Knowledge workers at work: Agricultural scientists get down to brass tacks (and new pathways) for rural prosperity
Three weeks ago today, more than two hundred agricultural scientists distinguished in various disciplinary fields, some twenty-five ‘early-career’ agricultural scientists and an equal number of agricultural science communications professionals met in Ethiopia’s capital to rethink agricultural pathways, partnerships and priorities for poor rural people working themselves out of poverty, and, one hopes, into prosperity….
Holistic research embedded in development processes and strong partnerships, key to sustainable agriculture in Africa
While the factors driving agricultural development in Africa are by and large exogenous, capitalizing on opportunities is within the grasp of farmers, researchers and policymakers, participants attending day two of the 2016 Science Forum in Addis Ababa were told last week. However, agricultural scientists will have to gain a more holistic understanding of the many…
This is the third of a three-part series of reporting on three plenary presentations aiming to ‘set the scene’ on the first day of a Science Forum 2016 organized by the Independent Science and Partnership Council (ISPC) of CGIAR and held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 12–14 Apr 2016. Following two presentations made to open the…
Increase research investment: Karen Brooks on priorities for rural prosperity
Karen Brooks, Director of the CGIAR research program on policies, institutions and markets, identifies several research-based pathways to rural prosperity, including direct income effects via new technologies as well as indirect economy-wide effects resulting from greater agricultural production. On priorities in this area, she argues that many countries that need agricultural productivity growth the most…
Closing gender gaps in control over assets for lasting development outcomes
This is the second of a three-part series of articles reporting on Plenary 1 presentations at the Science Forum 2016 organized by the Independent Science and Partnership Council (ISPC) of CGIAR (Addis Ababa, 12–14 Apr 2016). A Gender, Agriculture, and Assets Project (GAAP) conceptual framework helps identify mechanisms through which assets of women, men and…
Climate change drivers and partnerships for rural prosperity
The day two science forum breakout session on climate change tackled two issues: climate change and poverty and partnerships for impact. Climate change and poverty Sea level rise and shifts of climate zones are visible impacts of gradual changes in climate. The shift in climate zones is mainly evidenced by increased temperature and change in…
Agricultural commodity pathways to rural prosperity – shared threads
While the four day 1 science forum breakout sessions focused on very different pathways towards reducing poverty, there are clear links between them all, with complementary effects clearly evident. The four sessions . . . • Linkages between staple crops research and poverty outcomes • Nutrient-dense climate resilient future crops • Animal agri-food systems •…
Interdisciplinary teams and delivery linkages: Gebisa Ejeta on research pathways to rural prosperity
Gebisa Ejeta from Purdue University argues that interdisciplinary teams of scientists working on specific issues and linked with delivery systems and enterprises offer promising routes to support rural prosperity. See selected photos of the forum
Not by agriculture alone: Segenet Kelemu on research priorities for rural prosperity
Segenet Kelemu, Director General of ICIPE, argues that research priorities for rural prosperity need to be location and country-specific, and derived from the real needs of target consumers. She argues that reducing the proportion of populations depending on agriculture is very important, as also is attending to other sectors. Agriculture alone is not the only…
Beyond productivity: Options for Asia in the search for new pathways out of poverty
The Asian continent is home to about 87 per cent of the world’s 500 million small farms. China and India alone account for 193 million and 93 million farms, respectively. Three other Asian countries with a large number of small farms are Indonesia (17 million), Bangladesh (17 million) and Viet Nam (10 million). So the…
Strategies to address important drivers of change to rural prosperity in Africa
The breakout group on drivers of change in rural communities of Africa started with the group being reminded of a few important points: i) innovations will normally spread along transport routes, ii) farming systems in Africa are diverse and are continuously changing; thus new research challenges are continuously being presented, iii) research needs to be…
Work along value chains: Victor Manyong on research pathways and priorities
Victor Manyong, Director for Eastern Africa and Leader of the social science research group at IITA, argues for research to work along value chains. The top priority is for research to respond to real market demands and drivers. It should also look beyond smallholders and work with other actors, larger-scale farmers as well as small…
From laughing stock to policy prescription: Understanding impact delivery from agricultural research
Most of the time we measure impact in terms of technology adoption and do not look at institutional change and capacity that has been built. How can we harvest the link between innovation practices and development? What will the framework look like? What type of institutions condition agricultural research? Agriculture has great potential to contribute…
Pathways to rural prosperity: Priorities for agricultural research
A plenary panel discussion held on the last morning of a three-day (12–14 Apr 2016) Science Forum focused on the research priorities for rural prosperity. The panel was chaired by Doug Gollin, a development economist at the University of Oxford and member of the CGIAR Standing Panel on Impact Assessment (SPIA). Jimmy Smith, director…
Human and institutional capacity development for rural prosperity, a question of survival
