Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA)
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Item Joint AU-EU Roadmap for the Research and Innovation Partnership on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA) 2027–2036(AU-EU Partnership, 2026) African Union (AU); European Union (EU)The roadmap renews the AU–EU research and innovation (R&I) partnership on food and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture (FNSSA) for 2027–2036, under the political steer of the AU–EU High-Level Policy Dialogue on Science, Technology and Innovation. It builds on the 2016–2026 cycle, which established collaborative structures but suffered from fragmentation and uneven uptake of results. It sets four mutually reinforcing priorities: sustainable management of agriculture and food systems; agri-food systems transformation for healthy nutrition shaped by societal change; integrated agri-food markets, trade and innovation deployment; and the bioeconomy as an engine of sustainable transformation. Digitalisation and artificial intelligence, and the social sciences and humanities, are cross-cutting enablers. The roadmap treats innovation as a continuum from research to market deployment and stresses multi-actor co-design with farmers, SMEs, women, youth and Indigenous Peoples. It also emphasizes One Health and coordination through the FNSSA Working Group and IRC-FNSSA. It proposes an open-science knowledge repository, including a repository of null results and implementation failures, and a decision-oriented MEL framework. The aim is to move from fragmented, project-based cooperation to a coherent partnership with tangible benefits on both continents.Item ASPNet Stakeholder Brief(2026-11-12) ASPNetPhosphorus is fundamental to agricultural productivity, food security, ecosystem functioning, and human well-being. Yet its distribution and management across Africa are characterized by striking contrasts. Many farming systems experience chronic phosphorus deficiency, low or imbalanced nutrient inputs, and restricted access to appropriate fertilizers and other phosphorus sources. At the same time, phosphorus is lost through food, farming, sanitation, and waste systems, while poorly managed nutrient flows contribute to eutrophication, biodiversity loss, and declining water quality. Africa also contains a major share of global phosphate rock resources, creating opportunities for agricultural development and regional value creation—but mineral resources alone do not guarantee equitable access or sustainable outcomes. The central question is therefore not simply how to use more phosphorus. It is how phosphorus can be sourced, accessed, managed, retained, recovered, and governed in ways that strengthen healthy soils, resilient food systems, environmental sustainability, and long-term livelihoods.Item Report of the Regional Consultation on Opportunity Crops in Africa(FARA, 2026-08) FAO, FARAFAO and FARA convened a three-day hybrid consultation in Accra with researchers, policymakers, universities, development partners, farmer organizations, private-sector actors and regional institutions. The aim was a unified continental vision for indigenous and traditionally cultivated crops in Africa's agrifood systems. Participants agreed that "opportunity crops" conveys these species' strategic value better than "orphan" or "neglected". They also agreed that conservation alone is insufficient: benefits depend on coordinated investment across genetic resources, breeding, seed systems, value addition, markets, education, policy and finance. Sessions covered genetic resources, breeding for resilience, seed systems, market creation and the enabling environment. Working groups set seven strategic priorities: conserve and mobilize genetic resources; accelerate research and crop improvement; build inclusive seed systems; develop competitive value chains; mainstream the crops in policy and investment; strengthen human and institutional capacity; and establish coordinated continental implementation. The report closes with recommendations for governments, research institutions, universities, financing partners, the private sector, farmer organizations and regional bodies.Item Proposed Roadmap for Integrating Opportunity Crops 2026–2035(FARA, 2026-08) FAO, FARAAfrica's agrifood systems depend on a narrow range of staples, although the continent holds many indigenous crops with nutritional, climatic, cultural and economic value. Building on commitments from the 2003 Maputo and 2014 Malabo declarations, the 2013 Accra Statement, the Africa Manifesto on Forgotten Foods and the Kampala CAADP agenda, the roadmap aims to turn advocacy into coordinated, measurable action. Its vision is that, by 2035, identified opportunity crops are routinely conserved, improved, produced, traded, processed and consumed. Seven interlinked priorities run from conservation, research and seed delivery to value chains, policy and finance mainstreaming, capacity and coordinated delivery. Countries select crop portfolios against transparent criteria and review them every three years. Implementation runs in three phases: organize and prepare (2026–27), scale and validate (2028–30), and institutionalize and sustain (2031–35). A continental–regional–national coordination model uses existing mandates, with financing organized by portfolio rather than by isolated project. Progress is tracked through an annual continental scorecard and portfolio reviews in 2027, 2030 and 2035.Item Stakeholder Mapping for Integration of Opportunity Crops into African Food Systems(FARA, 2026-08) FAO, FARAThe report maps organizations working on opportunity crops, forgotten foods and neglected and underutilized species (NUS) to inform an Africa-wide directory and Community of Practice. A purposive online survey yielded 84 complete institutional responses: 73 from 15 African countries, led by Nigeria (33), and 11 from