Monthly Bulletin of the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development
Number 16 (MAY 2010)
The first ordinary session of CORAF/WECARD’s Governing Board :
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the accounts for the 2009 financial year approved
he board members assessed the state of implementation of the recommendations made during the second session of the Board in 2009. They also assessed the audit reports of the accounts for the 2009 financial year and discussed the activities carried out by the Executive Secretariat from December to May 2010. The financial statements of the 2009 financial year was reviewed and approved and the progress made in the implementation of the 2008-2013 Operational Plan assessed. The draft with gender and human resources policies were assessed and approved, the same for the document on the history of CORAF/WECARD. The Governing Board was also informed on state of the preparations for the Second Scientific Week and the Ninth General Assembly. The Director-General of the National Institute of Agricultural Research of Benin (INRAB), the Dr Delphin KOUDANDE, and the Executive Director and senior staff of CORAF/WECARD Executive Secretariat participated in this session.
The members of the Governing Board held fruitful discussions to exchange experiences the association’s activities.
CORAF/WECARD :
CORAF/WECARD-CSIRO :
The Australian Ambassador at the headquarters
identification of research priority domains in animal health and agricultural systems
His Excellency, William Billy Williams, the Australian Ambassador in Charge of the West African Region, held a working session with the Organisation’s Executives on 14th April, 2010. The Australian Government’s delegate expressed his satisfaction with the support provided by Australia to CORAF/WECARD for Agricultural Development in West and Central Africa.
He also valued CORAF/WECARD’s organisational and operational systems that aim to address the subregion’s agricultural challenges. The Ambassador holds discussions with the Di-rector of Programmes, the Financial and Administrative Director, the Information and Communication Manager, the Livestock, Fisheries and Aquaculture Programme Manager and the Natural Resources Programme Manager.
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n 22nd and 23rd April, animal health and agricultural systems specialists in the West and Central Africa met in the framework of the CORAF/WECARD-CSIRO partnership in order to identify priority areas for research on animal health and agricultural systems. These two workshops were concerned with the definition of the subregional research themes that would guide research interventions that aim to improve livestock farmers’ livelihoods and also improve agricultural production systems in the areas of the subregion.
At the end of these workshops, the participants had characterized animal health and agricultural systems at the national and subregional levels . They had then succeeded in analyzing the constraints and challenges in animal health and agricultural systems at the subregional level.
Partcipants and stakeholders in these two workshops’ discussed issues in order to find solutions to constraints in the animal health and agricultural systems
Cooperation : CORAF/WECARD and the CSIRO sign an agreement for agricultural development in West and Central Africa CORAF/WECARD and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) signed a partnership agreement aimed for the implementation of the Pillar I of the Food Security Initiative in Africa on Thursday, 22th April, 2010 in Saly Portudal in Senegal. This partnership aims at improving food security in Africa through research and development activities jointly conducted in order to improve agricultural productivity and make agricultural systems sustainable. The priority fields of this new partnership are as follows: livestock, soil fertility, biotechnology and capacity strengthening.
the Executive Director of CORAF/WECARD, Dr Paco Sérémé, and CSIRO’s delegate, Dr Bruce Pengelly, at the signing of the Agreement
CORAF/WECARD headquarters the new chairman meets with the staff
Prof ABUBAKAR YUSUF, the new Chairman of the CORAF/WECARD’s Governing Board met with the staff of CORAF/WECARD’s Executive Secretariat after the first ordinary session of the Board held from 5th to 6th May. The Executive Director, Dr Paco SEREME, on behalf of the entire staff of the Executive Secretariat expressed his gratitude for seeing the Chairman visiting the Executive Secretariat headquarters in order to hold discussions with the staff and, above all, to assess their working conditions.
Prof ABUBAKAR YUSUF acknowledged the work of the Executive Secretariat staff. He encouraged them to double their effort in order to address the numerous challenges the Region faces.
Prof. ABUBAKAR YUSUF and the Executive Secretariat staff hold discussions.
SCARDA : field activities The training on strategic planning and on the drafting of agricultural research programmes was held in Congo. Both the meetings on planning and review were held at the Crops Research Institute in Ghana. This took place from 3rd to 11th May, 2010.
The participants strengthened their capacity in planning and in training. The Agricultural
Research Center of Loudima in Congo (CRAL/DGRST) achieved its planned activities during the quarter January – March 2010. The next quarters (April – June) activities have been identified with the CRAL/DGRST change members extended to all the directors of the Congo DGRST research centres. For the CRI in Kumasi, the stakeholders have
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made an inventory of activities for the next quater (April – June) from a roadmap. These activities are concerned with the continuation of mentoring, centred on the development and on the implementation of a programme for developing research proposals. Dr Samba LY, the coordinator of the SCARDA project at CORAF/WECARD, supervised all these meetings.
PPAAO/WAAPP :
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restitution of the results of the mid-term review missions
he stakeholders and partners of the West African Agricultural Productivity Programme met on 14th May, 2010 for the restitution of the results of the various supervision missions carried out in Ghana, Mali, Senegal and at the Executive Secretariat of CORAF/WECARD. The national coordinators, the Directors of the National Centres of Specialisation, the managers of the WAAPP at the World Bank, CORAF/WECARD staff, finance and monitoring and evaluation stakeholders and partners in Mali, Senegal and Ghana were present at this meeting which aimed to assess the implementation of the WAAPP, to draw the lessons and to make proposals for the next phase.
