Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa Overview of DONATA By Ifidon Ohiomoba PSTAD Project Manager, FARA 1

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa Background PSTAD PSTAD is a project with Overall Objective to build Africa’s agricultural research knowledge management capacity & support dissemination & adoption of improved technologies & good practices.

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa Background cont’d The dissemination of proven technologies and good practices or DONATA is Component 2 of the PSTAD project

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa Introduction DONATA: Dissemination of New Agricultural Practices in Africa

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa Goal of DONATA The Goal is: To Catalyze agricultural innovations in Africa along the value chains

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa DONATA to achieve its goal by … … and thereby facilitate scale out and up of improved technologies & good practices for increased agricultural production & productivity

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa DONATA Objectives To analyse constraints in the agricultural value chains & identify proven technologies to address them and facilitate wide scale adoption to accelerate agricultural development. To analyse constraints in the agricultural value chains & identify proven technologies to address them and facilitate wide scale adoption to accelerate agricultural development. To develop toolkits to facilitate targeting of technologies to fit the prevailing conditions & to make profitable investments. To develop toolkits to facilitate targeting of technologies to fit the prevailing conditions & to make profitable investments. To promote wide adoption of ‘African model crops’ e.g. NERICA rice, improved cassava cultivars, etc for reduction of hunger and food insecurity. To promote wide adoption of ‘African model crops’ e.g. NERICA rice, improved cassava cultivars, etc for reduction of hunger and food insecurity.

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa DONATA: Present scope of activities Maize SADC-FANR Sorghum CORAF Cassava ASARECA Sweet potato Kenya Uganda Ethiopia DR Congo Rwanda Tanzania Burkina Faso Cameroon Congo Brazzaville Côte d'Ivoire Ghana Guinea Liberia Mali Senegal Sierra Leone Lesotho Malawi Mozambique Zambia Madagascar

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa DONATA Activities Establishing Platforms to promote technology spread and utilisation using the IPTA tool Providing relevant Inputs & Equipment to facilitate learning & adoption at the platforms Supporting knowledge & skills acquisition through long - & short-term training Promoting sharing of lessons & success stories

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa Knowledge/Skills Acquisition Strengthens Agric Research Capacity MSc Training in various approved Universities in Africa Short term courses to improve researchers’ skills in NARIs Facilitates Innovation Dissemination & Adoption Training of Extension IPTAs Training of other IPTAs

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa DONATA Strategy The innovation platform for technology adoption (IPTA) is the DONATA tool for disseminating improved technologies and innovations to intended beneficiaries IPTA facilitates out- and up-scaling of innovations

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa Understanding Terms * Scaling-out: ‘horizontal’ spread of knowledge and uptake of technologies, processes and practices (e.g. to farmers or businesses at a similar level) and cross-site /border learning in a nation, region or continent. (*Adapted From Research Into Use Programme, 2008)

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa Understanding Terms cont’d Scaling-up: Influencing ‘higher’ level decision makers to develop policies which provide a more enabling environment for scaling-out i.e. various actors that are critical to catalyzing agricultural innovations

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa Understanding Terms cont’d Innovation: new ideas, technologies or ways of doing things in a place or by people. Doing new things or old things in new ways; do things effectively differently. It enables more goods to be produced or better services rendered with less resources; facilitates efficiency.

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa Understanding Terms cont’d Value chain - the full range of activities required to bring a product or service from conception, through the different phases of production to delivery of final product to the consumer for use and disposal

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa What is DONATA Platform? A platform is a network of partners working on a common theme and using agric knowledge in ways it has not been used before to generate goods and services for mutual benefit of stakeholders.

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa Establishing the DONATA Platform Follow value chain analysis and mapping of needs to determine entry point The entry point should be the most critical challenge or need to be addressed Selection of entry point, a consensus of primary stakeholders Determine available technology / innovation to meet the identified need.

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa Planning Production Post Harvest Marketing Consumption Value Chain Process for Establishing DONATA Platform

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa DONATA Strategy - IPTA = IPTA - Innovation Platform for Technology Adoption Multi-stakeholder platform for access to knowledge & skills to adapt technologies to local settings / needs

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa What is IPTA? IPTA is a mechanism, a tool to support the development and maintenance of a value chain. It is a strategy for improved dissemination of innovations horizontally (to primary stakeholders) and vertically (stakeholders across the various divides) or more effective service delivery to value chain actors; it is not the value chain itself.

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa IPTA Methodology IPTA is a demand-driven participatory approach & can adopt any or combination of the participatory methodologies such as  PLA – participatory learning and action;  PCP – participatory community planning;  FFS – Farmers field school;  Demonstrations; etc

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa Technical Backstopping 4 IPTA Should be provided by the relevant NARI for the practice or innovation in focus. Priority for National Institutions to ensure sustainability & institutional capacity building An ARI to provide technical backstopping on cross cutting innovations FARA / SRO to also support

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa Implementation Progress About 70 platforms established in the 3 SROs Several Demonstrations held Farmer trainings conducted Field days and Agric shows organized Inputs procured, distributed and utilized by farmers 24 students in Universities for MSc Degree Mid-Term Review of project conducted

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa Lessons & Success Stories from other sub-regions Partnering private sector facilitates technology adoption and utilisation in the countries - e.g. Partnering private sector facilitates technology adoption and utilisation in the countries - e.g.  Tanseed Int’l makes QPM seeds readily available for use by farmers promotes increased production  Tanfeed Int’l uses QPM maize in poultry feeds production making market available for grains

4/22/ Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa Lessons & Success Stories from other sub-regions increased value addition enhances product life, utilisation, consumption & further production

4/22/ Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa Lessons & Success Stories from other sub-regions QPM maize meals in homes and nutrition centres in DRC... rescues... rescues children from kwashiokor & improves breast milk flow of nursing mothers

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa Challenges Slow pace of project implementation; by subsidiarity, FARA Sec only coordinates & NARS & SROs implement. Slow pace of project implementation; by subsidiarity, FARA Sec only coordinates & NARS & SROs implement. Slow process of procurement of equipment and facilities to enhance knowledge sharing among stakeholders Slow process of procurement of equipment and facilities to enhance knowledge sharing among stakeholders Understand the project concepts & approaches Understand the project concepts & approaches Know your scope i.e. No / Size of activities to carry on a platform per year. Know your scope i.e. No / Size of activities to carry on a platform per year.

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa Challenges Limited Networking Skills of partners Limited Networking Skills of partners Reporting activities based on log frame Reporting activities based on log frame Access the available Capacity to implement IPTA Access the available Capacity to implement IPTA Equipment / facilities for value addition & product development Equipment / facilities for value addition & product development

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