outside Africa. The ecosystem is research-heavy: 67 respondents (79.8%) identify with research and academia, while farmer organizations, financiers and market actors are under-represented. Most organizations do research (69), farmer training (60) and production support (47); far fewer do aggregation (11), trading (8) or financing (8). The most reported species are indigenous leafy vegetables, traditional fruits and nuts, sorghum, Bambara groundnut and cowpea. Lack of funding is the main constraint (94.0%), and 33 organizations report annual NUS budgets under USD 10,000. Support for a continental platform is strong: 79 respondents (94.0%) would join one. The report proposes a seven-point action matrix: a Community of Practice, a governed directory, a catalytic financing facility, crop and value-chain clusters, policy and procurement work, consumer demand building, and a shared evidence framework.Item Country level (Kenya) third-party projects supervisory/monitoring mission: Back to office report(FARA, 2023-12) FARAPrompted by problems found in an earlier Uganda mission, and because third-party projects hold 65% of AIRTEA's budget, FARA and EAFF visited the Kenyan projects to check technical and financial compliance with approved work plans and contracts and to resolve conflicts. The team met lead institutions, visited beneficiaries and held debriefings with TPP004 (Koppert), TPP001 (JKUAT), TPP008 (University of Nairobi), TPP010 (Cooperative Alliance of Kenya) and TPP009 (KeFAAS), and reported on the TPP003 potato site in Nyandarua. Projects were generally on track: hybrid solar fish dryers were working, certified potato seed and drought-tolerant maize had reached farmers, cassava processors were linked to growers, and digital connectors had started businesses. Weaknesses included financial reporting gaps (no malfeasance found) and "IPs" that were really farmer groups. Lessons call for routine meetings, financial reporting training and regular backstopping.Item AIRTEA Project Implementation Plan(FARA, 2021-08) ASARECA, EAFF, FARAThe Project Implementation Plan sets out how the consortium and its stakeholders, including the OACPS and the EU, will deliver AIRTEA's objective of sustainable agrarian livelihoods and rural transformation in East Africa through inclusive research and innovation. It restates the project's theory of change: a research–policy interface creating a conducive policy environment for knowledge exchange, technology transfer and business development. The plan gives an indicative half-yearly work plan for Year 1 and a work plan for the following years, organized by task and activity across the four work packages: institutionalizing innovation platforms and virtual research–user platforms (WP1); collective learning and capacity development of women and youth as advisory service providers (WP2); Agribusiness Learning Alliances and agribusiness incubation (WP3); and partnerships, governance, calls for proposals, communication and M&E (WP4). Each activity names its implementing body and timing.Item AIRTEA agribusiness and private sector training workshop: Consultancy to test Agribusiness Learning Alliances (ABLA) proof of concept towards enhancing the economic value derived from innovation platforms(FARA, 2024-06) Buruchara, RobinFARA held a three-day agribusiness workshop in Nairobi with 33 participants from the consortium, third-party projects, IP facilitators and private-sector partners. It combined two days of agribusiness training to support ABLAs with a one-day business consultative forum on mentorship and innovative financing for agricultural research businesses, and engaged projects in identifying women and youth to train as business development support personnel. Sessions covered the IP concept and its gaps, agribusiness opportunities, gap analysis and action planning per project, and a synthesis of a FARA learning event. Conclusions ask digital extension projects (TPP004, TPP007 and TPP009) to extend services to more IPs, and call for a central support platform for IP leaders, simpler training materials, direct market links, reporting of unexpected outcomes, and FARA–ASARECA action plans and tools to assess IP functionality and maturity.Item Report of the third-party selection process of the AIRTEA project(FARA, 2021-11) FARAThe report documents how AIRTEA selected the multi-stakeholder partnership projects it would fund. A call for proposals for grants of EUR 150,000–400,000, from a third-party envelope of EUR 2,652,000, opened on 10 June 2021 and closed on 9 August 2021, with a virtual information meeting on 8 July. Of 112 applications, 75 passed eligibility and administrative checks and 37 were rejected. An Independent Evaluation Committee scored the eligible proposals. The Project Steering Committee then applied affirmative action for youth-, women- and private-sector-led proposals and raised the number of grants from six to up to fifteen. It approved 12 projects on 8 November 2021, subject to OACPS and EC no-objection. The report lists the selected projects and their distribution by lead institution type and country.Item Agribusiness Learning Alliance (ABLA) toolkit: For business development in agriculture research for development(FARA, 2024) FARAThe toolkit explains how Agribusiness Learning Alliances build on innovation platforms to drive commercialization of agricultural research technologies, with emphasis on women, youth and persons with disability. It introduces agricultural innovation systems and the IP concept, then sets out the three steps for establishing an ABLA (connect, co-create, capacity). Further chapters cover business development services in agriculture; policy, regulation and standards; and operational guiding principles such as partnerships, multidisciplinary teams, and planning, monitoring, evaluation and learning. It closes with a checklist for planning interventions along a value chain node.