During a whole day, the strengths and weaknesses in the implementation of the WAAPP were determined and recommendations made for for the improvement of the Project and, above all, strengthening collaboration between all the stakeholders.
Stakeholders and partners of the WAAPP shared ideas and experiences for the success of the Programme.
Mali :
SCARDA : two workshops aimed at strengthening the capacity in the techniques of projects’ writing Scientists from the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) in The Gambia and from the Rural Economy Institute (IER) in Mali attended the training workshops in order to strengthen their capacity in the techniques of projects’ writing, project proposals. These workshops were in Banjul and in Bamako, and Afrique Communication, the Communication Agency specialized in trai-
ning, was commissioned to provide these trainings which aimed at enabling the trainees to develop convincing projects proposals. In these workshops, the two countries were encouraged to communicate with their mentors by e-mail with the aim of significantly improving the quality of project proposals that they will write.
Projet SCARDA
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the activities assessed in Accra
ccra hosted the second strategic study workshop of the SCARDA programme held from 25th April to 1st May, 2010.
The main objective of this workshop was to contribute to the assessment of the SCARDA project’s achievements, to share the experiences that have been gained and to define a new orientation for the project beyond June 2010. The participants were then able to assess the progress achieved in the implementation of the SCARDA project. They could also see that the project facilitated the creation of a learning platform for lesson and experience sharing within the three Subregional Organisations.
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the NARS at the school of negotiation
ithin the framework of the SCARDA project, a training workshop on advocacy and the techniques of negotiation was held in Bamako from 28th March to 3rd April, 2010.
Organized for the focal and satellite organisations of Mali’s National Agricultural Re-search System, this training aimed at strengthening the capacity for influence of the managers and the senior researchers of Mali’s NARS. This was done through the development of skills in advocacy and lobbying and the command of the conceptual aspects of the techniques of negotiation.
The workshop enabled the participants draft an outline of the main orientations of an advocacy strategy for the improvement of the Institute of Rural Economy (IER) centred on the following specific issues : make the government contribute for more than 60% in the funding of agricultural research in Mali by the end of 2012, increase the IER’s own resources in the Institute’s consolidated budget and improve the level of funding through the international cooperation’s competitive funds.
Livestock :
GCARD :
the fifth Ordinary General Assembly of “Alive”
the first global conference on agricultural research for development
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The stakeholders and partners of the organisation named the “African Livestock” convened on 9th April 2010 in Addis Ababa within the framework of the 5th Ordinary General Assembly of their organisation.
he first Global Conference on agricultural research for development was held from the 28th through the 31st March, 2010 in Montpellier in France.
Created in 2004, Alive is a Regional Partnership which rests on a multistakeholder partnership that comprises regional and the international organisations for livestock development in Subsaharan Africa.
Organized in place and stead of the annual meeting of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (GCARD), the Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (CGIAR) convened the whole World specialists of Agricultural Research and Development to set up a new architecture for Agricultural Research for Development (AR4D) and to propose a new financing mecanisms for agricultural research.
Alive is a platform which aims at facilitating debate and advocacy for resource mobilization and at supporting the activities in livestock that are conducted in the framework of the NEPAD/AU.
During this 5th General Assembly, the participants reviewed and adopted the report on the recommendations from the African Livestock’s last General Assembly. Alive’s strategy document and Operational Plan which defines the Alive platform’s basic options were reviewed and adopted during this meeting. Dr Hamadé KAGONE, the manager of CORAF/WECARD’s Livestock, Fisheries and Aquaculture programme, represented his organisation at this General Assembly
Then, the Alliance of CGIAR Centres presented the project which includes the strategy and Results Structure which will guide the development of an oriented result for a new group.
PPAAO/WAAPP :
The Consortium has also decided to develop two mega programmes, one on rice and another on climate change for potential approval by the Finance Council in July 2010. Other mega programmes will be developed with other partners.
a workshop for the analysis of the document of Burkina Faso
Monthly Bulletin of the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development
Director of Publication Abubakar Yusuf
Director of the newsroom Paco Sérémé
Editor-in-Chief
Anatole Yékéminan Koné
Newsroom
Info / Com Department
Layout
Alassane DIA
On line Gorgui Alioune Mbow
French version available
CORAF/WECARD, BP 48 Dakar RP CP 18523, Sénégal Tél. : (221) 33 869 96 18 Fax : (221) 33 869 96 31 E-mail : paco.sereme@coraf.org anatole.kone@coraf.org Internet : www.coraf.org
5th – 7th May, 2010, Dakar. First session of CORAF/WECARD’s Governing Board
Dr Mbène Dièye FAYE, the Manager of the Policy, Market and Trade Programme, represented CORAF/WECARD at this meeting.
10th – 12th May, 2010, Dakar. Mid-course assessment of the West African Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP)
Burkina Faso is among the 3 new countries that are getting ready to implement the West African Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP). The project paper developed at the national level was assessed during a workshop held from 1st to 2nd April, 2010 in Ouagadougou.
14th May 2010, Dakar. Restitution of the results of the WAAPP mid-course missions.
24th – 29th May 2010, Cotonou. 2nd Agricultural Scientific Week and 9th General Assembly of CORAF/WECARD
The participants in this meeting analyzed and amended the national project document that had been prepared and assessed, the state of progress of the implementation of the activities listed on the aide-memoire written in January 2010.
For june 2010,
Special CORAFECHO on the 2nd science week and the 9th
General Assembly held in Cotonou
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