Capacity development is a survival issue for Africa. Agriculture is the future of the continent, not just the poor cousin of manufacturing. Africa needs the expertise and skills to invest in a sustainable future, according to Solange Uwituze, Program Manager for Training and Quality Assurance of RUFORUM, Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture…
Improving the impact of international staple crop research on poverty reduction
On day one of the Science Forum, participants joined one of four breakout groups to show how agricultural research on different commodities has/can contribute to poverty reduction. One looked at the linkages between staple crops research and poverty outcomes (see background paper). Pathways to poverty reduction in rural communities are complex and context-specific; agricultural research…
This is the first of a three-part series of articles reporting on Plenary 1 presentations at the Science Forum 2016 organized by the Independent Science and Partnership Council (ISPC) of CGIAR (Addis Ababa, 12–14 Apr 2016). The three speakers who opened a three-day Science Forum being held this week in Ethiopia were charged with ‘setting…
How do institutions affect the way agricultural research contributes to rural prosperity and poverty reduction? What matrices do we need when measuring poverty reduction? On day one of the Science Forum, participants joined one of four breakout groups to show how agricultural research on different commodities has/can contribute to poverty reduction.The session on the contribution…
Science Forum day 1 – presentations set the scene on poverty, gender and climate change
Today’s Science Forum kicked off in style with three thoughtful presentations exploring different dimensions of agricultural research for rural prosperity. See the presentations: Does Agricultural Research reduce Poverty? Stefan Dercon Assets: Keys to Prosperity. Ruth Meinzen-Dick, Nancy Johnson, Jemimah Njuki, and Agnes Quisumbing Challenges ahead as a result of climate change: what works and how…
Agricultural research pathways, partnerships and priorities for rural prosperity
This week’s Science Forum 2016 kicks off in Addis Ababa. Maggie Gill, chair of the ISPC, explains why the Forum is happening and its focus:
In the lead up to the 2016 Science Forum, we have asked Steering Committee (SC) members and speakers to answer a few questions related to the Forum’s focus on agricultural research pathways to inclusive rural development. Below are the responses from Baba Yusuf Abubakar, speaker on day 2 of the Forum. Yusuf is the Executive…
From 12-14 April, 200+ people will gather in Addis Ababa to assess what we know about agricultural research pathways to rural prosperity. The event will take advantage of its Ethiopian location to learn first-hand about the country’s remarkable progress in agriculture and how research and development actors have contributed to this. Day one takes stock…
In the lead up to the 2016 Science Forum, we have asked Steering Committee (SC) members and speakers to answer a few questions related to the Forum’s focus on agricultural research pathways to inclusive rural development. Below are the responses from Ruth Meinzen-Dick, speaker on Day 2 of the Forum. Ruth is a Senior Research…
Agricultural research should focus on ways to build more sustainable and resilient food systems – Rajul Pandya-Lorch on pathways to rural prosperity
In the lead up to the 2016 Science Forum, we have asked Steering Committee (SC) members and speakers to answer a few questions related to the Forum’s focus on agricultural research pathways to inclusive rural development. Below are the responses from Rajul Pandya-Lorch, member of the SC for this Science Forum. Rajul is Head 2020…
In the lead up to the 2016 Science Forum, we have asked Steering Committee (SC) members and speakers to answer a few questions related to the Forum’s focus on agricultural research pathways to inclusive rural development. Below are the responses from S. Mahendra Dev, speaker on Day 2 of the Forum. Mahendra is Director and…
Agricultural research needs to adopt a participatory approach in order to take on board stakeholders’ needs – George Bigirwa on pathways to rural prosperity
In the lead up to the 2016 Science Forum, we have asked Steering Committee (SC) members and speakers to answer a few questions related to the Forum’s focus on agricultural research pathways to inclusive rural development. Below are the responses from George Bigirwa, panelist on Day 1 of the Forum. George is AGRA’s Head of…
In the lead up to the 2016 Science Forum, we have asked Steering Committee (SC) members and speakers to answer a few questions related to the Forum’s focus on agricultural research pathways to inclusive rural development. Below are the responses from Peter Carberry, panelist on Day 3 of the Forum. Peter is the Deputy Director…
In the lead up to the 2016 Science Forum, we have asked Steering Committee (SC) members and speakers to answer a few questions related to the Forum’s focus on agricultural research pathways to inclusive rural development. Below are the responses from Fentahun Mengistu, panelist on Day 1 of the Forum. Fentahun is the Director General of the Ethiopian Institute…
In the lead up to the 2016 Science Forum, we have asked Steering Committee (SC) members and speakers to answer a few questions related to the Forum’s focus on agricultural research pathways to inclusive rural development. Below are the responses from Kei Otsuka, plenary speaker on Day 3 of the Forum. Kei is Professor at Kobe University…
In the lead up to the 2016 Science Forum, we have asked Steering Committee (SC) members and speakers to answer a few questions related to the Forum’s focus on agricultural research pathways to inclusive rural development. The first is Professor Tom Tomich, member of the CGIAR Independent Science and Partnerships Council (ISPC) and on the…
It is a pleasure to welcome you to the website for the 4th Science Forum of the CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership Council (ISPC). The 2016 Science Forum (SF16) will be held from 12-14 April 2016 in Addis Ababa and co-hosted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) to address the topic of:…