of US $1,80 M to cover their third year project activities. All funds were used towards the achievement of the charitable objective of the project. Percentage Expenditure 2007 Fundraising 1%
Subgrant to other partners 43%
Programme Services 45%
General & Administrative expenses 11% Financial report
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Income and Expense Indicators 2007
2006
US$ "000"
US$ "000"
3,412
7,628*
1,854
1,623
473
518
1,801
3,407
52
45
Total expenditure
4,180
5,593
Net Suplus/(deficit)
(768)
2,035
Cash and cash equivalent beginning of the year
3,434
696
Cash and cash equivalent end of the year
3,505
3280
26%
18%
31
26
Income Grant and Investment Income Expenditure Programme Services General and administration expenses Subgrant to other partners Fundraising
Cashflow
Ratio analysis Performance Remuneration as a percentage of total expenditure Number of employees
*Under normal circumstances, the funding level for 2006 should be similar to 2007; however, part of the 2005 grant was received in 2006
32 Annual Africa Harvest: Technical Annual and Financial TechnicalReport and Financial 2007 Report 2007
Statement of Financial Position Year ending 31 December 2007 (compared with 2006-US $000) BALANCE SHEET ASSETS Non Current Assets
Intangible Assets
Receivables
2006
US$ "000"
US$ "000"
Property and Equipments
Current Assets
2007
204
218
8
-
212
218
159
22
Short term deposits
1,650
154
Cash and bank balances
1,855
3,280
3,664
3,456
3,876
3,674
FUND AND LIABILITIES
Accumulated funds and reserves
Accumulated fund
541
1,309
Foreign exchange translation reserves
(21)
(76)
520
1,233
Current Liabilities
Unexpended Funds
3,286
2,381
70
60
3,356
2,441
3,876
3,674
Total Assets
Payables
Total Funds and Liabilities
Financial report
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Corporate governance: The board continued to ensure that corporate governance principles are adhered to, and the organization strives for best practices. It has established an audit committee consisting of independent directors who approve policies that guide the foundation accounting practices, internal control, corporate social responsi-
Africa Harvest Board of Directors
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Africa Harvest: Annual Technical and Financial Report 2007
bility and auditing. The audit committee meets quarterly to review the financial reports together with the internal control systems. To ensure that we keep up with the global compliance on international standards on audit, the board appointed Deloitte and TouchĂŠ as Africa Harvest corporate auditors.
Africa free of hunger, poverty and malnutrition
Africa Harvest Board of Directors 2007 The Board has been chosen specifically to provide Africa Harvest with the diversity of expertise, good geographical representation and complementary skills that will move the institution forward.
Dr. Kanayo Nwanze, Board Chair, is also Vice President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). He previously served as Director General of the Africa Rice Centre (WARDA). Dr Nwanze provides strategic leadership, focusing on institutional growth and sustainability.
Joseph Kibe is the Board Vice Chair and Treasurer, providing Africa Harvest with strategic financial and governance oversight. He is a former Kenyan Permanent Secretary in five different Ministries over 12 years. He is currently involved in private business and philanthropic efforts.
Andrew Fish is the board Secretary. He is Senior Vice President for Legal and Government Affairs and General Counsel for the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) of the USA. His role is to provide strategic advice on governance issues.
Dr. Florence Wambugu, Africa Harvest's CEO, provides strategic leadership to a team of dedicated staff working to achieve our vision of an Africa free of hunger, poverty and malnutrition.
Gisèle d'Almeida is Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. She is currently serving as the Executive Director of Interface, a wide network of local private sectors in Senegal, West Africa. She provides strategic advice on development and promotion of entrepreneurial ventures among smallholder farmers in Africa.
Dr. Mary Mackey is Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee. She has a long experience of international agriculture development in Africa and Asia, and currently runs her own health and nutrition consultancy, offering advice to biotech-related organizations in Canada. Her role on the Africa Harvest Board is to provide strategic advice on audit matters and on programme formulation, design and implementation. 35
Caroline A. Kovac, Board Member, is a former senior manager at IBM and now holds the position of Managing Director of Burrill and Company, a venture capital firm promoting the start-up and growth of life science-based entrepreneurial ventures. She provides the Board with strategic leadership in organizational development and growth of entrepreneurial ventures, with a unique private sector view.
Prudence Ndlovu, Board Member, previously held a senior position at PricewaterhouseCoopers. She is currently serving as the Chief Executive of EPOD Global, a private enterprise involved in human resources development. She provides the Board with strategic advice on human resources development issues.
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Africa Harvest: Annual Technical and Financial Report 2007
David Farber is our Legal Counsel. Although not a Member of the Board, he contributes enormously to institutional compliance as well as handling all legal matters. He is a Legal Counsel with Patton Boggs LLP.
Africa free of hunger, poverty and malnutrition
Africa free of hunger, poverty and malnutrition
Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation International (AHBFI)
P.O. Box 642, Village Market-00621, Nairobi, Kenya Tel: 254-20-444-1113/5/6 Fax: 254-20-444-1121
P.O. Box 3655, Pinegowrie 2123 Gauteng, South Africa Tel: 27 11-781-4447 Fax: 27 11-886-0152
www.africaharvest.org
1025 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 1012 Washington, DC 20036 Tel: 202-828-1215 Fax: 202-857-9799
Africa free of hunger, poverty and malnutrition