better tools, better harvests, better lives NAIROBI Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology Launching 14 September 2006 Norfolk Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya

Source: FAOSTAT (2001) Cereal yields, (MT/ha) China Sub Saharan Africa South Asia Rationale for the creation of AATF: Need to access IP to increase African agricultural productivity  Yields are stationary or declining  Production keeps up with population by expanding land under agriculture  Productivity per capita is declining  Support for public research is declining  Private research is increasing  IPR regimes are increasingly an issue

Vision, Mission, Strategic Path  Vision:  Prosperous farmers and a food secure Africa, enabled through AATF’s catalytic role in bringing innovative technologies to smallholder farmers  Mission:  To access and deliver affordable agricultural technologies for high farm productivity of smallholders, in particular resource poor farmers through public-private partnerships and technology/ product stewardship along the entire food value chain  Strategic Path:  Technology stewardship  Strategic partnership management

AATF Proof of Concept …  PPPs for product development and deployment established and facilitated

AATF Proof of Concept …

AATF works along the entire product value chain Basic Research/ Technol. Transfer Adaptive R&D, trials Regulatory Approval Production of Inputs Extension/ Distribution Agricultural production Postharvest Storage Processing Market access/ Distribution Supply/Technology DeliveryDemand/Market linkages DEMAND FOR FINAL PRODUCT Production

AATF – A Unique Initiative  Designed to harness the best practices, resources and expertise of the public and private sectors and put them at the service of smallholder farmers  A knowledge-based African institution led and managed by Africans and focusing exclusively on African priorities  Registered in Kenya and in the UK as a company limited by guarantee  Recognized as an international not-for-profit organization by the Government of Kenya and registered as a charity by the Charity Commission of England and Wales

Why the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology?  The new ingredient in “GM crops” is not black magic or radioactivity; it is knowledge (Mark Cantley)  Nairobi hosts a large number of universities and research organizations that harbor many highly qualified scientists working on biotechnology and life sciences (NEPAD’s hub of biosciences for E and C Africa is in Nairobi)  In its tradition of facilitator, AATF wants to provide a platform where this critical mass of knowledge can be accessed by policy and law makers, by journalists and the general public

What is the Nairobi Open Forum going to be like?  It is a monthly gathering of the Nairobi scientific community to accommodate formal presentations or informal discussions focussing on the relationships between science, technology, innovations, environmental protection, policy, trade, social benefits sharing and their impact on Africa’s economic development.  It is also an opportunity for key stakeholders to know one another, share knowledge and experience, make new contacts and explore new avenues of bringing the benefits of biotechnology to the African agricultural sector.  It is expected to bring together stakeholders in biotechnology and enable interactions between scientists, journalists, the civil society, industrialists, lawmakers and policy makers.

How will the Nairobi Open Forum work?  Date: Last Thursday of every month  26 October 2006  30 November 2006  25 January 2007  Time: Noon to 2PM  Venue: Jacaranda Hotel, Westlands  New conference Centre, Wariara Room  Discussion topics will be announced  Suggestions are requested from stakeholders  A program committee of volunteers to be set up  Attendance by invitation  Contact person: Mrs. Nancy Muchiri

FONDATION AFRICAINE POUR LES TECHNOLOGIES AGRICOLES.